• Mixer With Built In Audio Interface

Do I need a Mixer for Home Recording?I have often been asked, 'Do I need a mixer for home recording?' The simple answer to this question is 'no you don't, but you may want one.' I'd like to take a moment and address my theory behind that response.There are a few factors to consider when it comes to a home music studio setup. I've stated in an that there are many stand alone recording units.

However, my personal preference is to use a computer in home music studio recording.This type of setup requires an audio interface and some type of recording software. In the studio world we would call this a digital audio workstation or DAW for short. You can reference my post on the best software for home recording and several recommendations.All that said, the software is only as good as its audio interface counterpart. If you are going to record your guitar then you need some way to plug your guitar into your DAW. This is where we get back to our question, 'Do I need a mixer for home recording?' Lets first explain the simple response of no.You may not need a mixer but you do need an audio interface that can convert your audio signal into a digital format. Take a vocal recording for instance.

You can't just fire up your computer, run a program like, and start talking into thin air. There must be some way to plug your mic into the computer. This is where an audio interface comes in.The simplest way to recording your voice might be to use an interface like the. This mic plugs directly into your computer, via a free USB port, and interfaces directly with your recording software of choice. The mic itself is an audio interface as well as the device for capturing your voice.In this case, no mixer is needed at all. You simply plug-in the mic, run your software, hit record, and start talking.

The down side is you can only record what you can put your mic in front of and only one thing at a time. You can however, record as many takes as your computer can play back. Your mixer then is not a physical outboard unit but the recording software itself.A few more things to consider. What if you need to record more than one instrument or voice at a time? In this situation you may actually want a mixer for your home music studio.

I personally use an. The great benefit in this mixer is the amount of inputs it has.If I wanted to record a vocal who was also playing a guitar and had a piano accompaniment, I have all the channels to do so. The mixer has a USB output and acts as the audio interface to my DAW. The nice thing about a high quality audio interface is that is also does much of the processing when it comes to recording. This allows for more tracks to be processed and play back simultaneously from the computer.Once draw back from the ZED 14 is that is can only output a stereo mix to the computer via the USB out. This means each channel on the mixer does not get recorded as one file into my software but all the channels come in as one stereo file. I overcome this by doing multiple takes.

This can take much longer in the end to record a project.If you find yourself needing to record multiple channels at one time I would recommend checking in the. I've not used this specific unit myself but I've heard great stuff about it. Presonus does make some very high quality products. This audio interface will allow you to record a full 8 output at one time as long as your computer is fast enough.So, 'Do I need a mixer for home recording?'

Maybe;), depending on your needs. I'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback.

Have you used the Presonus Audiobox? What did you think?

Please add your feedback to the comments section below. I’ve only just discovered your hugely useful website so forgive me if this has been asked elsewhere. I’ve just returned to home recording after a break of many years. I use Cakewalk Music Creator and a Lexicon Lambda USB interface with mic and line level inputs, and find them both fine for recording. What I need to work out is this:Back in the 80s and 90s, I used a 4-track TEAC reel-to-reel, bouncing tracks as necessary, then performing a mixdown onto a cassette recorder.

Obviously, the mix was done in real time, and so it took exactly as long as the song. Because of this, I was able to tweak the levels and effects actually during the final mixdown (maybe raising the volume of lead vocal or guitar, then lowering it again, for example).

Because the mix happened in real time, this was easy to do. On the DAW, I just find options to export the track list to a final mixed file, and this takes no time at all, of course. There is no way to tweak the mix as it is actually taking place, and I can only mix each track in its static form.I understand about getting the levels of each track right before creating the mix and, as I said, I’ve only just started digital recording and I may be missing something, but I’d like to get the ability back to twiddle the knobs right as the mixdown is happening. Is this possible? And if I used a mixer, where would it go in terms of cabling to the PC and the Lexicon?Many thanksAlan.

So good question. My first response is this. Using a DAW opens up 1000 possibilities that simply could not be done in the analog days. I highly recommend looking at the Reaper DAW in place of Music Creator but you should still have automation options. With automations you can make tweaks to the track as you play it back, the system will record these tweaks and you can focus on each track with as many passes as you’d like. Then at render, it will make these tweaks for you.To do this in real time requires a mixes that can handle each track on it’s own fader.

You would need to drop a good chunk of $$ to get full control over each track like this. Basic fader, pans can be done using a midi controler. That said, your software must allow you to create a print track to do what you are asking. Many modern digital mixers can be used as midi controllers for basic realtime tweaks, however, nothing will give you the flexibility as automation will. Checkout this video for more info on the subject. Hi David,I am a VoiceOver artist and have a bass voice, sometimes though the clients want super happy/chirpy kinda voice too.

My first setup was AT2020 going through a Focusrite 2i2. It served me well, but because of a condensor mic setup, I always had to wait for all the noises to die out before I would start recording or keep the gain on the audio interface really low, and then later pump it in in the software. In came the need to add a dynamic microphone.

I chose the Electrovoice RE20 and coupled it with the Cloudlifter Z (bad purchase as I ended up spending $100 more for just the impedence control, which doesn’t seem to do much for me). So, now my setup has 2 mics, a cloudlifter and an audio interface. I have a few questions, that I can use your expert advice on:1. Do you think adding a mixer/compressor/noisegate (other than the ones available via software) would help me control the background sounds coming to my microphone.

Is there a way, I can cancel out Signal-Noise? (except keeping the gain low and then normalizing the audio later)2. I am also looking at purchasing a few more mics. What would be your suggestion? In times to come, I might have to travel a bit but wouldn’t want to miss out on my business, so need a good compact mic thats portable yet doesn’t compromise on sound quality. Blue Yeti – not a fan as its too bulky for my taste. Confused between Samson Go, ATR2100, Shure MV5 and Shure MV51.3.

Also wondering if any of the handheld portable recorders like the Zoom / Tascam would prove to be the solution for VO on the go?Look forward to your reply. Thanks for your time. Adding a mixer will not change anything other than giving another piece of gear to add more noise to the setup. Now a compressor/noise gate? That’s another story. Here is the unit I use for my voiceover stuff.

I do highly recommend something like it as the noise gate/expander will help greatly to reduce room noise while recording.On mics, this all depends on your room and setup. For noisy, untreated spaces, I always recommend a dynamic mic for voice over. Even a good Shure Beta 58 does a great job at rejecting outside noise well captureing a very clean voice.I am still a fan of a good audio interface and computer for recording on the go but the portable units for voiceover are still fine. They will not improve your quality much as 48kHz/24 bit.wav is such no matter what device is recording it. Hi Dave,I have a couple of synths and digital piano, Alto ZMX122 8 channel mixer, Focusrite 2i4 and PreSonus Active monitors.At the moment, I’m not using the mixer but am unsure how to set it up so I can use all my keyboards at once (for playing live jams) and be able to record this in Ableton.

In a live jam, I would like to have control over my individual channels for each keyboard and also still use music from Ableton. I’m not sure how to set this up with regards to how the mixer and 2i4 work together (as well as the others).Maybe this is a basic setup and it’s just a case of plugging the keyboards into the mixer – then the mixer into the 2i4 – and keep the 2i4 connected to my Mac as usual (I’m guessing the keyboards going into the mixer will all be on the same track in Ableton?)Any advice would be appreciated.Andy. Thanks for your reply.wow!!

A few cables then eh.okI get that nowWhat if I was happy to play a live jam from 3 keyboards and have this going into my 2i4 on one channel (therefore 1 audio channel in Ableton?)Would this be a case of outputs of keys into the mixer and output of mixer into 2i4, which is connected to computer as usualIf I did want to record separate tracks, then I could just create a new audio track in Ableton and play whatever keyboard I wanted.and so on.??Thanks for reading 😀. I don’t know if this has been answered yet but there are lots of comments and I don’t have time at the moment to read them all.I’m a drummer and I want to record my drums in different tracks, will I be able to do it with a mixer?I’ve heard and read that you only get 1 track while recording on your computer while if you actually use an audio interface you get as many as mics you have plugged in. Is this right or I’ve misunderstood my readings?Thanks a lot and sorry if this has been asked before.

DAVE, DO YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHT ON THIS I HAVE A FOCUS 2I4, HAD INITIAL PROBLEMS WITH IT. MY PUTER WOULDN’T RECOGNIZE IT AT ANY OF THE USB PORTS. CALLED SWEETWATER WHO CALLED FOCUS AND THEY SAID MY CPU WAS ONE OF A FEW WHICH HAD INCOMPATABLE VOLTAGE. ORDERED A USB HUB (AMAZON BASICS 5 VOLT/4.0 AMP) AND IT WOULD CONNECT BUT ONLY TO THE SUPER HIGH SPEED PORT. ANYWAY I INPUT BACKGROUND MUSIC INTO REAPER (STEREO) WITH TRS, THEN I PLAY BACK AND RECORD VOX ON ANOTHER TRACK. ALL’S WELL FOR ABOUT 2 OR 3 LINES INTO A SONG AND I GET SOMETHING THAT SOUNDS LIKE MY VOICE IS A ROBOT, NOT LIKE OVERLOAD DISTORTION.

TRIED IT ON 44100 AND 48000, SAME EITHER WAY. I THINK BLOCK SIZE IS 256. I THINK BUFFERING IS 2000. I’M NEW AT THIS RECORDING THING, ANY IDEAS? THANKS IN ADVANCE. I HAVE 4 GIGS MEMORY BUT IT’S ONLY 2 TRACKS, ALL OTHER PROGRAMS IN PUTER CLOSED.

This sounds like a buffering or flat out low computer performance issue. Could be a slower hard drive. My first check would be to increase the buffer size and see if the problem resolves. For starters, uncheck the “Request block size” function in Reaper and use the ASIO drivers to set your buffer size a bit higher.

Make sure your recording you music and the same sample/bit rate as your vocal track so there’s no need for any up/down conversion in your project. Also, I never recommend using a USB hub for an audio interface. This is never best for performance reasons. I’ve also never heard of an incompatible voltage for a USB device? That to me sounds like rubbish;).

I do know that some newer machines have a voltage setting for the USB charging function that can be set to on/off in the system bios. These are typically for new USB 3.0 ports though. If your using a desktop, I’d recommend installing a separate UBS card for your audio interface.

The 2i4 is only a USB 2.0 device and gains little benefit from a USB 3.0 port. Your instructions are just what I am in need of.I have been using a TASCOM 8 track recorder ( DPFX01) It has died on me.I an starting from scratch on the PC route to home recording. I am slow and not very computer savvy.

Here’s what I’ll be doing and what I have learned from you already. I will mic my guitar amp with my Shure which will be plugged into a USB Interface ( Scarlet 2i2 ) into my pc with the Reaper recording software installed.( hopefully that is an easy to understand program)Now you have said on more than one occasion “ provided your computer is fast enuff.” What speed do I need on my PC in order to run this stuff so far? And what about a sound card?

Do I need a specialized sound card in order to operate.?Self powered studio monitors I have already hooked up to my PC although I think they are not running in stereo.Thank you.Rayp.s. The first thing I’ll need to record is a drum track which I will need to hear in order to keep the beat while recording guitar. The simplest / easiest / drum tracks for dummies that you would recommend please, for my purposes. So on computer speed, any modern machine is plenty fast for the largest productions out there in my experience. I’ve running an older gately with 8 Gigs of Ram and a single Terabyte 7200RPM hard drive. It is a quad core (AMD) and runs at 2.60Ghz each core.

Now all that said, I often build projects with 60 plus tracks and 70 plus FX using Reaper. You might not need to create projects this large. I’d suggest recording several test tracks and then in Reaper goto the “View” menu and click “Performance Meter” This will tell you how well your system is handling what you need it to do.Your internal sound card is become irrelevant when your using a great interface like the 2i2. This replaces anything internally you’d need and it is designed for audio performance.On drums, the highest quality for price that I’d recommend for a Drum VSTi is Addictive Drums. All depends on your budget though.

Greetings, I am in the process of setting up my first home recording studio for the purposes of recording hip hop vocals over instrumentals created by my friend, and also would like the ability to start being able to create my own beats. I am the type of person who prefers to physically feel what i am creating, so I am leaning towards getting things like beat pads, a multi-track looping recorder, a vocoder, a keyboard, and a nice mixer. I would prefer to avoid using most on screen digital equipment to create beats, but am I correct in thinking that a mixer with a built in audio interface would not only replace the need for an external audio interface, but allow my beat creation process to be more fluid considering i can control all the faders and other features with my hands instead of my mouse? Also, will a nice mixer give me more versatility with what I can do with my beats and vocals in terms of altering sound effects. Sorry I am a little green with all of this, but i have all my pc parts on the way to build a pc that can handle a quality studio.Also, what brands/products would you recommend that would be affordable, yet also produce professional quality results (especially with the mixer/recording software).

I was told to get Ableton for my recording software. Would you recommend that, or a different program for someone who is new to audio recording and beat making programs?Thank you for your assistance on this matter. Looking forward to your suggestions. Thanks for the question Brandon. So your partially correct. A mixer with an internal audio interface would eliminate the need for an additional audio interface yes. However, not all digital mixer can be used as control surfaces.

Some digital mixers have an internal interface for recording but then connect via midi for control. Others simply just provide the recording side but don’t allow for controlling of the DAW at all. You just need to research the mixer your looking for and find one that does both. I’m a fan of Allen and Heath Qu Series as well as the Presonus Studio Live controls. However, I’m not aware of anything that I could consider “affordable” to do what your asking. Your budget matters most in this case.On making beats and the best software.

I’m more focused on the playing and recording of instruments/voice and building some drums tracks yes, but the looping and more of a DJ style in the box sound used slightly different tools that I typically do. For what your talking about Ableton is a very popular option yes. Also, Mixcraft has some great sampling and live performance functionality. Thank you for your advise. After more research I have decided i will not buy a mixer for now.

With that being said, I have a few more questions. I want my home studio to be mostly geared towards recording quality vocals, with the ability to create beats.

So I am going to need a good interface with 2 or 4 channels, and a good compressor (was hoping you could recommend one keeping in mind I am recording hip-hop). I would like a compressor that I can tune that will sort of “pre-master” the vocals so I don’t have to do it manually in the software. I am also looking to get a nice midi-keyboard with faders on it, along with a condenser mic and headphones. My budget is to try and keep this project under or at $1000, but might be able to throw another couple hundred in if needed. Do you think this is possible and what products can you recommend for this budget. I have just built a pc for the studio, separate expense.Also, is Sweetwater.com the best value web-sight for purchasing recording studio equipment? And do the headphones I buy have to be noise canceling?

What is the min headphones requirements for recording vocals. Also, how can i ensure that every piece of equipment i buy will be compatible with that next? I was thinking of using fire wire and and USB throughout the system. I need there to be zero latency when recording vocals.

Thanks again for all your help.I will eventually add a beat pad into this system later down the road. So i got a list of gear i am seriously considering for this project, the only aspect I can’t seem to figure out is which audio interface to go with. It must have at least 2 channels, have audio inserts on the channels, fire wire (i am assuming is faster than usb), must be phantom powered, a 64-bit driver as to be compatible with windows 7 (also confirmed it has been successfully used by others), and the best possible sample rate. Since this is mostly for recording vocals and using a midi keyboard, it should be geared mostly for that. Can you recommend a good interface that meets all of these requirements.This is the list of the other items I will possibly be purchasing:Art Pro VLA 2 compressorM-Audio Oxygen 49 midi keyboardPresonus Eris E 4:5 monitor speakersAKG P-420 HPLD condenser micDirect sound EX29 Professional HeadphonesAre all of these products reliable, and compatible with each other? Any recommendations for interfaces that meet all the above requirements and will also function with the rest of this system properly? An interface that comes with good DAW software would be nice, but I already have Ableton, and am considering getting Reaper.

Thanks again. So given your goals I’d look at a slightly different setup. Let me say first that I don’t think using heavy processing on the record side of your setup will give you the results your after as this is not a professional way to record. That said, you can add a light amount of compression and even some gateing to improve your input tracking in that’s your goal. Finding an audio interface that is higher quality with inserts can be a challenge. The reason I believe your looking for the inserts is for the compressor.

Here’s is what I’d use in your situation. (Sidenote, sweetwater is not always the best price on a lot of items that I find, often Amazon can be.)First, take a look at the DBX 286s here This is a mic pre with compression, gateing/expansion, de-essing, and a HF/LF detaler. It has phantom power so any mic can be plugged directly into it via an XLR cable. From there you simply take the output and go into an audio interface. This eliminates the need for a channel insert and will give you much higher quality audio.Second, if you must have an audio interface with inserts there is one that comes to mind which is still decent, that’s the m-audio m-track quad If your going to go this route and still want compression, I’m not a fan of the Art Pro line, take a look at the DBX266xsFirewire is not needed for the audio interface at your level honestly. USB is plenty adequate.

I use a Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 which is only 2 input channels and I can easily run projects with 74 tracks and 160+ FX just fine. Since you’ll never be capturing more channels than your interface has inputs, USB will save you money and work perfect for anything you need to do.Here are a few other thoughts than. The Focusrite 2i4, or even the 6i6The Oxygen 49 is a great choiceThe Eris Studio monitors are all an excellent buy.The P-420 is also a great mic but there are a lot of other options as well. I’d look at the AT2035 kit here If your going to be spittin bars into any mic you must have a pop guard.On headphones, you don’t need noise canceling but just a decent pair of over the ears. I have used these guys for years and highly recommend them.On the DAW, for live performance and making beats, Ableton may still be a great choice for you.

I personally use Reaper for everything I do but understand that I don’t create loops and beats in the same way you do. If it were me, I go with the 2i4, the DBX 286s, the HD-280 pro headphones, along with your Oxygen controler and E4.5 monitors. Hope this helps you some.Best,.

Yea i am def going to get the DBX mic pre-amp processor. That is perfect for what I need, and since you said getting this will eliminate the need for inserts, I am still having trouble with deciding which audio interface to go with. Since I don’t need the inserts, can you please recommend a couple more interfaces that might work well for me. I just need to make sure there is no latency, and i will able to hear myself in the headphones as i am speaking in the mic while recording. Also, are there any USB 3 interfaces I should consider?

The reason I wanted fire wire was bc I assumed it would be faster than USB 2.As far as the headphones, I like the ones you reccomended, as the brand is quite reputable, and they seem to have superior sound capabilities. It seems the model i suggested (Direct Sound EX29 Professional Headphones), are much more durable, but how would you compare the two sets of headphones against each other in terms of sound quality for recording?So here is the updated listDBX 286s mic pre-amp processorM-Audio Oxygen 49 midi keyboardPresonus Eris E 4:5 monitorsEither the Sennheiser or Direct Sound headphonesAKG P-420 HPLD Condenser mic (I am going to buy the pop filter and stand seperately)Suggested Interface???Thank you again so much for you time and suggestions. So presonus also makes great interfaces for sure. The FireStudio I have used in the past and it worked well for me. Keep in mind though that USB vs Firewire is not necessarily going to give you zero latency monitoring with FX.

The ability to transfer more data is irrelevant when what your doing will not even come close to pushing the data transfer max of even a USB 2.0 device. I am not aware of any affordable USB 3.0 devices as of yet. There is nothing at all wrong with Firewire but to explain.

You’ll get zero latency monitoring with any USB/Firewire interface that has a input/output mix. The kicker here is monitoring the recording input and not the passthrough output of a track. The input will be a dry signal and zero latency on any USB or Firewire device that I’ve suggested. If you want to here FX’s while you record a given track (different from playback mixing) than you’ll need an interface that offers DSP processing for real time monitoring of input FX.If your using the USB to connect the Oxygen controller to your system than your interface will likely not need USB. If you want and interface to process real time FX so you can hear Reverbs/Delays ect while you record than your budget is going to get more real quick.

Universal Audio Makes some of the best interfaces along this lines. Check those out here.Another excellent unit in this range is the Focusrite Safire Pro 40 I’d actually prefer this one of the Firestudio but thats just me.On headphones, in all honestly the Direct Sound brand is just not as popular in the industry in my experience which is why I’d prefer the Sennheiser products.Best,. So I am planing on having the beat done first, and then recording vocals on top of that pre-recorded beat.

I assume that is what you mean by playback mixing. If that is the case will the Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 or 6i6 work for this? Also, I absolutely must be able to hear my own voice being played back through the headphones in real time when i am speaking on the mic, so if I say “mic check” into the mic, i must be able to hear myself saying it through the headphones as it is said through the mic, so i can monitor my own vocals better. And ultimately must have no delay in the timing of the vocals recording over the beat in the software. That is the main goal here.

Is DBX processing required for that, or am i misinterpreting? I apologize for the lack of education on this as i have been a songwriter for a long time, however the technical side of recording is quite new to me and I would like to make sure that if I am going to invest all of this money, that the equipment will do what i need it to.So considering everything i mentioned above, will the 2i4 or 6i6 work for me, or will i have to get something more like the Saffire Pro 40? Or possibly something different. Thanks again brother, you have been a great help in educating me on what to do. Please break it down into the simplest laymen terms as you can.p.s. When you say “hear fxs in real time while recording”, and “If you want and interface to process real time FX so you can hear Reverbs/Delays ect while you record”, do you mean having a beat being created while simultaneously recording vocals, while having live fxs (delays, etc.) added to my voice in real time as i am recording? If so i do not need that, the beat will be made first, then vocals recorded as the beat is being played back through the headphones, and then the fx will be added post recording via DAW software/midi.

Thanks again. So without a doubt any of the audio interfaces I’ve mentioned, as well as the 2i4/6i6 can easily playback your beat while you then record your voice. I own the 2i4 and can play back more than 60 tracks at one time and still record another.Hearing your voice in real time with zero lag is also not a problem. Both of the interfaces have mix controls which allow you to blend the volume of your recording input (in your case your voice) with the volume of the track your playing back (your beats) so you can easily hear just what you need to record.The key here though is a professional quality vocal track be it rap or rock, has post processing FX like, reverbs, delays, width, compression, noise reduction, pitch correction, and any number of other things. You would only get a lag in hearing yourself if you tried to process these FX in real time and not after you’ve recorded your track.That’s the real difference. We call a track (like your voice) with not FX, dry.

You can easily hear your dry voice through the headphones and mix the volume of your track with it to then record.So on the interface, both are excellent, and especially paired with the DBX preamp. So if you want to record more than 2 things plus midi at one time and if you’d like to power 2 pairs of headphones at once, than go with the 6i6.

Otherwise the 2i4 is still a great interface for this price range and will easily do what you need it to do. Hi David, thanks for the article. I was hoping that you may be able to help me make a decision with my current/planned and soon to be setup.I am fairly new to the world of creating electronic music.

I have a Roland Gaia SH-01 synth. I am looking to expand upon this and add more layers to my composition.

I have recently purchased a Korg Volca drum machine. In the near future I also plan to purchase a Roland VT-3 voice processor/vocoder, which will also cause me to buy a Mic.

I realize that much if not all of this can be done purely on a DAW, but I love the analog interface/separate component feel and want to build on that, and use a DAW for editing and recording, mainly.All that being said, I am looking for the best way to combine these components and be able to produce music with all, on the fly. It is also a desire of mine to record and later be able to edit within a DAW, which will also be a future purchase for me.Question 1: Would a mixer be a good idea for me as a way of being able to combine and expand upon the use of these instruments all together, without interference between them?Question 2: Can you provide any insight on recording? I am guessing the only way to record fully editable music is to have a multi-track recorder console? Korg D3200 Digital Recording Studio, as an example. Are there different ways of recording multi-track, directly to PC?Sorry if the questions are loaded. Any insight for a newb would be appreciated. Hi Ted, thanks for your question.

So the thing to keep in mind is that your live/performance setup should be distinct from your setup to record as you approach each a bit differently. The idea of using a mixer would be to build a live mixing setup to perform while also providing separate outputs for your instruments that can be sent to a recording setup.So there are a few ways to accomplish what your asking. There are several multiple channel audio interfaces (8+ inputs) that can pull an audio signal from a mixers additional outputs and record directly to a DAW (look at the focusrite audio interface line). There are also digital mixers which may be the best option if you can swing budget wise. These mixers like the Presonus Studio live, can be used for live/performance and also record to hard disk, 24+ channels on the board at the same time. These tracks can then be pulled into a DAW for mixing later. Much of this comes down to budget really.

Thanks for the (as usual) well put and very understandable text! I am currently thinking about whether I need a mixing console -at all- or if I need one to optimize my setup, or maybe I “need” one to make my workflow better, and maybe I “need” one just to make my studio appeal nicer, and to have the physics aspect of sliding faders and so onNow, I have a Zoom R16 as audio interface, which I have 8 XLR’s into where I have put my keyboards,my guitar POD 2.0 as my guitar effect and my other instruments. One of the inputs I have a Studio Projects VTB1 Preamp before in the signal chain. I just can’t make up my mind as if I just need a Presonus Faderport to mix in Reaper (which is my DAW of choice hehe =) channel per channel OR if I am to go ahead and buy one of those nice looking Allen & Heatsh Zed 14 as you mention aboveProbably the main reason for my confusion is that the Zoom R16 has 8 inputs already, and the foremost benefit of a mixer might be the many inputsbut maybe it’s also the built in preamps in the mixer? Please help me sort out the details in thisPuuhA lot of text sorry but I would be grateful for any hints!

Yours thankfully Gustav Bjarnason. Hi Gustav, sorry I missed this comment.

Took some time off over the holidays. In looking at what you’ve described I personally think a mixer would add more confusion;-). However, there are legitimate reasons for adding a mixer to any setup.

A mixer with great preamps and a signature sound can be a great benefit to studios (thus most high end studios use mixer in their setups). However what you’ve described above does not foot the bill for this benefit (not even the Zed 14).Another reason to use a mixer in the Home Studio environment is for a better more robust monitoring setup. This only works well when you have the ability to separate your monitor feed per track from your recording feed per track. Many studio mixers have direct outputs per channel for this reason.

The recorder basical gets a dry output patched directly after the preamp of the mixer. Everything on down the chain is just for monitoring purposes. This give the talent the ability to hear FX’s while recording but not actually record FX so they can be processed in post production.Another reason for a mixer in the home studio setup would be if that mixer is a digital version with a high quality audio interface build in. This basically gives all that I’ve described above in one unit. Something like the Presonus Studio live boards are great for this purpose.As far as getting a FaderPort? This is more personal preference than anything as it will have zero effect on the quality of your sound.If you add, say a Zed 14 to your setup, you will actually lose the ability to get separate tracks from each channel like you can with your Zoom R16, most small format mixer with USB only output 1 stereo signal to your computer not each channel separately.

This is true of the ZED 14.Best,. Ok, I get so messed up on what I actually want to achieve while I record, but seeing if you could clear things up.

Ideally, here’s what I want to record/my setup to be: 2 USB or XLR mics, Macbook for an output source of audio to be recorded (Music beds, effects, etc), and control the levels of all three. This is where I get confused, would I be able to use the Macbook for music, effects and such, along with capturing/recording all the audio/channels that is being sent to it? I know I need a good audio interface, but would I go the mixer route (Suggestions?) or what?

Thanks for the write-ups and great youtube channel!. Thanks for the question Tiso. If I understand you right than I would recommend a 4 channel interface like the. In this case you could use the internal sound card from your Mac to play your music, effects and such. Take this stereo signal from the internal sound card output and input it into the 6i6’s rear 1/4″ inputs.

From there you would be able to use a DAW like or similar to record that stereo input as well as the 2 XLR inputs all on separate tracks. As long as your computer is fast enough you can play from it, go into the 6i6, and back into the recording DAW with no problems.

It could get complicated really quick though so just depends on what type of music and processing your trying to do live. It would be much better to have 2 computers to do what your trying to do in the long run. But as long as your playing your effects from different software/sound card from your audio interface it should work.

There are a few other ways to set things up but if you want to be able to edit your 2 mic inputs from the stereo music and FX’s than this is one way to do it. Let me know if this makes sense? If you need to have live EQ, compression ect, on your XLR mic inputs than you may want to consider a mixer with USB output. Be careful though as most low end mixer with USB outs only record 1 stereo output and not each channel as separate into a DAW (recording software). Good question, in reality your mixer with a USB output has an build in audio interface. So yes, you can still get a great sound. Your only limitation is the quality of the internal interface and the mixer itself.

The ProFX-16 can only record up to 16bit/48kHz audio (a touch higher than CD quality). Another interface like the can record up to 24bit/96k (I typically record at 24bit/48kHz). Also another interface may have better mic pre’s compared to your mixer with quieter signal to noise ratios.

All that said, with practice and good technique you can still make great recordings with a USB mixer like yours. Thanks for the question. Thanks for the comment and question David. In the next podcast episode I’m going to dive into this subject a bit more than I can here. The bottom line with your situation?

You may not need a mixer.If you don’t need to do mixing for a live monitor setup (if you were recording a full band), where you need the physical routing (ins/outs) of an outboard mixer, then you might be just fine with your multiple input audio interface.Other situations for the use of a mixer would be wanting to provide live effects when tracking that don’t get recorded to your DAW. You could use a mixers channel direct outs to send to your DAW (which are typically pre-everything else like eq, faders, etc.), then you could setup FX’s like reverb/delay and so on through and aux send/return on the mixer. This would be a setup that would be useful for having a preview of the final product for your musicians, without recording the FX’s (this gives you the most control in post production).There are several other reasons that a mixer might be useful and I’ll cover these in the next episode of the show.

So back to this post: So, “Do I need a mixer for home recording?” Maybe;), depending on your needs. In your case, you may not need one and that’s just fine for your setup.Hope this helps. Hi Edward, yes it is possible to do exactly what you’ve asked. However, don’t think of each instrument as being only 1 track. A keyboard for example may need to 2 track record and that would be 2 channels on a smaller audio interface. I can think of many times when, even in a home studio, it would be nice to record a keyboard with 2 tracks and a voice as a 3rd using 3 tracks at once. Also many home studio’s do have full drums kits.

In this case they would need sever mics/tracks at one time even with just 1 instrument. Hope this helps. Hey Cameron, The only way for this to work depends on your hi-fi (or stereo as we call it in the US). If your hi-fi unit has a line input then you could take 1 or the stereo outputs from your Safire Pro and go into the input of your hi-fi, this would then send the feed to your speakers. By doing this you could use your Safire as a small mixer without an eq (basically it just a pre amp). You’d then plug your mic into the Safire and set the gain to where it does not clip. Then use the monitor output to adjust how much signal is going into your hi-fi.

Use the output volume of your hi-fi to then set a max volume to your speakers. Be careful though as live audio peaks can be hard on a speaker system that was not created to be used for public adress (PA).

If you could give me the brand and model number of your hi-fi I can tell you if this setup will work or not.Thanks for your question,David. Great question Brylan, Using the simplest and most affordable interface that I recommend, you can do exactly that. Most any recording software (digital audio workstation or DAW for short) will allow you to create multiple tracks (what you’ve refereed to as layers). You can record 1 voice on a single stereo track, then play it back while adding another to it. You can add as many tracks as your computer/interface will play back. The 2i2 comes with software to accomplish this. Thanks for your question.

Mixer With Built In Audio Interface

Good question Mark. Simple answer, sure you can do without a mixer. With or without an out board mixer, using the mixing capabilities of a DAW will be the end result anyways. The real benefits to using a mixer may not be something you need in your situation.An outboard mixer with a USB/FireWire is great for monitoring multiple sources while recording. In my case with the Zed14, I can mix a full acoustic drum setup with several mics at one time and record the stereo output to my DAW. The same applies to recording multiple musicians.

I can have them all play together but only send one instrument to my DAW by using an aux mix on the mixer.That said, if you only record and monitor 1 or 2 things at onece you may find an outboard mixer to be overkill.Hope that help!Dave.

Our most recent question that was generalizable enough to benefit the entire community is a very fundamental hurdle that nearly everyone runs into. Being a musician usually involves learning an instrument and some music theory, but rarely do we anticipate needing to learn our way around computers to enhance our hobby. But that's what happens when you decide to start recording your own songs or covers.I remember having to deal with this my first time ever recording around 18 years ago.

This question comes from a real life guitarist friend who finally bought his first interface and couldn't figure out what was happening when he'd press record. I'll explain what was happening and how I solved it, which includes the general tutorial on setting up your audio interface. How Do I Make My Audio Interface Record?

Question:I just bought the I could afford. When I record on it, my tracks sound real distant and have a lot of noise in them. I'm using the same Shure SM57 and cables I've used tons of times to record elsewhere so I know nothing is wrong with them.Can you help?Koi Answer:The next night, my brother and I ran over to Koi's home and I started investigating while they set up the guitar, amp, mic, and stand just as it was before when the bad signal was coming through. I confirmed the mic was receiving the signal, passing it through the interface and on to Logic Pro X, where we then recorded it. And just as described, it sounded horrible. There was a lot of reverb, noise, and some distortion when the amplitude was increased. A common tabletop form-factor for an audio interface.I checked everything, but missed one detail even though we deliberately looked at it in the settings.

We started to blame it on the headphones going bad, so we switched headphones and the problem was still there, but that was what revealed the problem. As I was talking out loud I realized that we weren't recording through the mic that was being used to close mike the amplifier at all. We were recording through the laptop's microphone! I could hear myself loud and clear but barely hear the guitar. How to Setup Your Audio InterfaceI'll state the obvious just for the sake of anyone reading who doesn't realize the basics of cabling. Your interface will be packaged with a power cable or power adaptor which obviously has to be plugged into the wall or your power conditioner before you can even turn the thing on. It will also come with (these days) one of three options for cables to connect to your computer, depending on which type you purchased.

You'll either have a firewire cable, thunderbolt cable, or a USB cable, either of which has to be plugged in before your interface can communicate with the computer.Your interface's job is to capture audio signals from a microphone or a direct input from a guitar, bass, keyboard, etc. It converts that electrical signal at the analog-to-digital converter into a digital signal consisting of binary language your computer can understand. Think of the interface as a really fancy outboard sound card that comes with nicer preamplifiers and other features.Even in today's world of plug-and-play hardware, you'll rarely be able to just plug in your interface and be able to start accepting audio signals and outputting music through it automatically, even if your computer tries to do this for you. It's a bit more complicated than other types of devices your computer is used to talking with. It used to be the case that your interface would come with a CD you would use to install drivers, or a card that would direct you to the manufacturer's website to download the drivers.

This may still be the case for some purchases, but most often the interface will be able to use the standardized system drivers in your operating system. You'll know if you need separate drivers based on what happens in the next step. Choose Your Audio Interface In Your Operating SystemThe next step is to find your audio settings for your operating system at large.On Windows, if I recall correctly, you'll find these settings by navigating to the Start menu Control Panel Hardware & Sound Sound, and then you'll work within the Playback and the Recording tabs.

It will look something like this: Windows Sound SettingsOn a Mac you will venture to the top left of your menu bar to click the Apple System Preferences Sound, and then work within the Output and Input tabs. It will look like this: Mac sound settingsAs you can see, I have the Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 set up as my output device. This routes all of the sound out of the firewire cable and to the interface and then out of the master stereo outputs through the XLR cables to my Adam Audio A7 studio monitors. It's how I listen to music, watch movies, play YouTube videos, etc. I never change this output setting, but I do switch the input device back and forth between my webcam (for phone calls and video conference calls) and my interface (for recording).You will want to set memorize how to navigate to these settings because you may also have to change your input and output devices frequently, especially if you use a laptop that you take with you on the go. You will need to select your audio interface in these two tabs when you get ready to record.You may ask 'but what if I want to listen through headphones?' You can choose your headphones as an output if that exists, or it may automatically show and be chosen once you plug them in like my computer does.

Alternatively, you can choose your interface as the output and use the headphone jack on it just like you would with external monitors. Select Your Audio Interface In Your Digital Audio WorkstationNow that you have your computer communicating with your interface in general, you're halfway done. The next step is to set your digital audio workstation (DAW) up to use your interface. For the example below I'll be using Logic Pro X, but the steps will be nearly the same for Pro Tools, Garage Band, FL Studio, Ableton, etc.Open up your DAW and navigate to the general settings section, however that is done. In Logic, I select it's name in the menu bar and then Preferences, which provides me with a direct link to each tab in the settings.

The one we're looking for in called Audio and looks like this: Logic Pro X sound settingsYou should find, regardless of which software you are using, a tab within your settings that behaves just like the operating system sound settings. It allows you to select which device connected to your computer will be used for the input and output devices. In my case I can choose my webcam as an input device, but you'll see I have 'Saffire' chosen, which is the name of my audio interface.

I select the Saffire again for the output because I want to push the music out to my monitors and headphones, which are both routed through the interface. Choose Which Input From Your Interface to Use on the MultitrackNow that your DAW is communicating with the interface, you have one last task before you can press record and actually capture audio. On your multitrack or your mixer, depending on your preference, workspace, or software, you'll find a way to select an input for that specific track only. Let me explain the reasoning for it being set up this way.Your interface may have only two inputs. Mine has 20 different inputs which can be associated with microphones or direct injected instruments. You want to record each instrument or vocal take in isolation on its own track and this is how its done.

But the software doesn't know which input which microphone or instrument is connected to. You have to instruct it: Logic's 'New Track' Slide-down MenuThe image above is what appears in Logic Pro when you add a new track to your multitrack and mixer, if you don't specify before hand. It needs to know what type of track this will be, and that can include:. Software Instruments like ES2 synthesizer. Audio for instruments or vocals that you record. Drummer for synthetic drum sets like Ultrabeat.

External MIDI for a MIDI keyboard or MIDI controller. Guitar or Bass, which auto-loads certain plugins for youYou will want to setup an audio track. Now in that image, you can go ahead and choose which input you want to use and set it up for recording and even turn on input monitoring for that track. But I never do it on this screen. I always do it on the mixer, which I'll show you below. The reason is that your interface will simply provide a list of inputs labeled like 'Input 1, Input 2.

Input 19, Input 20.' But those software labels hardly ever match the numbers you see on your interface.For instance, most interfaces will have a couple of inputs for XLR cables that have preamps in them or you can use TRS for the direct injection of a bass or guitar. Those will usually be labeled 1 & 2 on the hardware itself, but when you look on the back, the label numbers start over at 1 again, instead of at 3.

This throws off your ability to know exactly which input you're using if you go by the software labels. Often you have to get close and then keep going 'mic check, mic check' as you test different inputs until you see the meter start moving and hear yourself through the input monitoring.There's a little trial and error but once you figure it out, you can find the I/O Labels settings that allow you to name your inputs and outputs. So if you always set your drums up in the same way on the same mics on the same inputs, you can just label them and save yourself a ton of time. That looks like this: Logic Pro's I/O Labeling PanelYou can see the software name, hardware name as given by the driver, and then you supply a user based name.

In Logic you can create a long, descriptive name and a shorter, abbreviated name, which will appear in different places.Now, let's back up. How do you select which input to use on the mixer? In Logic Pro X, you simply find Input on the mixer, click and hold it, and then select the new input source.

But remember, it has to be an audio track to see your audio interface's input options instead of a list of plugins. Once you click and hold the Input option, this is what you'll see: Logic's Multitrack with the Inputs Shown on the RightOnce you've identified and selected your correct input, you simply have to enable the track for recording.Note: Make sure you've set your track up to be mono for a single mic or stereo for a stereo mic or mic pair. If you're using two separate microphones you can use two mono tracks, or one stereo track by choosing a dual input source like 'Input 1 & 2.' Enabling recording is done simply by navigating to the multitrack, finding the R button, and pressing it so that it's red and blinking, like below: The Multitrack 'Enable Recording' ButtonDepending on whether you're using your interface's software mixer (if it even has one) or not, you can press the I button to enable input monitoring on that track. That means you'll be able to hear what the microphone is recording inside of your headphones, which is incredibly useful for all vocalists and instrumentalists. You have to make sure you have nearly zero latency when you do this or there will be a delay.

In an image above you could see I've achieved a 9.3 millisecond latency, which is as good as zero.Now, once you press the master record button, every single track that you've chosen an input for and enabled the track for recording will begin capturing whatever the microphone or direct input is hearing. That's all there is to it! ConclusionWhen you start getting comfortable with the routine, changing the system and DAW input and output devices takes 5 seconds each.

You can even set up projects by mapping your inputs around pretty quickly especially once you've adjusted the I/O labels. But where you'll really save time is by setting all of this up once for every input you have, and saving it as a template.

It's a lot faster to delete the tracks you won't be using on a particular project from the template than it is to re-set it up each time.But that's a topic for another day. Until then, Happy recording!Jared.