[LAU] interfaces with electronic gain controls

David Kastrup dak at gnu.org
Thu Aug 2 20:03:12 CEST 2018


"Chris Caudle" <chris at chriscaudle.org> writes:

> Out of all the interfaces mentioned recently as working well under linux,
> all I have looked up seem to still use potentiometers to set gain.

Its more the preamps that use pots.  The interfaces as such tend to have
fixed levels.

> That is fine for recording mono instruments or vocals, but for stereo
> or surround acoustic recording I would really like an interface which
> allows for very close gain matching between channels, or at the very
> least very repeatable gain settings so that I can correct in post
> production if needed.

If the controls are not particularly fiddly, I'd be surprised if they
make for a lot of difference.

> Are there any interfaces which are commonly available and have either
> accurate electronic gain setting, or stepped/switched resistors for gain
> setting?

Use a mixer that has some stereo channels?  Those tend to have single
gain and (though that's post recording-out anyway) a balance pot with a
center notch.

My Mackie Onyx 1620 (not the one I offered for sale, that's a 1220) has
8 mono inputs (with mic preamp) and 4 stereo inputs (line level).

It's cheaper and more compact than the model with 16 mono inputs (1640).

-- 
David Kastrup


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