Deciding on the best audio interface under $1,000 that will make your guitar sound amazing can be tough. There are several great audio interfaces in the $1,000 price range that have great features, but it doesn’t mean they will all work for you.
When you start looking at interfaces in this price range, you need to figure out what your needs are. Most of these interfaces have awesome tone, but they might not have the features you need. Think about how many inputs you need, what type of ports you need, and most importantly what types of setting you need.
With that said, let’s compare the top-rated $1000 audio interfaces and compare their features, pros, and cons, so you can find the right one for your recording studio.
Compare the Top Audio Interfaces Below $1000 in 2020
Contents
Here’s a list of the best audio interfaces below that have everything you need to record your guitar and vocals on your computer.
- Roland Studio-Capture
- Focusrite Clarett 8Pre
- PreSonus Studio 192
- MOTU Ultralite AVB
- Steinberg UR824
- MOTU 828x
- Universal Audio Apollo Twin MKII Duo
Roland Studio-Capture
Specs, features, and benefits
The Roland-Capture is a professional audio interface, perfect for tracking full bands. It has twelve Mic Preamp inputs with XLR/TRS jacks, four Instrument inputs, Midi ports, eight outputs, two headphones outputs, Coaxial In/Out ports, built-in DSP, Auto-Sens feature… Cool, right?
On the front of the unit, you can find four Mic Pre inputs, level indicators for all of the sixteen inputs and their select buttons, the Pre-Amp cluster with which you can add +48V phantom power, Lo-Cut filter, phase inversion or the auto-sens feature – to each channel independently, the Compressor cluster, the Monitor Out level controls, two Headphones output jacks and their level control knobs, the LCD display with control knobs for setting input and output levels and effects, Monitor Output level indicators, and the Power On/Off switch.
On the back panel, there are the 5-12 Mic Pre inputs, four TRS inputs, XLR Main Monitor Outputs, eight TRS Outputs, Coaxial (SPDIF) ports, Midi ports, the USB port, and the power adaptor input.
The Roland Studio-Capture has an Analog to Digital resolution of up to 24-bit Bit-Depth and 192kHz Sampling Rate. The Auto-Sens feature allows you to set the perfect recording stages within minutes, which is perfect for live situations. The built-in 40-bit DSP allows you to add Reverb to the mixes, and you can set four independent monitor mixes for cue mixing. It is compatible with both MAC and Windows machines. It is built in an aluminum chassis, which makes the unit sturdy, yet light-weight – perfect for the traveling engineer.
Pros and Highlights
- Twelve Mic-Pre inputs! – plus four Instrument inputs, Midi ports, and Coaxial ports!
You can record a full band with it! - Auto-Sens feature – With it, you can set your level stages for recording in a minute!
How cool is that? - Great sound, great features – The Mic Preamps on this unit are high-quality and great sounding! The Roland Studio-Capture with its built-in DSP allows you to have great cue-mixes, and it offers everything you will ever need on an audio interface in a professional studio.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No cons!
Bottom line
If you are looking for an audio interface with which you can record multiple instrumentalists, and vocalists, you should check out the Roland Studio-Capture. It offers a lot! It is sturdy, it sounds great, it has a lot of inputs and outputs, a built-in DSP, and an Auto-Sens feature that will save you a lot of time!
Focusrite Clarett 8Pre
Specs, features, and benefits
The Focusrite Clarett 8Pre is a Thunderbolt audio interface with eight Mic Preamps. On the front of the interface, you can see two XLR/TRS inputs, two +48V phantom power buttons (1-4, 5-8), Eight gain controls for each channel with Instrument led indicators for the first two and Air led indicators for all of the channels, a display with meters, Dim button, Mute button, Monitor output level control knob, Thunderbolt, Midi and Word Clock led indicators, two Headphones jacks with separate Volume control knobs, and the power on/off switch.
On the back panel of the interface, you can find the other five Mic/Line inputs, ten TRS Line outputs, Word Clock output, Optical In/Out ports, Thunderbolt port, Midi In/Out ports, SPDIF ports, and the Power Cord input. The Focusrite Clarett can record with an Analog to Digital resolution of 24bit Bit Depth and 192Hz sampling rate.
It comes with Red 2 and Red 3 Plug-in Suite, Softube Time and Tone Pack, Tube Delay, Saturation Knob, and Drawmer S73 Intelligent Master Processor, Ableton Live Lite, two GB of Loopmasters Samples, and XLN Addictive Keys included in the price. Also, with buying this interface, you’ll get exclusive offers for buying plug-ins from companies such as Nugen Audio, Exponential Audio, Eventide, iZotope, etc.
Pros and Highlights
- Thunderbolt! – Technology has come to the point where you don’t need to worry about latency when recording… Why not take advantage of it?
- Great sound! – The Clarett Preamps sound amazingly good, and the Air feature is sweet as honey!
- Everything you need! – A great number of inputs and outputs, SPDIF, MIDI, ADAT…
Cons and Potential Flaws
- You need to have a Thunderbolt supporting computer! – Or this interface will not work for you! Also, a lot of owners had driver issues, so consider doing in-depth research of this interface before your decision of buying one.
Bottom line
If you are looking for an upgrade for your home studio, or you want to start building one, check out the Focusrite Clarett 8Pre audio interface. It is an audio interface that has everything you would need on one, and if you are a beginner, it will take your time to outgrow it. The only downs of this unit, are that some owners had problems with installing the drivers, so we suggest that you should do your in-depth research, to see if this unit is compatible with your computer.
PreSonus Studio 192
Specs, features, and benefits
The PreSonus Studio 192 is a 3.0 USB audio interface that can handle up to twenty-six/thirty-two simultaneous inputs/outputs. It has an Analog to Digital resolution of up to 24-bit/192kHz. Due to the built-in DSP in the PreSonus Studio 192, you can monitor your recording with zero latency while having effects put on your instrument.
The front panel of the interface consists of power button which has a led ring (it will be red if it’s not synced with the computer, and blue if it is synced), two headphones outputs and their level control knobs, then there is the big Main level control knob with which you will control the level of your main monitors (it has led indicators for showing the level), right next to it, you will find the led meters for the eight analog inputs.
Then there is the display with all of the controls for the inputs – right and left arrow buttons for channel select, Gain Control knob, +48V phantom power button, Talk button (Studio 192 has a built-in microphone, with engaging the talk button the musicians in the recording room will be able to hear you), Mute button which will mute your monitors, and Mono button (so you can mono/stereo check your mixes), finally there are two XLR/TRS Mic Preamp inputs.
On the back of the unit you will find the 3-8 Mic/Line inputs, the eight TRS balanced outputs, the Left/Right Main Outputs, BNC (Clock) In/Out ports, S/PDIF In/Out ports, ADAT inputs and outputs, the USB 3.0 port, and the power adaptor input. The eight preamps on the unit, are all XMAS Class A preamps, and oh boy, do they sound great!
The PreSonus Studio 192 comes with Studio One 3 Artist DAW, with which you can fully control your preamps and your monitor-mixes from the box. Now, the Studio One 3 Artist comes with the Studio Magic plug-in suite, which has, of course, a good number of great plug-ins.
Also, you can control these functions on the interface from your iPad, using the UC Surface app, which also comes included in the price. This comes very handily – you won’t have to move through your room extensively which means it will save you tons of energy.
Pros and Highlights
- Eight inputs – This is great! You can record a full drum kit with the PreSonus Studio 192!
- You can expand the number of inputs – On the back of the unit, you will find BNC (Clock) In/Out ports, S/PDIF In/Out ports, and ADAT inputs and outputs – you can pair two DigiMax DP88 A/D/A Converters with the Studio 192, and record a full-blown orchestra!
- Portable control – You can control the functions of the interface with your iPad!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- PC users beware! – Some of the owners that are PC users have reported having problems with installing and using the interface. Do your in-depth research, before purchasing one of these!
Bottom line
The PreSonus Studio 192 is an awesome interface for recording full drum kits, or full bands, for the matter of fact. The functions that this unit has, are up-to-date and great for professional studios. However, we strongly suggest before buying this, or any other product, to do your in-depth research, to diminish the chances of getting disappointed.
MOTU Ultralite AVB
Specs, features, and benefits
The MOTU Ultralite is a compact AVB/USB/iOs audio interface that can handle up to 36 simultaneous audio channels. There are two XLR inputs on the unit, one on the front of it, and the other on the back. Both of these inputs, have Gain control knobs, PAD switch, and +48V phantom power switches on the front of the unit. Also, on the front, you can find two Guitar inputs, both with gain controls, a Headphones output with a level control knob (this knob can toggle between Main Output level control, and Headphones level control knob), and an LCD display.
The Control knobs right above the Guitar inputs have also two functions, the first one is also a power switch, and the second one switches between input and output leveling. The two Microphone Gain control knobs are also double-functional – with pushing the Gain 2(Select) control knob you navigate the functions that appear on the LCD display, and with pushing the Gain 1 control knob (Back), you go back to the “home” of the LCD display.
On the LCD display, you can find all of the metering, a display of the sample rate that you are using, clocking information, Midi information, and an indicator on the Optical activity. On the back of the unit, you can find second XLR input (as we mentioned earlier), the 1-6 analog inputs, the Left/Right Main Outputs, the 1-6 analog outputs, the AVB Ethernet output, the power adaptor input, the USB 2 port, the MIDI In/Out ports and the Optical/Toslink Input and Output ports.
The MOTU Ultralite is compatible with Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android devices, and with all audio software. The thing that makes this interface outstanding, is the fact that you can control all of the device’s settings online in your web browser through the Web-based app with your laptop, tablet, or smartphone.
You can expand the number of your inputs, with pairing another MOTU AVB interface (1248, 8M or 16A) with the unit – this is made very easily with a Cat-5e or CAT-6 ethernet cable. You can expand the number of inputs even further with the MOTU AVB Switch (sold separately) – with it, you can connect up to five MOTU interfaces.
Another great thing about the technology that MOTU uses is that you can connect multiple computers – this is great if you are working in a busy studio with multiple engineers. The Ultralite AVB mixer, allows you to have forty-eight assignable input channels!
Pros and Highlights
- This is the future! – With the MOTU Ultralite AVB interface, you have all of the awesome features that one can think of!
- Great sound – The converters are awesome, the preamps are great, and all of the inputs sound amazing. Oh, and we forgot to mention that all of the inputs on the device are independent, which means that you can use all of them simultaneously.
- You can also use it for live situations! – Well, what can we say about that… The guys at MOTU are geniuses!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Some owners reported having problems with booting up the interface – While all of this new technology sounds awesome on paper, maybe we should wait a few years before changing to it. Or maybe we should give it a try, and not be skeptical all of the time.
Well, it depends on the budget we have for buying gear. Still, most of the owners are completely happy with this unit!
Bottom line
The MOTU Ultralite AVB might be a great expansion for a professional recording studio. The features and the functions of the unit are of great number. The device sounds awesome, and we are pretty sure that the technology it uses will become a standard in the recording business in a few years. However, we suggest making in-depth research on your own. There are a lot of skeptical guys when it comes to new stuff, and if you are one of them, you should probably wait a few years before accepting all of the good things that come with new technology.
Steinberg UR824
Specs, features, and benefits
With the Steinberg UR824, you can have up to twenty-four channels in your DAW. This audio interface sports an Analog to Digital conversion of up to 192kHz, and 24-bit Bit Depth. It has a built-in DSP, which means you can have effects on your monitor mixes, which is of course, awesome.
On the front of the unit, starting from left to right, you can find two Mic/Line/Hi-Z inputs with their Hi-Z button switches, PAD switches, Gain control, Signal Peak indicators, and they share a +48V Phantom Power switch, then there are the PAD switches, the Gain control knobs, the Signal Peak indicators and the +48V Phantom Power switches for the channels 3-8 (the inputs are on the back of the unit), then there are the two Headphones outputs with their level control knobs, the indicators that show the settings of the interface, the big Main Level Output control knob, and the power switch.
On the back of the interface, you can find the 3-8 Mic/Line inputs, eight line outputs, the A and B ADAT In/Out ports, the WCLK In/Out ports, the USB 2.0 port, and the power adaptor input.
The preamps on the Steinberg UR824 are Steinberg’s D-Pre Class-A mic preamps, and they truly sound amazing. The ADAT ports on the back of the unit also can serve as optical S/PDIF ports, and they can provide additional 16 inputs and 16 outputs. The interface works both with Windows and MAC OS X devices. The Steinberg UR824 comes with Native VST 3 plug-ins of REV-X, Sweet Spot Morphing Channel Strip, and Cubase Al included in the price.
Pros and Highlights
- Great build quality – The Steinberg UR824 is built like a tank! It is sturdy, it feels solid, all of the knobs and jacks are tight, and it is great for traveling! Oh, it is rack-mountable too!
- Awesome sound – This interface sounds amazing. Great job Steinberg! The mic preamps are fantastic!
- A lot of features – If you are a professional recording engineer, you will be happy to have all of these features on your interface. It is worth the money!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Mac users have problems with it – It seems like Steinberg and Cubase are not so Mac-friendly. Do your research before purchase, folks…
Bottom line
If you are looking for a professional audio interface, you might want to check out the Steinberg UR824. It is a great sounding interface with a lot of features. However, we strongly suggest making your research before purchasing any kind of equipment. Unfortunately, some Mac users are having problems with this unit.
MOTU 828x
Specs, features, and benefits
The MOTU 828x is a high-quality rack-mountable Thunderbolt audio interface that also works with USB 3.0, with a lot of features and cool functions. It can record with an Analog to Digital sample rate of 192kHz, and 24-bit Bit Depth. It is built in an aluminum alloy chassis, which makes the unit lightweight, yet very sturdy and durable.
On the front of the unit, you can find two Mic/Instrument preamp inputs and their Mic Trim controls, Pad switches and +48V phantom power button switches, two Headphones Out and their level control knobs, the CueMix Fx Mixer control knobs (Channel, Parameter, Page, and Value) and its display, and finally there are the indicators for the meters and the connection indicators, and the power switch.
On the back of the interface, you can find the Main Out Left/Right ports, the Time Code In/Out ports, the 1/2 Sends, the eight Analog Outputs, the eight Analog Inputs, the Switch port, the Optical A and B In/Out ports, the USB2 port, the Thunderbolt port, the Midi In/Out ports, the S/PDIF ports, the Word Clock In/Out ports, and the power cable jack. Using the ADAT ports, you can expand to plus 16 channels! Using the CueMix FX digital mixer, you can add effects in your monitoring without overheating your computer’s processor – the MOTU 828x has a very nice DSP built-in.
Also, all of the parameters that you use in the studio can be saved, and then use it in your live performance. The MOTU 828x has an option to save them. It is compatible with both Windows and Mac OS X machines, and with every DAW that exists.
Pros and Highlights
- Great sound! – The MOTU 828x sounds fantastic! Both the awesome analog circuitry and the Thunderbolt technology are guilty of that.
- You can use it as a mixer! – This unit is great for live situations too.
- CueMix FX digital mixer is a fantastic thing – Due to the built-in DSP, you can have effects like compression, EQ and reverb in your monitoring, without overheating your computer’s processor.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- It doesn’t last a long time – Many owners have reported that the LCD screen stopped after using the unit for a couple of years!
Bottom line
The MOTU 828x is a great sounding audio interface with a lot of cool features, and great functionality. However, there are many owners of this unit that claim their MOTU 828x has stopped working after a couple of years of usage.
Universal Audio Apollo Twin MKII Duo
Specs, features, and benefits
The Universal Audio Apollo Twin MKII Duo is a compact thunderbolt audio interface for MAC computers. On the top of the Apollo Twin MKII Duo, you can find a Big control knob, Preamp button switch,
Monitor button switch, and six buttons that control either Preamp or Monitor settings, depending on whether you have pressed the Preamp button or the Monitor button.
When you press the Preamp button, these six knobs will serve as Input Selector, Hi-Pass filter, Phantom power, PAD, Phase-invert, and Link. When you press the Monitor button, the same buttons will serve you as Talk button (the MKII has a built-in microphone), Dim, Alt (for monitor switching), FCN, Mono, and Mute.
On the back of the unit, you will find Mic/Line 1 input, Mic/Line 2 input, Monitor Left/Right jacks, Line Out Left/Right jacks, the Thunderbolt port, the Optical In port, the input for the power adaptor, and the On/Off power switch.
The Universal Audio Apollo Twin MKII Duo has two SHARC processors built-in – these will make tracking a pleasure – you won’t need to make it hard for your computer anymore as these two little monsters will take the hard work on them (they will process the plug-ins) and won’t make your computer crash when recording.
Having in mind that this unit is a Thunderbolt one, you will need an OS X 10.10 or later machine, or Windows 10 64-bit Anniversary or later with Thunderbolt port. The interface comes with the “Realtime Analog Classics” plug-in bundle, which has a bunch of awesome plug-ins.
Pros and Highlights
- Amazing sound – The preamps on this unit sound adorable!
- Built-in SHARC DSP’s – You can have a great number of plug-ins in your monitors without any problems when tracking.
- Thunderbolt! – This means “close to zero” latency.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Not for PC users, not for no-UAD plug-ins – PC owners have had problems with using this unit due to the Thunderbolt technology. Also, it seems like this unit is not friendly to no-UAD plug-ins.
Bottom line
If you are Mac user, and you are willing to use only UAD plug-ins (you will get a bundle of them included in the price, but there are a lot more of them and they are all subject of an additional cost, and they are not the cheapest ones), you might easily fall in love with this interface. However, if you are a PC user, and you like to use plug-ins that are not UAD, we don’t recommend buying this unit. Hey Universal Audio, take some notes from your customers!
What We Recommend and Why
We recommend the Roland Studio-Capture! It is an awesome sounding audio interface with a great number of inputs and outputs, awesome features, and built-in DSP.
It is also a very sturdy, and durable unit. Great job Roland!