New soundcard advice

John_A

thinking about a refresh of my recording setup, currently have a steinberg ur22, looking at a presonus studiolive 16.0.1 which is a digital desk with a 16/16 usb interface, but not sure how having outboard eq etc works with my DAW (cubase) as i normally eq everything in cubase, other options are a behringer xair18, but open to suggestions.

Would I just be better off with a 8/16 I/O soundcard rather than a USB desk?

90% of the time its just me, but occasionally record the full band 

PolarityMan

personally I'd go for the audio interface rather than the mixer if your use case is recording, the mixer section is more about output side so you can create a live mix or whatever. Can you use the presonus as a control surface too? that might be an argument in its favour.

John_A

Thanks for that, I'm thinking along the same lines, don't see the point of having all the EQ/effects in the mixer unless I'm missing something.  Think I was drawn in by lots of 'free' knobs and faders and the slight possibility I may use it live, although my XR16 covers that more than well enough.

wave100

It's a tricky one... I am having similar questions about my setup. ATM I have a 4 in 4 out soundcard which I like a lot (SPL Crimson mk1) however I  seem to be acquiring more hardware synths so currently use an old Mackie desk which can be used with 4 outs for the synths. It would be far more convenient to directly record the synths' outputs so the desk option is attractive. The alternative is something like a MOTU 828, the latest version of which has a variety of connection protocols, is expandable via ADAT and can have the monitor mixer software remotely controlled by an app on phone/ iPad.

I don't know how much experience of hardware mixers you have, some people prefer using faders to mix on but I've been doing it in software for so long that isn't an issue - however I believe the mixing workflow with the Presonus could be to use plugins as normal for processing then use the faders (and perhaps eq and fx ) on the desk purely for mixing, so it's kind of a hybrid process.

Another consideration is space - obviously the mixer option takes more, which could cause domestic friction depending on your circumstances. 

When you record the band, how many inputs do you record at once? I imagine the mixer would be more convenient in that case, being easier to set up monitor mixes and having more mic preamps, however if you don't do that very often, the soundcard option might be preferable.

Sorry that's all not much help probably...

John_A

wave100 said:

It's a tricky one... I am having similar questions about my setup. ATM I have a 4 in 4 out soundcard which I like a lot (SPL Crimson mk1) however I  seem to be acquiring more hardware synths so currently use an old Mackie desk which can be used with 4 outs for the synths. It would be far more convenient to directly record the synths' outputs so the desk option is attractive. The alternative is something like a MOTU 828, the latest version of which has a variety of connection protocols, is expandable via ADAT and can have the monitor mixer software remotely controlled by an app on phone/ iPad.

I don't know how much experience of hardware mixers you have, some people prefer using faders to mix on but I've been doing it in software for so long that isn't an issue - however I believe the mixing workflow with the Presonus could be to use plugins as normal for processing then use the faders (and perhaps eq and fx ) on the desk purely for mixing, so it's kind of a hybrid process.

Another consideration is space - obviously the mixer option takes more, which could cause domestic friction depending on your circumstances. 

When you record the band, how many inputs do you record at once? I imagine the mixer would be more convenient in that case, being easier to set up monitor mixes and having more mic preamps, however if you don't do that very often, the soundcard option might be preferable.

Sorry that's all not much help probably...

Thanks for that, more help than you might imagine

Space- plenty of that (+1 for the desk)
How many times do I record a live band -  probably once a year (-1 for the desk)

Like you, I've done it all in the DAW for years now so certainly dont miss the feel of a proper desk.

Currently doing something similar, I use a little analogue desk for pre-production with synths and stuff plugged in then plug the bits I'm recording directly in to my current interface.  It all works and does the job, just thinking of a revamp with more inputs and wondering which way to go.

Current thoughts are the presonus desk is probably not the best choice

PolarityMan

Patchbays are cheap so you could do an 8 way interface with a patch bay to manage your external kit, the beenfit there is if everything is wired in place you jsut need to use the little patch cables to reroute anything.

John_A

A good bit of Googling later and a Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 is the current plan, any opinions welcomed

Stuckfast

I'm a big fan of the Zoom L-20, which is a sort of hybrid soundcard / digital mixer / multitrack recorder. It's easy to use, has nice preamps, can record with or without a computer attached and has some great features like six headphone amps built in. The smaller L-12 is also very good if you don't need more than ten inputs.

John_A

Stuckfast said:

I'm a big fan of the Zoom L-20, which is a sort of hybrid soundcard / digital mixer / multitrack recorder. It's easy to use, has nice preamps, can record with or without a computer attached and has some great features like six headphone amps built in. The smaller L-12 is also very good if you don't need more than ten inputs.

Another one to consider - it almost does everything I need and does a lot that I hadn't even considered until I looked, the L-12 would certainly do me.  

Today, having changed my mid again I'm thinking:

Upgrade the bands XR16 for a XR18 which gives me a nice compact option that will be used for a live mixer with the option to multitrack record gigs/live sessions

Upgrade the UR22 to something better for home use, but keep it at 2 channels as that's all I ever use

Danny1969

The Presonus doesn't function as a HUI ... no motorized faders so doesn't bring anything to the party other than 16 \ 16 ASIO in \ out. The EQ is basic and the effects are pretty bad so I wouldn't buy one for those either. Having owned and repaired 2 I can also say they ain't reliable

Better option on the digital desk \ HUI route is the A&H QU-16 which can be had for around £800 used and features 18 in \ out, motorized faders for HUI, very good EQ and 4 effects processors

I tend to use QU16 for full on band projects and a simple 2 in 2 out interface for home, normally Avid as I like PT but there's loads of great interfaces out there very cheap

Jalapeno

Get a USB device whatever you do - interface cards can turn into a nightmare of drivers, clashes, and built in obsolescence (when you upgrade O/S or software).  OK if you want to build an installation, and are confident that interface, mobo and OS are compatible.

John_A

Jalapeno said:

Get a USB device whatever you do - interface cards can turn into a nightmare of drivers, clashes, and built in obsolescence (when you upgrade O/S or software).  OK if you want to build an installation, and are confident that interface, mobo and OS are compatible.

Yes I will, dont want to list it on ebay for 99p along with all the other PCI cards

John_A

Danny1969 said:

The Presonus doesn't function as a HUI ... no motorized faders so doesn't bring anything to the party other than 16 \ 16 ASIO in \ out. The EQ is basic and the effects are pretty bad so I wouldn't buy one for those either. Having owned and repaired 2 I can also say they ain't reliable

Better option on the digital desk \ HUI route is the A&H QU-16 which can be had for around £800 used and features 18 in \ out, motorized faders for HUI, very good EQ and 4 effects processors

I tend to use QU16 for full on band projects and a simple 2 in 2 out interface for home, normally Avid as I like PT but there's loads of great interfaces out there very cheap

Think the QU16 is a bit OTT for what I want maybe a QU-SB, or as mentioned the Behringer XR18.  I've had the XR16 for a few years and been really happy with it