dumb newbie with questions about interfaces and mixers

[saviressej]

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hey peoples! I have band and I would like to record. i have read several things on different sites and i have come to the conclusion that i am confused. i have a low budget and i have been trying to work with it. I have been thinking about buying either the Delta 1010 LT or it's bigger brother Delta 1010 PCI or the m-audio firewire 410. This is where I start getting confused. I have read things about preamps and I am not sure what that is and i have also read about connecting mixers to the interfaces above because mixers have preamps. I need help, do i need a mixer. which of the three interfaces is the better buy. can somebody help me please

 

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hey peoples! I have band and I would like to record. i have read several things on different sites and i have come to the conclusion that i am confused. i have a low budget and i have been trying to work with it. I have been thinking about buying either the Delta 1010 LT or it's bigger brother Delta 1010 PCI or the m-audio firewire 410. This is where I start getting confused. I have read things about preamps and I am not sure what that is and i have also read about connecting mixers to the interfaces above because mixers have preamps. I need help, do i need a mixer. which of the three interfaces is the better buy. can somebody help me please
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I'm also new here, but from what I've read and been told, a preamp is an electronic devise that picks up weak electronic signals (your guitar not amplified), and amplifys the weak signal before it enters either another actual amplifier or perhaps in your case, your computer. If you go with the Delta 1010 LT, you'll install that soundcard and simply configure your computer as needed, and plug into the imputs. With the PCI, you're getting the card, and interface units. I can't be sure, however I believe the interface units have preamps built into them. I'm not sure if the interface units actually allow you to modify the sound before it enters your soundcard and computer, but it seems that that isn't quite neccisary depending on the software you use. Depending on the quality of software you use, it will have amp models, and effects models, and mixing and all other whatnots. I don't believe you need a mixer though, but from what I read the PCI sounds like a good deal, but then I think you'd need some reasonable software to accompany it. hoped this nonsense helped. sorry if it didn't.

 

[Minion]

Well every Mic you want to use to record at the same time will need it"s own pre amp so if you think that you will need say 5 mics for Drums and One Mic for Guitar and One Mic for Bass and One for Vocals then you will need 8 Mic inputs with/or pre amps...

But generally when recording it is best to record the Drums and Bass or Guitar First and track all instruments after words so you would just need the Drum mics and the Bass Generally can go DI (Direct input).....

Something that might be Ideal for you might be to get a Firewire mixer...You can get something like the "Alesis 16 Channel firewire mixer" for about $600 which has 8 Mic Pre amps and 8 line inputs and can record from all 16 inputs at the same time.....

If you don"t have $600+ you can get something like the Delta 1010/LT and get a Mixer that has Direct outs or Inserts for each Pre amp channel and go out from each Pre amped Mixer Channel to a seperate input on the Delta 1010 and record that way....

Cheers

 

[saviressej]

thanks for both of your answers

so from what i understand, if i were to use the 1010 lt, i wouldn't be able to record voice or drums without having something that has preamps? then what are the 8 inputs for and what would i connect them to?which mixer would you recommend without being too expensive? I know i sound dumb, but this is all new to me. thanks ahead of time

 

[TragikRemix]

hey peoples! I have band and I would like to record. i have read several things on different sites and i have come to the conclusion that i am confused. i have a low budget and i have been trying to work with it. I have been thinking about buying either the Delta 1010 LT or it's bigger brother Delta 1010 PCI or the m-audio firewire 410. This is where I start getting confused. I have read things about preamps and I am not sure what that is and i have also read about connecting mixers to the interfaces above because mixers have preamps. I need help, do i need a mixer. which of the three interfaces is the better buy. can somebody help me please
-----------------------------------------------------------------

I'm also new here, but from what I've read and been told, a preamp is an electronic devise that picks up weak electronic signals (your guitar not amplified), and amplifys the weak signal before it enters either another actual amplifier or perhaps in your case, your computer. If you go with the Delta 1010 LT, you'll install that soundcard and simply configure your computer as needed, and plug into the imputs. With the PCI, you're getting the card, and interface units. I can't be sure, however I believe the interface units have preamps built into them. I'm not sure if the interface units actually allow you to modify the sound before it enters your soundcard and computer, but it seems that that isn't quite neccisary depending on the software you use. Depending on the quality of software you use, it will have amp models, and effects models, and mixing and all other whatnots. I don't believe you need a mixer though, but from what I read the PCI sounds like a good deal, but then I think you'd need some reasonable software to accompany it. hoped this nonsense helped. sorry if it didn't.

nice, thats a good explanation.

many interfaces have built in pre's. typically, if it is XLR (microphone) input, there is a preamp built in. 1/4" in's arent preamp circuits.

if you are getting a computer interface, you do not need a mixer. if it has multiple i/o, you want to utilize that and keep everything on it's own track.

a mixer would do just that- mix them together into one stereo track.

with an interface, you can get as many tracks as there are inputs.

some mixers have firewire/usb i/o to a computer, which is a cool feature, because now it is an interface, but can also be used as a standalone mixer.

check out alesis multimix, and some new behringer xynex mixers.

 

[saviressej]

so from what i understand, if i were to use the 1010 lt, i wouldn't be able to record voice or drums without having something that has preamps? then what are the 8 inputs for and what would i connect them to?which mixer would you recommend without being too expensive? I know i sound dumb, but this is all new to me. thanks ahead of time

 

[Minion]

a mixer would do just that- mix them together into one stereo track.

No ,Not Exactly...Most modern mixers have Direct outs for most Pre amped Channels...


I believe the 1010 comes with a couple Pre amps(You would have to make sure) so if you just needed to record one or 2 Mics then you probably won"t need any extra Pre amps....

Basicly any inputs that are 1/4 in or RCA will NOT have Pre amps and any inputs that are XLR will have Pre amps so from that basic information You should be able to Figure out how many pre amps you need....

If your Interface has 2 XLR inputs and you need to record with 5 Mics (For an example) then you know you will need 3 more pre amps(Via a Mixer or seperate dedicated Pre amps)....

So check the specs of the Interface and compare it to your recording needs and you should be able to make a informed purchase....

If you have the Money then a Firewire Mixer would Probably be your Best choise , That is if you need many Pre amped channels and need to record many channels at the same time, That way you won"t need to Buy a seperate Interface and Mixer/Pre amp as the Firewire mixer is a Interface and a Mixer with Pre amps all in one....


Cheers

 

[TragikRemix]

i wouldnt say most mixers only because only higher end mixers have them, and i dont think this guy is looking to spend some serious cash.

 

[Minion]

Even the Cheapo Mixers have Direct outs or Inserts for Pre amped Channels even the Lowly Behringer FX Line and the Eurorack Line do and so do the Lower end Mackie Boards have them.....

Some Older Boards don"t have them but pretty much anything New with 12+ Channels should have them ....

To bad My Crappy assed Board doesn"t have them but it is an older board and was only $60 for 8 Channels......