Need help choosing a controller.

[guitarguy93]

Hey guys. I'm rather new here, so forgive me if I could've posted this in a different forum.

Anyways, I've been looking at a new audio interface for my guitar/vocals and an APC40 for a long time now. At the moment, I've got a little over $250 to spend. Obviously, not enough to buy a new interface and an APC40 together, so I have to choose.

I'm running a stock Dell Inspiron 5110 laptop and the M-Audio Fasttrack at the moment. I'm also running Ableton Live 8 with Waves Plug-Ins. Being a guitarist and a dubstep writer, I was looking at getting a Focusrite Scarlett 8i6, hoping that I could achieve lower latency. If I can achieve decently less latency with that, the APC40 can wait. I will need to be able to use this live, so the latency really does have to be minimal. Would a Scarlett 8i6 get me there? Right now, Ableton is running at about 14ms of latency. I can barely hear a difference, but it's there.

[__________]

I'd stick with your current soundcard, 14ms latency is totally bearable. Are you using ASIO drivers? If not, you'll probably get even less latency with ASIO.

Get a controller or invest in better monitoring/treatment. That'll inspire you more than ~3ms less latency will.

[guitarguy93]

Thanks for your reply. You have a good point. A controller will give me much more inspiration.

Also, yes. I'm actually using ASIO4ALL and it's giving me less lag than the Fasttrack's ASIO. I found that weird. Especially since I'm using 320 samples in ASIO4ALL, and only 256 samples with the Fasttrack.

[guitarguy93]

Okay, so earlier I posted about getting an APC40 or a new USB interface. I've decided on a controller, but not necessarily an APC40. I have about $250 to spend and I would like to get it/them new. I'm looking for something I can use when writing and also in a live setting with Ableton. Therefore, I need to be able to play notes on it, control devices, and launch clips. I don't need it to be velocity-sensitive, but it would be nice if that were possible. I was looking into a QuNeo, but I'm not totally set on it yet. Any ideas, guys?

[__________]

Akai MPK25

[guitarguy93]

Honestly, at first I thought you were joking. Then, I looked a little more into it. Seems like a great thing to have. Anyone else have anything to add?

[Eskimo]

It's great, pads suck though so don't get excited about them

[Rappone]

Novation launchpad is alright. I don't usually use my pad though and just use my Midi which has a mini pad on it.
Also reviews on the AKAI are pretty good. Must be better than Novation I'm guessing.

or wait for that Ableton 9, and get the Ableton 9 PUSH. Thats got to be great.

[guitarguy93]

Hey guys. Recently, I've acquired more money to spend on a new controller and a new usb interface. I posted a while back that I had around $250 to spend. Well, now I've got around $500 to spend. I already know what controller I'm getting, so I've got a little over $250 to spend on an interface

At the moment, I've got around 14ms of lag playing any instrument through my usb interface. I can't get it any lower because I can't change the sample rate (?) from 256. I'm looking for something that I can use live without much trouble. So, as little latency as possible is a must. I am willing to go used here, but only if it's in good condition. I'd like it to be rack-mounted, but that's not necessary. I'll also need at least 1 line input and 1 XLR input, along with a line or an RCA out. Currently, I was looking at a Tascam US-1800 or the US-200 used. Is there anything else out there that would get me even less latency? Thanks in advanced!