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What is the SMALLEST 2 channel (guitar/mic) USB audio interface?
Hey guys
I'm busking on the streets with a guitar and a microphone, while adding effects like looping or reverb through my iPhone. For this, so far, I used the Zoom U-44 portable USB audio interface, which is portable, but still a bit bulky (I'm backpacking, so I have very low space).
After searching around for THE ULTRA LIGHTWEIGHT MOBILE audio interface that can handle both a guitar and a microphone (and is compatible with iOS) for over a year now, I still found a new option today, that I didn't know of before:
ESI UGM96 (https://www.esi-audio.com/products/ugm96/)
It seems indeed to be smaller than anything I knew before:
MeloAudio TS Mini (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32889622876.html)
![(https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0142/2137/7594/products/20190816160555_600x.jpg)]
Roland GO:Mixer (https://www.roland.com/global/products/gomixer/?lang=en-JM)
![(https://www.thomann.de/pics/bdb/417831/12370402_800.jpg)]
iRig Pro Duo (https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/irigproduo/)
I immediately fell in love with the aforementioned ESI UGM96, as it is very portable (I admire how they decided to only offer TRS, instead of XLR, which saves a lot of space). It is discontinued though, in favour of a bigger item, the ESI UGM192 (https://www.esi-audio.com/products/ugm192/), which I don't like that much. I googled a bit, and found this:
O Edition USB Interface for Guitar/Microphone (https://orangeamps.com/product/o-edition-ugm96-usb-audio-interface/)
It seems to be the UGM96 under a different brand, and it is still in stock.
But before ordering it: does anyone here know another USB audio interface that is EVEN SMALLER? And allows to connect both a guitar and a microphone to an iOS device?
Thank you.
Comments
Thank you for reviewing all the options in your post, I’d never seen the ESI before, very intriguing.
I have a Sonoma guitarjack 2 USB (and also the 30pin version that preceded it). They never seemed to particularly catch on for IOS , but it’s tiny and has been very useful to me over the years. They pop up on eBay for not too much occasionally.
Runs off device power with a CCK.
It works for guitar in iOS 12 and 13 and earlier. I’m sure I used to have to start a free sonoma app to kick start it in the past, but with the newer OS’s it seems to be recognised as a device automatically.
It has separate guitar and mic inputs, but to use both at the same time you need a 1/8” splitter cable - and maybe then the sonoma app to set the inputs, but I’ve not tried it with anything but guitar for a while, so can’t entirely remember.
The ESI looks nice and small, but is bus powered. You would need to check that your iPhone can power it and if so. how quickly it would run down the iPhone battery.
Your zoom has battery power. Probably worth the extra space for the extra reliability. Plus it’s easy to stick in a couple of fresh AAs if the batteries run low on the interface.
I’d also rule out any interface with proprietary cables. You need to be able to replace cables easily and even have spares. USB B cables are cheap. CCK Not so much but still easier to find an Apple cable than a proprietary cable for a niche audio interface.
The zoom is a bit bulky but it’s very light. A smaller interface would be nice obviously but I reckon you’ve already got the best one for the job. You’ll probably miss having direct access to the input gain with some of the others for example.
Perhaps you’d be better off with a better backpack :-)
ESI interfaces are great. Would recommend.
MOTU microbook is small and well built. There were some driver issues, but they fixed it.
Wise words there I reckon. I also use a zoom u24 and it pretty much ended my long search for a portable interface (though I can’t help my roving eye).
I do though think the Line 6 sonic port VX is still worth a mention. The proprietary cable is a potential future problem, but that’s balanced by no CCK and the ability to charge your device. I find having the mic built in can be really handy, though admittedly you can still suffer spaghetti issues if you have it at head height with cables running to device and guitar. Could ultimately lighten your load though.
I’d go for the IRIG pro Duo or the Roland Go Mixer Pro - key is the Pro.
Also this, Go Twin from TC Helicon, though it looks remarkably similar to the iRig Pro duo...
https://www.tc-helicon.com/Categories/Tchelicon/Mobile/Interfaces/GO-TWIN/p/P0DPG#googtrans(en|en)
...and I can't see where you can actually buy it.
I‘ve ordered a few weeks ago the ESI UGM192 cause I wanted a Audio Interface for traveling. Unfortunaly the latency with my iPad Pro 2017 was to slow - so I have to send it back. I‘ve now the focusrite Solo and I‘m really happy with it.
https://www.esi-audio.de/produkte/ugm192/
Quick look on Amazon suggests the ESI UGM96 is not class-compliant, which means it is not hard wired with the necessary drivers to work on iOS. It might work a little bit, or only at a set buffer/ sample rate... or maybe just not work at all.
I would be glad to be proved wrong on this, the design is beautiful. I love the compact size.
The newer UGM192 does appear to be class-compliant according to the ESI website.
Best bang for the buck IMHO, and line in quality is much better than the (nicely small) Behringer UCA-202/222.
How's the 'handling noise' of the H1n when you hand hold the device?
The H1 is practically un-usable handheld when using the built-in mic (which is good) as it picks up the slightest hand movements.
Also regular line level is 'too hot' for the H1 and the gain even though it can be reduced is 'digital' bellow a certain point so clipping will still happen...
Sooner or later I'll get some kind of portable recorder with an XLR port but not now...
(I recently got an Røde NTG-1 and it's simply awesome for recording sound effects and other stuff).
The new Audient interface seems like a contender.
Either hold it tight, put it on a tripod or lay it down on anything nearby. Hasn't really been a problem for me.
Not with the H1n. The volume knob is effective on the analog input level, no distortion anymore even with higher line levels than usual.
There are so many great recorders out there but I prefer the small ones that fit in every pocket, as I don't need more than 2 recording channels 😊
More important for recording outside: A proper fur (windscreen).
I have a 'Dead Cat' for the NTG-1 already
And I've also got one furry thing for the H1 as well.
(When I hold the H1 in a somewhat tight grip the slightest hand & finger movements get 'recorded' when gain is above 60 so it's practically impossible to add markers to the recording and the record button start/stop presses cause audible bumps etc. etc.).
Using an external microphone solves this but hey, I consider that a pretty bad design flaw...
You're very welcome. It seems that nobody has yet created a blog post or something about this topic yet, although my quest seemed so obvious in the beginning: just find the smallest device that I can take with me while traveling. ;-)
Very interesting! Looks nice! The main difference to the UGM96 to me is that the GuitarJack only allows to connect a microphone through 1/8" input, while the UGM96 allows to connect through 1/4" input. So as far as I can tell, I can connect a better mic to the UGM96 (like a dynamic one which I typically use for busking). But looks very nice! I just ordered the UGM96 (as OEM from https://orangeamps.com/product/o-edition-ugm96-usb-audio-interface/); if I have problems with it, it's good to know that there is another tiny option with the GuitarJack. :-)
That's definitely an advantage over the UGM96 then...
Why would you need a 1/8" splitter cable in this situation?
According to this video (
), an external power source is needed. This is a little drawback, but while busking and looping, I will be running a few apps anyway (Audiobus, Group the Loop, Tonebridge...), so the battery would drain within no time anyway. So I will have to get a powerbank anyway, I think, and my CCK allows to connect another cable to charge, so both the iPhone and the UGM96 will run for a reasonable while:
Sure, it would be nice to be able to run it without a powerbank (even if it's only for an hour or so)...
The Zoom doesn't show when battery power is close to zero. So it just stops working suddenly (after 2-4h), which is a no-go while performing.
It feels more reliable to me to run both the iPhone and the audio interface from the same power source (a powerbank), so I know that both of them will run for a few hours without one of them shutting down separately. And powerbanks have much more capacity today than a set of AA batteries.
Good one! The UGM96 uses a mini USB, so I will be fine.
It is surprisingly lightweight, that's true. But still, it's much too bulky for me.
I can control everything that I need from within iOS (and also on my guitar's preamp).
Haha, I will consider it. Thinking outside the box...
Both are solid options, the Roland one especially if you want to attach even more audio signals. I hoped that I would be able to access each of the inputs in its own channel within iOS, but talking to some tech support they said all the inputs are combined into a single stereo input. Otherwise it would have been a tempting option (although it's still a bit bulky for my purpose).
And what do you mean with "key is the Pro"?
Interesting. Maybe it's some sort of OEM variant, like the OEM version (https://orangeamps.com/product/o-edition-ugm96-usb-audio-interface/) of the UGM96 (https://www.esi-audio.com/products/ugm96/)?
That's really bad news. I knew about the UGM192, but it's too bulky for me. Hopefully the latency issue will be fixed - and hopefully the UGM96 works better for me...
According to this video (
), it should basically work on iOS. I will keep you updated as soon as I got my OEM version (https://orangeamps.com/product/o-edition-ugm96-usb-audio-interface/).
Interesting that Roland groups the signals into one stereo input. That’s a big drawback. I would have thought something like AUM would pick up each of the inputs separately.
There is the Roland Go Mixer, and the Roland Go Mixer Pro, which has an XLR input, and can be battery powered. No need for separate bus power. IRig can also do the battery powered option.
What has been even more infuriating is trying to find out where to buy all of these...some of them seem very hard to find as mentioned above. You’d think during a time like this all of these companies would want to make it easier for you to buy so that they can continue to support their staff.
Okay something is weird. I can’t find most of these on amazon. Even older-not-that-old well established interfaces from brands like Universal Audio are “Currently Unavailable.” I wonder if Amazon is trying to release their own interface soon.
Adding a new competitor to the mix: the ORICO SKT3.
https://www.orico.me/product/orico-external-usb-sound-card-skt3/
The support staff just confirmed that it is possible to connect two microphones at the same time. So using an iRig (https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/irig2/) for my guitar, this could work. I'm not sure though whether those two microphones are mixed into a single mono channel, or into a left and right stereo channel. I will keep you updated if I get more details about this.
Loving the strangely philosophical marketing slogan for the Orico -
‘Renew “Dumb” computer, Restore a sound world’
After doing a bit of research, I believe the UGM96 is class compliant, although that video left me feeling a little unclean, a bit too intimate with the silent sniffing man’s duvet... he made his point though. For anyone in the UK the Orange version for £49.99 is an only an extra £1.54 to ship from the Orange store. Quite tempting, though my preference is not to use a USB hub when I’m mobile, things just get too tangled and convoluted.
Will check how my Guitarjack 2 USB is working with mic and guitar simultaneously and report back.
Not trying tu convince you to keep the zoom, but in the meantime you can obviously still run the zoom from a power bank too.
There doesn’t seem to be a perfect option yet. Let us know how you get on with whichever one you choose :-)
Haha, isn't it great?!
Good to hear.
YouTubers are a fascinating species! ;-)
I would love to hear from you soon. I'm tempted to order a 2nd hand item on eBay because of the fact that it can be powered by the iPhone alone (as far as I understood). But would it be possible to attach a dynamic mic (e.g. the Shure SM58) to it? Maybe with a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter or something like that?
Be carefull with the ESI-stuff. I have a Maya-22 which is bus powered, but requires a powered hub when used with IOS devices.
It is class-compliant, but I never managed to get audio-in!
Needless to say that it works flawless on Mac/PC.
cheers
electronicsfordogs
Right. Good news. I just the Guitarjack USB 2 with my phone and it worked so well with mic and guitar I'm sure I must be doing something wrong
As I wrote before, I've been using it with guitar into the 1/4" input regularly with no issue, both direct to CCK and through a powered hub.
This time, for simultaneous mic and guitar, I used a 1/8" trs mini-jack to 2 x XLR splitter (as recommended by Sonoma). This goes in to the mic input, 1/4" input disconnected.
1 XLR I connect to the guitar cable with a further XLR male to 1/4" female adapter. The second XLR to an SM58 mic. In AUM I get input L, input R and Input L&R options. Selecting the L and R inputs independently to separate channels I get really nice clean signals for both mic and guitar.
This worked both direct to CCK and through USB powered hub.
This was on iPhone 7+ iOS 13.4. I'm sure on my old iPhone 4 on iOS 9ish I used to spend a lot of time faffing around with inputs in the Sonoma settings app (accessed through their 4-track or Guitartone apps), but happily now it just seems to work. This for me is a rare beautiful example of something fixing itself if you don't look at it for long enough.
Worth trying I reckon if you can get one for around £50/$50. The cable adapters add a bit of bulk, but not too much tangle. Here's the splitter cable I bought:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06WW5YLRY/ref=pe_3187911_185740111_TE_item
And the adapter (not the one I bought, but the same I think):
https://www.avsl.com/product/763.977UK-adaptor-63mm-mono-jack-socket-3pin-xlr-male
Good luck, not sure how Sonoma never made more of these, maybe just too expensive when new?
Zoom H5 .. can even phantom power
Just to get it right: you don't use the 1/4" mono input at all here? But just the 1/8" stereo line input? This raises two questions:
1) What happens if you use all three together, the 1/4" mono (for a guitar"), and the 1/8" stereo (for both a microphone and maybe a bass or ukulele)? What does Audiobus show you regarding available inputs?
Great to hear, so no additional powerbank (or other power source) is needed, right? What do you feel, does it consume a lot of power? Will the iPhone battery be drained very quickly?
EDIT: oops, I forgot the 2nd question!
2) If it is that simple to connect a microphone and a guitar through a standard stereo line in, what's the big fuzz with offering all these fancy 1/4" and XLR audio interfaces?? Why not simply offering a tiny interface that offers a 1/8" stereo input and let the user decide, what they need, and let them simply buy some adapters that fit their needs?!
And there arises question 3: anybody knows of a simple audio interface with a stereo 1/8" line in (and a stereo 1/8" out)? Could this make all other devices obsolete??
And one last question: What about phantom power etc.? Can you really connect a dynamic mic like the Shure SM58 to a default line in??
I think the Maya22 (https://www.esi-audio.com/products/maya22usb/) is rather built for home use, compared to the UGM96 (which is much smaller). Let's hope the UGM96 will work without a powered hub (or at least with simply a good powerbank).