Roland UA-55 USB Audio Interface

The Roland Quad Capture is an easy to use 4 in/4 out USB 2.0 audio interface, ideal for portable computer recording. No power adaptor is required as the unit runs from USB bus power making it extremely simple to set up. The front of the unit offers two combo XLR/1/4" TRS inputs with Roland's own VS preamps built in, sensitivity controls for the two preamps which includes the "auto-sens" feature and a headphone output amongst other audio level controls. MIDI I/O is available at the rear of the unit, along with the coaxial I/O to take advantage of the remaining channels. Also on the back are two TRS balanced monitor outputs, switches for phantom power, Hi-Z (high impedance) for directly plugging in your electric guitar or bass (channel 1 only) and a ground lift switch to remove noise.

The VS preamps in the Quad-Capture are based upon Roland's flagship V-Studio 700 and M-400 V-Mixer. They provide a great signal-to-noise ratio, making sure the input into your chosen DAW is as clean sounding as possible. With just one press of the "Auto-Sens" button you can set optimum levels for the on-board preamps, saving a lot of time. Direct monitoring is also possible and easy, with the controls on the front of the unit letting you alter levels. Further features are available, accessed through a software control panel. These include a low-cut/high-pass filter, phase invert and compression.

The Quad-Capture is perfect for pairing with a laptop or small desktop system, especially for singer-songwriters wanting to record in high quality at home or in rehearsals. The MIDI I/O also means you could for example connect a MIDI controller and use virtual instruments to create full sounding, professional recordings.

The USB 2.0 connectivity sends each channel separately into your computer and recording software, making editing of individual tracks possible. Talking of software, the Quad-Capture comes with Cakewalk Sonar X1 LE so it's fully functional out of the box. This connectivity also provides low-latency recording using Roland's VS streaming driver. Both Windows ASIO 2.0 and Mac Core Audio drivers are available, including support for Windows 7 and Mac OS X 10.6.

This unit is compact but durable and great for any application where quick and easy transportation is required. Intuitive features such as "Auto-Sens" and the software control panel make this unit flexible, portable and reliable.