That was 22 years ago, but back then Digidesign (now Avid) cleverly unleashed a device that offered monitoring level control, microphone preamps, Midi I/O, and the propensity to record, edit, and mix entirely in the digital domain using Pro Tools and CPU-based plugins – all for a little less than two grand. One device leading the charge on this evolution for budget conscious producers was Digidesign’s humble Digi 001. As CPU speeds multiplied and computer-based processing became a viable alternative to outboard processing, analogue mixing consoles made their reluctant way onto Ebay for a pittance of their original worth – the more avant-garde were carved up and racked for channel strips, while the rest were plonked into rehearsal rooms and skip-bins. Mixing ‘in-the-box’ is without doubt the driving force here. Nowadays, all of these functions and more have been rolled into a single stand-alone unit. In those early days, additional equipment took care of monitor switching, talkback, headphone sends, and perhaps additional metering. Back in the day your audio interface was primarily for moving audio in and out of an analogue console, with access to its microphone preamps and inserts for outboard processing, and monitoring from either the console or the two-track recorder – be that tape, DAT, VHS, or even cassette.
In little less than a decade the audio interface has mutated from basic I/O between a computer and audio system to the nerve-centre of most production setups.
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