One of the Volt 176’s main draws is the integrated compressor - which explains the ‘76’ part of the Volt’s suffix. You can imagine our pleasure then, when they announced the Volt series of interfaces - a budget-friendly, affordable range for those who want great guitar recordings without having to spend too many hundreds of dollars. Universal Audio’s great reputation has been founded largely on their impressive – but expensive – high-end products.

Factoring in the portability, design, usability and this software package, for just over $100, the Komplete Audio 2 represents great value for money for the guitarist looking to start their recording journey. It does, however, come with a decent package of bundled content that includes Ableton Live 10 Lite, Maschine 2 Essentials, Monark synth, Phasis phaser, Replika delay and Solid Bus Compressor. One of the biggest downsides to this interface, however, is that direct monitoring – which allows the user to listen directly to the input signal of the interface – can not be done through the main output and can only be done via headphones. With one big knob to control the main out level and a simple five-point level display, it is also very simple to use in terms of monitoring. With these inputs, users can move between mic and instrument through the use of individual selector switches, while phantom power can be engaged from a separate global switch. The 2-in-2-out interface notably features two XLR-¼” combo inputs to help keep the size of this device – which weighs a feather light 380g – to a minimum. Read the full IK Multimedia AXE I/O reviewĮasily one of the slickest looking interfaces around, the Komplete Audio 2 offers a simple yet powerful recording experience for guitarists. It’s hands down the best guitar audio interface out there right now. It also includes XLR combo inputs for those who want to record with mics.Ĭapable of up to 24-bit/192kHz resolution, as well as boasting MIDI inputs and outputs, the AXE I/O can do pretty well everything that the other interfaces on this list can, but is so much more geared towards capturing and enhancing the sound of the guitar directly than any other interface. It also features an ‘Amp’ output, which can be connected to amplifiers and effects pedals before redirecting back into the DAW, which makes capturing your sound on record a very easy task. These can be set for passive or active pickups, and have variable input impedance that you can dial in with a knob to set how the unit interacts with your pickups.

The AXE I/O is a 2-in 5-out audio/MIDI interface with all the usual input and monitoring options, but the AXE I/O notably includes specialised guitar inputs. IK has built a solid reputation for guitar amp and effects pedals modelling, so it’s little wonder they have built an interface with guitarists in mind.

When it comes to getting DI guitars to sound good, nobody is better than IK Multimedia.

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