Alesis Core 1 Inline USB Recording Interface

I initially bought this as a compact interface hoping to take a mono line out of a desk to record corporate gigs. (It's the same size as an NL8 barrel so thought it would be perfect to carry easily) The gain structure is very weird so that didn't work out - clips loads to get to a normal level regardless of the switches or input method. However(!!), having given up on it for that it now sits on my living room tablenext to my laptop ready to record any guitar bits I might happen to think of! It does that very well and barely takes up any space! I haven't tried plugging a mic in yet as I'd use other stuff for that.

Had this for a while now, and its worked fine the entire timeMy only real issue with this interface is that the gain is far too low. I use an AKG D5 for all my audio (inluding gaming etc) which, whilst not the loudest of mic's is normally fine. However, i often have to double my gain in post process, or my friends have to manually turn my volume up their sideAdditionally, the in build headphone port doesnt work as a direct monitor, which means for vocal recording you have to rely on software (which i assure you is NOT a fun experience)For a budget its great, and the bundled Cubase LE is a good addition. However i would recoment something like the Steinberg UR12, or Focusrite Scarelt Solo if you can afford to spend a little more

Delivery was prompt, however mine didn't come with a USB cable - luckily I had a spare one kicking around so it wasn't much of a problem, although just be aware of that if you're thinking of buying one.Setup was very easy, though you may have a few problems if you're not much of a technophile (please try to persevere before leaving 1 star reviews about it not working) - I'm currently using it with Guitar Rig 5 (great piece of software by the way) which did require downloading the ASIO4ALL driver (it actually recommended doing this in the instruction manual if you experience any sound/latency issues). This was done in less than 5 minutes and was automatically enabled when I came to run it through the software (you may have to mess around with a few settings on other pieces of software - I'm still trying to get it working with Audacity...)I was actually surprised how small this thing was - it pretty much fit in the palm of my hand! All in all I can't fault it. I've not had any issues with background noise or headphone interference like some other reviews have mentioned.Obviously if you're looking for studio quality you'll probably want something a bit more expensive but for 40 quid this is a bargain!

I've no idea how this is getting such good reviews, latency is terrible, tried every driver under FLStudio, and the best latency reported at the interface is 19ms. Feels horrible playing the guitar, and impossible to use for overdubbing.

I originally bought a cheap guitar link cable , Said it would work on windows 7. It did with lots of mucking about and the sound quality weas poor to un usable. This however is a whole different story. The interface pklugs in sorts it drivers and works with no messy. Sound quality is great. bAs long as you only want to do one instrument at a time this is a good answer. I found the included software (cubae le 7 ) was a bit time consuming to load but all in all great package if you want to connect guitar or other to your pc. great stuff