Kennith Hillis
23 September 2010
I have been recording for six years now. I know a lot about recording, but I don't know a lot about setting up a professional studio. How do the pro's do it? Do they use interfaces? I know this sounds stupid to some, but I want to get the sound of the pro's. My recordings sound great, but they can be a lot better.
I know everything I need as far as the computer build, speaker setup, mics, signal processors... My biggest deal is my connection to the computer. Let's say I bought the Crest Audio HP-Eight Professional 24-Channel Mixing Console. Would I still need to buy an interface?
Again, I know this sounds stupid to some, but I have no schooling. I am self-taught.
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The majority of low/medium recording studios use computer interf
The majority of low/medium recording studios use computer interfaces rather than mixers in the recording chain. They consider that it's better to get a pristine multi-track recording directly through individual and independent channels directly to disk, and then use mixing for monitoring the process and for generating headphone mixes for the performers.
Mixing in software and outputting a mix during recording is not considered practicable in good studios, since delays are inevitable and also it saps processing power from the recording process. Some of the higher-end interfaces can generate one or more mixes from their inputs, eliminating the need for a software mix or a separate physical mixer altogether.
Having said all that, there are now a few mixers with built-in multi-channel recording interfaces that meet the needs of a small/medium studio. I have been impressed with the Allen+Heath R16 and the new R24, which sit happily in both the live mixer and studio mixer camps, and give results as good as many dedicated interfaces.