Computer Recording Setup...

[Echelon]

Ok, so this is my first post here, but I've been reading the board for quite a while and have decided that you guys sure know what you're talking about . So I worked for a guy that worked with a lot of local bands doing recording and stuff, and learned quite a bit from him about mixing and mastering, but he moved... and one of the things he never got around to showing me was how to set up my little project studio I have going on. I was hoping you guys could help me out, because frankly... I'm not even sure I have all the right stuff.

I am recording onto a PC that I built (win xp). I have an Aardvark q10 and cubase sx. I know that the q10 has preamps, so i don't need those unless i want them. I agree with what many of you said in an earlier post, I like to use a hardware mixer when i am mixing stuff, but I don't know how to set that up. I typically record directly into Cubase sx, and then edit it, but I would like to somehow send those tracks out to an outboard mixer to mix all the levels to the way I want them, and then send it back to the PC to burn it to a disc. How would I go about setting this up (is it even possible)? what other hardware do I need (besides the mixer of course)? I would also like the ability to add effects in from outboard units (like Rocktron or Lexicon), but I don't know how to set those up and integrate them into a track after the track has been recorded. The only way i know of is to just recording the vocals/guitars/drums or whatever with the effects being recorded live with the instruments.

Gosh, I feel so ignorant about all of this... any help would be greatly appreciated. Also, if any of you have any suggestions for any hardware I would need, or should have (including a mixer), i would appreciate your input.

 

[darknailblue]

That's almost too much work. If you are mixing in Cubase, why not just mix it right there. You'd be adding a generation of processing by putting it to an out board mixer and then back into the computer, which will degrade your overrall sound quality. Usually what people do is put a mixer b4 the computer to do the mixing. Mics are ran into the mixer, levels are set blah blah blah. This just makes things easier, but is not necessary if you have a copmuter.

 

[lpdeluxe]

Get a control surface like an EZBus or Tascam US428. That'll make things easier than using a mouse/kb for everything.

 

[Echelon]

Ok, i've been looking at some of the cheaper control surfaces... more specifically the Behringer VCF2000. I went to the website and looked throught the pdf of the manual, but still felt like i wasn't getting enough information.

Most of my final songs will have anywhere from 16-24 total tracks, i see that the VCF2000 only has 8 motorized faders (as does the US428), so how would that work when trying to mix levels for more than 8 tracks?

 

[SuperSkyrocket]

To run outboard effects on a recorded track:
Run the 10 analog outputs of the Q10 to the line inputs of a mixer. Then you can use an aux send to go to an effect box and return to the aux return (stereo returns are nice if your effects output in stereo). Turn up the aux send on each channel where you want the effect. Set the aux send master to give the effect box enough signal to operate properly. The aux return level will mix the effect with the rest of the program. If you have no aux return you could utilize one or two more input channels (line in) and mix the effect with those.

To get back to the PC you could run the outputs of the mixer to line ins of the Q10.

So your mixer would need:
line inputs (10 or more to match the capacity of the Q10),
2 aux sends would be nice (really need to be post-fade)
stereo aux returns would be nice also.

If you're on a budget, something like the Alesis Studio 24 comes to mind. The Yamaha MG164 might work also.

As mentioned, you're coming out of the digital world, into analog where noise and loss will creep in. There are other ways to set up. I just thought I would answer your question.

 

[Echelon]

Ok, so it sounds like if i go through an external mixer, i'm really going to be sacrificing sound quality... ok. So i guess the main reason i wanted an external mixer was because of the ability to control the levels of the mix via an outboard hardware rather than a mouse. As i mentioned before, i was looking at the Behringer VCF2000, but I am worried that it will not be able to work for 24 tracks of audio, is this true? It only has the 8 faders, but can they somehow be programed to work for more than one track? I guess if worse comes to worse, i could just use the mouse. I just don't have the money to buy a 24 track control surface right now...