Focusrite Saffire

Hexodus · Post by **Hexodus** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 6:26 pm

Anyone use Saffire soundcards? If so, whats the latency like on them? Recommend yes/no?

Crosby · Post by **Crosby** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 7:08 pm

I have the Saffire 6 USB, amazing buy for £150

Gutcha · Post by **Gutcha** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 7:16 pm

cant go wrong with a saffire 6 for the money

Hexodus · Post by **Hexodus** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 7:33 pm

Awesome. Glad to hear. I will be doing lots of live instrumentation bc most of my musical background is instrumental. Therefore, I was considering the Saffire 14. Is this what I need? Sorry, very noobish at soundcards. As long as I can get guitar-in and some live bongos or something I'll be good.

lyons238 · Post by **lyons238** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 9:08 pm

highly recommend the saffire 6. iv had mine for about 6 months and i absolutely love it. the thing has no latency issues and works like a dream. has some amazing features for the price as well.

also i see some people bitching about it only being usb 1.1 instead of 2.0, but this is not an issue, otherwise they would not have made it like that. the interface has 2 inputs and 3 outputs (not including midi in/out), and this amount of input/outputs does not even use usb 1.1 to its full potential so 2.0 would be a waste. i just wanted to clear that up because some people get there knickers in a twist about the usb 1.1.

now go buy one cuz your going to love it.

nnny · Post by **nnny** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 9:09 pm

Everyone here recommends the saffire 6 when someone asks this question. I need one too mate, and I'll be getting it. Never hear a bad word about it!

lyons238 · Post by **lyons238** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 9:12 pm

nnny wrote:Everyone here recommends the saffire 6 when someone asks this question. I need one too mate, and I'll be getting it. Never hear a bad word about it!

yeah man they use a lot of the same parts as some of their higher end models in the saffire 6...

i dont even see a need for a higher end model at this point, this thing works great.

ComfiStile · Post by **ComfiStile** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 9:37 pm

Paid tomorrow, gonna jump on the net and get me a sapphire 6. Can't wait

Means I'll have all the things I 'need' for my 'studio'.

Hexodus · Post by **Hexodus** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 3:54 am

Well then I guess that takes care of that. Thanks!! What might someone use the SPDIF ports for? Just curious.

Shum · Post by **Shum** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 4:09 am

It's another type of connection for digital audio devices, it's (apparent) usefulness is that it keeps data digital thus avoiding some digital to analog (and vice versa) conversion. The only time I've ever used it in my life was to connect to my DAT machine.

Focusrite gear in general comes with my recommendation, top notch stuff.

Hexodus · Post by **Hexodus** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 6:14 am

Ah I gotcha. Does the fact that the Saffire 6 has 2 RCA outs and 2 TRS outs not seem detrimental compared to the Saffire 14's 4 TRS outs? I'm trying to envision my outputs and quite frankly it's giving me a headache lol. How do you guys have your outputs setup? Thanks again for the info

Shum · Post by **Shum** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 7:15 am

I imagine most guys around here would have two outputs connected to their monitor amplification, thus your decision comes down to what kind of connection you need for your own amp. Other places where outputs could go would be recorders of some kind, tape decks, DAT machines and the like.

legend4ry · Post by **legend4ry** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 7:43 am

Slight off topic...

Would you pick a Saffire 6 over a Pro24? I'm adamant on getting another Pro24 (sold my other one) but the Saffire 6 suites my budget more and don't see much of a difference for what I do (don't record a hell of a lot)

Shum · Post by **Shum** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 8:20 am

Saffire 6 imo. You admit to not needing all those inputs and the price is amazing.

skwiggo · Post by **skwiggo** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 8:46 am

I too recommend the Saffire 6. I had a Tascam US-122L before the Focusrite and it was shite. It wouldn't work properly with Windows, the drivers were crap and needed reinstalling constantly, the latency was awful and when you tried use lower latency settings you got pops and clicks which appeared in your recordings too! WASTE OF MONEY!

Since I got the Saffire (which was only about £20 more) I have had none of the above problems, it works like a dream and it sounds great. Go for it and get one you won't be dissapointed!

ransom · Post by **ransom** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 1:10 pm

Just got a Saffire 6 last week, so far I am happy with it, fits the current needs in my set-up and it fit the very limited budget I had.

Also, it was $185 US (with free shipping) at turntablelab.com and I used that to haggle at another shop in my area.

Hexodus · Post by **Hexodus** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 3:57 pm

I guess more specifically, my question pertains to speakers. Because aren't most loudspeakers and subwoofers 1/4" inputs? If there are only 2 1/4" outputs on the Saffire 6, how do you make this work if you want a sub in the mix? Sorry again, I'm new to all this

Crosby · Post by **Crosby** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 4:07 pm

Hexodus wrote:I guess more specifically, my question pertains to speakers. Because aren't most loudspeakers and subwoofers 1/4" inputs? If there are only 2 1/4" outputs on the Saffire 6, how do you make this work if you want a sub in the mix? Sorry again, I'm new to all this

The sub doesn't need any extra outputs.
A diagram of how to connect one up can be seen here under section 5 of the manual available from KRKs website.
http://www.krksys.com/manuals/VSeries_Sub_Manual.pdf

Hexodus · Post by **Hexodus** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 4:34 pm

Genius! Well that explains alot. So thanks for that.

Does anyone do any DI guitar with these and just use synth amps? Or do you almost always mic your amp? It seems that mic'ing will create unwanted feedback/whitenoise

Crosby · Post by **Crosby** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 9:06 pm

Mic'ing a Amp is always a better choice, gives a more natural sound and reverb, DI just sounds tacky and horrible.
Place your amp in the corner of your room facing towards the center and place your mic like this against the cone of your amp (About 2-4 inches away)

You'll have to play around with mic placement to get the best sound for your setup. The Mic shown in the pic is a Shure SM57 and is a industry standard dynamic microphone, dynamic mics seem to be the best and most commonly used for this recording. (Make sure your speakers are muted to avoid any feedback, use headphones to listen to the click track or track your recording against)
Bass guitar is better with DI however.

Have Fun

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