What else do i need for a clean mix?

[breeeeza]

Baiscally i want some advice on what else i need for a pretty good recording of everything. I have Vegas 4 and soundforge so i will multi track using my computer and edit with sound forge. Im not a proper engineer or anything so i dont want a full recording studio. I have speakers/monitors amps microphones etc.. all i am worried about is what the mics are going through before they hit the computer.
Basically all i am running the mics through at the moment i am just running them through a behringer eurotrack mixer with 12 inputs and 4 mic pre's (yes i know not the greatest mixer) and then running the main out's of the mixer into the line in on my PC. All i am trying to get at the moment is a compressor/limiter/noise gate (all in one, stereo). Do i need this and is there anything else i need for a reasonably good recording?
thankyou.

 

[Kevin Deschwazi]

Some people like to use a comp or limiter before the recorder to pick up any peaks and avoid clipping. I prefer to track at very conservative levels (which means signals don't clip anhyway) and so a comp/limiter isn't needed at the tracking stage. It's also worth bearing in mind that if you record with something you can't take it out later and with respect if you're inexperienced then it'll take you a while to learn how to set up a compressor correctly anyway.

I'd leave all that stuff to the mixing stage and use software compressors in your DAW for now.

The mixer you have will be fine if you learn how to use it correctly, not the best as I'm sure you're aware but it'll be fine for now.

The most important things for decent recordings are the quality of the instruments/voice, quality of performance, acoustic environment in which they're recorded and the way in which the gear you have is used (mic placement, gain staging etc).