Mackie
2 articles
Best Audio Interface for Streaming on a Budget: Affordable Picks for Beginners, Podcasters, and Musician-Streamers
The Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 is the clearest recommendation for most budget streamers: two clean preamps, rock-solid driver support, and enough flexibility to absorb a more complicated setup without forcing another hardware purchase. Buyers who only need a single mic input and want to spend less should look hard at the Focusrite Scarlett Solo, while musician-streamers who want best-in-class preamp quality and reliable loopback will find the MOTU M2 worth the stretch. Everyone else in this category is competing for a narrower slice of the buyer pool.
Updated September 2026
Best Audio Mixers for Electronic Drums: Routing, Trigger Inputs, and Live Performance Control
The Zoom LiveTrak L-12 earns Top Pick for electronic drums by pairing multitrack recording, per-channel compression and EQ, and flexible monitor mixing in a portable unit sized for the gigging drummer. Producers and engineers who need deeper routing and higher channel counts will find more headroom in the Soundcraft Ui24R and Behringer X32, at the cost of portability and simplicity. Choose by counting the outputs your drum module actually uses, then add everything else that needs a channel.
Updated October 2026