home studio setup-questions

D

darcaro

New member
Hey Guys-

I have a small home studio that i've setup for purposes of recording music and also jamming once in a while with friends, in a small bedroom. I made some recent additions that really messed me up. I was using Garageband with an Imac and a Focusrite2I2 .... everything was awesome , i had my keyboard plugged in directly via USB and I also have a Line6 Helix , which is also plugged in via USB - I was able to select the different inputs and record with no problem...made some decent recordings and everything was great. But that setup wasn't too good to jam with other people.

I got myself a Yamaha MG12XU mixer, and read that I could use that to replace my focusrite -I just plugged in the USB out into my mac and that became my audio interface. I have also since obtained a Roland VDrum kit, which is great and (should) allow me to jam with my drummer friend. I attached a headphone amp to the board also, which seems to work ok

My issues are :

- when recording, drums for example, my new drum tracks are actually picking up a copy of the recording (as well as the click!) - What is the correct method, aside from USB, to connect to my mac and record correctly (and still output the sound through the mixer)

- Is there any way to keep the guitar and keys plugged in via USB , but still hear them thru the mixer? I like to use my mac to control both of them, so I'm trying to avoid running them into the board.

- I have read, googled , youtubed and everything else i can think of to get this setup right ... but it's not going so well - do any of you fine folks that are experts in this area offer assistance/support , (for a fee obviously) for newbies to get their home studios setup right?!

Thank you guys so much!
 
I am not familiar with macs nor Garage Band* but I do know they can handle multiple USB audio devices as "aggregate devices" so maybe you can plug all that kit in and sort out the routing? The mixer is at least a Gen2 device and give 24bit operation.

Another solution, assuming you still have the 2i2 is to run the analogue outs into its line inputs and run all the other kit through the mixer. You have 6 mic channels and several more line inputs. N.B. Although you will be able to "pan" the mixer sources you can only get a stereo resultant using the 2i2.

*As I say, don't know it but it DOES come for free and you might have reached the end of its capabilities?

Dave.
 
I'm always mystified about choosing a stereo only USB device vs. getting an interface with more inputs, since it really ties things up.

As [MENTION=89697]ecc83[/MENTION] says, you can create an aggregate device in OS X and include your Helix, the drums and whichever of the devices you want for I/O - either the F'rite or Yammie - don't see a point in having both, though you probably could. Once you've done that, you have to go through and make sure everything is configured to the same sample rate, either physically or with its own configuration software, if it's variable. Then, start testing so you know what's what in the Inputs in GB, i.e., 1-2 are F-rite/Yamaha, 3-4 Helix, etc. Write it down. Then configure your output to go to the interface you've chosen that has the headphone amp connected. You should not get the click recorded that way.

If you want to just take the analog output from the drums, then you don't need to include it in the aggregate device. Just plug into whatever, panning in the Yammie for its stereo track output, or selecting 1-2 as a stereo track with the F'rite.

Or, get an interface that is 8/8 in/out or so and connect your Helix and Drums using analog outputs from those devices. You'd still be able to use the Line 6 software to modify the USB connected Helix, but its output would be going through the interface.
 
Thank you Keith. Was I right about GB? Is it limited or a pretty powerful DAW?

Dave.
 
ecc83 said:
Thank you Keith. Was I right about GB? Is it limited or a pretty powerful DAW?
Click to expand...
My usual "brief" answer ;).

It's not a full-featured DAW, but it is built on the Logic Pro X engine these days so it lacks nothing in power, and many of the important built-in Logic plugins are there, though they often lack the controls you'd want, especially the compressors, which are hidden by their generic names, and only expose a couple of controls for use. So, I guess you'd call it slightly defeatured, but to a large degree that's to make it simple to use for folks that really don't want to learn the ins and outs of working in Logic, Repear, Pro Tools, et al, or understand compressor attack/release/threshold nitty gritty and the like.

If you've been using a previous version of GB, you'l need to convert old projects to the new format if you want to use it. It's not destructive unless you purposely delete/overwrite the old project, but it is more than just new skin.

And, it seems to me that it's much more demanding resource-wise than the previous version. So, it's probably been developed on their newer platforms; i.e., while it runs on your 8 year old Mac, it might not run as hiccup-free as the old version (IME).

But, you can install all the same 3rd party plugins (AU) you want and they'll work fine, and your old ones are still there if you had any. It's really in the editing and using some of the workflow things I'm used to now that I find annoying when I've tried to use it. Also, they include some defaults, like when you want to record a vocal track (e.g.) where you choose a preset like "Male Vocal" and it does a *lot* of stuff behind the curtain you really don't have any control over. (If you convert the project to Logic later on, much of that will become apparent, and their aux use/routing can be pretty convoluted, IMO.)
 
Thank you for all of your replies! I'm thinking i might completely separate my mixer from my recording setup -I looked into that aggregate device , but that is way above my home recording pay grade, so that would just be more confusing. I guess i'm going to have to scratch using my helix through USB , and go into the mixer for purposes of jamming/practicing live. And based on the replies, i will setup my 2i2 and use that for the input (for recording) and use the MG12XU only for output/headphone amp- hopefully i wont record the click . thank you again!
 
darcaro said:
Thank you for all of your replies! I'm thinking i might completely separate my mixer from my recording setup -I looked into that aggregate device , but that is way above my home recording pay grade, so that would just be more confusing. I guess i'm going to have to scratch using my helix through USB , and go into the mixer for purposes of jamming/practicing live. And based on the replies, i will setup my 2i2 and use that for the input (for recording) and use the MG12XU only for output/headphone amp- hopefully i wont record the click . thank you again!
Click to expand...

If you are going to run everything through the mixer for jam/practice you might as well go the extra click and take the output to the line inputs on the 2i2 and record the panned, stereo mix.

Dave.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top