HOME RECORDING

[Gapparoo]

Hey everyone,
Im about to do some home recording. I was thinking of buying a Behringer UB1832FX mixer. Now do these mixers plug into computers? What input would i plug it into on my computer? will they work if i record with Cubase? do i need anything else to record or just my computer, mics and the mixer?

Thanks people

[ALBERTPIKE]

Before you buy that mixer you need to do a lot of homework. Use the search function in this forum for lots of good info. The most important thing you need for home recording is a high quality sound card\digital audio recording system. These cost $400 -$1000 depending on the number of channels you need to record at once and other features. Look at aardvark and m-audio delta cards, for examples. Look at this:
www.aardvark-pro.com/aasd-v1/products/2496-main.html (http://www.aardvark-pro.com/aasd-v1/products/2496-main.html)

This one has built-in mic preamps, so you may not even need that mixer. This one also comes with the software you need, which is the next item you must have. Look at Cakewalk Sonar and Steinberg Cubase, for examples of software.

Your computer should be at least a PIII 800 or so. There are many other considerations, but maybe this will get you started.

[knowdoubt]

You need mic preamps & a way to mix & monitor your in coming recording signal + pre-recorded playback signal. Some soundcards supply both these But personally I prefer to get that functionality from an outboard mixer as it's more versatile. Your soundcard is the 1st thing you need to shop for. Decide how many I/O's you need & get the best quality audio you can afford + reliable driver support (Aardvark seems to be weak in the driver department). I recommend a card with no less than 4 analog recording in's & at least a spdif digital I/O.

If you go the mixer route, be absolutely sure to get one that has inserts for every mic input channel as this is necessary to be able to tap the individual inputs directly after the 1st stage mic pre to be sent to the individual soundcard inputs (getting each input recorded on a separate track). It also enables you to insert a compressor or limiter on individual channels for recording to prevent clipping if you like. You don't really need a mixer with built in fx as it's usually better to record dry & add effect's in software. Sometimes a specialized hardware effect may be desired but no worthwhile quality is likely to be found built into a mixer like that. You also need at least decent quality mic pre's. Those in the Behringer mixers are decent. The Mackies XDR's are a little better & you can go up from there as your budget allows. You can also go the route of getting a few real good dedicated mic pre's for critical recording tracks & use the mixer for the rest. You can also just use dedicated mic pres without a mixer if the soundcard has zero latency input monitoring with the ability to monitor input & playback simultaneously which most do these days.

[dawboxpro]

"You can also go the route of getting a few real good dedicated mic pre's for critical recording tracks & use the mixer for the rest. You can also just use dedicated mic pres without a mixer if the soundcard has zero latency input monitoring with the ability to monitor input & playback simultaneously which most do these days."

If you do not have a ton of gear to plug in then there is no need for a mixer. Unless you plan on getting a mixer known for killer mic pre amps you are paying alot for bells and whistles.

Most of the mixing and eq after going to hard disk can be done in the software program you use like Sonar, Acid, SX ect.

If you are looking for the best possible sound direct to disc dedicated pre amps for specific music tasks are the way to go. Pluf you can get a flavor to choose from that can give a different texture to your music VS. the same lame pre amp for every track.

If you record yourself and only have a keyboard and or a sampler you only need a max of 8 in so a card like the Delta-1010 could serve you well with a couple of gread dedicated pre amps.

Or you could just get the Q10 and go direct to hard disk and get your compression or pre-amp sound via the four inserts on the back.

There are a million ways to do it but I have bought a ton of gear thinking I will need all these tracks one day and the gear sits and collects dust.

Like the mackie mixer I have, or the ADAT. The ADAT is now just a A/D converter and the Mackie 1604 is a keyboard/sampler mixer.

If I wanted I could dump that stuff and just connect all my gear to a patch bay going into a Delta-66, or a Direct Pro 24/96, or a Delta-1010 or Q10 it all depends on the budget.

The other thing you could do is get a Digital Mixer and a card that has just ADAT lightpipe like the HDSP 96/52 or 96/36 LE, or the Frontier Designs Dakota.

Keep in mind though that a good digital mixer with good decent pre-amps is at least $1500 and the cards above start at $350 and up.

Now your sitting at $2000 just to get sound into the PC and for that price you could get 2 Q10's and Cubase SL.

I have recorded with mixers and direct. I personaly like the direct approach with just preamp and compression and some verb inserted into my head phones for a good performance.

Once it is in the PC you can do whatever you want with it.

If you can't live without the feel of a mixer or the added I/O then get one. But if you can than don't waste your money on what can be done after going direct from a good dedicated pre amp or soundcard with on-board pre-amps like the Q10 or Omni I/O or the Digimax LT or Digimax.

I still use my Mackie to route S5000 samples/ Gigasampler sounds from another DAW/ and keyboard sounds and it is ok for that stuff. For Vocals and Acoustic Guitar though it is dedicated Pre all the way!

www.dawbox.com (http://www.dawbox.com)