After many years of mostly average service, our much maligned audio recording interface finally stopped functioning. A modest software upgrade rendered its ageing connections obsolete and it became clear to all, we had to move on.

Despite being one of the oldest pieces of equipment we owned, the Alesis rarely ever worked as advertised. Yet, its compact shape and unique layout made it a difficult device to replace. It was flawed, yet fabulous and survived more than one mishap with a glass of wine and lived to tell the tail.

In its place now sits a shiny, but tiny Scarlett 6i6.

The tail end of 2015 turns out to be a terrible time to update an audio interface. With the promise of new all-in-one cable solutions just around the corner, the smart move would be to wait just a little while. We didn't have that luxury, so we tried something else instead.

The Scarlett cannot hold a candle to our old setup. You wouldn't want to host a live show with it and it can barely handle our modest studio needs. What the 6i6 can do however is connect to a phone or tablet - plus it's small enough to throw in a rucksack and provide basic recording and editing on the move.

For the time being, we can work with it until the ideal solution presents itself, and the investment isn't wasted should out-and-about recording needs present themselves. If only finding a minute to record a show was this easy.