Audio Interfaces 8 in 4 out - what happens to remaining 4?

H

hudsonsaul

New member
Sorry for the dumb question. I'm kinda confused.

Audio Interfaces such as Tascam US800 and US600 state I/O is 8/4.

If you utilized all 8 inputs to record a jam, what happens to the other 4? ... .and what's the point in using them anyways if they have no output to your DAW?

Or is the 'output' just separate tracks, so its actually 5 out?...4 separate tracks in daw, plus 1 for the rest?

Thanks!
 
You can have those 8 inputs in your DAW, they are not directly connected to your outputs. Usually output 1/2 is main stereo output and you can assign something like headphone or booth mix to output 3/4 (depending on interface and DAW).
 
The whole path from the interface's inputs to the DAW is considered the input side. The four outputs take some combination of playback and input monitoring out to studio monitors and/or headphone distribution.
 
So have I misinterpreted audio interfaces that say things such as '8 in 4 out'? As I thought this meant the device had 8 inputs, with 4 outputs being the only ones that could be recorded to separate tracks in the DAW.

Soooo, if i understand you two right, what it actually means is that those 8 separate inputs can all be simultaneously recorded to their own tracks in the DAW, whilst the 4 outputs are for speaker monitors, headphones etc and that output can only manage 4 of the 8 inputs?

Thank Christ for the noob section :) ...also thanks for the quick responses.
 
You've got it except the outputs can carry a mixed signal of a number of inputs and outputs. You can have 8 things hooked up to the inputs and combine a mix of those inputs with a mix of the previously recorded tracks coming from the DAW. You can hear what you are playing and what you are playing to. With four outputs you can have a stereo control room mix plus one stereo headphone mix or two mono headphone mixes.
 
Yup. The "8 in" are recorded to your hard drive for use in the DAW. The "4 out" are actual outputs FROM your computer/DAW and are used for monitoring or just listening to the mixes you've done.
 
hudsonsaul said:
So have I misinterpreted audio interfaces that say things such as '8 in 4 out'? As I thought this meant the device had 8 inputs, with 4 outputs being the only ones that could be recorded to separate tracks in the DAW.

Soooo, if i understand you two right, what it actually means is that those 8 separate inputs can all be simultaneously recorded to their own tracks in the DAW, whilst the 4 outputs are for speaker monitors, headphones etc and that output can only manage 4 of the 8 inputs?

Thank Christ for the noob section :) ...also thanks for the quick responses.
Click to expand...

True for the Tascam and most interfaces, but it can get confusing with mixers - for instance the Behringer XENYX 1202FX Mixer - says 12 in and there are 12 inputs, but it's not an interface, so you do not get 12 tracks to your DAW - Also the Alesis Multimix USB series are only 2 stereo tracks - however the Multimix USB 2.0 DO HAVE 8 and 16 tracks to the DAW... takes a bit of research
 
or you could have the 8 tracks going to your daw and have the 4 returns to your mixer for stereo mix vocals and kick or whatever and mix there to get control of outbound gear
 
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