Mixer Doubt

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Fefiks

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If i'm recording into my pc with a beautiful state of the art sound card with its lovely Breakout Box and i'm not recording vocals.... do i still need a mixer?????????

(We are 2 basses, one guitar, a piano and the drum machine)
 
What beautiful sound card do you have?.....If it has preamps, you dont need a mixer.....If you have preamps for the mics you are using, you do not need a mixer....
 
Actually my beautiful sound card is in the music store waiting for me to buy it. The thing is I'm new in all this stuff of computer recording. I'm planning to buy a "beautiful" sound card in a near future. Till now I was recording with my old (but still working), Tascam PortaStudio 07. We were recording direct (yes, I know it's not the best thing to do, but my wallet tells me that I don't have another option).
I was thinking of buying a DAW but I've been doing a lot of research and I decided to buy a sound card...
So, Do I need a mixer or not? What are the pros?
Thanks...
 
If the soundcard you get has enough inputs, you dont NEED a mixer.....you will need preamps....on the Porta07 you were using the preamps built into it....you may still be able to use these....route your instruments into the Porta07 as normal...from there take each channels output(if there are any) into each channel of the soundcard...the drum machine doesnt need a preamp because it outputs at line level already....If you cant route thru the Porta 07 or you just want better sounding preamps then a mixer is the cheapest way to get the 4 preamps you will need....
 
Wich mixer do you recommend me?

And thanks again Gidge...
 
Mackie VLZ series, Allen&Heath, Soundcraft, SountracsTopaz....for less $$$, you could get a Behringer, Alesis, or Samson, but the quality of preamps drop and also overall reliability...
 
You don't NECESSARILY need preamps. The drum machine doesn't need one. If oyu run the guitar through a POD, direct box or the Line-Out type thing their amp may have, the basses through Direct Box's and the keyboard (can't be a piano, doesn't have a line out) all direct without using any mics, then a mixer isn't needed.

Jake
 
Yes indeed, it's a Keyboard... Though in Spanish we call piano to both the keyboard and the piano...
 
That is considering they already have a POD and two direct boxes.....this is a very do-able option that jrlemonz has suggested if you already have these items...if not, a mixer is more practical...btw, did you check the Porta07 to see if each channel had an effects out or line out and if so, using it is still an option.....
 
Not necesarrily. Most amps have a direct/line/preamp out. Especially bass amps, cause you know how people like their bass DI'ed to the board. Much easier. Check if your amps have it, then you'll need nothign extra. The guitar amp direct might sound kinda nasty, but that depends on the amp.

Jake
 
Yeah I could think of a million reasons to not get a mixer...if you can mix in software, a mixer is a waste of money...if you get the Omni studio, those come with two real good preamps....you could mic the guitar amps and go thru those two preamps if you dont like the direct sound of the guitars...everything else you can get by direct, and Im pretty sure the Omni has enough inputs for everything....
 
Ok, I don't know how to thank you for all your help. I guess that without it I could have bought an expensive useless device. If you ever come to Argentina, let me know and I will be please to be your guide through Buenos Aires (we have the most beatiful girls you have never seen yet!!!).
Thanks a lot again!!!
Federico.
 
What everybody missed here is the obvious question -

Are you going to be recording all of these instruments at once, i.e live performances? If yes, then you almost certainly need a mixer.

I suppose you could get an 8 input sound card and skip the mixer, but they sure come in handy.... just for EQ alone.
 
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