joshgrind said:
New here, so this is an introduction as well.
Anyways, I am running my presonus firepod into the cubase LE software that came with it. However, I like mixing stuff through a mixer. Is there any way I can get a mixer to hook up so that I am mixing the music (drums mainly) that is already recorded onto the computer? Am I making any sense? Please, any help is appreciated, as well as suggestions.
thanks,
Josh
Welcome to our nightmare, Josh
What you are describing is commonly referred to as a "control surface" or "DAW controller". Basically they are boards that look kinda like mixers, but they act as controllers for computer mixing software. There are many companys that make them, e.g. M-Audio, Mackie, Tascam, and many others. What I'm not absolutely sure of is if they work with the LE version of Cubase or not. I know they almost all work with the full Cubase (CubaseSX), but I'm not positive if the LE version has that capability or not.
Note, though, they are not absolutely necessary to mix in software. Many people make perfectly good mixes with their mouse and keyboard alone. There's nothing you can do with a DAW controller that can't be done directly on the computer. The only real advantage to a physical control surface is if one is used to using a mixer and is simply more efficient or comfortable using physical knobs or faders instead of pushing a mouse and keyboard keys across a screen.
Before you spend any money on a controller, I'd recommend becoming familiar with CubaseLE and how it works. You'll still need to know that anyway, even with a control surface. learn how to get basic mixes going, and decide as you go along if you really want/need to spend a few hundred bucks on a controller or not.
(There is another option that involves using a regular analog mixer by routing your signals out of the computer into the analog mixer, doing your mixing there, and sending the mixed output back into the computer again. But it's a bit more sophisticated of a physical setup and has a whole 'nother set of pluses and minuses to it to learn. I'd still recommend that you do some walking with the software before you start running with anything else.)
IMHO, YMMV, HTH, ETC.
G.
G.
