I have noticed as I have acquired a few more bits for more production chains, that it always takes longer than I thought to fully integrate things and learn to use and experiment with hardware I've added.

I'm adding some firewire gear, so I had to dig out an older computer, add a firewire interface, upgrade ram, add an ssd, upgrade USB etc, just to be able to install the drivers and then add the hardware.Before I even get to terms with using the device. So a 30$ impulse purchase requires another 40$ in upgrades and two weeks in time (just doing it in free moments when I'm bored). Glad I have the old computers lying around waiting for a purpose in life.

But it does reinforce my philosphy which is once a chain works, stop fucking with it..
I'm trying to add a Focusrite Liquidmix 16, just for shits and grins, and to try remixing some old songs.

There really is no such thing as plug n play, is the lesson I've learned over the years..

 

I try to use the plugin version and watch some videos of the hardware before buying it, so i know what to expect. No regrets until now. I don't have money to buy gear for experiments. If the gear in question is a interface or a converter, i just stick with the most popular brands and models that will serve me at most. I don't need a 16 channel converter if i'm not recording a full band and using a ton of mics at the same time.