which is better ?

[axeman_ukl]

i would like another 8 mic inputs ,i have a motu 24i/o with 10 inputs spare would it be better to get another mixing desk and wire the mics to each channel and out through each channels i/o back to the motu so you can eq the channels before you record,i know the slidders will not work ,but would this give you more control over the sound , or would it be better just to get the motu8pre

 

[axeman_ukl]

how come i allways ask the questions nobody seems to know the answers to !!
22 people looked still no comment.

it's a god damm gift ........ or a curse ...................you decide

 

[jdier]

i would like another 8 mic inputs ,i have a motu 24i/o with 10 inputs spare would it be better to get another mixing desk and wire the mics to each channel and out through each channels i/o back to the motu so you can eq the channels before you record,i know the slidders will not work ,but would this give you more control over the sound , or would it be better just to get the motu8pre

Your question is one that takes a long time to answer and in the end it all really depends on your workflow and quality requirments.

Personally, I would find something that was just 8 preamps and run them into the motu24. I am fine mixing in the box for my projects.

Now, some may suggest that if you do what I suggest you are limiting yourself and your ability to control the sound being recorded, so you should get a Mixer.

Other may suggest that unless you are ready to plunk down $5000 for a quality 8 pre box, you are pissing in the wind.

You might get some suggestions about getting a bunch of boutique preamps to give yourself different color choices.

You know, I would not be surprised if some wanker showed up and said that you are stupid for adding preamps when what you really need is room treatment.

My point is this. No one here knows what you are recording and what your goals are, so that makes it tough to make suggestions.

Me, I want to make good demos and independently released CD's. I have the RME Fireface 800 and the RME Octamic. It would be very easy to blow holes in my approach... Those converters suck! 8 Pres for $1000?!? they have to suck. No mixer? how can you ride a fader on a critical vocal?!? you must suck!... and on and on.

So figure out what is most important to you. Can you mix in the box pretty well? Do you find yourself always wishing you had EQ on every channel while TRACKING? I do not know the MOTO stuff all that well, but I am sure it is as good or better than what I have. I am happy to answer more questions, but really you have to answer yourself.

Either way, go buy something, set it up and hit friggin' record.

 

[XLR]

Dunno what you should do but I don't do any EQ or other processing to anything going in. I put my main investment into mikes, room, pre's and converters. The sound quality of my plugins is superior to my EQ or compression hardware. YMMV

 

[axeman_ukl]

it's more of a case of being able to mic up drum kits and live acoustic sets, i am looking at starting to record bands ,..........hopefully try and make a little bit back of what i've put in(he says trying not to laugh to loud)

i am a ledgend in my own mind .....sh...ushhh don't let the rest of the world know!!!

 

[XLR]

it's more of a case of being able to mic up drum kits and live acoustic sets, i am looking at starting to record bands... [/SIZE] [/COLOR]

Well, that's different than what I do so I'm not speaking from experience here but I'd imagine if you tracked at 24 bits and set levels carefully enough so you had a BIG safety zone between your peaks and 0 dBFS you could do any processing you want ITB. The main value of that would be avoidance of processing mistakes caused by being rushed during tracking.

 

[KamikazeKyle]

What kind of mixer are you running currently? If its a lower quality I'd recomend replacing it with a decent 8 channel mic pre or two.

I'm currently using a 32 channel mixer that is pretty nice for what I paid although the low price I got it for was a result of 18 years of wear. The pre's are pretty good for a mixer but most pros I've talked to or worked with say that its best to use all rackmount pres and leave the board to mixing down(and some say forget a board get some nice converters, nice pres and mix ITB). If your using something like a behringer board or a low quality mackie I'd highly recomend upgrading to a much better mixer or switching to all rack mount pres.