jameslfc19 Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Hello! I have an iMac 2011 2.5Ghz with 8GB ram. I'm currently in a 4 man band, and we want to record in Logic Pro 9. We have 2 guitars, 1 Mic, 1 bass and drums. We're going to record the drums via midi on an electric kit (A pretty expensive and high quality kit) So, what hardware is required to record 4 inputs at once, I already know how to record multiple tracks, I know a lot about amp designs and logic itself (I've been recording my bass+guitar via an auxiliary cable, Yes I know, pretty bad set up ;P) I'm probably looking at a £100-200 budget, I'm probably getting it during the Christmas season Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Nahmani Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 You'll first need to decide how you're going to record the instruments. Drums. Are those acoustic drums? Drums will require more than 1 input, which will in turn raise your input # needs. At the minimum you'll want to record them in stereo requiring 2 inputs, but maybe you'll want 8 or 10 mics on your drum kit, requiring 8 or 10 inputs just for the drums. Do you have the mics? Guitars. Are those acoustic, electric? If the latter, do you intend to record them directly into the interface and use amp modeling software, or do you intend to use real amps and put mics in front of them? Do you have the mics? Then you look for an interface that has the number of inputs and the type of inputs (mic or instrument preamp) needed. However I'm afraid you won't find much in your budget, so start saving now and ask for help around you, maybe in the forum or Christmas vouchers or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jameslfc19 Posted October 17, 2012 Author Share Posted October 17, 2012 I won't need any mics, were recording the drums via MIDI in logic, and guitars direct into logic for now, I know it's not the best sound, but I just want to be able to record with my band, so can you recommend any good/cheap preamps with 4+ inputs? And outputs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Nahmani Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Oh ok that simplifies the process a great deal then. So... the drums: what drum controller are you using and how is it connected to your Mac: USB? MIDI Interface? Or do you have yet to connect it, in which case does the controller have a USB connector or only MIDI connector? This will determine whether or not you need a MIDI interface with your audio interface. But if you are already sorted on the drum side, then you're right, you only need a 4 input audio interface, with 3 instrument preamps and 1 mic preamp. In your price range I would look at presonus and MOTU products and see what they have to offer. That one almost fits the bill, it's missing one instrument preamp: http://www.motu.com/products/motuaudio/4pre Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jameslfc19 Posted October 18, 2012 Author Share Posted October 18, 2012 Can someone clarify the difference between a mic input and a guitar input? they both look like they have the same jack input? So what's the difference? (Im still a bit of a n00b at music production Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jameslfc19 Posted October 18, 2012 Author Share Posted October 18, 2012 Could i plug a bass into a mic input on that preamp above? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Nahmani Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Instrument and mic preamps don't have the same impendance, and plugging an instrument into a mic input would result in an impedance mismatch, which results in an unbalanced frequency spectrum. Also they don't use the same connectors: instrument preamps use unbalanced 1/4" phone plugs while mic preamps use XLR balanced connectors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jameslfc19 Posted October 18, 2012 Author Share Posted October 18, 2012 Right, so I need a preamp with 3+ guitar inputs and mic input :3 hmmm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Nahmani Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Or use the line input on the MOTU 4pre with a DI Box. Here's an inexpensive one: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=155416&is=REG&Q=&A=details Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jameslfc19 Posted October 18, 2012 Author Share Posted October 18, 2012 the moto seems a tad expensive.. is it likely to get get a cheaper one? I dont want anything fancy, just being able to plug 2 guitars, a bass and a mic into my mac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Nahmani Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 I don't know of inexpensive audio interfaces with more than 2 simultaneous inputs.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jameslfc19 Posted October 18, 2012 Author Share Posted October 18, 2012 ah :/ at the moment I have an amp jack to line in cable going into my mac... It gives me a pretty decent sound, but obviously I can only plug one guitar into the jack input at once.... I dont understand why these preamps are so expensive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eriksimon Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 Hi James, David is just too pro to know the cheaper options; here are two that I would try in your situation. The Akai EIE Pro looks nice, has four discrete, switchable preamped inputs and is 24 bits (avoid the not-pro version of this IF, it's only 16 bit, you want to avoid anything 16 bit). http://www.amazon.com/Akai-EIE-Pro-Electromusic-Interface/dp/B004MZOVKO/ref=sr_du_52_map?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1350628992&sr=1-52 This one is probably the cheapest there is with four switchable inputs, 24 bits, preamps, same config as the Akai. I haven't heard either of those, but I'd expect the Akai to be of better quality than the Alesis, though I have never seen either interface being mentioned here (or at Apples' Logic forum) as being part of a problem, so I assume they work well with Logic. http://www.amazon.com/Alesis-iO4-Four-Channel-Recording-Interface/dp/B004NMVUV4/ref=sr_du_118_map?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1350629056&sr=1-118 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jameslfc19 Posted October 19, 2012 Author Share Posted October 19, 2012 Awesome! So could I plug an ordinary amp lead into that? or is it a different lead? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Nahmani Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 Erik to the rescue! Thanks Erik. James, it depends on your amp and its output format (you'd have to look up your amp's specifications to get to that information) but you'll most likely need a DI Box to connect your amp output to any audio interface's preamps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jameslfc19 Posted October 20, 2012 Author Share Posted October 20, 2012 I meant an ordianary 1/4 jack, I figured out the input was a combo jack XLR-1/4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rev. Juda Sleaze Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 Just a little note on the 16bit recording thing: Yes, if you can afford it, it would be much better to get a 24bit interface. No-one would argue that. But, studios did record 16bit for years, you just have to be more careful with your levels to avoid clipping. This is coming from someone who lives in the strange world of having a recorder/inteface that is 24bit standalone, but 16bit as an interface (probably because it's designed to record 4 channels over USB 2). I make myself feel better by reasoning that I need less compression on a 16bit signal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Nahmani Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 I meant an ordianary 1/4 jack, I figured out the input was a combo jack XLR-1/4 Oh ok. But keep in mind that just because a jack fits into an input doesn't mean that it will sound good - for example you'll get a lot of frequency distortion if the impedances are mismatched. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jameslfc19 Posted October 20, 2012 Author Share Posted October 20, 2012 On the booklet it says you can plug an XLR or 1/4 direct into it? is that not right? http://puu.sh/1gSOK Also When recording a guitar or bass with an active pickup, set the EIE Pro's GUITAR / MIC/LINE SWITCH to "MIC/LINE." If your instrument uses a passive pickup, set the switch to "GUITAR." What's the difference between passive and active pickups? And another thing i was wondering, im going to use the MIDI out on the drums and plug it into the MIDI in on the AKAIpro, im not sure what will happen or what i should do in logic? will everything automatically match up on an instrument track with the correct sound? or is there a way to configure what each MIDI signal links to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Nahmani Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Passive pickups are just a coil. Active pickups have an active circuitry with a battery generating power etc... and yield stronger signals. That interface has four preamps that are all switchable between mic, line or guitar, so you won't need a DI Box, correct. Please ask your MIDI question in a new thread since it's not directly related to the topic of this thread, thanks! Forum Rules - please READ THIS before posting (#4) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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