Why do we need a mixer

The various parts of the channel are described below. These are where the audio sources are connected. These can be anything from a line-level signal, such as that from a keyboard or piano, to microphones. The insert is a connection that allows a piece of equipment to be plugged in directly after the input, so that it is unaffected be any of the other processes further down the channel. Here, the insert is a stereo jack, which both sends and returns the signal, to and from the connected device.

Commonly, an insert has a separate send and return socket, however. Gain controls the input level of each individual channel. Here you can set this so that individual sound sources do not cause the channel to overload and distort.

EQ allows the user to change the frequency curve of a sound. For instance, if a sound source is very bright, the high frequencies can be turned down. A 3-band EQ will allow you to boost or cut high, mid and low frequencies separately. The auxiliary sends can be used for various things. That is, you connect the sends to monitor speakers at the front of a stage, so that the band can here what they are playing more clearly. Aux sends are also used to send channel audio to an effects unit.

When used with a common effect like reverb, it allows the engineer to adjust the level of effect of each individual channel, using just one effects unit. When used in this way, the FX unit output would be connected to the aux return inputs on the mixer. While a solid audio interface can get this job done, mixers typically feature more inputs and give you more control over the signal going in.

You can also use mixers without a computer or DAW. Keep in mind that as you develop your skills and studio space you may eventually want to invest in a mixing console.

The short answer: NO! Quick start tool to get up and running easier than ever. But track two ended up with BOTH the drum machine and the keyboard. Now this can be caused by any number of things, but as soon as I saw that he had listed a mixer as part of his home studio set-up, I was pretty sure I knew the cause of his trouble. I asked him if he could tell me how he had everything plugged in.

Basically it was as seen in the picture on the left which I drew using the Paper app on my iPad - free and very cool! But I digress. He had an audio interface, but a very limited one, called the Behringer UCA , which is not designed for multi-track recording, but rather for you to plug in line-level signals from things like tape decks, mixers, and other consumer audio devices, as well as electronic instruments like keyboards, drum machines, etc.

There are only 2 inputs, but they are designed to accept a stereo pair inputs are L and R of RCA plugs. So you can only plug in one thing at a time. That means in order to plug a microphone in, you must first plug it into the mixer to use its preamp, and then plug the mixer's output into the UCA. The trouble with that is the preamps in a mixer like the , though decent, are pretty cheap by necessity. There are 4 of them on a , and if they used top-notch recording quality preamps, it would drive up the cost of the mixer by a lot.

The is mainly designed for live sound, not recording. So the thought process goes like this. I only have a pair of stereo inputs on this interface UCA But I also have a mixer that has lots of inputs!

I can plug everything into the mixer and then just take the main mixer outputs left and right and plug those into the UCA Then I'll plug the outputs from the UCA back into the mixer, and hook up my speakers to the mixer as well. Raise your hand if you see the problem. Everything, including the playback, is going into the mixer, which is perfectly designed to - well - mix. See part 2 here ]. Its an impressive article. Even I thought of doing the same in my home. As you told its not possible with "Behringer UCA".

So may I know how can I do it. Can you refer me some name of the cheap Audio Interface? And one more thing, Any audio mixer machine will work right? If not can you please refer me the type of Audio Mixer machine? I see right off the bat what is going on Your DAW see whats connected to your interface Chn 1 or 2 and that's all. Now coming out of your extnl will only help you if you rout back to the interface Thanks for the post. I like the idea of keeping it simple as possible when recording at home as well.

One caveat here: if you want to use effects while recording, a mixer is an easy "what-you-hear-is what-you-get" solution, either with the mixer's own effects if it has them or outboard equipment via the mixer "sends". Live monitoring the result of computer effects added to live instruments while recording is fussy and becomes a pain with multiple tracks, effects, etc.

Thanks Mike. You sound like you know quit a bit about what you are doing with a mixer in your studio. And hey, that's fine. You're the kind of person who can get away with it. I'm not saying nobody should ever use a mixer. I have one too though I don't use it as any part of my actual recording chain - it's just for monitoring. But for a lot of folks who don't have a decent amount of knowledge and experience with analog mixers different story with digital ones , I just think it creates MANY more opportunities for things to go wrong.

And folks are having enough problems already I help a lot of people with audio problems. And in it just isn't necessary to have a mixer in the I just bought a Macbook Pro and am setting up all over again in a new house. I had a ghastly, ghastly mess of cables after setting up my mixer and all the other stuff you need - and then I saw your article.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I have now plugged my microphone into the left input of my PreSonus Audiobox and my piano into the right input. I took away the mixer and tied up the remaining cables. I have two independent recording tracks, rather than getting everything mixed together.

That's awesome, Geoff! Thanks so much for letting me know that. Because yeah, simpler is so much better in this case. So glad you were able to get things working better! So here's my question: I am working with my theatre company to produce a sketch comedy podcast, so we are leaning to a four-mike audio interface.

Can we do that with an audio interface like a Behringer or Scarlett 18x8 that will allow us to add a laptop so we can do that? Or are we going to need to add some sort of mixer so we can patch in the outside sound effects? Hi Joseph. I think you're right about the Scarlett. The Focusrite Scarlett 18i8 will allow you to record 4 mics at once. For the additional sounds, by far the fastest and easiest way to do that would be to add them after the talking part of the show is done.

If that makes it too hard to be spontaneous in the recording session you want to hear the sound "live" you could use sources on your computer created soundboard you can hit when needed, etc.

I'm old school been Recording since 80's I am not a fan of all the straight to computer recording. Personal preference, I'll never go all digital, so our studio has a mixer not sure I would know what to do without one.

I know I know I'm a dinosaur but I'm good with that. My 24 year old son on the other hand can run circles around me in Studio One. Hi Paul. I definitely make an exception to the "no mixers" thing in a case like yours Clearly it is needed in that case. 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. My first setup was AT 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.

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:. Is there a way, I can cancel out Signal-Noise? I am also looking at purchasing a few more mics. What would be your suggestion? Blue Yeti — not a fan as its too bulky for my taste. Adding a mixer will not change anything other than giving another piece of gear to add more noise to the setup. Here is the unit I use for my voiceover stuff.

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.

Many thanks for the response, David; I appreciate your expertise. I am in the process of putting up my very first Home Recording Studio. I bought 1 complete set package of it. My questions are? This is great to start with. You will have everything you need within any good recording software. No need for an external mixer and compressor at this point.

To record electric guitar do I need a mixer or audio interface with required mic inputs. This would give you separate tracks for each mic. The only mixers that would allow this would be the digital versions that have internal audio interface that can multitrack record, like the presonus studiolive series or similar. Hi,just building my system and looking at 2i4,6i6 And Kompact6 which sits in between the first 2 price-wise The only down sides I can see is the 6i6 needs a power cable and both Focusrites have been criticised for their monitoring software being a drag.

Kompact6 an option? Hope you enjoyed your holidays! In a live jam, I would like to have control over my individual channels for each keyboard and also still use music from Ableton. Any advice would be appreciated. Hi Andrew, so unless you have separate outputs from each keyboard going into Ableton, a mix will not give you separate tracks for each.

You could potentially use MIDI to track the midi data and then use virtual instruments inside your daw but this would not be an audio recording. This can get complicated real quick. Thanks for your reply.. A few cables then eh…. Would this be a case of outputs of keys into the mixer and output of mixer into 2i4, which is connected to computer as usual… If I did want to record separate tracks, then I could just create a new audio track in Ableton and play whatever keyboard I wanted..

Be careful on gain staging is all. You just want to make sure you signal is well below clipping at each stage including the input gain of the 2i4.

To be able to record multiple tracks to your computer at one time you would need a mixer that has an internal audio interface that can connect to a computer and allows more than just a single stereo tracking to record at once. Or you need an audio interface that has as many inputs as as you need for the amount of mics you want to record at one time. Thanks ;. 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. Also, I never recommend using a USB hub for an audio interface. This is never best for performance reasons.

That to me sounds like rubbish ;. These are typically for new USB 3. The 2i4 is only a USB 2. Hey David. Your instructions are just what I am in need of. I an starting from scratch on the PC route to home recording. I am slow and not very computer savvy. 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. 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. Ray p. So on computer speed, any modern machine is plenty fast for the largest productions out there in my experience. It is a quad core AMD and runs at 2.

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. Your internal sound card is become irrelevant when your using a great interface like the 2i2. 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. 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? 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. You just need to research the mixer your looking for and find one that does both.

Your budget matters most in this case. On making beats and the best software. 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 am also looking to get a nice midi-keyboard with faders on it, along with a condenser mic and headphones. 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. 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. 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 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. Are 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. 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. Sidenote, sweetwater is not always the best price on a lot of items that I find, often Amazon can be. 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. Firewire is not needed for the audio interface at your level honestly.