I know much of this is subjective, but I'm still interested in your opinions on this matter...
Suppose I've already recorded several tracks to my PC. OK, great, now I can do everything from this point 'in the box' if I choose and be done with it.
HOWEVER, I'm thinking I may also want the option to route my tracks out to an analog mixer so I can do my mixdown, EQ usage if any, and outboard effects if any, on a board and bring the two-channel resulting mix back onto the computer.
My questions - if I'm going to stay at or under the 500 dollar range (or close) for an 8-input mixer, will the signal and EQ quality on the mixer be good enough to make it worth my while, or will I be better off staying on the PC and not routing out to the mixer at all? Will the quality of the converters on my PC audio interface play a large part in this decision, since I'll be adding two steps of conversion? (FWIW, I'm considering several interfaces in the 300-500 dollar range if I'm going to go with 8 analog output capability).
I like the idea of using a console, as opposed to the mouse and CRT, and I like the idea of being able to choose whether I want an analog-processed or digitally processed sound for mixing, EQ, effects, etc. But I won't do it if a mixer in my price range will significantly degrade the quality of the result. (But perhaps a slight "degradation" is part of the beauty of the analog sound??) Opinions? I'm hoping to make a decision on this before buying an interface, since this will determine whether I get one with 2 or 8 analog outputs.
Thanks,
Greg
Suppose I've already recorded several tracks to my PC. OK, great, now I can do everything from this point 'in the box' if I choose and be done with it.
HOWEVER, I'm thinking I may also want the option to route my tracks out to an analog mixer so I can do my mixdown, EQ usage if any, and outboard effects if any, on a board and bring the two-channel resulting mix back onto the computer.
My questions - if I'm going to stay at or under the 500 dollar range (or close) for an 8-input mixer, will the signal and EQ quality on the mixer be good enough to make it worth my while, or will I be better off staying on the PC and not routing out to the mixer at all? Will the quality of the converters on my PC audio interface play a large part in this decision, since I'll be adding two steps of conversion? (FWIW, I'm considering several interfaces in the 300-500 dollar range if I'm going to go with 8 analog output capability).
I like the idea of using a console, as opposed to the mouse and CRT, and I like the idea of being able to choose whether I want an analog-processed or digitally processed sound for mixing, EQ, effects, etc. But I won't do it if a mixer in my price range will significantly degrade the quality of the result. (But perhaps a slight "degradation" is part of the beauty of the analog sound??) Opinions? I'm hoping to make a decision on this before buying an interface, since this will determine whether I get one with 2 or 8 analog outputs.
Thanks,
Greg