Do I really need a mixer?

J

Jared

New member
Hello, I'm quite confused and need some advise please! :-) I am putting together a digital recording system using my PC. I have my eye on the WavePRO 424 sound card with Cool Edit Pro and a good drum machine. The main way I will be recording is one track at a time; drum track, bass, guitar, keyboards and then vocals. I've been told that I might need a preamp for my SM58 mic and guitar before it connects into one of the inputs of the card. I understand that Cool Edit Pro has a mixer and effects built into it. So I ask, do I need a mixer? I've looked at Midiman's Audio Buddy and Studiomaster's Diamond Compact 4-2DC XLR as a solution to my possible need for a preamp which I can get for about $95. If I bought a mixer won't I just be throwing my money away since I'm not planning on recording a full live band? If I were to get a mixer I think I would get the Mackie 1202 since I've read so much positive feedback from everyone on this board. I can get a new Mackie 1202 for $325 so I'm wondering if I should put that $95 toward the 1202 just in case I might need it.

I was just struck with a thought - One thing that I think will force me to get the mixer anyway would be for headphones and monitors because I don't know how I would hook them up without one. Did I just answer my question(s)? :-) Thanks in advance for any advice/feedback.

P.S. Can anyone recommend a good drum machine?
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Jared
 
Drum machine? You gotta tell us what kinda music/production you are doing before we can answer that. Country or hip-hop?
or country rap?
As far as the mixer..... I will sell you mine if you want! get it? spend the $ on a pre-amp and maybe... just maybe... you will never turn into one of those snobbish (dinasaur) guys who says...(and I quote).... "I don't mix with a mouse! I need a mixer. I like to feel the sliders under my fingers.." etcetera, ad finitum... and so on and so on..
I bet that guy dosn't know how to program his VCR...
 
I am one of those "I won't mix with a mouse" types. But then again, I have a Soundcraft Ghost console in my studio, so I can afford a bit of snobbery here..... :)

Whether you should purchase a mixer or just use the mixer in your software is really determined by what you would like to do with your tracks at mix down. There are pro's and con's to both.

The main advantage of using the software mixer is the automation it provides. Also, if you are using plugins for dynamic processing, you can generally apply it to all of your tracks, although sometimes those plugins will only support a few tracks at once. After that, software mixing has some drawbacks. It really is much slower because rather than just reaching for a knob and turning it, you have to select the track, then select the function, then do the adjust ment, etc......You also are restricted to the effects and dynamic processors that are supported by the software. You will find also that with digital recording, having analog processing can sometimes really make the nice sound you are after. Digital compressors and EQ's really are quite different in how they change the sound compared to their analog counterparts. I definately prefer analog eq and compression.

With a mixer, you will get some mix pre amps, and the option of using whatever you would like for processing. Hell, you could purchase something like a Crainsong compressor for those "delicate" tracks. Whatever you want.

Anyway, I think that getting a mixer would be a really good idea. You will find many uses for it, even if you don't use it for the actual mix down.

Good luck.

Ed Rei
Echo Star Studio www.echostarstudio.com
 
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