Audio Kontrol 1

[antics]

Anyone got one? Know anything about them? positive or negative...

They look really useful considering I'm about to buy monitors and i would like to get massive anyway, so two birds one stone etc...

Also while im here, just to confirm, for desktop monitoring 6inchs are gonnna work better than 8 inches, as a rule of thumb?

[macc]

I have an AK1, I use it for gigs.

Had it for.... 3 years? 4 years? I dunno, but the thing has done a lot of miles, and is built like a feckin tank. Even the seemingly fragile buttons and big knob have taken proper abuse - getting hit by drumsticks in the middle of a gig, beer, sweat, aeroplane holds etc - and are totally functional. You almost wouldn't know it had been used. Almost. I had an Echo Audiofire 2 (4? whatever) before and it let me down at 4 gigs on the trot. Flakey bastard thing. So I sold it and got the AK1. Done umpteen gigs since then, absolutely no problems at all, rock solid, haven't looked back. Recommended.

Sound-wise it is extremely good, at least for the money. Low noise, 2nd from top of the line Cirrus Logic convertors, ever so ever so ever so slightly brittle but then you might read that as 'clear', depending on your taste. Capable if not-at-all-spectacular headphone amp, all the outputs you need for DJ (or drum) gigs, and you can use the knob/buttons to control stuff. You can make one or more of the buttons into modifier keys, to effectively give youself more buttons. Which is nice.

Personally I'd get the biggest monitors that a) you can afford and b) can reasonably fit in your room. Putting less bass into the room does not - repeat not - make the frequency response more even. It's exactly as uneven, just lower in level. Air behaves linearly unless your putting out enough SPL to kill a horse.

[wirez]

Mine's fine, love it, never had a problem. - I use it in studio setting and it does the job perfectly!

Macc went in depth.

I'm just adding another positive

[wormcode]

A friend of mine has one and he's happy with it, though he has mentioned that if it didn't come with a free NI plugin, it wouldn't be very good. He only works in the box though... so he hasn't used any inputs really.

Based on my experience with it, I would say it's a good solid interface, and I would definitely consider one if I was looking for an external interface.

As for your monitor question...
Well big monitors need a pretty big room. I would say most project/home studio rooms aren't quite big enough for 8" monitors. You can still use them fine of course, but they really need some breathing room. You might find yourself turning them down a lot which kind of defeats the purpose. It depends on your situation, but I think 6" monitors are a good compromise.

[+verb]

love my ak1.

[marshy]

I've only ever used the AK, got it from a mate when i had no idea what it was for £100. Only used it for producing but well happy with it, looking into what else it has to offer. I managed to lose my copy of Traktor that came with it, whilst i had no idea what it was to DJ. Such a tnuc.

[abZ]

I like mine. Pretty good option for the price range imo. I only wish it had two balanced inputs instead of one. Seems kinda silly to not have the option of using stereo condensers but I guess if you are planning on doing a lot of mic work then you better spend some more $$$.

[wirez]

I like mine. Pretty good option for the price range imo. I only wish it had two balanced inputs instead of one. Seems kinda silly to not have the option of using stereo condensers but I guess if you are planning on doing a lot of mic work then you better spend some more $$$.

Could always use a cheap but decent sound preamp like the Art Tube MP and go through the line?

[wirez]

I managed to lose my copy of Traktor that came with it, whilst i had no idea what it was to DJ. Such a tnuc.

Wouldn't beat yourself up about that too much bro, I installed it a few weeks ago and it was completely incompatible with Snow Leopard (so I guess it would be the same for Vista/Windows 7) and the free upgrade they offer wasn't available for this version either

[relik]

i got one and you can't beat the price with the free synth coupon...that's pretty much worth it alone. hell i was going to buy another one just to use another coupon and then sell the unit on ebay.

[yamaz]

I like mine a lot and was awesome deal with fee copy of massive!

Only problem I have is the mic preamps seem to suck because I have my input level all the way up and I still dony get adequate volume...anyone else have this problem? I've tried both 1/4" and XLR inputs with two mics and same thing. So I'm thinkinking of getting a preamp....

[wirez]

I like mine a lot and was awesome deal with fee copy of massive!

Only problem I have is the mic preamps seem to suck because I have my input level all the way up and I still dony get adequate volume...anyone else have this problem? I've tried both 1/4" and XLR inputs with two mics and same thing. So I'm thinkinking of getting a preamp....

No I don't have this problem. Something's not right there.

[abZ]

@yamaz you may be overlooking something here. I Had a similar problem myself. There is a monitor level to adjust how much of the input signal goes to the monitors, it doesn't effect the volume going to you recording program. Crank that up and you should be sorted. Can't help much more than that right now as I am on the job b

[macc]

The pres have plenty of gain.

You got the +48V button on the back turned on?

[ResetTheAtari]

Might get one of these, looks sweet. Kinda have my heart set on an APC40 tho.

[selhurstwunderkid]

Yeah, had mine a month, i got it for massive and kore, that come with it free. Really good, though i still havnet figured out how to assign the 3 buttons yet! the wheel is good for automation and recording live instruments now is amazing. With thr free software this has got to be at the top of your list.

[wirez]

Yeah, had mine a month, i got it for massive and kore, that come with it free. Really good, though i still havnet figured out how to assign the 3 buttons yet! the wheel is good for automation and recording live instruments now is amazing. With thr free software this has got to be at the top of your list.

You need the Audio Kontrol 1 software open in order to control things with the buttons, also the drivers must be correctly installed.

[yamaz]

Hmm I don't use the monitor throughput as I thought that was just for monitoring your jam to make sure its on time and synced to beat as it doesn't go through computer and back, and hence no latency....

There is an input level for 1 and 2 which is what I have mine practically maxed out as. Problem also is there is no dynamics. When recording at max input volume set, talking is low volume and when you sing loud it clips into red. Sux. I had to turn my ouput gain way high and turn down all audio tracks in ableton low so that I could match the levels and hear the vocal in the mix.

** EDIT - I just looked up the manual again and maybe I screwed up. Thinking there is a mic preamp on input 1 for a 1/4 inch microphone? Correct me if wrong but manual only mentions mic preamp capable by xlr only on input 1 and by clicking mic button...Im using 1/4 inch mic on input 1 ...so does that mean I need an xlr adapter so it recognises it properly and then sends to preamp?

Macc - I was told not to use the 48v switch unless using condensor mic needing phantom powrr?

Btw right now you can get the audio kontrol 1 through zzounds for $199 on sale!

[abZ]

Well if you are red lining then you are getting sufficient gain from your preamp then no? To much actually from what you are telling me. If it is not the issue I discussed then it is something in the software you are using.

[macc]

When recording at max input volume set, talking is low volume and when you sing loud it clips into red. Sux.

Are you taking the mickey?