For years I’ve enjoyed podcasting doing a variety of shows including some locally with friends, and others online mostly via Skype. Although I do enjoy doing the production side of the shows (editing) at the end of the day I am lazy. While a lot of people choose to manually insert splitters, bumps and music in during editing, this does not jive with my lazyness. Anyone who has podcast with me before knows I’m a bit (ok a lot) of an audiophile when it comes to what I help produce; this is why I enjoy working on a multi-track basis which allows me to have at least a limited amount of wiggle when I hit editing. Although I had managed to “make” my setup record 4 different tracks while podcasting, I was using software to bridge two sound cards and it was full of drop-outs and other issues, which resulted in me generally still recording 2-channel and manually insert elements in editing (remember, I am lazy).

Usually multi-channel recording devices cost at least several hundred dollars or more, so as you may imagine, I was shocked to stumble across the Cakewalk (by Roland) FA-66 for only $149.99. I looked into the history of this device and although the FA-66 has been around for years (and even branded under different names) it still seemed to be a pretty solid device still. I put it on my “to purchase one day” list, but was extremely giddy when I found it under my Christmas Tree.

Although I had done some initial testing I had to wait to review the Cakewalk FA-66 until I had actually used it for several full podcasts in a real world test – after doing so, I’m pleased to report that it is a VERY solid device. I’ve recorded several podcasts now which have even gone over 2 hours in length, and I have not come across any hiccups, drops outs or any other issues that often occur with some low-end multi track devices. I am also impressed with the relatively low line noise of the FA-66, and I’ve noticed a HUGE reduction in noise recorded now that I am recording my microphone directly, as opposed to passing it through my sound mixer.

The Cakewalk FA-66 is feature rich allowing a variety of user-configurations including sample rate, the ability to power it via 6-pin Firewire OR the DC adapter included, built-in limiter to prevent peaking, phantom power and several other features that I won’t bother to ramble on about. It’s also clear that the device was made for a “prosumer” level since it features a variety of input methods (two channels via XLR/TRS combos, two via RCA and two via optical). The FA-66 also includes some pretty decent software including a recording/editing program, a synthesizer program and a very easy setup utility.

As great as the FA-66 is, there are a few quirks that I’ve found to be a little irritating. The biggest issue I’ve had with the device would have to be the “6-out” feature advertised. The FA-66 is clearly advertised as a “6 In 6 Out” device and the wiring diagram led me to believe that for every channel that came in, there was the option to pass it straight through the equivalent out channel. If this was the case it would allow the user to feed each channel elsewhere (ie. my sound board) – this is not the case. As far as I can tell, Outputs 1 and 2 will provide a mix of all inputs on the FA-66 and Channels 3-6 can be configured via the recording software. The software configuration of these channels appears to be meant for users to route audio from different tracks in different directions. Without the ability to pass each channel straight through to another source, I’ve had to use some very complicated wiring that has made what looks like a rat’s nest behind my monitors.

Finally, there are a couple other quirks that seem to indicate that the FA-66 was geared toward a musician’s setup instead of something like mine. The Sonar software included, although feature rich, is extremely complicated when it comes to trying to edit a podcast – even trying to simply remove sections from all tracks is difficult. The second indication comes from the volume levels that the FA-66 records. The two RCA channels record at a fairly low volume, and unless the sensitivity knobs on the XLR/TRS inputs are turned up, they too also quiet. I suspect if I was in a musician’s configuration I would be passing my gear through some amps or other equipment which would likely boost the levels quite a great deal. Even though this low volume is a bit of an annoyance, I’ve found that with the FA-66’s low line noise, I simply boost the volume in editing and all is well.

Even with the previous quirks considered, the FA-66 is easily a product I’d recommend to someone looking to record 4-channels on a consumer level. The device has so far been solid and has allowed me to do pretty much everything I set out to do without investing in hundreds and hundreds of dollars in equipment. Overall I’d happily rate the Cakewalk FA-66 4 out of 5 stars.