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Recording multiple guitars and bass

R

Razzor

Nov 3, 2020
27
3
#1
Just moved into my new appartement where i cant play so loud. Want to be able to practice and record multiple guitars and bass in my home studie with friends and/or my band. Any suggestions to audio interfaces? (curently using Ableton 11 as my DAW, but using it mostly as a practicing tool) need an audio interface with multiple instrument inputs aswell as multiple headphones, any ideas? My budget is pretty limited, but have this might work, but not sure at all

Behringer MDX4600 Multicom Pro-XL V2
 
#2
Your Behringer unit is a four-channel compressor. It will not function as an interface to your computer, as it does not incorporate an analog-to-digital converter and USB port.

You need a USB audio interface. However many sources you want to record simultaneously is the number of inputs it will need to have.
 
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#6
the tascam us-16-08 is a good budget option with decent quality and a lot of inputs. 8 mic preamps and 16 total inputs. you'd be able to mic a drum kit and have guitars, bass, and vocals all recording simultaneously. you're going to need a headphone amp too. most audio interfaces have one or two headphone outs only.
 
#7
You will get lots of differing, but good advice from people here.

Count the minimum amount of inputs you think you will need simultaneously (and then maybe add two :thumbsup:).
Are the instruments going to get recorded direct or miked? How many mics total? Do you have a drummer? if so, how will you mike? You could go old school and record the room with everything through amps, like a stage mix.

I don't know your exact needs, but you will probably need way more than 4 inputs. You could get a mixer and and and 2 to 4 input interface. Use the mixer to get a balanced stage sound and record it. However, if you go that route you will not be able to mixdown separate channels.

Cost is fairly simple. You pretty much end up paying per input channel. A raw calculation is about $50-80 per channel. Once you know how many channels, the Focusrites and Behringers of the interface world are all pretty good. Think hard about whether you really want multi-track or just a stereo mix. That will effect your final cost dramatically.

Headphone amps with multiple outs are cheap ($20-80).
 
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#10
I had great results with Mackie's Onyx Blackbird. It has 8 clean preamp channels and you can find them used for around $200.

Onyx Blackbird

If you don't need that many channels, someone's mention of the Focusrite Scarlett is also a good call. You can find them used all day long all over the internet.
 
#11
I've been hearing some people very happy around here with some Presonus interfaces for indie recording, rehearsal live mixes, etc. Generally better priced than, say, Focusrite Clarett interfaces, maybe a a couple fewer features, but in my experience still sounding quite good. One night of recklessness, I DID invest in a Focusrite Clarett 4Pre USB, then made some money back using it freelance, but then have also been very extremely happy with its results.

If you need to record separate tracks, the way to go is a multichannel interface. If you're sure you'll just be recording to a 2-channel mix for demos, you can find some VERY affordable Behringer, Mackie, Alesis, Yamaha, & some other brand mixers with USB interface connectivity. Just do a lil research to ensure they'll go stereo and you can have good rehearsal mixes/simple recordings for not too many doubloons.

Only other thing is, unless you're really throwing bread at the duckies in the pond, you'll only have one or two headphone outputs integrated. So a small headphone amplifier will be an additional purchase, but as long as everyone can agree on a universal mix, it can be pretty inexpensive and work fine.
 
#12
Real Soon said:
I've been hearing some people very happy around here with some Presonus interfaces for indie recording, rehearsal live mixes, etc. Generally better priced than, say, Focusrite Clarett interfaces, maybe a a couple fewer features, but in my experience still sounding quite good. One night of recklessness, I DID invest in a Focusrite Clarett 4Pre USB, then made some money back using it freelance, but then have also been very extremely happy with its results.

If you need to record separate tracks, the way to go is a multichannel interface. If you're sure you'll just be recording to a 2-channel mix for demos, you can find some VERY affordable Behringer, Mackie, Alesis, Yamaha, & some other brand mixers with USB interface connectivity. Just do a lil research to ensure they'll go stereo and you can have good rehearsal mixes/simple recordings for not too many doubloons.

Only other thing is, unless you're really throwing bread at the duckies in the pond, you'll only have one or two headphone outputs integrated. So a small headphone amplifier will be an additional purchase, but as long as everyone can agree on a universal mix, it can be pretty inexpensive and work fine.
Click to expand...

I've got both a Presonus 16R and an 1824C. The 16R I use for full band recording live off-the-floor where I've got 4-6 channels for drum mics alone. In that scenario, I also use a separate headphone amp (ART HeadAmp Pro 6) and we all monitor using headphones. That way, we can isolate guitars, drums and vocals from each other but still hear each other well. We each have our own custom headphone mix that I manage from my laptop. I use Presonus Capture software when tracking and Logic Pro for post-production.

At home, I use the 1824C - 8 inputs and I have multiple things hardwired in so I don't have to mess round with cables, routing etc. 2 vocal mics (1 dynamic, one condenser), a bass preamp, a guitar preamp and an analog synth. With a couple of channels left over for....whatever....I go direct into Logic with this interface.

Also have a Faderport 8 when I'm into mixing stages of production, though I could use for tracking as well.

I like the Presonus stuff - the feature sets, hardware form factors, software, etc all just fit my personal workflow. Priced right for me as well.
 
#14
Tascam Model 12. Sounds great, is a 10 input audio interface and a mixing desk and a sd-card recorder. Can be used as a DAW controler, too. And works great as a PA mixer for small gigs. For under 600,- it is hard to beat, unless you need the 4 or 5 separate headphone monitor outputs of the Zoom Livetrak. This is a unique and great feature of the Zoom Livetraks.
The Tascam has only 2 separate headphone outputs.
A disadvantage of the Zoom Livetrak recorders is that they don't have separate controls for every channel of the mixer.
 

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