How about you keep the Mackie and use it's preamps from the insert point (bypassing the rest of the channel strip), get a Radar and a Digi 002 Rack. You'll be able to track to Radar, do all your edit/mix/etc inside PT and use the Radar xverters on the way in and out...

Will I have to use a PC screen to do automated mixing with that setup? I'd like to use real faders.

And how would I connect the 8 bus to the PC?

Thanks!

You'd connect it to the PC via the Xverters in the Radar. I guess a better solution would be a Radar and an O2R or something of that ilk. That'd be sweeeet.

With PT, you'd need to use the computer screen, yes. You could get one of those cheapie Beh...inger BCF 2000 units to mix with faders.

What about a Yamaha 01v96 and a Digi002R Pro Tools off a PC?? Any opinions??

Should work fine. The 01V has 60MM faders and is slightly cramped ergonomically, but you should be able to mix fine on it.

Resistance to mixing with a mouse is futile ... if you really want to be well versed in the skills of a modern day recordist, you should get on board sooner rather than later. You will get a much better production mixing in the box except in cases where there's a large mixing console like a SSL or Neve with moving faders and a ton of very expensive outboard gear available. Even in that scenario, a lot of top engineers are using the automation in their DAWs to supplement the automation in the consoles.

Most all of the better recording programs offer automation and when you use automation, almost all of your work will be on one or two channels at a time. In that situation, mixing with a mouse is really not that bad. Just set a basic "static mix" up and then go into write mode and start making the moves one by one, exactly the same way you would go about doing an automated mix on a console ..

You can stop and rewind, go to specific areas and drop in and initiate write. You don't need to make complete passes. So actually, mixing this way can be a real time saver.. and you get the benefit of a repeatable mix with the ability to do alternate versions with different moves all of course with TOTAL recall ... that's what DAW is all about.

The learning curves aren't as hard as one would think. It took me about 5 days with the program and computer before I could do everything I needed to do ..

Moving faders are cool to watch but in the end for the most part, you don't hear the difference in the production ... that is a move made with a mouse will sound the same as one made with a fader with a low end mixer or control surface ... so all you are really getting when you purchase a mixer to use as a control surface is another piece of expensive gear that's going to be an obsolete door stop in a few years. A lot of cash for temporary "bling factor". You would be better off spending your cash on things that are in the signal path that really do make a difference like preamps, mics, eq's, quality compressors and converters (in that order).

I'm with Kurt on this; save your money and skip the moving faders; it gets old realllll fast. I can do more with a mouse and/or a Pen Pad than I ever could with a bunch of faders.

I use an analog mixer to monitor, do rough "live" mixes on the fly, and playback various things (CDs, Keyboards, etc), but the real work happens within the computer, via mouse or pen pad.

It's scary at first if you're not comfortable with it, but eventually you'll fly with it. (And you can have all kinds of "Virtual" faders in your onscreen mixer, if it makes you feel any better.)

I had a mackie control in my old commercial tudio and after I sold the place I put together a home studio- the mackie was not one of the items on my list. I thought it was way overpriced for what it did and I agree with kurt & Joe, there is nothing that it does that can't be done with the mouse just as fast-

by the way, if you must absolutely have a control surface, behringer has one for a little over 200 bucs- it does the same thing the huy or the m control does for 1k+ 8)

If I would bypass getting a mixer and just get a Pro Tools Digi002 and use the on screen faders, what's the best way to get 12 simultaneous XLR inputs? Should I get a Presonus Firepod or Digimax or should I keep my Mackie 24x8 bus?

Thanks again for all the comments!

You can plug 4 XLRs right into either the 002 or the 002R. The 002 is cool because it's got a control surface, so you don't have to miss using faders, it's got 'em! There's also 4 more analog ins on the 002 (you will need external pres and they have TRS jacks) for a total of 8 analog. You can also send another 8 into the unit via the ADAT input, so you get 8 ADAT + 8 analog + 2 S/PDIF for a total of 18 simultaneous inputs.

Connects via Firewire to your PC.

Dan

What brand and model equipment gets me from XLR mic input to the S/PDIF? Can I just use any mic pre to plug into the 4 TRS inputs (in the Digi002)?

THANKS AGAIN!!!

you'd need a mic preamp with S/PDIF output. Any mic pre, wired correctly to TRS, will plug into the Digi002's line input and work.

I use my Audient ASP008 via ADAT as my first 8 channels of preamp, and then if needed, resort to the 4 pre's in the 002Rack. Haven't needed more than that so far.