Arturia already has a lineup of audio interfaces. They’re fairly well regarded. But one thing they’re not, is cheap. The base model AudioFuse is $699. It is not for the casual bedroom producer. But, the company knows that the more people making music, the bigger its customer base, so serving that entry level is important. The MiniFuse line is the answer to that need.
The lineup of three models starts at $99 for the MiniFuse 1. It’s the most basic of the new devices with a single combo input for XLR and 1/4-inch instruments. But it has the same preamps, 110db dynamic range, five-year warranty and software bundle as the rest of the lineup. All the MiniFuses can also act as USB hubs, so you can connect a controller through the interface and save some port space on your PC. What you lose mostly by opting for the most affordable option is the MIDI in and out ports. You also can’t blend direct monitoring with the USB output, you can only switch between the two.
The $149 MiniFuse 2 adds a second input, MIDI in and out ports and has a mix control for balancing between direct monitoring of your input and what’s coming out of your PC. This is handy for recording live audio when even the tiniest of latency is unacceptable.
The MiniFuse 4 hasn’t gotten a price tag yet, and wont be shipping until next year. But it has line inputs around the back, two additional audio outputs and an additional headphone jack so you and a collaborator can both monitor a track together without filling your recording space with more noise. If you use a decent amount of outboard gear or frequently work with a vocalist this is probably the way to go. The extra outputs and inputs are especially handy for routing audio out of your computer, processing it with external effects then running it back into your DAW for final mixing.
The MiniFuse line comes with a solid bundle of software including Ableton Live Lite, Analog Lab Intro, a bundle of four Arturia FX, Native Instruments Guitar Rig 6 LE and three month subscriptions to both Auto-Tune Unlimited and Splice.
The MiniFuse 1 and MiniFuse 2 are available to pre order now and will start shipping in November.
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