one man mixer

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monstertruck

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as a solo artist would a smaller mixer do fine or do i need the extra channels. i will be recording multiple guitar, bass and keyboard tracks But never at the same time so in recording them one at a time would i need the extra channels.

this seems like a nobrainer but i have to be sure

are there any features on mixers that enable more bass or hightened effects for i will mostly be recording with distortion for metal and hardrock songs and would like to make sure they sound pure and awesome. i know nothing about mixers.
 
Depends on what you are recording to and how much repatching you want to do.

What are you recording to?

Sorry, can't answer the second one.
 
i have done no recordings yet. but my next puzzelment is the sound card because it and the mixer would be working together. so from my mixer does it go straight to a soundcard(that i shall soon be getting just havn't picked one yet) via midi or whatever other outputs there are?

what is the point of "mulipatching"? is it for effects?

my set up to my understanding will be:

guitar to effectspedal to amp to mixer to soundcard/computer.
or
guitar to pod to mixer to soundcard/computer.
but not forsure yet

question probably #7 is if i am a solo artist/recorder woudn't there be just one cord to and from my mixer?
 
Sorry, as soon as you said "sound card" I was lost. You need to post this over in the Computer Recording forum.

You can use a mixer and then into a soundcard, but I think most people using computers are going direct into the sound card and skipping the physical mixer in favor of a computer screen mixer.

Sorry, not my cup o' tea. I gotta have knobs and faders and in's and out's and wiring running everywhere.
 
Depends... it all depends...

do you want to mix totally in the digital domain, or do you want to mix through a hands on physical mixer?

Mixing through a mixer is more immediate and some people are used to it, but you have to get it right or start again. Mixing digitally allows you to zoom in, micro-tweeze a part, but it takes some getting used to if you're used to just grabbing a fader to turn something up or down.

If you mix digitally, and you aren't going to have more than one or two sound sources going in at a time, I would suggest you forgo a mixing board, and take all the money you would've spent on it, and get the nicest Microphone PreAmp you can afford, as well as a Shure SM-57 mic and a decent large-diaphragm condenser mic. (Oktava makes some good ones that aren't super-expensive).

If you're going to go the computer route, think about that when you get your preamp - try for one that has digital outputs as well as analog - I've heard good things about the DBX 386, that's a tube mic preamp with digital outs and every kind of analog out you could need, and they sell for around $500.

hope this helps.

- housepig
 
I still believe a good mixer should be the center piece of any studio. It just makes life a lot easier when you want to do anything beyond basic tracking. A mackie 1202 or Spirit M4 will do the job.

They are also handy if you want to do any stereo micing or if at some point in the future you and a buddy want to jam at the same time. Then you can at least do 2 stereo tracks if you need them.
 
Unless you're planning to invest significant dollars into a good mixer and quality outboard gear, I'd recommend keeping the mixing in the digital domain for a few reasons:

1) You can get a non-multi channel sound card (less expensive)
2) You don't have to reset your faders, channel eq's, inserts, etc... every time you bring up a song - all your settings are kept intact with multi-track sofware.
3) Although you'll still need a mixer or a good mic pre, you won't need as many mixer channels as tracks you'll have (again, less expensive).

Down the road, you may choose to invest in a killer mixer, multi-channel sound card, outboard gear, etc..., but if you're doing all your own music yourself, I'd go this route.
 
thanks a lot guys
but i what is the difference between stereo micing(to get stereo tracks) and just regular micing?

also how do musicians/engineers mix or master songs so that certain instumental parts are played in say the left speaker only of a headset while some others are in the right . and then the drums are in both speakers?
 
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