Taking the plunge - help me choose an interface and mixer (if you would)

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paw1

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Some time in the coming months, I will buy a new computer for recording, an interface and a mixing board. Now, as I've never owned, and hardly ever used, a mixing board, I'm curious about its relationship to the interface unit. Until now I've used a MBox2 and mixed on-screen.

In my mind, the signal should be as clean as possible, and therefore the most logical thing to do (for me) would be to send the signal directly from the interface to the recording program. Is it possible to send the signal directly to the DAW, and only use the mixer for mixing (post processing)? Would there be any advantages in adding the mixing board to the chain?

I will probably buy a good interface unit with 8 inputs. My impression is that the quality of the preamps is the most important factor when buying an interface. I've been looking at models from Focusrite (Saffire PRO 40, Liquid Saffire 56) and Steinberg (MR816X, UR824) as they seem to be high quality, but I'm really no expert... Product-recommendations and whys are welcomed!

When it comes to the mixing board, I have no clue about what to look for. I know that they have preamps as well, but will they be used if I record directly to the interface?

Do you have any recommendations/tips for me? Is there anything special to take into consideration when buying an interface and a mixer for use in a common recording system?

Best regards,

Paw1
 
The lines get blurred because interfaces sometimes bundle a few things into one.

Basically, for recording you have mics, preamps, converters, and your computer in that order.


Interfaces usually have preamps and converters built in, but you can get ones with line ins only.(ie, no mic pre)
You'd use the later with outboard preamps, or a mixing desk with direct outs.

You can use a mixing desk on the way in as described above, or on the way out.

By that i mean you do your recording with an interface, then bus everything out to a mixing desk to mix it 'live'.
This would usually be recording back into your daw, or down to tape.

Furthermore, you can mix in your daw, but bounce it out in separate channels or groups through a mixing desk.
This is called analog summing.
With summing, you'd already have everything sounding as it should. That is, you'd just set up the desk and hit go.

Unless you like using them there's no real need for a mixing desk in modern digital recording.
A lot of the guys who use one use a really nice one that's worth putting in the chain or has great preamps.


My advice would be to give the mixing desk a miss and pick up a firepod or similar.

If you really wanna go down the mixing desk road, echo do some nice interfaces with 8 or 12 line ins that you could use with one.
 
Last edited:
Steenamaroo said:
Unless you like using them there's no real need for a mixing desk in modern digital recording.
A lot of the guys who use one use a really nice one that's worth putting in the chain or has great preamps.


My advice would be to give the mixing desk a miss and pick up a firepod or similar.
Click to expand...

Interesting advice, which agrees with what I’ve seen while researching the same topic.. :)

I've recently bought some gear for home hobby recording and was pondering much the same questions as Paw1. I'd been taking some lessons at a friend's studio (including some basic ones on recording/mixing etc) and he has a Digidesign 003 setup like the one Wheelema mentioned above. I was definitely coveting it, and had the opportunity to either buy a second hand one or to get the last one that the local dealer had at a reasonable price.

However, a couple of things put me off. Firstly, Avid seems to be phasing them out in favour of an improved MBox line, and they’re already no longer available through the Avid store in Australia. Secondly it was a pretty hefty unit to sit easily on my desk space. But the clincher was watching my friend mix. Despite having a juicy looking row of knobs and sliders, he did most of the work with his fingertips on a small pad that was basically a mouse substitute. I got the strong impression that the 003 was a good unit but that the control surface/mixer element was optional rather than essential (as Steenamaroo suggests). But, for anybody who likes using the physical knobs and sliders, both for mixing and as a general control surface, the 003 certainly looks like a reasonably option.

Avid seems to have thrown their weight behind a revamped MBox line, which include improved preamps that seems to be getting very good reviews. So I went with a MBox Pro 3rd Gen, which came bundled with Pro Tools 10 and a bunch of rather nice plug-ins.

So far I’ve been very happy with it. It’s firewire, which means that I still have all my iMac’s limited number of USB ports available. According to the shop, Avid’s recommended controller/mixer is now the Euphonix MC Mix Control Surface, otherwise known as the Artist Mix. It’s not cheap, so I’ll only spring for it if I find that I would really prefer something more hands on. But if I do it has the bonus of using an Ethernet connection - so I’d still get to keep my USB slots.

I’m sure that’s there’s pro and cons to all the options, but that’s working for me at the moment.

Cheers,

Chris
 
I've really loved the M-Audio Project Mix i/o with Protools M-Powered (7). I've been using the same setup for several years now and have been quite happy with the preamps in the Project Mix.
 
Steenamaroo, you're such a great guy for helping me out (not only in this topic)!

Am I right in guessing that converters are used for converting an analog signal to digital, or the other way around?

Another assumption: A digital mixing console (save its preamps if used for recording) will have no impact (coloring) on the recorded signal, like an analog mixing console. Am I correct in assuming that the only reason for buying a digital mixing console would be because one likes to mix in a real-world environment? I mean, if you have no problems with mixing on-screen, you could just buy a cheaper interface with as good preamps/components as the mixer, or you could buy an interface at the same cost as the mixer, but with better preamps/components.

Simple information, like this, is actually surprisingly hard to find on the net.

Thanks,

paw:)
 
I have the Focusrite Pro 40.
It's awesome, but you will definitely need a pre amp.

Instead of a mixing desk, why not get a control surface?
It'll probably work better then a mixing desk would. (but that's just my opinion)

Just a thought.
 
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