Advice on PC Amp Simulator setup

[hardkase]

Update: On the 3rd re-read, I get that this is long. TL;DR kind of long, so here's a distillation of what I really want to know:

• LK Multimedia iRig Stomp I/O - does anyone use one of these? Are they worth the money? Does it play well with Windows? Does it play well with modelling software besides Amplitube? Does it play well (or at all) with Linux?
• Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 VS Personus Studio 24c VS MOTU M2 - Presonus is cheapest, Focusrite seems industry standard, MOTU is a little more $$$ but has a slight edge in the specs dept. Presonus and MOTU have MIDI in and out. Is there any real difference?
• Finally, does anyone use a floor pedal AI like the Xsonic XTone? Do you have any issues with cabling or connecting a wired headphone to it?
• Thanks!

Hi, I'm new here and thought I'd start by picking your collective brains about PC audio setups...

I want to ditch my amp for my PC. A set of decent speakers and an Audio Interface (AI). I'm seeking advice as to how to go about this with the least amount of kit, and the best quality kit. For speakers - active near field studio monitors, I'm looking at the Presonus Eris 3.5. They're less expensive than most of the competition, small-ish, and very well reviewed. It's the AI that has me scratching my head. I want to plug my guitar into the AI, put the signal in through a simulator like Amplitube for digital effects and amp/cab modelling, and pipe it back out to the speakers and to a DAW for track recording (less important at the moment, as I don't think my audio noodling is really recording worthy yet). I'd like to be able to switch effect loops/patches with a footswitch, and I'd like to control wah simulation (and other expression controlled effects) with an expression pedal. I'd be using either Windows 10 and/or Linux (Ubuntu or maybe Centos) as my platform.

As I see it, my options are to A) go with a desktop AI or B) go with a floorpedal AI.

Option A - this would be a standard run-of-the-mill desktop style AI like the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, the Presonus Studio c24, or the MOTU M2. I'd be leaning towards the MOTU but it is a ghost in Europe at the moment; I'm on two or three waiting lists for hardware for months now. If I understand the Universe correctly, the guitar would plug into the AI, the AI plugs into the PC, and the Speakers talk to the AI. For foot controls, I'd have to use a midi controller (like Melo Audio Midi Commander or a Harley Benton MP-100), then plug an expression pedal into that. That's a lot of kit and a lot of technical and mechanical complexity, but it leaves connecting the guitar or using headphones really straight forward.

The floor AI option is appealling as it seems to require less kit. I could use something like an Xsonic Xtone or a Harley Benton MP-500 as combo AI/Midi COntroller with an expression pedal connected, but then with speaker cables running from the floor pedal and in the event of headphones, need a really long cable plugged into the floor unit. This just seems messy and inconvenient.

The dark horse third option is to get an lk multimedia iRig Stomp I/O which is an AI/Midi Controller with a built in expression pedal. One stop shop. Still issues with cabling and headphone connection. Reviews of this device are Meh! at best, and it seems to be pretty locked in to Amplitube and is streamlined for Mac/iOS so I'm hesitant.

Any experiences with any of the devices or setups I've described? I'd love to hear the good, bad, and ugly of it. Sorry for the long winded post.

P.S.: Here's the links to the kit that I've mentioned:

• Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 https://www.thomann.de/ie/focusrite_scarlett_2i2_3rd_gen.htm
• Presonus Studio 24c https://www.thomann.de/ie/presonus_studio_24c.htm
• Motu M2 https://www.thomann.de/ie/motu_m2.htm
• Xtone https://www.thomann.de/ie/xsonic_xtone_interface_foot_control.htm
• Harley Benton MP-100 https://www.thomann.de/ie/harley_benton_mp_100_midi_foot_controller.htm
• Harley Benton Mp-500 https://www.thomann.de/ie/harley_benton_mp_500_interface_foot_control.htm
• LK Multimedia iRig Stomp I/O https://www.thomann.de/ie/ik_multimedia_irig_stomp_i_o.htm

Edited August 8, 2020 by hardkase

[ezbass]

The only experience I have of any of that list is Focusrite; I have a Solo. I recently did a collaborative effort where I played bass and I used my Sadowsky preamp pedal into Tech21 bass amp sim DIed into the Focusrite. The results were very, very pleasing.

[Dad3353]

I'd suggest starting off with the more affordable stuff, then building on that as and when specific needs arise. Going 'all out' hi-tech from the start might paint you into a corner, technically speaking. One can do an awful lot with the simpler stuff. 

[hardkase]

Thanks for the feedback @Dad3353, are you saying to get an AI and go from there? I guess I could do that and start with just headphones, add speakers later, add midi components later. Definitely considering that.. I'm still really curious to get feedback about the iRig Stomp I/O as that kind of solves all problems in one shot if it's solid kit. Same outfit used to sell a similar setup in a wah style pedal called the Steallth Pedal. I think it went out of production a few years ago and they still sell for quite a wad of cash on ebay. Anyone have any experience with the Stealth Pedal? Is it worth considering (I'd worry that its too antiquated...).

 

[Dad3353]

If this is for home use, I'd separate the functions and use an AI for just that. For foot pedal control, I'd suggest using MIDI, with a Behringer FCB1010 board. It's capable of switching virtual pedals on and off. It needs a Roland adapter to take the MIDI into a PC USB port, unless the AI has MIDI sockets too (my Tascam AI has 'em; some do, some don't...). The quality is well up to home studio work, but there's a learning curve implied in setting up all the parameters (has to be done on any rig, really...).
Start off with just an AL, and get some experience with what the DAW, amp modelling and Fx can do. Add a controller afterwards, once you know what it is that you can't do without one.