IK Multimedia AXE I/O

I use this interface mainly to record guitar DI and to listen through my monitors (Adam T7Vs). Latency is low and stability with Windows 10 is great so far. The main feature is the DI input of the interface. On the front you have 1 input with lots of options such as "pure" and "JFET", "active" and "passive", and "Z-Tone". All of those shape the sound. Add a little harmonic richness, optimize for passive or active pickups or make the sound more round and warm or sharp and clear (like a guitar tone knob).

I stepped up to this from a Scarlett 2i2 1st gen and the difference in DI sound quality is very noticeable. I don't feel like I need an additional DI box at all.

The microphone inputs on the back are also great, used them to record vocals and they do sound good.

The only thing that I wish this interface had is thunderbolt connectivity, but this way the price is lower and you still have good latency and bandwidth.

Not to forget you get a lot of included software, and the mixing plugins are really good, as well as Amplitube 4 deluxe.

I'm certain you'll be satisfied with this purchase for a home recording solution if you're mainly a guitar/bass player.

Rating solely on the basis of the interface features and quality as the whole other part of it i.e. the provided software(s) and the product manager are quite a chore to use, if you miss out on a free download and find out about it later, there is even a reactivation charge for it which isn't cool, also the whole experience of downloading software is not very user friendly and it's mostly about buy this and buy that all over it, and I think there is no way to filter out effects and presets one does own and it's all just there only for you to click a preset to find you don't own this pedal or that effect, and that's exasperating. That said, the audio interface looks, feels and sounds great, the latency is minimal and the outputs provide ample clarity, knobs are of good quality and are sufficiently responsive. Happy with it but I'd rather use it with other softwares such as Bias FX or Helix Native instead of the ones provided.

I was looking for an interface for mixing on my laptop while I travel, that would also double up as an input for my guitar. My 2nd gen Focusrite 18i8 wasn't doing it for due to the dreadful Windows 10 driver introducing audible artifacts that were driving me nuts.

The AXE I/O was interesting to me since it was made primarily as an interface for Amplitube which I use every day.

This thing is incredible. First; out of the box, it feels rugged. As soon as I got it, I plugged it in, installed the driver and it just worked. The user controls are intuitive and there's even a switch to get the best tone from active pickups. It works seamlessly with Amplitube as one would expect, but also as an ASIO interface for my DAW's (Cubase, Cakewalk and Mixbus 32C)

I love this thing!