When I got home, I plugged a brand new M-Audio Fast Track Pro into my Windows desktop and immediately hit a major hurdle of audio driver configuration. After hours of troubleshooting I finally got it working, but the latency – the lag between when you make the sound and when it hits your computer – rendered the box unusable.
I was tempted to throw the fast track out the window and sample the sound of it hitting the pavement with an analog tape recorder. Instead, I went back to Guitar Center, exchanged the interface for a Line 6 DL4 delay pedal, and turned my attention to blasting out the Blasts in the Sky in a proper band setting.
If something as quick and painless as the Universal Audio Volt 876 had existed at the time, who knows where my life would be now. I probably wouldn’t be opening for Four Tet and Fred Again… at the O2 Academy, but my entry into computer-based music would have been much easier than it was in 2006.
for the public
Audio interfaces have come a long way since then. Prices have gone down, quality has greatly increased, and latency is negligible in most home studio environments. Interfaces that connect with proprietary software and drivers still exist, but the genius of class compliance – meaning you can plug a device into your computer without needing the above – makes it easier for audio gear manufacturers to create boxes that are easily plug-and-play on most operating systems. Even iOS and Android in many cases. Anyone can find a good-sounding interface on Amazon for $200 or less and plug it into their iPhone, then plug in a cheap mic and be on your way to TikTok superstardom.
Photograph: Pete Cottell
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