I/O device questions

[guitarguy2789]

I just recently purchased a macbook and I have a very fond interest in recording. I'm no pro more of a hobbiest who could record local bands on site, not to mention my self, and such. After searching the forum I have come to the conclusion that the firewire interface is the way to go, however i'm unknowledgeable on the difference on the mixers and.. well everything else. If i understand correctly the firewire mixer will only record one track after an external mix? or will it record 8 tracks at the same time? If not i would like to know what i could use to perhaps record a drum set maybe with 4-6 tracks, and then later track bass, guitar, keyboard, and vocals.

All thoughts provided will be greatly appreciated, however please keep in mind that i'm a student and that my budget can't always afford the best of the best, also I'm just doing this for fun. I love music!

thank you

 

[AviationFan]

If i understand correctly the firewire mixer will only record one track after an external mix? or will it record 8 tracks at the same time?

There are plenty of Firewire devices out there (mixers and others) that can input multiple channels of audio at the same time.

Check out Firewire mixers such as the Mackie Onyx 1220 and Tascam's FW-1082, as well as audio interfaces such as the M-Audio Firewire 410 or the Tascam FW-1804. I don't want to recommend these products in particular, but give you a starting point to learn about what is out there and then do your own research to find the product that works best for you.

- Martin

 

[guitarguy2789]

so... you are saying that if i get a mixer then if i was recording w/ 3 mics simultaneously then I'll have 3 separate tracks to edit in my daw or will i get 1 track mixed to the mixer's settings?

 

[Killyp]

I'm not sure about the others, but my Alesis MultiMix Firewire (NOT the USB version) records 16 channels independently (up to 12 in Logic).

I can highly recommend the Alesis MultiMix Firewire desks, they are absolutely brilliant. If you want 8 individual mic channels, you'll need one which has 8 XLR inputs.

 

[AviationFan]

so... you are saying that if i get a mixer then if i was recording w/ 3 mics simultaneously then I'll have 3 separate tracks to edit in my daw or will i get 1 track mixed to the mixer's settings?

With the right type of mixer, you'll get three separate tracks in your DAW, one for each input into the mixer that was recorded. Just to make sure, what allows you to have the three tracks in your DAW is not the fact that you have a mixer, but the fact that you have a multi-channel audio interface hooked up to your computer (which can be part of a mixer or a stand-alone audio interface) typically through Firewire. If you were simply using an analog mixer with three inputs, connected to the stereo line input of your computer, you would not be able to record three tracks simultaneously.

As far as Firewire mixers and audio interfaces go, each has a maximum number of channels that can be recorded at once; make sure that this number is acceptable for your purposes.

- Martin

 

[JobsRules]

Depends how much you want to spend and what stuff you have already (like decent Mics). I'm about to get the Focusrite Saffire 26/26 to replace an Maudio 1814, which I've been using with cheapo £50 mic pre-amps together with the built in ones to record small live groups.

The Focusrite now has very good drivers, the 8 pre-amps are from their old pro-studio Green series and you can ADAT in loads 16 extra tracks from a couple of 8channel ADAT-compatible pre-amps. Think it could tick the 'only inface i'll ever need' box...