One of the most frequently asked questions at Macidol is; "What guitar/microphone interface should I buy?". The good folks at www.miglia.com have given us one more device to add to the list, and thrown in some nice surprises too in their new HarmonyAudio firewire interface.
My benchmark for this review is the Digidesign M Box, a USB powered 2 channel device which weighs in at nearly £400. In terms of price the HarmonyAudio device is a clear winner at £210.99. So how does it compare with something almost twice it's price? The short answer; pretty well indeed. It has a firewire interface, for a start, using the Oxford 970 chip-set. It requires no drivers for us Mac OSX users, so you just plug it in. In terms of construction, it seems well made. Clothed in a brushed aluminium enclosure which looks great next to a PowerBook or a Cinema Display. It also lays horizontally on your desk, so is not easily toppled over by the weight of cables hanging off it which can happen with the MBox. It looks like it will take a fair bit of abuse and Miglia back this up with a 2 year warranty.
<strong>Ins and Outs</strong>
It has 2 quarter inch mono inputs on the front panel and corresponding gain controls. These make it super easy to plug in an electronic guitar, keyboard or dynamic microphone and start recording your next masterpiece. Also on the front is an eighth of an inch stereo mini jack to plug your headphones in. The rear of the device has 2 mini jack line inputs, and 8, yes you heard me right - 8 line level outputs (4 x stereo eighth inch mini jacks). This means you could connect these up to your SRS 7.1 sound system and create multichannel music for your new movie. I haven't tried this out though, as I don't have any software that can take advantage of it, but I expect that with Logic Pro you have a very inexpensive means of churning out Hollywood blockbusting soundtracks.
<strong>SoftClip</strong>
Along with it's 8 outputs, the HarmonyAudio has some really cool features. It can record at up to 96khz in 24 bit audio - which trumps the MBox's 48khz max sample rate. It also has a soft clip feature, which is a cross between a limiter and a compressor. This is fantastic; how many times have you recorded a great take, only to find a little bit of digital clipping on playback? This means you can record a little hotter, and the soft clip has channel independent 2 stage switch which gives you an option on how hard you want to clip it. There is also a red LED which tells you when the SoftClip function is kicking-in which is useful. It also offers another creative possibility too; deliberately clipping the device will give it a sort-of old valve amp sag, which is cool for any guitarists.
<strong>Plays well with the big cats</strong>
I tested the HarmonyAudio unit with GarageBand V2 on Panther and Tiger, and was pleasantly surprised at how stable it was. I had none of the problems I get when using the MBox - when the Mac goes to sleep or when I switch applications.
<strong>Plug and Play</strong>
Recording with the HarmonyAudio couldn't be any easier. There is no noticeable latency and I found myself having a blast using my PowerBook as a guitar pre-amp. Compared to the MBox the audio was possibly a little noisier and not quite as sweet sounding. Remember the MBox costs twice as much - there isn't that much in it. One thing that the HarmonyAudio unit lacks though is that their is no phantom power, so if you have a Condenser Mic, you will need to power it from batteries or another source. If you want to plug-in an electronic guitar, dynamic mic or a line level device then this baby will be all you'll need. The headphone output is not as powerful or deep sounding as the MBox. This may vary on your choice of headphones though. The MBox's headphone output is bloody loud, so this may prove kinder on your ears. I used the HarmonyAudio to record London Mourning and used a AKG C1000 mic (battery powered), a Fender Squier Strat and Fender Precision Bass. It was a joy to use - the terms plug and play seem to fit very well with this device.
<strong>Conclusion</strong>
Overall this is a great little interface, powered straight off the firewire bus, so it's truly portable, has multiple outputs, and has a very useful SoftClip function. It's built to take a little abuse and looks cool alongside your Mac. It's 96khz sampling rate and multiple outputs, could be useful for some, but for the vast majority of Apple GarageBand users, the HarmonyAudio could be all you need.
If you can live without phantom power, this is a great, inexpensive recording interface.
For further information visit Miglia.com and their HarmonyAudio product page.
