Been recording for a year, am I even doing it properly??

[InFlames]

I have been recording on and off for a year. So if you were really to compile all my time recording it'd be a few months. This is my gear and I am a college student and it's not gonna get any better for awhile so I'm gonna learn to do what I can with it but anyways here goes.

Fostex MR-8
Behringer Eurorack 1622 FX Mixer
3 Mics. All Sure. SM58, PG 58, 588 SDX.
Audacity and FL 5
(may get Nuendo or however you spell it soon)

I go mic'ing my amp into the mixer into the 8 track. I do a basic level and pan mix in the 8 track, put it on two stereo tracks 7/8 and then USB it to my computer. Then I hope I did well enough in the basic MR-8 mix and edit it as a whole in FL 5.

Yeah, it's pretty bad. But I've gotten sorta good at it. Is there a way I can take it and send it from my 8 track back through my mixer to mix it and then have it go to the computer or back to the 8 track?? Being able to mix single track as a single track on the mixer (one track per fader if that's a wacky explanation). Also I only have 24 minutes of the "high quality" on the MR-8 so sending it back to the 8 track would be quite tough on time I presume. Any help for a noob on recording? Thanks.

 

[Cloneboy Studio]

Proof's in the pudding: where's the link to something you've recorded?

That's the only way to tell.

 

[Halion]

Agreed. Lets hear it.

One thing I can tell you right now: Both your Fostex and your Behringer degrade the signal. I won't go into a bashing frenzy, but the truth is, that if you want to go the way you described (mic > behringer > fostex > computer > fostex > behringer > fostex > computer) your signal is gonna be much at very best.

Computers offer the most control, so in that sence, making something sound "better" is best done in the computer, so you don't really need all the feature of the mixer or multitracker for that. However, the multitracker is handy for quick-and-dirty recording, while the mixer gives you a couple more track to mess with. That's just it. It's either gonna be quick and dirty all the way, or it's gonna be not-so-quick and clean. But be prepared for a whole different aproach and a big can-o-wormies.