ORIGINAL: superdan54

Thanks guys, this really helped me get my head wrapped around the situation. I think I was confused about what role a mixer plays in a DAW powered studio. It seems that if anything, I would need a control surface/audio interface, such as the Tascam FW1884. i'm not sure that a mixer would help me much since I do most tracking w/in SONAR. Has anyone ever used something like the FW1884 before, and/or is there really that much of a cost benefit ratio to justify the larger price? Otherwise I think I'll probably go with the MOTU 8pre.


In case anybody else finds this article with the same questions, the article below was also a big help:

http://tweakheadz.com/choosing_a_mixer_for_your_studio.html

You don't necessarily need a mixer but you need mic preamps and since you tend to find a lot of those on a mixer...

I find having a hardware mixing board allows me to get things done quicker just because I have channels and things at my fingertips that I tend to use over and over again. I decided on a hybrid approach here in my studio - a combination of a traditional Mackie 16 channel mixer and lots of outboard mic preamps which I like for their character. I like a lot of different colors and options. Same with mics.

But you know - I run my studio as a business and I have to be able to accomodate a lot of different things. If you're doing everything yourself you can probably get by with a more focused solution. I guess decide who you are and what you want to be and structure your gear around that.

Again, it comes down to if you want an external mixer or not. If you do, then the Tascam is VERY nice, and so is the M Audio Project mix. Bot of those units are very professional. The good thing is (if im not mistaken) that both of those units have Flying Faders, which should move while you adjust sonar's faders as well, and i think they both save presets too. But overall those units are awesome, touch sensitive/flying faders, all the inputs you want, what more could you ask for :-)

good deal
http://cgi.ebay.com/M-AUDIO-PROJECTMIX-I-O-FIREWIRE_W0QQitemZ220167053906QQihZ012QQcategoryZ41784QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Hey bud. One thing that isn't mentioned here or at least I didn't see it is having an SSD. Make sure you use a solid state drive or a drive that is as fast as 7200rpm for the latency when you start recording drums. Makes all the difference in the world but no one ever told me this... I use a Scarlett 18i20 with sure sm57's, a Shure Beta 52a for the kick mic so I get a pretty good sound in Sonar Platinum. We just use this setup to record our practice sessions so the bleed through from the cymbals works good enough.  Best of luck to you my dude.

You realise this thread is 10 years old, right?