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With a hardware synth, you don’t need a PC to play your sounds contrary to when you make use of a software synth.
If you’re using a soft synth, you need to create a space for your PC, audio interface, controller, and other materials you need for your home studio setting.
However, with a hardware synth, all you do is a plugin and play.
Hardware synth has a distinctive sound similar to the way instruments like pianos, guitars, amplifiers, and more have their respective unique sounds.
With the use of a suitable audio or MIDI interface, you can utilize the MIDI patterns you created during a live performance to activate sounds through external hardware.
This makes it a win-win for utilization in the two situations.
By working with a hardware synth, what you do is integrate an additional audio signal to your soundtracks, without bringing any related processing power that creates and interferes with the sound.
If you’re in the market to buy the best audio interface for hardware synths, the numerous brands and models in the market make searching for a suitable match a daunting task.
Here is a related article I wrote on the 5 best audio interface for low latency
We want to make that’s search easier.
That is while we have sifted the numerous brands of products in the market and come up with our best list of audio interfaces for the synth.
Let’s see what they are:
Our Winner After Careful Research
- 32-in/32-out Hybrid Thunderbolt/USB 2.0/iOS Audio Interface with 16 x 16 Line-level I/O
- 48-channel DSP Mixer Onboard with Processing Effects - Mac/PC
- AVB Ethernet Compatibility
- ADAT S/PDIF Digital I/O
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
5 Best Audio Interface for Hardware Synths
1. MOTU 16A 32×32 Thunderbolt USB 2.0 Audio Interface with AVB
- 32-in/32-out Hybrid Thunderbolt/USB 2.0/iOS Audio Interface with 16 x 16 Line-level I/O
- 48-channel DSP Mixer Onboard with Processing Effects - Mac/PC
- AVB Ethernet Compatibility
- ADAT S/PDIF Digital I/O
Prices pulled from the Amazon Product Advertising API on:
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Motu 16A a hybrid audio interface that can be put into multiple ranges of applications.
It features 16 equalized analog inputs and outputs which makes it a perfect match for your outboard microphone preamplifiers and related studio instruments.
The extra sixteen ADAT I/O conduits on optical ports offer users multiple options for the expansion of multi-channel mic pres.
It comes with thunderbolt connection and this ensures you get near-zero latency.
Besides, the in-built DSP mixer provides zero-latency when you want to use it for mixing and monitoring sounds. It also features AVB Ethernet that allows you to connect many AVB interfaces to it.
The advanced feature of this audio interface for synths means you can use it as a standalone, iPad-regulated digital audio mixer.
The AVB Networking and DSP 16×16 inputs and outputs make it a great fit for studio recording, installation of sounds, and for boosting sound during the live performance like when you want to mix a band in a music scene in a club.
Through its Thunderbolt connection capacity, this audio interface can easily perform streaming of one hundred and twenty-eight audio channels input and equally one hundred and twenty-eight output channels into the physical output of the audio interface.
The audio interface can equally utilize high-speed USB 2.0 and class compatible drivers to operate with most DAWs.
2. RME Fireface UFX+
- Premier solution to transfer analog and digital audio data directly to a computer from practically any source
- Delivers a rich feature set that will appeal to users in both high end home studios and commercial audio production facilities
- Brand: RME
Prices pulled from the Amazon Product Advertising API on:
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
This RME audio interface is a suitable option for professional musicals and it successfully competes with the Rolls Royce audio interface.
It comes with a very high audio quality and features that well-matches its exorbitant pricing.
It’s capable of handling numerous numbers of inputs and outputs up to a maximum of one hundred and eighty-eight, and these include ADAT Optical, MADI, and AES/EBU.
It equally comes with dual connectivity functionality including the high-speed Thunderbolt connectivity and USB 3 connectivity, which means you don’t need a computer connection for this to work.
When you connect a USB thumb drive on its front side, it can record an astounding 76 channels of time-stamped audio straight into the drive, cancelling out all requirements for a fantastic computer.
Besides, the very-clean sound provided by this audio interface, the professional quality converters, and the numerous arrays of inputs and outputs options with this unit, you equally get TotalMix FX, RME’s state-of-the-art and instinctive software interface mixer.
The most amazing part of it is that you can operate it with an iPad through the RME TotalMix application.
3. Audient iD4
- 10-in/4-out USB Desktop Audio Interface with 2 Class A Mic Preamps
- Burr-Brown Converters
- 8-channel ADAT Input
- JFET DI
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Audient is popular for the production of great-sounding big-sized analog mixing consoles.
However, with the Audient iD4, the company designed a product that will replicate the high audio performance and user-friendliness of their large-sized interfaces in a smaller, portable, and easily transferable desktop interface that is suitable for singers and songwriters.
The key feature integrated into the unit that is responsible for this fantastic effect is the one Audient Class-A console mic preamp which is the type of high-quality preamp like the ones utilized for recording consoles.
Also, the unit’s JFET DI input is structured to reproduce the input phase of a standard valve amplifier.
Besides, the audio interface features high-class converter technology, double headphone outs, monitor control in form of the console.
It equally features Audient’s ‘ScrollControl’ virtual scroll wheel technology that revolves the volume control into a rotational encoder which can be utilized for adjusting any chosen constraint inside your Digital Audio Workstation.
4. Universal Audio Apollo Twin MkII
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The Apollo Twin MkII is not just another 24-bit/192kHz desktop audio interface with Thunderbolt connectivity suitable for use with Mac and Windows, it comes with a lot of additional unique features.
The top among them is the built-in DSP chips that make it possible for users to run UA’s high-quality plug-ins without any additional loads on the processor of your PC.
It is accessible in SOLO, DUO or QUAD arrangements and the most potent one among them is those with QUAD configuration.
The multiple access arrangement makes the audio interface, the most cost-efficient route to accessing the UAD-2 collection of software plugin simulations of standard vintage recording hardware.
It comes with double mic preamps and the Realtime Analog Classics UAD plug-ins that are controlled by software.
These make it easy for the user to utilize the integrated Console 2.0 software to perform sound recordings via mic preamp imitations from SSL, API, Neve, and multipurpose Audio that exactly replicates the activities of the circuit that comes with the original hardware
This feature and possibility make it possible for you to do sound mixing in your Digital Audio Workstation with UAD plug‑ins like the integrated 1176 compressors, UA 610‑B Preamp, and so on.
The extra monitor switching feature, talk back features, mono, and more offers you a fantastic combination in a single piece.
5. Steinberg UR22 MK2
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
You probably know that Steinberg is a popular producer of Cubase.
What this means is that the company is expected to be the top digital audio brand and rightly so.
The high-quality audio productions of Steinberg are replicated in its small-size audio interface –UR22 MK2 which is pre-structured to meet the needs of daw users that perform the most demanding task.
It is a 24-Bit by 192 kiloHertz USB 2.0 interface that features Two Class-A D-PRE mic preamps, two inputs combination, two quarter-inch jack outputs one headphone jack, and more.
It provides a professional level recording to iPad users.
The CC Mode and an extra USB mini socket functions as an input for an alternative external power supply.
The best part of the UR22 is that it comes with two physical MIDI input and output ports beside its function as an audio interface.
These features make it a great choice for connecting with hardware synth and pianos which is a convenient extra at its price.
Besides, the integrated software bundle integrates a downloadable Cubase AI for Mac and PC users.
It also comes with the Cubasis LE DAW applications for iOS users.
It works with all the main software for music production, sound editing, and mastering.
Conclusion
There are three different ways you can record with your hardware synths, one of these methods is recording straight into your audio interface.
Some of these synthesizers come with one stereo output and sometimes two quarter-inch plugs that make connecting exterior interface possible.
Another option you have is recording your sounds through a Preamp.
Analog preamps give your sounds characteristic warmth and presence.
The last option you have for recording with a hardware synth is through a Guitar Amp.
Whatever your preferred choice is, we have provided you in this article our top 5 selections of the best audio interface for synths.
We hope the list make your shopping spree easier and less stressful!
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