#512251 - 04/14/04 07:03 PM
is there need for the mixer if you have a nice pre amp?
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sadworld
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i run the mic through the pre amp (vintech x73i)and then through my board then to my converters.... can i cut out the middle man? is the mixer unnecessary? thanks, matt.
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#512252 - 04/14/04 07:10 PM
Re: is there need for the mixer if you have a nice pre amp?
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System 8
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How do you have your sound go through your monitors? How do you add external effects to your signal. A mixer usually does these functions and more. Not to mention summing through your mixer which is another option.
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#512253 - 04/14/04 10:40 PM
Re: is there need for the mixer if you have a nice pre amp?
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where02190
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Mic-pre-converter.
Mixer for monitoring/mixing purposes only. get it out of the recording chain. Less is more.
_________________________
Hope this is helpful. NP Recording Studios Analog approach to digital recording.
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#512254 - 04/14/04 10:42 PM
Re: is there need for the mixer if you have a nice pre amp?
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sadworld
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ya, i use the mixer for that, i just meant for actual tracking... would it be better to run out of my preamp directly into my converters and not pass through the board? i monitor through my board and everything else...
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#512255 - 04/16/04 07:12 PM
Re: is there need for the mixer if you have a nice pre amp?
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djwayne
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Originally posted by where02190:
Mic-pre-converter.
Mixer for monitoring/mixing purposes only. get it out of the recording chain. Less is more.
Getting the mixer out of the recording chain is an interesting concept, but for me, many times I'll be running many different midi sound modules thru my mixer and use the mixer to "pre-mix" them into two tracks, or as a big patch bay and keep everything permantly assigned to individual tracks. I also use the mixer for controlling my 5.1 playback. ( I'm using a Mackie 24x8x2 )
I like the sound I got going directly from the Pre-Amp to the sound card. Nice, easy, strong, dry signal to work with later.
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#512256 - 04/16/04 09:28 PM
Re: is there need for the mixer if you have a nice pre amp?
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ustah
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Registered: 02/25/01
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I have a project studio for a couple of years now ,I used to have mixers and sound modules and samplers and bunch of keyboards,What is left from all that is only my master keyboard.Now I run 2 computers everything in sync no mixer at all and I have really nice mic pres and the sound is much much better than 3 years ago[with all that stuff].!I'm not saying that you have to get rid of sound modules[if you like them] ,but I think the future is in great pre amps ,converters ,and Computers much faster less-or no noise and mixer[unles you have Neve or SSl]doesn't keep the value at all.[as e.g. expensive pre amps] .!
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#512257 - 04/16/04 10:09 PM
Re: is there need for the mixer if you have a nice pre amp?
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djwayne
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Originally posted by ustah:
I have a project studio for a couple of years now ,I used to have mixers and sound modules and samplers and bunch of keyboards,What is left from all that is only my master keyboard.Now I run 2 computers everything in sync no mixer at all and I have really nice mic pres and the sound is much much better than 3 years ago[with all that stuff].!I'm not saying that you have to get rid of sound modules[if you like them] ,but I think the future is in great pre amps ,converters ,and Computers much faster less-or no noise and mixer[unles you have Neve or SSl]doesn't keep the value at all.[as e.g. expensive pre amps] .!
I've had my Mackie 24x8 for many years now and use it daily, I'd be lost with out it. I've configured it to record 5 piece bands, folk artists, duo's, single acts, mucho overdubbing, sound modules synths, drum machines, cd recorders, a DA-88, DAT, outboard effetcts, and most recently it's dedicated to the sound modules, JP-8000, and 5.1 surround sound system. My computer is also hooked up to it, and I can route any of my equipment to the computer, DA-88, cd recorder, mini-disc, or DAT with the press of a button, it's like one huge patch bay. Very convient. I think a good mixing board is a necessary thing. A few channels of high quality pre-amps, would certainly be a plus, but not necessary for every little thing you record.
Now that I have it set up, I got start recording some hits. hehehehe....
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#512258 - 04/17/04 02:17 AM
Re: is there need for the mixer if you have a nice pre amp?
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ustah
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I completely agree with that when you buy something you take the money back from a work that you do. But what I was thinking and I didn't put it very well is that when you make an investment today on electronics you have to squeeze that thing for 3-5 years than dump it, because Clients will ask do you have this and this the latest and greatest  ,not to long ago people were asking do you have studer or Otari now they ask do you have PT or this or that. Now if you buy today a Mackie analog 8 bus[nothing wrong with that board]but I wouldn't except that this board will bring me money after 2-3 years when a studio next door has something great[whatever it is]and people think that this is it. What I'm trying to say that if you feel that you need one go and buy one, if you don't feel than don't buy it, if an SSl or even Behringer brings you money or if you make a living from a laptop than nothing wrong. I was just trying to say that how things are changing everyday [you see even SSl thinks DAW controller?? Which tells you something] it’s not that necessary to invest on a mixer as it was 2 years ago, because everything is going 'Virtual'-computers, samplers, Plug ins etc, and that's when it comes to that part if you also have some great analog outboard you will be set for a long time to come with some little investments during the road!
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#512259 - 04/17/04 04:56 AM
Re: is there need for the mixer if you have a nice pre amp?
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sadworld
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djwayne... i got my self thinking as well. i did the same thing you did, experiment with no mixer in the tracking of an acoustic guitar piece .... sounded great... what i was thinking was how would i monitor this if i needed to (i didn't need to in that instance)? ... how did you? y cable?
also how do you like that adobe audition... i'm on the virge of upgrading to that, i currently run cool edit pro 1.2a. i'm just afraid that with all the new things it can do, my computer might go sluggish on me with my 256ram and my 833mghz processor.
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#512260 - 04/17/04 11:50 AM
Re: is there need for the mixer if you have a nice pre amp?
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djwayne
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Originally posted by sadworld:
djwayne... i got my self thinking as well. i did the same thing you did, experiment with no mixer in the tracking of an acoustic guitar piece .... sounded great... what i was thinking was how would i monitor this if i needed to (i didn't need to in that instance)? ... how did you? y cable?
also how do you like that adobe audition... i'm on the virge of upgrading to that, i currently run cool edit pro 1.2a. i'm just afraid that with all the new things it can do, my computer might go sluggish on me with my 256ram and my 833mghz processor.
Re: Adobe Audition, I really like it alot. It comes in real handy for many things for me, like editing radio broadcasts, songwriting, music production, practicing guitar, like yesterday, I did a short jam of a bunch of different chord progressions, found one I liked and just looped it and then jammed along to that. It's very easy to use and I got great customer support. The program also has a great help section with very easy to understand guides to just about everything the program can do, and there are tons of features that you learn about, the more you get into it. It even has a 5.1 encoder to mix your music into 5.1 WMA9 files. The big drawback of the program is that it does not burn CD's or DVD's, at this time, so you have to look to other programs for that. It does do a great job of creating WMA and MP3 files though, which is great if you upload a lot of your music to the web to an online music delivery service.
Another great feature I really like is the analizing tools, graphs, and sound generators, for various sound checks and testing purposes.
I'm currently running XP, 512 Ram, 60 G drive, and using an AMD XP2000 chip, and the program works flawlessly for me.
I was really amazed with the program when I tried editing a 75 minute long radio show. It used up a lot of hard drive space, but it worked great.
Overall, if you're into any aspect of music, it's a very handy tool to have on your computer, as it can do many things.
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#512261 - 04/17/04 11:59 AM
Re: is there need for the mixer if you have a nice pre amp?
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Fredo
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Registered: 11/05/01
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Every electronic circuit/component that is between the source and the final destination results in a degration of the sound.
I have never used a piece of gear that actually made the sound *better*.
Even if that piece of gear is a Vintage Neve, SSL or whatever.
Unless you intentionally want to *change* something to the recorded signal/sound, there is not one single reason to *not* bypass the mixing board.
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#512262 - 04/17/04 12:07 PM
Re: is there need for the mixer if you have a nice pre amp?
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henryrobinett
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Fredo - abosolutely 100% correct in my estimation! For me the best signal chain is instrument/voice -> mic -> mic pre - media, with nothing but cable inbetween. Each step adds degradation. If I use a mixer, which no longer own, it's never in the signal chain. I just use it for monitoring and headphones.
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Henry Robinett
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#512263 - 04/17/04 01:06 PM
Re: is there need for the mixer if you have a nice pre amp?
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sadworld
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so you no mixer guys, how do you monitor what your recording? just by the live sound of the vocal or instrument?
sometimes you'd have to use a mixer if you wanted to ad compression or something while recording wouldn't you?
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#512264 - 04/17/04 01:25 PM
Re: is there need for the mixer if you have a nice pre amp?
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djwayne
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Well if I wanted to monitor it, like you said I could use a Y chord, or even set up a second mic and run that thru the board.
I did this before using a mini-disc recorder, and just plugged in a set of headphones into the headphone jack on the recorder.
As for seperate effects goes, you can add them to your dry recording, during the mixing phase. That's where the mixing board comes into play, or if you have a good music editing software program, add them there. You can always change a reverb or delay effect on a dry signal, but if you've recorded that on your initial recording, you can't take it out of the mix, sort of like trying to take the flour out of a baked cookie. So there's lots of good reasons to record dry.
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#512265 - 04/17/04 02:47 PM
Re: is there need for the mixer if you have a nice pre amp?
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henryrobinett
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I have Metric Halo 2882+dsp and ULN-2. These provide software and hardware mixing busses arranged in a virtual matrix of routing possibilities. This is how I monitor. I have a whole gaggle of mainly Millennia HV-3 mic pres that for the most part go straight into DP, unless I want to add hardware compression. I monitor straight out of the Metric Halo (MIO) boxes.
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All the best,
Henry Robinett
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#512266 - 04/19/04 05:28 AM
Re: is there need for the mixer if you have a nice pre amp?
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Fredo
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so you no mixer guys, how do you monitor what your recording? just by the live sound of the vocal or instrument?
That is for headphone mixes & playback.
;-o)
When you have a good DAW, I can't see any reason to run signals through a mixing board.
sometimes you'd have to use a mixer if you wanted to ad compression or something while recording wouldn't you?
When I want to record with EQ and/or comp, I just use extra hardware.
Mostly, I record flat, just to keep my options open.
But for vocals for example, sometimes, I do add some EQ and compression.
Mic => Pre => EQ => comp => AD.
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#512267 - 04/19/04 03:52 PM
Re: is there need for the mixer if you have a nice pre amp?
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djwayne
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Originally posted by djwayne: Originally posted by sadworld:
djwayne... i got my self thinking as well. i did the same thing you did, experiment with no mixer in the tracking of an acoustic guitar piece .... sounded great... what i was thinking was how would i monitor this if i needed to (i didn't need to in that instance)? ... how did you? y cable?
also how do you like that adobe audition... i'm on the virge of upgrading to that, i currently run cool edit pro 1.2a. i'm just afraid that with all the new things it can do, my computer might go sluggish on me with my 256ram and my 833mghz processor.
Re: Adobe Audition, I really like it alot. It comes in real handy for many things for me, like editing radio broadcasts, songwriting, music production, practicing guitar, like yesterday, I did a short jam of a bunch of different chord progressions, found one I liked and just looped it and then jammed along to that. It's very easy to use and I got great customer support. The program also has a great help section with very easy to understand guides to just about everything the program can do, and there are tons of features that you learn about, the more you get into it. It even has a 5.1 encoder to mix your music into 5.1 WMA9 files. The big drawback of the program is that it does not burn CD's or DVD's, at this time, so you have to look to other programs for that. It does do a great job of creating WMA and MP3 files though, which is great if you upload a lot of your music to the web to an online music delivery service.
Another great feature I really like is the analizing tools, graphs, and sound generators, for various sound checks and testing purposes.
I'm currently running XP, 512 Ram, 60 G drive, and using an AMD XP2000 chip, and the program works flawlessly for me.
I was really amazed with the program when I tried editing a 75 minute long radio show. It used up a lot of hard drive space, but it worked great.
Overall, if you're into any aspect of music, it's a very handy tool to have on your computer, as it can do many things.
_________________________
Living' in the shadow,
of someone else's dream....
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