For those of you with more than 4 synths...Studio Setup?

Joey · Post by **Joey** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 10:57 pm

Currently I have the virus TI, nord lead, and MS2000b with me, so everything just goes straight into my motu ultralite, which has 8 inputs. They go in stereo, so two inputs each.

My guitars and mics go through the other two inputs, they dont stay plugged in constantly.

As I get more gear over here I'm going to have to purchase either a mixer or a patchbay of sorts.

piRoN · Post by **piRoN** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 1:02 am

I have all my synths hooked up to the patchbay in front of me on my desk rack, and from there I patch them into whatever. For recording they go into my 8-channel Soundscape SSIO8-3 interface.

gryphon · Post by **gryphon** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 2:35 am

I really think using any unnecessary cables or mixer, etc. needlessly colors the sound (although that may be what you're going for, especially as most cheap mixer EQ's don't have a bypass (much less true bypass) and sound thin and unmusical at best.

(Having tried it both ways with my 70's Tapco board) I think it takes about as much time to keep all your s**t properly normalled and your mixer settings at some kind of default as it does to plug one stereo cable into the back of a synth, but I have few synths and therefore this isn't as big a deal for me. In my MOTU Traveler, I leave two preamps for mic and guitar, respectively, and the other two for whichever stereo synth input. I really don't need a lot of inputs, but when I have to record multitracked drums I ADAT clock a MOTU 8pre to the Traveler to get more preamps. The Traveler is a sweet piece of kit IMHO (kinda pricy though).

hollandturbine · Post by **hollandturbine** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 3:51 am

When describing my setup using my patch bay, I just kind of gave the most common way I use it, but the patch bay gives me so many different combinations.

I tend to use input 1&2 of my audio interface for recording my synths one at a time and the other ins and outs I use for routing to external effects units.

With the patch bay and multiple ins and outs of my audio interface I can also send the synth straight to an effects unit and also send it to the computer dry at the same time.

If I have to record individual synth outputs to individual inputs of my audio interface or run stuff into a filter on a synth the patch bay makes sure I can send any input to any output I want.

I don't have to use the sub mixer, it is there more so I can monitor my stuff before I record it, a lot of the time I will un-patch a synth to record it straight to the computer through the patch bay, once a synth is recorded I can just monitor the audio track from my sequencer, the sub mixer is more useful for controlling individual output levels on things like drum machines and samplers and is probably the only time I actually use it as a mixer.

caligari · Post by **caligari** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 8:40 pm

I have a pair of mackie line mixers from who knows when that I run all my keys into and then into my motu 828 mkii for recording.

MIDI is handled by a pair of emagic unitors running into logic 7, soon to be pro8. Works like a charm with like 55ms lag, beautiful.

i_watch_stars · Post by **i_watch_stars** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 7:30 am

I don't have room for a huge mixer, so I have to do the sub mixer into mixer thing. One day though, when I'm "made", I'm going to get a huge mixer with tons of busses.

Post by **BlackGnosis** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 1:35 pm

Everything is ran into a inexpensive Behringer 1622FX and that exports into a sound card where my digital studio add s its bit in.

divineaudio · Post by **divineaudio** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 6:28 pm

my live setup (electribes, nord lead, sp202) is submixed into a larger mixer that also has my other synths (ms20, ms2k, esq1, dx9), effect returns, and various other c**p. from there everything goes into my soundcard for tracking.