RME 800/MacbookPro, budget 3000$

[Inverted314]

I would buy a Lauten Atlantis and a Metric Halo ULN2.
You're getting an interface that already has great preamps, clock, converters, etc so you don't really need any outboard gear.

The Atlantis has 3 gain settings, 3 voicings, and 3 polar patterns so LOTS of sounds out of one real nice LDC that will be great on any vocals or acoustic you should run through it. This comes in a little over budget but you can always save for a little longer or go used.

Lauten Audio Atlantis FC-387 | Sweetwater.com


ULN-2

[The Vulture]

The first you need is a good microphone.
Demo what you can.
When that is done you are ready for step 2.

[tribedescribe]

No way can you afford hardware with a budget like that. Start with great plug-ins and mic's, then you can venture into a preamp or two. After that (or $10,000), would I consider hardware. Plus you will have the experience to use the hardware correctly. I would get a great LDC and dynamic. For a interface the UA Apollo duo would be great for you, because it comes with killer dsp powered plug ins, good pre's and conversion. Plus you can expand the ins/outs it when the time comes. For a DAW check out reaper or logic.

UAD apollo duo $2000

Mic's

Shure sm57 used $50
LDC = Many good choices for $1000 new/used
Mojave ma301fet, Bock audio 195, Lueten audio, Neumann tlm49, Miktek c7

[soundinme]

So you are telling me to go for AI Rme 800 and some good microphones? What are good microphones for acoustics and vocal? I heard for acoustic guitar good one is Neumann KM84?

tribedescribe how UA apollo duo is compared to Rme 800? I think my best choice is Rme, I heard a lot of amazing comments and reviews about it. Some people tell that in tons of audio interfaces Rme is really great one.

[tribedescribe]

The Rme 800 was a great interface 5-10 years ago. Solid drivers and good conversion. The pre's leave alot to be desired. Next year it will be a 10 year old interface (released in 2004), and today there are far better choices. For example If you want a rme product I would look at the babyface, ufx or ucx devices. Even the Rme 400 has nicer preamps than the 800. Unless you got a great deal on the 800 I would pass. The UA Apollo has been getting great reviews and is a much better interface than the old FF 800, but it does cost twice as much in the used market for a reason.

If you are truly only recording vocals and acoustic, I would get a Rme Babyface. Its a solid interface with very good conversion and preamps. When you expand, it has a adat input for 8 more channels. This way you can put your money into your mic collection.

For your mic you could get a used U87. Its standard for a reason and will never sound wrong. In fact it excels at Vocals and acoustic guitar. The km84 is a great mic for acoustic but its overkill for your set up. I owned a pair of Km184's and a tlm49. This combination of mics proved to be very versatile. I got all three mics for $2000 used. I used the km184 for drums and acoustic guitars(pure heaven). While the tlm49 worked great for vocals, horns, stand up bass and kick.

[soundinme]

After a few days of constantly searching I found out few things about interfaces i'm interested in. I found few cons and pros about UA Apollo, Rme FF800/UFX. For me Apollo's AD/DA and preamps have much more darker, full bodied, warmer tone than RME 800/UFX does. RME have really clear, like crystal clear sound and I think for me its a little too bright and harsh. But I know that nothing compares to stability of RME drivers. My concerns are that Apollo is a new product, and its only been tested in some circles and on the other hand we have Rme that its been doing its job for a decade without any major problems.

What are the differences RME800 and UFX? Except I/O and I heard it have new AD/DA converters and pres? Only cons for UA Apollo for me is that doesn't have midi port and doesn't have thunderbolt yet, but everything else is great.

What to go for, what to chose?

cheers