Upside_Down_Guitar
Senior Member
- Messages
- 693
I thought I'd type a review of this product based on my experiences so far. I am by no means a professional at recording. I have played out in bands for nearly 20 years. My first interface was an mAudio breakout box-type interface with a PCI Delta 66 card. I still have it installed, actually, but the cable is malfunctioning and I was looking for something new. These are just my initial thoughts, so I may be adding on or amending as I progress further in its' use.
First, I'll mention my computer specs:
Intel i7 940 3.06GHz quad-core
12GB Mushkin DDR3 1600 Triple Channel RAM
Western Digital 1TB 7200Rpm hard drive
Antec 1000 Watt power supply
Asus Sabertooth x58 motherboard
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
Not a monster machine, but it does the job. I had purchased the Studio One Artist version, which is now Studio One 2 Artist, and have that installed on my computer. As I took the unit out of the package, I noticed that it was a very solid piece of equipment. It doesn't feel cheap at all. I downloaded the latest drivers from the Presonus website and plugged in the USB 2.0 cable that came with the Audiobox. Setting the unit up was pretty simple. The Studio One software has a premade setup for the Audiobox 22VSL that can be chosen when starting a new song, or you can start from scratch and create your own default setup.
The first thing I did was, of course, plug a guitar in to port 1 on the Audiobox and futz around with recording with it. As I said before, I am nowhere near a professional and have only recorded a handful of times with very amateurish results. The first thing I noticed was that there was some latency. It almost sounded like there was some slight reverb or delay just listening or while recording. After reviewing the recording, there was not any delay heard. In watching start up videos and reading forums, I realized a few things. First, make sure the Mixer, Input, and Headphone or Main output volumes are up. Second, the VSL software has a buffer setting that can help if you have a healthy rig. I do, so I chose the buffer size as 128 instead of 2048. Thirdly, if you want to use the Studio One software only, turn off or disable the VSL software completely. I have also had success with powering the VSL software off using the software power button. After performing those steps, I had a clear sound of my guitar with zero latency. The "Ampire" plugin tones are actually not all that bad. I think it's called the "crunchy riff" plugin, that sounds like the tone in Slide It In by Whitesnake. The song is at 128bps, by the way, in case anyone cares. I'm looking forward to putting a mic up against my 4x12 Marshall with greenbacks powered by my Germino Club 40.
In all, for $199, this is a solid unit. If you have a need for more inputs, you may need to go with the 44VSL or the 1818VSL. I was just looking for something simple, that sounded decent. This is it. I know that the final product, mastering, and all that jazz can be a whole different beast to conquer. I apologize if this is too simplistic of a review. Again, I'll be adding things to it as I move along in my recording journey. One last tidbit, make sure you have decent headphones if you use them. I had some crappy ones laying around and I couldn't figure out why the output was so low on my recordings. I replaced the crappy ones with a decent pair of Sennheisers, and voila! I actually had to turn the volume knobs down. That is usually a guitarists worst nightmare! Thank you for your time.
First, I'll mention my computer specs:
Intel i7 940 3.06GHz quad-core
12GB Mushkin DDR3 1600 Triple Channel RAM
Western Digital 1TB 7200Rpm hard drive
Antec 1000 Watt power supply
Asus Sabertooth x58 motherboard
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
Not a monster machine, but it does the job. I had purchased the Studio One Artist version, which is now Studio One 2 Artist, and have that installed on my computer. As I took the unit out of the package, I noticed that it was a very solid piece of equipment. It doesn't feel cheap at all. I downloaded the latest drivers from the Presonus website and plugged in the USB 2.0 cable that came with the Audiobox. Setting the unit up was pretty simple. The Studio One software has a premade setup for the Audiobox 22VSL that can be chosen when starting a new song, or you can start from scratch and create your own default setup.
The first thing I did was, of course, plug a guitar in to port 1 on the Audiobox and futz around with recording with it. As I said before, I am nowhere near a professional and have only recorded a handful of times with very amateurish results. The first thing I noticed was that there was some latency. It almost sounded like there was some slight reverb or delay just listening or while recording. After reviewing the recording, there was not any delay heard. In watching start up videos and reading forums, I realized a few things. First, make sure the Mixer, Input, and Headphone or Main output volumes are up. Second, the VSL software has a buffer setting that can help if you have a healthy rig. I do, so I chose the buffer size as 128 instead of 2048. Thirdly, if you want to use the Studio One software only, turn off or disable the VSL software completely. I have also had success with powering the VSL software off using the software power button. After performing those steps, I had a clear sound of my guitar with zero latency. The "Ampire" plugin tones are actually not all that bad. I think it's called the "crunchy riff" plugin, that sounds like the tone in Slide It In by Whitesnake. The song is at 128bps, by the way, in case anyone cares. I'm looking forward to putting a mic up against my 4x12 Marshall with greenbacks powered by my Germino Club 40.
In all, for $199, this is a solid unit. If you have a need for more inputs, you may need to go with the 44VSL or the 1818VSL. I was just looking for something simple, that sounded decent. This is it. I know that the final product, mastering, and all that jazz can be a whole different beast to conquer. I apologize if this is too simplistic of a review. Again, I'll be adding things to it as I move along in my recording journey. One last tidbit, make sure you have decent headphones if you use them. I had some crappy ones laying around and I couldn't figure out why the output was so low on my recordings. I replaced the crappy ones with a decent pair of Sennheisers, and voila! I actually had to turn the volume knobs down. That is usually a guitarists worst nightmare! Thank you for your time.
