Need some advice please Guys

[gnaw]

Hey guys.
I hope i'm posting this in the right section. I've spent the last hour or so searching the forums for answers to my questions..... but only getting more and more overwhelmed the more I read
I know a bit about recording. Used Sony Vegas and an old Audigy Card in the past and got decent results.
Now I've moved up and got myself some better gear to record with. But having dramas with the setup.

I have an M-Audio Delta 1010 card and rack
Behringer Xenyx1832FX Mixer
Yahama HS80M Monitors.

Installed everything and it all works. At the moment all I have done is have 1 & 2 outs from the delta card, into stereo channel 13/14 on the desk. Then running XLR's from the main out of the desk to the monitors. Works and sounds great. But that's where it all ends. Not sure how to set the delta and the mixer up the best way.
My plan was just to have whatever I wanted to do to go thru the desk first. Is this a good way of doing it?!?!
Or do I need to buy a patch rack for it?!?!
And the inserts for the 1st 6 channels on the desk are exactly that... inserts right?!?! not outs that would plug into the 1010 inputs for those mixer channels?
Also tried recording an NI Absynth sound onto one of my old recordings in Vegas. I could monitor the sound, but could not get a signal on the armed track. So i'm obviously meant to patch the sound from the absynth into the track, but how?! Outputs 1&2 are going to the desk. I've got nothing patched into the inputs of the delta. Do I patch outs 3&4 into inputs 1&2 for a stereo signal for the absynth?! But how do I make the output of the absynth VSTi to come out of 3&4 instead of 1&2?
Hope I'm making sense to you all...... because just trying to type this out is making me feel dizzy!!!!!
Any help/tips/info would be truly appreciated.
Found 12 more grey hairs since trying to work this out
I eagerly await help.
Cheers
Gnaw

 

[Rokket]

You don't really need the mixer in the chain at all. The interface has outs that you can use to monitor with. You are making things more complicated that it needs to be. Take the mixer out and read your manual about how to hook up the monitors to the interface. The pre amps in the interface are more than enough for what you are doing.

 

[Lo-Fi Mike]

USB Audio Interface

it looks like your mixer is also a usb audio interface,
if i'm mistaken let me know and i will answer your question.


---mike---

 

[gnaw]

it looks like your mixer is also a usb audio interface,
if i'm mistaken let me know and i will answer your question.


---mike---

Yes you are correct Mike. So would I be better off using this as well????
Thanks for your response too Rokket.
Did think about doing that, But the music store I bought the gear from said I needed it. Kinda thought that they would have to give me the correct info.

 

[Lo-Fi Mike]

you basically have two interface's. Which is kinda weird.

If i were you i would get rid of the mixer, and get somthing like an octopre LE without the a/d card.
Then run the preamps into the delta and monitor thru the delta as well.
you should be able to set up the 8 outs however you want to (from the delta).
you can send a monitor mix out 1/2 to the Yamaha's, Then send a monitor mix out 3/4 to a headphone amp (like a powerplay).
there are much better pre's out there, but you can get by just fine with focusrite.

with this set up you can record 8 mics simultaneously as well as a midi controller for your VSTI's. All while sending up to 12 headphones to the band (8 to the ISO room and 4 in the control room) and monitoring with the Yamahas. You can free up a channel on the octopre and use it as a talk-back mic.

This is my best suggestion by looking up the gear online. an based on the assumption that you will get much better a/d conversion and more bandwith with Delta than the Xenyx (i simply adore pci card over f/w or usb)


---mike---

by the way, if you want to learn about what you need and what you don't need for a particular set up, Please do not ask a salesman, unless that salesman owns or has worked in a studio environment.