Mixers and Home Recording

faddy-kristaino said:
Hey guyz!
i am new to homerecording.com , heard about people who became pro in this site. i am also willing to be a part of circle like you pro people.
right now i have focusrite scarlett studio kit. and the badest thing is, after investing my whole pocket money i'm still not getting good outcome. no one in my town has awareness about mixing and mastering.
i'm a featured guitarist and a bit keyboardist. right now am using reaper with lots of plugins which puzzle me alot.
really need your support and help to start my home studio.
i will be thankful to you.

Faddy
Click to expand...

First off, this should probably be a thread in its own right...perhaps a passing moderator could split it off into the Newbies section?

Okay the first thing to say is that a Scarlett interface and Reaper working together are capable of good results. You don't mention what microphone(s) you have but let's assume you're okay in the regard. Some mics are better than others but it takes a pretty bad one to actually mess up your recordings.

Therefore I have a couple of suggestions for you:

One thing to consider right away is the acoustics of the room you're working in. An untreated room can make any recording sound pretty bad. Ideally, you'll spend some time and money doing a proper job of acoustic treatment but, to get going, you can get a pretty big improvement by hanging movers blankets or thick duvets behind and around you. (Some of us have built frames out of cheap PVC pipe to hold this sort of thing.) This, combined with working close to the mic (see my next point) can make a big difference.

Second, spend some time coming to grips with all the boring technical stuff--things like gain staging (getting the levels right into your interface and then into your computer and DAW) and mic technique can make a big difference to the final result. For example, if you suffer from too much room noise, working closer to the mic helps as does getting the mic farther (and facing directly away from) the source of any noise.

Finally, you mention having lots of plug ins--but the best advice I can offer is to not plan on using too many of them. Get your recording as good as possible when tracking and the rest will fall into place. On the other hand, deciding to "fix it in the mix" is always a bad idea.
 
Hey,

I've been recording audio in my home studio for some time now. Since 2010. I've been upgrading my equipment ever so often and now I'm at a block. I need your help and so far in research, you're the only person who's been speaking some sense on the internet.

I've got an Audio Technica AT-4040 mic, Behringer X1204USB mixer, M-audio Fast Track Pro. M-Audio AV40's and BX 8a's.

2 days ago I ordered an external preamp/compressor/eq "ART Pro Channel II".

But now I don't know how to connect it. My mixer does not have an insert port. It has the send and return jacks. Plus, the Art Pro Channel back doesnt seem to really give much of a way around it.

My setup is all I've got. I've gotten great audio from it and can't really go shopping for any more expensive stuff. Can you help me connect this new ART Pro to my already configured setup. I've heard the best chain is mic>preamp(in my case, "Behringer x1204")>compressor(Art PRo Channel II)>interface..

What cables do I use? and What's the best way? I need your help. ASAP.
Please
 
Um, you just PM'd me with the exact text.

You are about to be banned as a bot.

Reply or be gone.

If this was an accident, then fix it.

Jimmy.
 
Hey,

I've been recording audio in my home studio for some time now. Since 2010. I've been upgrading my equipment ever so often and now I'm at a block. I need your help and so far in research, you're the only person who's been speaking some sense on the internet.

I've got an Audio Technica AT-4040 mic, Behringer X1204USB mixer, M-audio Fast Track Pro. M-Audio AV40's and BX 8a's.

2 days ago I ordered an external preamp/compressor/eq "ART Pro Channel II".

But now I don't know how to connect it. My mixer does not have an insert port. It has the send and return jacks. Plus, the Art Pro Channel back doesnt seem to really give much of a way around it.

My setup is all I've got. I've gotten great audio from it and can't really go shopping for any more expensive stuff. Can you help me connect this new ART Pro to my already configured setup. I've heard the best chain is mic>preamp(in my case, "Behringer x1204")>compressor(Art PRo Channel II)>interface..

What cables do I use? and What's the best way? I need your help. ASAP.
Please

---------- Update ----------

sorry this was a mistake
I'm just looking for urgent help
 
You're spoiled for choice--there are lots of ways you could hook this up.

My suggestion would be simply Mic--->ART Pro Channel--->X1204USB(Line in)--->Computer via USB. Or, forget the Behringer and substitute the M Audio Fast Track. I'd go with the Behringer because the quarter inch input on the Fast Track is designed for an unbalanced instrument level feed.

To be clear, the ART is a pre amp which is superior to either the Behringer or the M Audio. It can also handle any compression you want internally without needing to loop through a mixer or whatever.

Similarly, the Behringer and the M Audio both provide a USB connection to your computer. You don't need both. Generally, you're always better off to use a little gear as necessary in your signal path.

Whether you use the Behringer mixer or the M Audio to interface to your computer, the cable would be the same: a female XLR to male TRS.
 
I too have had a PM from the OP so this might be my first and last response to him unless a grovelling apology is forthcoming!....But! To the Technicals!

Bobbs, you may not have handled a fast track pro? The input jacks are switchable to instr' or line. Unbalanced certainly but that should not matter at line levels and modest cable runs.

The Pro can also run at 24bits and is generally likely to be far quieter than most USB mixers. It even has inserts on the rear that allow you to bypass the front pre amps completely and in effect go directly into the converters. Or, the OP could use the Pro's pres and run the Art as an FX box in the inserts, tho as you say the Art has likely the best pre amps (the Pro's are very wimpy and gain shy).

In all this, as ever you are connecting "semi" (at least) pro gear, with its "pro" levels to "prosumer" gear that operates well below that. I no longer have my FTP so I cannot check anything. I also cannot easily download a user manual? Be obliged if anyone can provide same or a safe link.

Dave.
 
hello my name is Gary..I have a behringer xenyx q802 usb mixer that im trying to hook up in my home studio. I use a windows 7 operating system. the problem im having is that i cant find a driver download other than asio4all on the behringer website.Tryed going into support and still couldnt find the driver. please help!
 
Gary Henderson said:
hello my name is Gary..I have a behringer xenyx q802 usb mixer that im trying to hook up in my home studio. I use a windows 7 operating system. the problem im having is that i cant find a driver download other than asio4all on the behringer website.Tryed going into support and still couldnt find the driver. please help!
Click to expand...

Hi Gary. Stop looking, I am pretty sure there is no proper ASIO driver for the Berry 802 mixer.

Windows will use the default USB audio device driver and as you have already discovered you can use the ASIO4all "wrapper". Neither of these is likely to give you low latency if that is what you seek.

For low latency at a budget level I think the only real choice is the Steinberg UR 22? As ever, if you want the best 'un, NI KA6. The latter will also take the outputs of the 802 giving you 4 discrete mic channels.

Dave.
 
Or he could use the mixer's built in analog zero latency input monitoring feature designed expressly for that purpose rather than monitoring through the DAW. But that might entail making the monumental effort of actually reading the manual.
 
bouldersoundguy said:
Or he could use the mixer's built in analog zero latency input monitoring feature designed expressly for that purpose rather than monitoring through the DAW. But that might entail making the monumental effort of actually reading the manual.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but what if he wants do do an overdub? How do you pull that off without monitoring through the DAW?

Mixer is just a bad choice for multitrack recording with computer. Well, in my opinion.
 
jimmys69 said:
Yeah, but what if he wants do do an overdub? How do you pull that off without monitoring through the DAW?

Mixer is just a bad choice for multitrack recording with computer. Well, in my opinion.
Click to expand...

Monitor the live input directly in the mixer while using the TO PHONES/CTRL RM button to monitor the playback. Both will appear the the headphones but only the live input will be recorded.

Live amp sims will make things trickier, but if I were recording like this I'd rather get my tone outside the box, even if it's just a Pod.
 
bouldersoundguy said:
Monitor the live input directly in the mixer while using the TO PHONES/CTRL RM button to monitor the playback. Both will appear the the headphones but only the live input will be recorded.
Click to expand...

This is exactly what I did when I was recording into Logic using an emagic ISIS sound card. It only had line inputs, so I used a mixer to go in, and it's control room routing to monitor.
 
Has anybody had experience with a matrix mixer?
I have a set up with multiple amps. And most of the mixers are limited on adjustable outputs. It would be nice to do some routing on the fly.
 
Hello, just signed up. I'm fresh.

Having only ever recorded on a 4 track and halfbaked things on garage band due to ignorance/impatience/laziness i thought i''d get a Tascam 238, to get a better sound whilst it being still analogue. I know very little about recording set up's. Im sure i could of spent my money on half decent software etc maybe, but i want the tape machine, because its hands on and i dont require endless possibilites etc etc... basically i'm a novice and often find manuals crippling. So here i am, on the internet, publicly announcing these questions to you generous and knowledgeable people:

1. Can i hook up a soundcraft spirit folio 12/2 mixer with tascam 238? (i have limited funds for the tascam mixers that i've read about)

2. Literally, in toddler speak, how do i connect it all up, how many leads, do's/dont's, yadda yadda?

Of course over time and through trial and error i will figure stuff out, but a few pointers on how to get up and running pronto would be very useful.

Many Thanks Peoples,

Chris
 
The Soundcraft Spirit Folio 12/2 would not be right for connecting to the Tascam 238. You will want a substantially larger mixer with more recording-specific features (direct outputs, inline monitoring etc.).
 
Ok, thanks bouldersoundguy!

I was a mere click away from getting one. Could you suggest something more suitable?

Thanks again
 
wackrow said:
Ok, thanks bouldersoundguy!

I was a mere click away from getting one. Could you suggest something more suitable?

Thanks again
Click to expand...

I have a Soundcraft GB2R that has direct outs on all 16 channels. That would be a pretty good match as you could use the first 8 channels for inputs to the 238 and the last 8 channels for the outputs. That's a classic split console setup using a fairly generic mixer. Pretty much any 16 channel board with direct outs (or inserts you could use as direct outs) could be used that way. The Mackie 1604 series would work as they have direct outs on the first 8 channels.
 
Thanks for your swift reply, appreiciate your advice.

ok, so, here's a few more questions...

I'll only ever be needing 3-4 channels at one time for drums, the rest of the time i'll just record one instrument after another. i'm not recording a live band set up. Is it imperative that i have a 16 channel board? Hate to keep whinging about cash, but im on a budget. However, if the mixers you mentioned really are the best/only route to take, then so be it.

Thanks alot...
 
wackrow said:
Thanks for your swift reply, appreiciate your advice.

ok, so, here's a few more questions...

I'll only ever be needing 3-4 channels at one time for drums, the rest of the time i'll just record one instrument after another. i'm not recording a live band set up. Is it imperative that i have a 16 channel board? Hate to keep whinging about cash, but im on a budget. However, if the mixers you mentioned really are the best/only route to take, then so be it.

Thanks alot...
Click to expand...

The "extra" channels are not just for recording all of them at once, it's to make the process smoother. If the mixer doesn't allow you to record, monitor and mix without a repatching it can add a lot of time and tedium to a process that's already time consuming and tedious.

If you're really on a budget keep your eye out for an Alesis 1622. They're weird in a lot of ways and the eq is limited, but it has the basic routing features for recording on an 8-track and they go for stupid cheap. You could add outboard eq later to upgrade the board's channel eq.

Speaking of outboard processing, you're going to need some, starting with at least one good effects processor and eventually some compressors. Once you add all this stuff up you will probably spend more than on a decent laptop and a 4-channel interface and you'll still have less capability.
 
Woah....ok. Thanks so much again for you time and advice.

I'll cobble something together, it's the song that counts, as they say. If it all goes tits up, i'll take up miming or pottery to express myself.
 
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