Prerequisites: How necessary are DAW and audio interface?

Finger Drumming Gear / Software / Setup
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Hullo

So I recently got interested in finger drumming, have checked out many infos, and found QFG the one I liked best. Thus I ordered a Maschine Mini Mk3, as well as Addictive Drums 2, to be used on my Mac. Unfortunately, I didn’t read the recommendations thoroughly enough, so I missed the need for an audio interface and a DAW.

I figured I might as well try without, because Addictive Drums 2 has a standalone version, so it seems to me that a DAW isn’t really necessary?

If there are advantages I might be convinced to buy something like Reaper, or maybe even Logic.

Anyway, at first I had AD2 send its output to my Kali Audio LF-UNF Speakers via USB, which felt a bit laggy. I then connected the speakes with an analog cable, which seemed to improve the lag. In AD2’s Audio Midi setup I could set the sample rate to 48 kHz with 16 samples (0.3 ms) without any ill effects, and it feels pretty good (didn’t try 96 kHz, but that is supported as well).

The kick still feels a bit less immediate (read: very slightly delayed) than say the snare or high hat, but I figure maybe that’s just what it sounds like? I’m using the Black Oyster drum set in AD2 in case that matters.

Anyway, I watched some audio interface videos on Youtube and found this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMuA-2FbJxE&t=2183s

I figured I’d spend $45 for a behringer U-Phoria UMC22, which (according to that video) has the good Midas audio chip. It’s a bit larger than I expected, and solidly built with a metal shell. I hooked it up to the computer with USB, and attached the LP-UNF speakers as well as a Sennheiser headset with analog cables to try some grooves.

It works well, but I can’t claim I notice any differences to my MacBook Pro’s (M2) onboard audio. Sample rate is still 48 kHz and audio buffer size is still the lowest possible 16 samples (0.3ms). So I wonder, how necessary is an audio interface these days?

Anyway, this audio interface seems fine to me, and it was fairly cheap, about a third of the price of the Focusrite Scarlett Solo from QFG’s recommendations page.

Any thoughts?

BTW I’m liking the free course, and am still getting to know my pads. I’ll most likely continue with a paid course afterwards. I appreciate all the helpful info QFG put together on his site, so supporting that some way only feels right.

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If you have a MacBook pro, you might not need a cheap audio interface like the Behringer, except you need the microphone XLR input. For finger drumming, you only need MIDI input (which is almost latency free) and then audio out.

16 samples sounds very low, I usually find 64-128 more reasonable. But some audio interfaces have an inbuilt latency that comes on top (maybe what you experienced with the Speakers via USB). I wouldn’t go beyond 48khz, it only takes more CPU and you won’t hear a difference. You may get a little bit lower latency at best.

You don’t need a DAW if you’re fine with playing AD2 standalone.

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Thanks for this, that means a lot!

I personally like my latency as close to real time as possible. I actually have not tested the M4 onboard latency. On my 2021 MacBook it was still too much but maybe now that’s different.

Unfortunately I’m in the hospital right now (for a “curable” thing), so it might take me some time before I can properly try this out.

For the rest I think Fannon makes good points. Nothing to add there.

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Wish you a good recovery, Robert!

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Thank you two for your responses.

To Robert: First of all, I also wish for a swift recovery.

Secondly, my MacBook Pro is of the M2 Max variant from early 2023, so no M3 or M4 here either. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if all Apple silicon Macs with their SOC (system on a chip) would have the audio component “more closely wired”, so latency may be less of an issue than with previous Intel CPUs, but that’s just a wild guess. To me it doesn’t make much sense that an audio chip in a USB interface might have lower latency than a built-in one (which is “closer” to the rest of the system), but from what I read that sure used to be the case for the longest time.

The M1 chips were released in October 2021, so I’m wondering if you have one of the new ones or still an Intel one.

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I bought an M4 last month, coming from the last Intel Mac model, so I can test it out real soon! It might just work.

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Ah, that’s awesome. The M1s were a huge upgrade from the Intel ones, and the M4s are substantially better than the M1s. You’re in for a treat. :slight_smile:

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Latency is not really caused by how close the chips are, electrons move very fast :slight_smile: I think the problem comes from A/D or D/A converters and buffers inside of the audio interface and its chips / microcontrollers (?). Obviously there are differences here, as even professional audio-interfaces will have different latencies, even when they use the same buffer sizes.

Then the drivers play a big role, too. Custom drivers seem to be able to get more out than generic standard drivers (at least on Windows), but those are expensive to create - I think Behringer doesn’t do this and just relies on standard drivers. This is where Focusrite, Motu etc. are better. No idea if this also applies to macs, though.