Hi Rob(s) and all,

Would the Resident Audio T4 for $100 more, eliminate the need for the pair of DI's?
http://www.residentaudio.com/specifications/

I'm trying to compare it to TAC-2. Seems like its worth the extra $. For me I want to mix analog keyboard line signals with MainStage VST's.

And....with 4 inputs, I could use it (the Resident Audio) to plug in both sides of my Stick signal.
(mine has no midi, so that's not a factor for me, I would choose the T4, simply to carry less gear and plug in both Bass and Treble from Stick).

Rob M, you have a lot of experience with VST's, do you see any obvious reasons to choose the TAC-2 vs the T4 for playing MainStage setups on a MacBook?

Thanks for any input.

Brad Smith

I'll jump in too. That piece looks good but the input impedance for instruments is only 1 MOhm. That's just barely enough and a Stickup or a PASV/4 might not sound their best. I prefer at least the 2.2 of the StepABout. My homemade preamps are 3 and Rob's DIs are at 10. The differences between 1 and 10 are usually quite easy to hear.

-Eric

It would not work for me because the phantom power is global.

Rob - You could use the TAC-2 with some sort of line boost (DI or pedal) for the Stick and a 2 in mixer for the analog keyboard.

I've been impressed with the TAC-2. No noticeable latency running through Mainstage with GR5 and several external AU reverb effects.

That RA T4 looks pretty nice, actually I wasn't aware of it until now. 1 MOhm is the minimum input impedance that would be ok for Stick, it's pretty standard value for guitar inputs - like Eric said some Stick players prefer a higher value, I find the difference very subtle and sometimes can't tell at all (my ears must be locked into different aspects of the tone, and I always use the "darker" filter settings on the PASV-4 so I might not notice changes in high end as much).

The key would be latency - after some more tweaking with more complex Mainstage setups I can comfortably get around 2 ms latency on the TAC-2 which is very playable and not noticeable. Something starts to subconsciously feel "off" once that gets above 3 or 4 ms. If the T4 can also provide similarly low latency I think it would be a great option. Don't know much about the quality of preamps/converters they use though.

Zoom looks like to me a great company. I have a multi-effect for about 4 or 5 years. You are talking about many other gadget they do. I bought lately a zoom h4n. I also saw a video recorder of that brand...I guess they sell a lot because they are present in many electronics areas...

On the subject of this thunderbolt interface talk, I'm lightly thinking about putting together a live rig and would like to make it as "in the box" as possible. Problem is, I'd like to be able process vocals/both sides of the Stick without having to mix anything prior, so that throws the TAC-2 out of the picture. Not much info on the RAt4 as far as I can tell yet. Not totally sold on it since it's such a new brand.

I have an m-audio fast track ultra, and I have run an entire band through it (Midi Drums, guitar, bass, 2 mics). Quite the disconnected feeling, but you sorta get used to it some, could have been worse, but not ideal.

How close are we to seeing thunderbolt consumer devices being more common? I'd love to see Focusrite come out with something.

Rob Martino: I know you work in the audio software business, and while it's a totally different thing, have you possible heard some sort of rumor that can provide some insight into the above question?

To be honest I'm not sure how many companies will be releasing thunderbolt interfaces soon. I had no idea about the RA T4, but it looks very nice, it would probably be worth it to buy from some place with a good return policy like Sweetwater to see how it performs. I may even try it, to compare to the Zoom, just because I'm really curious.

Please do! We would all benefit from your wisdom and care. I also have a question, if you have a moment. How are you measuring latency? I'm also surprised that you able to feel/hear latency that's in the 3-5 ms range. Not doubting, just surprised. I don't have a good way to measure latency with my current interface but I imagine it's just awful. If the Resident Audio unit is good it might just go to the top of my rig wish list. I have everything else, but I can't stand the latency I'm experiencing.

Thanks,

-Eric

The RA T4 should perform as the Zoom TAC-2 does in terms of latency. Thunderbolt is the key.