Is a Firewire interface what i need?

  • Thread starter Thread starter BarelakedNadies
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BarelakedNadies

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Hi there. New to the forums. Expect to hear a lot more from me :D

I've got a Macbook Pro 15" 2.2Ghz laptop and a Behringer Eurorack UB2222fx-pro. I'm also running Logic Pro.

Do I need to have a Firewire Interface between my mixer and my laptop to record multiple tracks at once (so they show up on seperate tracks in Logic) or do I need to get a Firewire mixer to be able to do that?

I hope you understand what i mean. I'm looking to have Channel 1 on my mixer record to Track 1 in Logic and at the same time have Channel 2 on my mixer record to Track 2 in Logic and so on. It's so I can record my band and edit the individual tracks in Logic afterwards.

Thanks very much.
 
You need to figure out how many tracks at once you want to record then go shopping for an interface.

I'm assuming you'll be using the Behringer pre's. Your signal will go into the preamp and the output from that will go into your interface. If you have an eight input interface you arm those tracks to record individually in Logic. You already have the idea you just need the interface.
 
Your mixer will have to be able to connect to your laptop digitally (via firewire or USB) to do simultaneous tracking. Otherwise, you can do each individual out of the mixer into an in on an interface with multiple ins.

Hope that helps.
 
Yeah that's what i figured. Only thing I don't get is...my mixer would need to have a seperate output for each track (it's got 22 in total, although i'd probably only need between 8 and 12 at a time).

So the chain would be:

Instrument -> Mixer (Channel 1 IN) -> Mixer (Channel 1 OUT) -> Interface -> Computer

Instrument -> Mixer (Channel 2 IN) -> Mixer (Channel 2 OUT) -> Interface -> Computer

and so on...

My mixer only appears to have 2 main outputs though, so does that mean that I could only have 2 tracks recording simultaneously? Or is there a way round that?

You can view a close up, 3D version of my mixer at the following address:

thomann.de/gb/behringer_ub2222fxpro_eurorack.htm (click on 360 Zoom Image in the top right corner)
 
If you get an interface, depending on what it is, you'll likely not need your mixer as part of the input chain unless you want to use those particular pre's.
I use my interface alone, It has a software Mixer to do whatever I need to do.


On the other hand.

You can hook your mixer up to your computer as is and at least be able to record 2 tracks simultaneously.
Might not be perfect that way but it could buy you some "thinking about it" time.
I used to use my mixer/laptop this way for quick easy messing around.
Never did a project with it that way though.

Good Luck !
 
BarelakedNadies said:
So the chain would be:

Instrument -> Mixer (Channel 1 IN) -> Mixer (Channel 1 OUT) -> Interface -> Computer

Instrument -> Mixer (Channel 2 IN) -> Mixer (Channel 2 OUT) -> Interface -> Computer
Click to expand...

Correct, but like Rocknroll said, with an interface, the mixer becomes unnecessary anyway.
 
I see. So essentially a mixer's fairly useless in the recording process unless you've got one with USB/Firewire functionality...or if you need something essential from the mixer (effects or something...which you probably wouldn't want from mine :p)

Thanks anyway. Don't have enough pennies to get a decent interface.

I guess I could record seperate tracks from the tape out though. If I panned Track 1 completely to the Left and Track 2 completely to the Right and then did the same in Logic. Would that work? How would it sound? I'd try it myself but I haven't actually got my desk for the next couple of days.
 
Don't pitch the mixer, you can always find a use for one.

Old MOTU interfaces work nicely, at least on the Mac. I bought an 896 used off eBay and tracked my band at rehearsal with it. It worked so well I got a MOTU 8pre to go with it. This rig lets me record a dozen tracks at a time to my MacBook Core Duo.

What's your budget for an interface? IMHO 24 bits at 44.1 KHz is plenty of resolution for a beginner.
 
I'll not be getting rid of the mixer. Still need it for some live stuff.

I'm not sure about Interfaces. A bit new to them. There's a couple of the MOTUs that I liked the look of. That stats look good on a couple. Is there a big difference between USB and Firewire? (e.g - Transfer speeds/latency, which is easier to set up? etc.)


For the time being, would my trick with the Tape Out and the panning work? Even if I copied the file once it was recorded and reversed it so that it sounded more full? (i'm presuming it'll sound fairly boring if it's only recorded on the right or left tape channel).
 
That sounds like you mean that the Channel Inserts can be used as a seperate output for each channel. Is that actually what it's for? I'm confused now. Lol.
 
That's not what channel inserts are intended for, but it is a common use for them. Common enough you can find the adapter cables to do it at Guitar Center!
 
Oh yeah, the small Mackie mixers have an alternate bus out that I used for recording with a 2-channel interface.
 
BarelakedNadies said:
That sounds like you mean that the Channel Inserts can be used as a seperate output for each channel. Is that actually what it's for? I'm confused now. Lol.
Click to expand...
What he meant to say is, yes it will work. Plug guitar into channel one, pan all the way to the right. Plug vox into channel two, pan all the way to the left. Plug the output of your mixer into your computer and record the stereo track as one track and split it to mono later OR you can set up two mono tracks and have one record the right side and the other record the left.

If you're recording both of those tracks in the same space, though...you'll have some mic bleed. So you'll hear a little of the vox in the guitar mic and vice versa.

Make sense?
 
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