A good studio mixer? £150 - £300

[terious]

Hi all,

I am looking to purchase my first audio interface for recording and was hoping to pass by you guys' whats hot and whats not' on the market!
I guess I am stuck for choices, like 'USB or/and Firewire' setup. I currently own creative live! 24 bit onboard soundcard. running 3.5 jack out to amp.

Ive been looking first at the smaller usb audio interfaces: ..(my Budget £150 - 250)
-terratec dmx 6fire
-cakewalk ua-25ex
-presonus fire studio
-M-Audio. I see alot of their products about but have heard bad things in the past! what's the overall opinion about their products?

Second I am looking at the bigger Mixers:
-Behringer XENYX 1204USB 12-Channel Mixer
-Alesis MultiMix 8 USB 2.0 Mixer Audio Interface
-Mackie Pro FX8 Mixer Live USB Mixer (profx8)
I think I would prefer the up-down faders for volume control.

Thirdly I've been looking at 'Line 6' products:
-Line 6 Pod Studio UX2 USB Audio Interface (especially like the model design of this and has been recommended to me)
-Line 6 guitar port

All these are advertised as usb. Which are audibly better? MIDI/usb/Firewire?

Importantly I want to hook up and record multiple instruments! I will be investing in a midi keyboard and already own a number of electric guitars. I will want to record Dance/Electronic/techno through the keyboard and have jam sessions with the guitars..! All at the same time? maybe..
I'm hoping to get feedback from you lovely forum readers who have the right experience when routing gear to PC

Thanks for your time,
terious

p.s. browsing at inta-audio.com

 

[Chibi Nappa]

Audio interfaces are not my thing so I can't answer everything, but:

USB and Firewire do not sound any different. It is the same way compact flash doesn't sound any different than an SD card. Both USB and Firewire simply move numbers from here to there. Firewire is a bit faster, so it might be able to move a larger stream of numbers from here to there, but what gets moved will not sound any different. The preamps and converters will determine the interface that sounds better.

MIDI is an entirely different thing. MIDI is not recorded sound. It is a stream of instructions to make sound. Picture a micro-managing conductor in an orchestra standing over the shoulder of a clarinet player saying "OK, play the middle B flat...Now! Now stop playing it!". That micro-managing conductor is MIDI. Put equally perfect clarinet players in front of those same instructions, and they will play the same thing. Because of this every time you play a MIDI file it is a brand new performance, not a recording of a previous performance. This allows MIDI files to be extremely small since they contain absolutely no information about the tone of the instruments themselves.

 

[terious]

Think I'm looking to buy a nice mixer 3+track recording!

Really don't know where to start though, been looking at this..
Behringer Xenyx 1222FX

 

[terious]

been checking these one out..
Allen and Heath Zed10FX USB Mixer
Behringer Xenyx X1222USB Mixer
Yamaha MG124C Stereo Mixer

The yamaha is non-usb..but It seems that everything is USB out there!!

 

[FunkDaddy]

Is there a reason you want a mixer?

I'd just go with an audio interface.

MIDI is not synonomous with USB and Firewire, FYI. MIDI transmits note information, not audio, USB and Firewire can transport MIDI, audio, etc. They are file transfer protocols.

 

[austinm08]

Hey terious,

I'll just plainly state this in order to start you in the right direction.
You don't need a mixer.

The thing to do these days is get an audio interface. An audio interface's main purpose is to allow you to input analog audio signals (microphones or instruments) to be converted into digital audio/data (because you can't send analog audio through Firewire or USB).

The reason you don't need a mixer is because at this point, you do all the mixing "in the box", within your software (Cubase, Reaper, Logic, Pro Tools, or whatever you decide to use). A program like one of these is also called a DAW (digital audio workstation), or maybe a DAW is technically the label for the program + interface.. I don't know.

Generally you can also plug a MIDI keyboard into an interface and have its data sent to the computer, also. My keyboard (Axiom 61) has USB out, so I just plug it directly into my PC and my DAW recognizes it.

**I'm not saying this is what you NEED to do, but I'm guessing it's because you are new to this that you just aren't aware that a mixer isn't needed. Hope this helped.

 

[kcearl]

just jumping in here but Id suggest not spending the extra cash of mixers with built in FX...

These are primarily there for live instruments and not really recording..I bet the ones that come with your DAW would be better quality than the mixers, plus you have more flexibility.

I also wouldnt be worried too much about Behringers reputation when its comes to mixers (if you are) as it seem to be one of the areas they get right...I have a 1604 and an 802 that have no noticeable noise and have been or are in my recording chain

though if you dont need one why get one? get an audio interface with enough inputs in the first place

 

[axeman_ukl]

what is yopur total budget ?
a mixter may not be the best use of your money a sound card with multiple inputs may be better.
if your looking at a pod i'd go second hand there built like a tank.

 

[terious]

Thanks for the positive input guy's!! thks
My total budget is now £200 as Ive just purchased cakewalk A-series 300
I just think I would like a mixer (at some point) to control evrything by hand! but I will see how my mixes go with the software I use!

Liking the sound of some of these pod interfaces, there are some nice bits of kit out there!

just one thing can any of you rate the mixers with built in soundcards?

 

[austinm08]

Thanks for the positive input guy's!! thks
My total budget is now £200 as Ive just purchased cakewalk A-series 300
I just think I would like a mixer (at some point) to control evrything by hand! but I will see how my mixes go with the software I use!

Liking the sound of some of these pod interfaces, there are some nice bits of kit out there!

just one thing can any of you rate the mixers with built in soundcards?

You probably STILL don't want or need a mixer for that....

you need a control surface. I have a Digi 002 control surface (interface+control surface) so I can control everything by hand, and move physical faders, etc.