Behringer ADA8000 Optical Expansion Unit Review

The Behringer ADA8000 Ultragain Pro-8 is an inexpensive way to add 8 additional inputs and outputs to some audio interfaces. If your audio interface supports optical inputs or outputs, then this is an effective way to allow more connections.

This unit is great for those who already have an audio interface and are looking for an easy way to expand. When I started getting into recording drums, I knew I needed more inputs. The Focusrite Scarlett 18i6 I was using only had 2 preamps on the front inputs, with 6 additional line inputs on the back. After searching for awhile for a solution, I decided on a used Behringer ADA8000, mostly due to the low cost. Comparable versions from Focusrite and Presonus cost several times the price. I also could have just got extra preamps to make use of those line inputs, but that was quite a bit more expensive and took up much more space than the single rack unit Behringer.


To get this working, all I needed was a single optical cable. I just purchased a cheap one from Cable Matters, and it did the job just fine. The optical cable connects to the output on the Behringer unit and then to the input on the Focusrite. Since my Focusrite doesn't have an optical output to send a clock signal to the Behringer unit, I set the Behringer unit as Master at 44.1 kHz and the Focusrite's Sync Source to ADAT. If the audio interface has an optical output, this can also be done in reverse. With it connected in this way, I had an additional 8 inputs for recording, but I'm not able to take advantage of the ADA8000's 8 line outputs with this interface.

It's worth noting that even though the Focusrite 18i6 can record at up to 96 kHz as the sample rate, the Behringer ADA8000 is limited to 48 kHz (it can also do 44.1 kHz). Like the interface, it still creates a 24 bit signal. 

On the front of the unit, there are 8 XLR inputs for microphones and line inputs that can be connected to other preamps or direct boxes. Keep in mind though that these are not intended to be used for instrument inputs. Each preamp has a signal level and clipping indicator LED on the front, but I choose to use the software on my audio interface since it provides more information. The level control for the preamps has detents, allowing it to be set to the same place every time. This is helpful for consistency, but prevents very fine tuning of the level.

For condenser microphones, there is phantom power, but this applies it to all inputs at once so be careful if combining different devices.

The sound quality out of this unit is decent for the price. I didn't purchase it expecting the highest end preamps, but I am happy that they provide a clean boost without added noise and are definitely usable. More than anything, they're comparable to preamps you would expect to find on a medium level mixer board. Overall, there's really no issue using this for recording multitrack projects in the home studio, but you can always use external preamps and connect them to the line inputs on the front, using the Behringer unit only as a analog to digital converter.

Since picking up this unit, it has become (and will remain) a permanent part of my rack unit for recording. The Behringer ADA8000 is a very effective and economical way to improve the usefulness of a compatible audio interface by adding up to 8 additional inputs and outputs.

The Beginner Videography Buyer's Guide for 2017

With so many options available on the market today, choosing the right beginner equipment for video production can definitely be a challenge. We’ve compiled some of the best options and created a “videography starter pack” for beginners to help you decide on a few options so you can achieve high quality results at the best value.

Panasonic Lumix G7 4K Camera

One of the best value cameras current available is the Panasonic Lumix G7. This mirrorless camera allows for 4K video recording at 30 frames per second at 100Mbit/s, all on a micro four thirds system that allows for interchangeable lenses. This camera can also shoot at 60 frames per second while in 1080p mode, allowing the footage to be slowed down in post. This makes motion appear more smooth and can give your footage a cinematic look while filming. However, this camera does not include in-body stabilization, so if you’re planning on shooting video without the use of a tripod or gimbal, it’s worth checking out the Panasonic Lumix G85 instead. In either case, all footage will be recorded onto an SD card which is not included. To ensure you have a good quality card with fast write speeds, we recommend going with a high quality card such as the SanDisk Extreme PRO.

Zoom H4N Pro Audio Recorder

While a good quality camera to capture nice-looking video is highly important, that’s not the end of the story for videographers. A big part of creating professional content is clean, high quality audio. Whether you’re recording voice using a lavalier microphone, shotgun microphone, or just picking up background noise in a room, you should consider an audio recorder such as the Zoom H4N PRO. This will allow for both XLR and 3.5mm microphones to be connected directly to the recorder. You can then record audio on the recorder itself, or send the audio through to your camera’s 3.5mm microphone input and use the audio recorder as an improvement to the camera’s built-in (noisy) preamps. Additionally, the Zoom H4n Pro has its own microphones, so it’s not necessary to use external ones for every situation. One of the nice things about using a portable audio recorder, is you can connect the lavalier to it, and hide it in a pocket. That way all the audio is recorded, without the need for a cable to the camera or an expensive wireless system.

Viltrox L116T LED Light Panel

To achieve those perfect shots, you’ll also need to use appropriate lighting. For budget videographers just getting started, a good bet is to check out the Viltrox L116T. This lighting system has adjustable color temperature from 3300K to 5600K, as well as a built-in brightness control. It can be powered by standard NP-style batteries for portable use, or by power adapter. The Viltrox L116T can be easily mounted on top of the camera with a cold-shoe mount, or on a standard light stand.

Finally, a solid base and smooth motion is essential to videography. When getting started, it’s worth getting a high quality professional video tripod such as the Davis & Sanford ProVista 7518B. This tripod is very well built with a fluid head on a 75mm bowl mount, allowing the head to be easily leveled. Additionally, the 75mm bowl mount allows for the head to be upgraded in the future to something like a Manfrotto MVH502A head without requiring an entire new tripod to be purchased. To learn more about this tripod, check out our review of it here.

Davis and Sanford Provista 7518: Best Entry-Level Fluid Video Tripod

The Davis & Sanford PROVISTA7518B Fluid Video Tripod is an excellent entry-level video tripod with a fluid head. This tripod is solidly built and will function for a variety of filming and photography applications.

One of the most important things to consider when choosing a tripod is the quality of the fluid head. The fluid head basically acts to provide drag so that movements are smooth when panning and tilting. That way, any small changes in pressure don’t have as much of an effect on the camera movement. Smooth camera movement is one very obvious factor that separates professional and amateur video.

The fluid head on this tripod definitely provides smooth movement. When using it, it’s a little easier to get a smooth tilt that it is to pan. This is more down to practice, since it’s easily to push the handle straight down than it is to maintain a smooth motion of your hand across your mid-line.

Even though this tripod has a fluid head, it definitely still takes some practice and technique to get smooth movements. Even so, new users will find the video very usable and any movement from an inexperienced user can easily be cleaned up during editing using something like Adobe’s Warp Stabilizer.

After a little practice with this tripod, tilting the head seems to work best with my hands placed at the end of the handle. This gives a longer range of movement and makes it really smooth. As for panning, I prefer to have one hand on the camera grip and another right near the base of the handle on the other side of the video head. Having two points of contact gives a lot more control and prevents the slightly jerky movement of each hand from affecting the camera as much.

Adjustable fluid head with bubble level.

One fantastic feature of this tripod is the adjustable head. The center handle can be loosened, which allows the head to tilt side to side, forwards and backwards. If the tripod isn’t on level ground, or the legs aren’t set to exactly the same length because you’re in a hurry, you can quickly adjust the position of the head to get it level. There’s even a small bubble level just to make sure it’s straight. This is especially important for video, since it’s very difficult to rotate a video clip during editing without losing quality and resolution.

My version of the tripod has the slightly older FM18² fluid head. The newer V18 head is very similar, but has a few improvements to some of the locks, making them a bit easier to use with a camera installed. In particular, the lock that holds the camera clip in place can’t be tightened properly when using a DSLR camera because it can’t rotate. I’ve been able to get around this issue by tightening it almost all the way, and just tightening the last part when I put the camera on. Aside from this small issue, the rest of the video head is fairly straightforward to use.

As for photography, I’ve also used this tripod for astrophotography. Even on a windy night, it’s solid construction prevents it from moving around, especially when all the clamps are properly tightened. With this tripod, you can easily shoot long exposure shots without worrying about the camera moving.

The video head construction on this tripod really surpassed expectations. The head is absolutely massive and is completely made out of metal, except for the strong plastic hand grips. It was a pleasant surprise when I noticed even the clamps and locks were all metal, unlike some cheaper tripods where they would all be plastic that could break easily.

The tripod legs are also very solid. The legs are all metal except for the clamps, feet, and a hinge assembly that connects it to the video head. All the clamps seem to be well constructed and can easily hold the tripod at whatever height it is set at with a heavy rig on top.

This tripod isn’t designed to be lightweight and portable. The tripod and bag together weigh in at right around 10 pounds, which is significantly more than some of the carbon fiber tripods available today. It’s also about 3 feet long when collapsed, so don’t expect to be carrying it around in your backpack. This tripod is intended to support heavy camera rigs and be used in larger production situations, so you’ll be disappointed if you’re looking for something to carry around everywhere.

Unlike some of the cheap knockoff brands available online, this tripod also features a very durable bag. The material, zippers, and clips are all very well built, and the logo is actually embroidered instead of being just a printed label. There’s also increased padding around the video head. This can act to protect the video head itself, but honestly I think you’d be more likely to put a dent in the floor with the weight of this head than to damage it, so the padding can protect against that as well.

Overall, the Davis & Sanford PROVISTA7518B Fluid Video Tripod is one of the best fluid video tripods available for the money. We would highly recommend this to anyone looking to make their own videos and add a sense of professionalism with smooth pan and tilt camera motion.

Electronic Drum Kits for the Home Studio and Rehearsal

If you’re looking to practice drums without disturbing your neighbors, or just need a quick way to record a drum track, an electronic drum kit is a good solution. Though there is a wide range of quality between a lot of the different electronic kits, we’ll be focusing on some of the entry level kits.

Though I wouldn’t necessarily rely on a lot of these budget electronic drum kits for live gigs, they are a great portable tool for practicing with a band. Many electronic drum kits can easily fold down and are lightweight, making transporting them much simpler than a traditional acoustic drum kit. If using these drum kits for practicing with a band, make sure to pick up a suitable amplified or hook it up to a PA system so everyone can hear it.

One of the most important considerations when deciding on an electronic drum kit should be the feel and quality of the pads. Though the drum module itself is responsible for the tone of the drum kit, in many cases this can be replaced, or used with a virtual instrument on a computer to create a more realistic drum sound. If the quality of the pads is poor, you’ll constantly be reminded of it as you’re playing, and it could seriously affect your performance.

Another important factor is the sensitivity. Make sure to choose a drum kit with a good range of sensitivity and responsiveness when you hit it. There’s nothing worse than a kit that can’t pick up on the subtle nuances of a drummer’s performance. Even the best virtual instrument plugins won’t be able to improve this sound if there is improper velocity tracking when recording MIDI.

Not all the sound modules with the electronic drum kits are created equal. Some have a lot of different included sounds, but not all of them are capable of sounding realistic if you’re looking to emulate an acoustic kit. Depending on your specific needs, the sounds included with the electronic drum kit are definitely important to consider.

There are a few different electronic drum kits at the budget end, all of which have similar features. We’ll go over a few of these drum kits and discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Alesis Nitro Kit

The Alesis Nitro Kit is a decent starter kit that includes a hi hat, 2 cymbals, snare, 3 toms, and a kick drum. All this is held together with a sturdy aluminum rack, however, some of the cymbals are a little flimsy. Though the overall kit does have a good feel to it, some of the included sounds are a lacking. This is definitely a kit that produces a very electronic sound, so we don’t recommend it to people looking to recreate an acoustic kit for a recording. If your goal is recording for a pop sound, this is a good thing and makes the Alesis Nitro kit a fantastic choice for this application. This kit does have a lot of additional features with the drum module, such as multiple drum kit presets that can be changed by the user, and an included practice tool to teach you to play on time.

Simmons SD300 Electronic Drum Set

Another good option for an electronic drum kit is the Simmons SD300 Electronic Drum Set. Similar to the Alesis kit, this has very electronic sounds to it, making it better for pop music. The sounds are a little more consistent, which can be a slight problem and sound unnatural depending on how prominent the drums are in your music. The Simmons electronic drum set includes 10 kits, 170 drum sounds, and audio outputs to hook it up with an audio interface. Since the tone of this electronic drum kit isn’t the best, we strictly recommend it as a MIDI controller for using with virtual instrument plugins in a DAW, instead of using the included sounds. This can easily be done, since the drum kit can attach to the computer via the USB output and act as a MIDI device.

Behringer XD80USB

The Behringer XD80USB is a highly responsive and good midrange electronic drum kit. Though the kit still sounds electronic, it is a big improvement over the previously mentioned Alesis and Simmons drum kits. This kit also includes a snare, 3 toms, hi hat pedal, bass pedal/trigger, and 2 cymbals. The Behringer drum kit can hook up to an audio interface or drum module through the standard MIDI cables, or to a computer through USB. Though the sounds of this kit are great, it is lacking in the hi hat pedal, which can have a negative impact on playing performance.

Yamaha DTX400K

One of the best electronic drum kits in this price range is the Yamaha DTX400K. Even though this is an electronic drum kit, it does have a very natural feel to it and can easily sound like an acoustic kit. It features 10 drum kits, and a variety of different sounds for whatever genre of music you’re interested in. There’s an auxiliary input for playing along with your own music, as well as built in practice tools with visual indicators to help you improve your own timing. One of the great features of this kit is that it is extremely quiet, making it great for practicing in areas like an apartment. The kit drum trigger is all enclosed within the pedal, instead of a traditional trigger and beater which makes a lot more noise. Overall, the Yamaha DTX400K would be our recommendation for an affordable electronic drum kit for recording and practice.



Electronic drum kits are great for quiet practice, and even recording situations. The MIDI capabilities of electronic drum kits allow you to create professional sounding tracks without breaking the bank on an expensive drum module.