My experience with the M-Audio / M-Track SOLO

I decided to document my experience with the M-Audio / M-Track SOLO XLR audio interface since I'm new to all this and trying to put together a little studio that works for me.

Since it took me quite a while to investigate the issue I was having, and I found others who had the same problem, I figured someone might benefit from this. The interface is quite popular and is listed as an "Amazon's Choice" item, so I assume (haven't checked) that there's probably bunch of YouTubers hyping it with affiliate links.
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Here is what others have said on Amazon Reviews - which proves I'm not the only one that's had this problem:

1.0 out of 5 stars TLDR; don't waste your time or money
Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2022
Size: with 1 Mic InputStyle: Interface onlyVerified Purchase
I bought this item for a microphone booster to my PC and to adjust my sound while streaming/playing games. The microphone is incredibly quiet/useless unless you have the mic at volume 10, at all times. Kind of defeats the purpose of having a volume knob...
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1.0 out of 5 stars Gain control is so sensitive that it's unusable
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2023
Size: with 2 Mic InputsStyle: Interface onlyVerified Purchase
I read the one-star reviews that said that all the action in the gain control was between nine and ten, but figured "how bad could it be?" I bought an open-box unit, plugged a Shure SM57 and SM58 into it, set the gain just short of the red lights indicating clipping, and tried recording. The record level always seemed to low. Finally I plugged some headphones into the box and listened while I tweaked the gain. Doing it this way, I found that the gain control is so sensitive that it's unusable—there's very little gain until about 9.8, at which point it it comes alive so quickly that it starts clipping. I couldn't find a setting that had some snap to it and was clip-free. Returning.
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This video is very poorly produced because I'm just learning how to edit and dont yet know how to record the screen, and don't have a proper mic installed yet.

FWIW -- I returned the M-Track Solo and purchased the Focusrite Vocaster One.