Why would you wanna do that? I just pulled out my spare DI and hooked it into my mixer (the GX-10 has stereo out) so that I can play around with recording in stereo. Because the DI’s are different, they’re voiced differently and panning is set so they go to different ears.
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DI’s are only for input, I need it for output!
Just some feedback after a few days of use:
- the SSL 12 sounds great
- The option to have three different output setting to adjust for your headphone makes a difference
- No crackling etc
BUT: the fact that dial knobs and SSL 360 control software is not synchronised s#cks! Clearly the software was an afterthought, once the hardware was designed.
Did some digging and might be getting a Presonus Quantum ES4 or HD2 (with built-in Fender instr inputs, yeah!).
Those DAIs seem to have all I need…
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I have owned two PreSonus and one Tascam interfaces in the past. I’m currently using an RME Fireface UCX II on my main DAW (very expensive, but super solid multi-client ASIO driver), but for my new secondary DAW (a Microsoft Surface Pro 11 Elite X), I bought a Focusrite 4th gen 4i4 since it has native Snapdragon ARM drivers. I’m pairing it with Bitwig v5.3 beta 5 since it is also available as a native ARM version. The mixer and driver software that come with the Focusrite look good from a newbie perspective. Solid hardware. 247 € at Thomann. Really good bang for the buck.
Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 4th gen
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I alway forget about Julian, thanks for reminding!
This is the smaller ES2:
Only thing I don’t like is RF sensitivity (= possible noise!). I would get the ES or HD2.
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I just don’t like top-mounted UIs on audio interfaces. I need to be able to stack something on top, like the Thunderbolt I/O workstation connected to my main DAW. I’m short on desk space, so my RME interface is under my monitor. I would have no access to top-mounted controls.
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I had the same issue, until last week.
I am still not a fan of the form factor, but it is totally irrelevant with the ES4 and partially with the SSL 12.
Reason: if I can control (all features of) the hardware with software, the DAI is just a box that has some cables coming out of it.
All control is done via software, so form factor is absolutely not important!
For me, using the SSL 12 changed my whole work process, really.
I “only” need to reach for the DAI to set gain. Not so in the ES4 or HD2.
I would think you’re a HD2 man, not a 4i4 dude 
Well, don’t be too fast in your decision-making here. The current planetary alignment of 4 to 6 planets can have a significant impact. The disturbance in the graviton field from this unusual alignment is likely to affect certain electronic excitation states (via relativistic effects on the hyperfine structure), which thus might produce more noise than usual. Testing of DAIs should therefore be suspended for the time being.
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I did a b@rf reading with a south american shaman on mushrooms, and he says that it’s ok! Don’t bother me with that scientific mumbo jumbo - you’re not Alex Filippenko
You know, a little flexibility on your part would probably save you a lot of gear expense and frustration
The edge case here is frankly pretty minor in comparison to overall interface quality.
If you are truly pining after a more integrated software experience on the interface itself, just save time and get a UAD Apollo and run plugins on the interface too.
This seems like a completely terrible idea to me, as really the function of the interface is simply getting audio into the DAW, but whatever 
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It’s nice … but too expensive!
I find this discussion interesting, as always. GAS is celebrated in this forum. Buying and selling basses too.
New gear, everything.
But getting the DAI that matches my requirements (within budget limits - remember I’m a poor s#cker!) is not?
Until last week I did not know how great controlling everything via software is. It’s a game changer, at least to me. And I really need mono out via headphone (not controlled by DAW).
Audio quality on the ES4 and HD2 seems to be great, just like latency.
Anyway: ordered it
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lol called it, a win on both points
We knew this before you did
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This!!
There isn’t really any “workflow” here. It’s a box to digitize your audio and pass it on… You (@Whying_Dutchman) need to find suitable settings once (google perhaps “gain staging”) and then it’s set-and-forget.
If you like knobs, get a mixer before the DAI 
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The Force is strong in you two
I’m not so much into knobs as many of my friends, especially those from Cologne
But on audio interface I’d rather only have an on/off switch … and the rest in software! That’s kind-of the opposite of a mixer, I guess…
Ok, explain this in the scenario with three different basses with very different output levels.
I just want to plug in any bass, load a profile for it and all is set. Mind you: not on DAW level!
How would you solve that?
Bonus level: I want to have the mix sent to the headphones in mono, independent of the DAW.
Well, I guess I don’t have basses with such varying output levels. However, might not indeed a small mixer (either before the DAI, or with a DAI built in) be the most convenient solution for you??
IDK, it just seems you are over-complicating things again…
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Maybe!
But I like the dialectic process in itself.
If I do / test stuff myself, I learn. Every discussion helps, except: “this is the (only) way!”
That seems a little absolutistic to me…
Again: a mixer has many knobs, slider, switches, dials. Don’t want that.
Question (seriously): if the Presonus ES4 does everything I want, why go for other (more complicated / expensive) solutions?
Also: why stick with the SSL 12, when it’s great, but not perfect? Especially knowing there is a better option that is also 100€ cheaper.
If you purchase a bass and don’t feel comfortable with it somehow, wouldn’t you send it back? (Or at least mod it? :-))
I cannot follow that reasoning…
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Got it! Good luck!
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I will post when it arrived. And when I send it back
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It’s not that at all, and I did not mean this as a criticism of your workflow. The last thing I am going to do is shit all over someone’s workflow; if you have something that works for you, that’s great.
What I was trying to point out was simply what I said; I think you could save yourself a lot of expense and frustration by simply being a bit more adaptable to different hardware and the different approaches they take.
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