Spire is decidedly a demo-making tool-but if you get its attached hardware microphone and speaker, you can get a head start on writing a finished track. It draws design and workflow cues from the 4-track tape machines of the late 80s and 90s In Spire, you get the ability to easily multitrack and overdub your recordings-making it super easy to use the mic in your smartphone to start sketching out guitar parts, sung lyrics or even drums. What drew me to Spire was its deep sense of simplicity-it draws design and workflow cues from the 4-track tape machines of the late 80s and 90s, where many great demos were recorded. I use this app personally as a way to write down ideas on guitar and begin arranging. It’s useful if you want to add bumper music or other prerecorded audio to a podcast in real time, rather than editing it later, or if you want to bring in audio from a Zoom or Skype call.Changing gears, we’ve got the incredibly simple and intuitive Spire app. Loopback recording: This feature allows you to mix in audio from other apps running on a computer with the audio being recorded.We didn’t put much consideration into these freebies because you may already have software you like using, and the appeal of the free software depends on what kinds of music or other content you’re producing. And with the ever-expanding Sound Library, you can browse and download from a massive collection of free sounds, loops, and samples created by some of the biggest producers in the world. Tap into a wide range of instruments from around the world. Included software: All of the audio interfaces we tried include some type of digital audio workstation (DAW) software, as well as various plug-ins (software that produces sound effects or instrument sounds). GarageBand for iOS makes it incredibly simple to play, record, and share your music, no matter where you are.However, such instruments are increasingly rare, and you can always buy a USB-to-MIDI adapter if the need arises. MIDI connectors: If you use an older keyboard, sampler, or drum machine that doesn’t have a USB connection, you’ll probably want a USB audio interface that has five-pin MIDI connections.iOS support: All audio interfaces should support macOS and Windows, but iPads have become a popular tool to capture performances and recordings, so we considered iOS support to be a valuable feature.Research shows that the benefits of higher-resolution audio recording (such as 24-bit/192-kHz) are “small and difficult to detect.” You can read more in our article on audio resolution. High-resolution recording: Most USB audio interfaces available today are capable of recording at 24-bit depth with a 96 kHz sampling rate or higher, so we considered that a minimum requirement for our music-oriented picks. It’s important for you to be able to see and read the meters easily. Setting it too low can produce excessive noise and make a recording more difficult to mix. If the level is too high, distortion (often called “clipping”) will result. These meters are critical for setting gain, or record level. Meter design: One of the biggest differences among USB interfaces is in the way their signal-level meters are configured.Build quality: We immediately dismissed any obviously cheap, flimsy interfaces that looked like they might not survive more than a few months of frequent use.
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