Multitrack Recording

You just need a soundcard that has multiple inputs, if a soundcard/interface you are looking at says '8 analog ins' or similar then it means it can record 8 things on 8 separate tracks at once. Interfaces come with there own driver, which replaces asio4all, and deals with the computer/interface connection directly, normally with a software control panel so you can set it up as you like.

While there are many mixers which output each track from a mixer separately to a computer (these things are basically mixers with a multi input soundcard added on internally) the behringer xenyxUSB, as far as I know uses the usb connection to send just a stereo mix. So no multiple outputs but ok for getting demo's down or recording live gigs etc.

I am using the Tascam 1641 with fantastic success. It get pretty good reviews on the various sites and I have experienced none of the problems others have (lag, driver probs, latency issues). I have had mine for about 6+ mo. now and would buy it again in a heart beat. I spent about 2 years researching interfaces-es and this one just kept jumping out at me for the price.

This thing has 14 inputs, 8 XLR mic pres and 6 1/4" TRS (plus one optical and one midi for a total of 16) and for the price it is the most ins and out on the market.

I don't know how much you have researched home recording but it is the rabbits hole so to speak. I would suggest you do alot of reading before you start tossing money around. its real easy to buy stuff you don't need to, and you would be amazed at the quality you can achieve on a budget.

i would be glad to give you some links to some sites that have helped me a lot over the last two years since I started putting my home studio together.

Kinda long winded but I hope this helps ya out.

NP man. I think the on board pres are fine. Sound real clean, the level knobs can be a little touchy, but you get used to it.

There is definitely a place for your Mackie. I run a Behringer ULTRAGAIN PRO MIC2200 into line 11 and 12 (its a two ch.) and a little Behringer mixer like yours into line 13 and 14 (left main out to 13, right main out to 14 and monitor out to the PA). I also have a Presonis Tubepre (single ch.) i use for time to time on line 9 or 10.

I run like this...

ch1 - Kick (lg. dia. dynamic mic)
ch2 - Kick (lg. dia. condenser mic)
ch3 - Rack Tom 1
ch4 - Rack Tom 2
ch5 - Rack Tom 3
ch6 - Floor Tom
ch7 - Guitar 1
ch8 - Guitar 2
ch9 - Bass DI out of head (in line level mode)
ch10-
ch11 - High Hat Over Head (Behringer tube pre)
ch12 - Ride Over Head (Behringer tube pre)
ch13 - Vox (Behringer mixer paned left)
ch14 - Vox (Behringer mixer paned right)

This is my band practice set up. I could use the Presonis on line 10 for the snare but I dont need to, the over heads pick it up just fine.....its LOUD!!!! (almost TOO loud)

Then when you go to REALLY record some songs you can run your guitars, bass, and vox into your mixer for scratch trax (paned to track of choice) AND have 12 ch. to mic the hell out of the drums.

I'm going to throw my 2 cents out there; switch from FL Studio to something that is more input oriented. FL Studio is designed around making electronic music, and while you can record actual real-world audio in it, it's a hassle and it's not intuitive.

My favorite DAW software is Ableton Live, because it's simple (but powerful) and intuitive. Before Live, I used Adobe Audition, and I've tried Cubase (but found it clumsy).

I use an eight track Tascam cassette machine that I won't replace until it konks out. Not a big digital fan.

Yeah you will find a place for your ultragrain MIC200, hell you can use it a a DI if ya want to (i use my Presonis Bluetube sometimes). I run my bass out of the DI on my GK 700rbII. but you can use almost any mic pre as a DI, most have XLR and 1/4 ins and outs. your ultragrain MIC200 dose.

Hyperfreak said:

Hey guys!
I could drone on and on about the options I've been considering, but I'd rather just ask a short and sweet question:

~Wes

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Why don't ya hit me with what your up to and trying to do and maybe we can dial something in for ya.

I've gone thru a few DAW's...Cuebase that come with the Tascam is very usable but it has a pretty high learning curve.

Hyperfreak said:

Well yes, but that's just the thing. Whereas I'd like to work with Ableton or Pro Tools, more than half the sounds going on are coming out of Omnisphere, Trillian, or any number of other synths, and through FL I can run every input part into an on-screen mix chain. and work seamlessly with the MIDI data running through plugins.

Click to expand...

If I understand you correctly both ableton and Pro tools do that, as does every big DAW! Fruity loops is quite nice to use for that sort of stuff but they all have roughly the same 'chain' in terms of how things work and flexibility of processing/midi editing.

If you get the tascam then give cubase a try maybe, it can do a lot (thats where the learning curve comes in!) but the fundamentlas are very easy to pick up.

Hyperfreak said:

Perhaps. I'm very interested in Pro Tools, but I'd be willing to give Ableton and Cubase a try. Anything but Cakewalk.

I've also used Sony Acid and Adobe Audition in my time. Acid since it was a 3.0 product with Sonic Foundry and Audition since it was good old fashioned Cool Edit.

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Hehe, cooledit pro-2-point-ooooh was one of the first DAW's I used. Great days, I remember not knowing that you could set the tempo of the song and have bar lines displayed etc, so I just did everything by ear and eye. HOURS of my life gone lining up a whole songs worth of drum loops by eye, not knowing about the duplicate function Still, I ended up with the results I wanted at the time and certainly helped develop patience!

However, audition and acid are not in the 'industry standard' for audio recording, nor are really designed for it, they are more general purpose audio editors, audition for example is seen at a lot of radio stations. You may be surprised just how advanced DAW's like pro tools and cubase are in comparison, and just how much they can do. They are fully featured workstations that leave things like fruity loops and acid in the dust, for the most part.

A common critiscism of pro tools is the midi instrument support not being so great. This is largely a thing of the past and even as the least midi friendy of the top DAW's it is still very much on par with fruity loops in that respect. The main comparison drawn is logic, but logic is SO far advanced with midi stuff that it makes pretty much EVERY DAW look inflexible in comparison! At the expense of having to learn how it all works!

Essentially, with time any of the big DAW's from Ableton through to Cubase will be able to do the job for you with no problems, the only real question is 'what do you prefer?' thats all it really comes down to these days. Demo's and manuals are your friend!

I liked Adobe Audition too - then I started using more MIDI (mostly for drum sample players) and VSTs, which Audition didn't work so well with. That's why I switched to Ableton. It's very easy to use both MIDI/VSTi and audio recordings in.

Essentially, what I'm looking for in a DAW is something that lets me just jump in and throw ideas around/record without feeling like I have to work for it. If your program does that for you, than awesome. If not, you may want to give some other DAWs a shot.

I know don't know about any problems running Pro Tools on a laptop...I'm sure it's done a lot, but to use protools you have to use their hardware (i.e. interfaces approved for Pro Tools...like the M-Audio stuff) and the Tascam stuff is not. This is the reason I do not run Pro Tools...IMO it would be like Marshall saying "if you want to use our heads you HAVE to use Monster Cables".

Hyperfreak said:

So I'm set up with an ultra-performance laptop with 16 gigs of ram in it, specifically for audio work. It functions nicely running an unruly number of high-memory plugins so far, and leaves my desktop in the dust. However, I've been told I'll need some fancy hardware to make use of pro tools. Will that tascam do me any good in that regard? What are the options for using pro tools on a laptop?

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You don't need any fancy hardware particuarly, you just need to use a digidesign interface. Pro Tools the program needs to run on a pro tools interface, they have a few on offer in a number of different price brackets and are pretty competitively priced, you're not paying out loads more for a digi interface just in order to be able to use pro tools!

In fact, pro tools comes bundled with a lot of the interfaces, so you don't need to buy the program as well, unlike if you got the tascam and cubase, for example.

So the tascam will be no good for running pro tools. Its worth noting that other DAW's WILL run on pro tools gear, its just Pro Tolls the PROGRAM that is picky, not the hardware.

Also, a lot of the more popular M-Audio stuff works with 'Pro Tools M-Powered' offering a host more options.

fruity2x, although digidesign does have a bad name in the audio industry for a number of reasons, traditionally pro tools requires specific hardware for technical reasons. Remember, LE is based on HD, and HD runs off of dedicated PCI processor cards that communicate to the interfaces directly. A such it is a much pickier program when it comes to the hardware and other software you use with it. You shouldn't let it put you off, its not a major restriction really.

It only becomes a consideration when you would like to get a really nice soundcard but don't want to upgrade to HD (which is £1000's). Your options are then the top end LE interfaces (which are good but not great) or go with another DAW and get a very fancy interface from Metric Halo, high end Apogee, Prism etc etc.

I have gotten very good multitrrack recordings with the Phonic Helix Universal Series boards...from critical classical to Live band as well as live remote broadcast. I am not going to debate name brands so please don't bother to try! ...I only had a budget of a few hundred dollars to start with. As a result of the series recordings, I am contracted for the upcoming seasons for the next several years! For the money they can't be beat for the features and sound quality...here is an actual recording I did last year with the Helix 24MKII, 4 small diaphram condenser mics through only the Helix Pres and a HP laptop. The recording was for a piano competition so it will be a little forward....this clips will show you the sig\noise is very good as well as the dynamic range is very good as well. Now you can hear one actually in real world use....

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digidesign...thats the other one that runs Pro Tools. and I'm with ya Charling, Pro Tools is the industry standard and dose some cool things. I do understand its an incentive program and what it dose it dose well, but the price points are way too high for my budget anyways. I could be wrong on it but can you get into a 16ch Pro Tools interface for less that even a $1000?

My point is for $300-$400 you can get the Tascam with 16 ins and it comes with Cuebase. I just did a quick Google and couldn't find anything that wasn't over twice the price for 8 ins that would run Pro Tools. For us home recording guys, IMHO, Pro Tools is just kinda over kill and the extra money could go to buying mics and some decent pres.

I was just checking out your place Charling, truly amazing man. I bet you are very proud of it....its beautiful and i bet your live room in studio one sounds like heaven!!!!