Yamaha Audiogram 3 USB Recording Interface

by Yamaha

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.8 x 3.2 inches ; 2 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B001F21RJ0
• Item model number: AUDIOGRAM3
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,905 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: August 29, 2008

Product Description

The AUDIOGRAM Series has been carefully designed to make setting up your computer-based recording environment an absolute breeze. Coming as a complete kit, the AUDIOGRAM6 and AUDIOGRAM3 each bundle together a hardware interface that adds audio inputs and outputs to your computer, software for recording and producing music, and a USB cable for connecting the audio interface. s such, either package will instantly turn your computer into a powerful yet intuitive tool for recording and editing audio from virtually any microphone or audio input device. What's more, setup is as easy as installing the bundled music-production application, CUBASE AI, on your computer and connecting the audio interface using the USB cable provided! You're then ready to connect instruments, microphones, CD players, MP3 players, and even old record or tape players for recording straight into CUBASE AI.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars *Updated*Great product, Great quality. DONT USE Windows Drivers., December 1, 2009

By 

TJ14 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yamaha Audiogram 3 USB Recording Interface (Personal Computers)

Update:

One feature that a lot of musicians like having is absent on this device and I thought I'd update review regarding that. The feature is monitor mix. So if you are using your interface along with your DAW there are two kinds of sounds you hear real time. One is the sound of the input itself (mic or line in) and one is the sound that comes out of your computer after processing in the DAW. So on this device there is NO way to control that. This feature is important to many musicians, like guitarists, who want to know how their instrument sounds real time after processing and effects. Many other interfaces have this feature. Two of which I know are The Audiogram 6 (which is a step up of this interface) and the Tascam US-200. Looks like the Audiogram 6 surprisingly is in the same price range as the audio gram 3 on Amazon right now.

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I'd like to start off saying that, I bought a used Yamaha Audiogram 3 as part of an excellent deal. For large parts people are very curious about this product and there are so few reviews if any at all online. So I wanted to share my opinions. At the time I bought it, I was taking my chance and I can say with confidence that I am very satisfied with the product. This is a simple, high quality, low latency device with the help of which I record music using a condenser microphone.

Overview:

The layout of the Audiogram is very simple and minimalistic. The Audiogram 3 has 2 separate sources of inputs. Firstly, to the left there is the combo jack which accpets XLR and 1/4 inch jack. This input has the option of being phantom powered. That is, if the source of sound(microphone/instrument) does not have power of it is own, extra power is supplied by the Audiogram so that adequate signal produced. The is essential, if you wish to use the audiogram with a condenser mic. Even a guitar can be directly plugged in without having to pass it through an amp.

Next in the middle there is a line-level input. This input source can be accessed in 2 ways, either through RCA or 1/4 Stereo cables. Bear in mind that this input is NOT phantom powered. Devices like ipods, amps and other instruments with their own source of power can be plugged in.

Finally, to the right of the Audiogram you have the outputs and the level knob. The output can be accessed in one of 3 ways. Either through RCA, 1/4'' Stereo out or 1/4 headphone out. The output has live monitoring. In simple terms, even if you plug this into a wall usb source, you will be able to hear the audio sources irrespective of weather it is connected to a computer or not.

All these inputs/outputs may confuse you. So check the below videos out: Amazon won't let me post the hyperlink, figure it out :).

youtube(dot)com/watch?v=p6Eb5JJfDIU
youtube(dot)com/watch?v=t0cBZQXjpp8

Info: YOU WILL EXPERIENCE NASTY LATENCY ISSUES if you use the drivers which windows recognizes it with. Use ASIO or the manufacture drivers.

Usage:

I found the device fairly simple to use, and with my Windows 7 system I had no driver issues. The system automatically recognized the device as a usb audio source. I don't use the yamaha supplied recording software either. I use Adobe Audition(formerly Cool Edit Pro). I had NASTY latency issues, but that is not because of the Audiogram but is because of the poor stock sound cards found on modern day computers. I resorted to ASIO4ALL drivers which are available for free on the net, and my problems vanished instantly. You could also try the manufacture drivers(I haven't tried them).

The combo jack on input one on my unit malfunctions. It seems to only accept XLR inputs. To me that is not an issue as I only use XLR in input 1. Most probably this might be so because my unit is a used one. Whatever be the case, it is not really an issue to me. The signal is very clean and quality is very high. I plugged in my ipod on input two and it sounds like a charm. I experience very less noise and absolutely no distortion.

Support:

I was under the impression that the Yamaha website was poor and didn't give any information whatsoever. I was WRONG. The product info can be fully accessed from Yamahasynth(dot)com. I apologize to readers who read my earlier review in which I was against the lack of manufacture info. This product is perfect all around now. Drivers, software and specs are all up on the website that I just mentioned above.

Pros:

-Simple Device
-Great form factor
-High quality sound
-Low Latency
-Multiple input capability.
-Port Versatility
-Live Monitoring
-USB Powered
-Great Value
-Comes with Manufacture software Cubebase 4 + VST Plugins + Midi capability + samples = Great Value
-PC and Mac compatible
-Ease of recording is remarkable(Once you understand the setup)

Cons:

-No Inbuilt Equalizer ( Am I asking for too much)
-The gain on output could have been a little higher. But that said, it is more that sufficient.
-Lack of alternative sources of info online. (I'll try and make a video to help)
-Manufacture software is not the most intuitive software. (Again, but it is free and that's great value),(You can also find great programs like Audacity for free. Or step it up like I did with Adobe Audition)

Final Verdict:

To me this is an excellent product. For people who don't know how to experiment and tweak the problems out(if any), this might not be such a good option. The first reviewer of this product on Amazon belongs to that category of people who SHOULDN'T get this unit. His rating is ENTIRELY unjustified.

For people who need a high quality yet bare basic preamp for a home set up. You will need to find good drivers of optimum functioning. M-Audio preamps are so problematic and latency ridden, but yet they are the best selling ones I don't know why. I am not against M-Audio. In fact I use their Nova condenser microphone, which is also highly recommended by me. Audiogram 3 was a hit for me. Period.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for the price and for simple recording, April 26, 2010

By 

Young "hepa" (Hepaville, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yamaha Audiogram 3 USB Recording Interface (Personal Computers)

I use this product to record my bass parts onto a Mac computer using Garageband. I then send my bass parts via email to my friend in Japan, who records guitar and vocals and finishes the song. For simple recording, this product has worked great. No static, no noise whatsoever, just a clear bass signal. I am not sure how well it would work in a professional setting or capacity. But for around the home recording of music ideas and not too serious recordings, this product is highly recommended.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredibly easy-to-use product that delivers the goods, December 26, 2009

By 

Spec (Silver Spring, MD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yamaha Audiogram 3 USB Recording Interface (Personal Computers)

For products in the $100 - $200 price range, you'll be hard pressed to find a better USB-based interface.

PROS:
- Very few controls, but just what you need
- Easy plug and play (at least in WinXP and Win7)
- XLR, 1/4-inch and RCA input/outputs
- Phantom power
- Clean sound
- Low latency
- Small footprint

CONS:
- No MIDI jacks (if you need them)
- Need to download/install the latest Yamaha driver from their website (highly recommended!)

I'm using it with Mackie Tracktion (with ASIO) and Adobe Audition without any problems. Not only does it sound great, but I'm not experiencing the latency issues common with USB audio interfaces.

The only challenge for some may be intially installing the Yamaha driver in WinXP. Windows will automatically install its generic USB Audio Device driver when the Audiogram 3 is plugged in. The driver will work, but to ensure low latency--as mentioned by a previous reviewer--you'll want to update this driver with Yamaha's driver (overriding what Windows suggests).

All in all, a well-designed product.