How do you record and jam with your synth?

[JCJR]

The USB audio on some or all of the behringer analog mixers with the built in 2 x 2 audio interfaces were designed class compliant and in theory would not need asio4all or other special driver. EXCEPT some midi/audio programs ONLY work with ASIO and so ASIO4All can make any windows audio device look like it is asio.

Behringer could write their own asio driver but the official line seems to be that ASIO4All is as good as anything they might write so why reinvent the wheel?

Some of the bejringer USB analog mixers have been made for a few years. In previous versions of windows whatever class compliant IDs are in there would make the mixer show up as a 2x2 interface needing no driver or fiddling.

But last year when I tried it with win10, Microsoft had screwed it up so that it naturally decides that the 2x2 interface is now a mono microphone and stereo speaker or something completely useless.

So I spent a few hours dicking with win10 aettings trying to change winders mind about what kind of USB device was connected. I did not try asio4all at first because I didn't see how asio4all could help with that problem. But finally in desperation I tried asio4all and it fixed what windows had screwed up and the mixer was a trouble free interface afterward.

The bigger behringer digital mixers have their own drivers and don't have all that weirdness.

I never studied behringer standalone interfaces and dunno the quirks of those.

[bharris22]

Wouldn't this serve the OP's needs?

https://www.zoom-na.com/products/produc ... controller

[thecontrolcentre]

There are mixers available with multi tracking over USB, but they can be expensive. How many ins and outs do you need?

min 8 ins and 2 outs

There's a lot of good info in this article:
https://thehomerecordings.com/mixers-usb-multitrack/

I'm thinking about getting one myself. The little A&H one looks cool.

Wow! Thanks a lot for this article!!

But the support page of A&H says, that they can just record 2 tracks at a time..

http://support.allen-heath.com/index.ph ... e/View/479

Some of the A&H mixers do stereo only, but the one in the article is 4 in 4 out. The Soundcraft mixers do 12 in/out & 22 in/out depending on the model.

Another excellent addition to any Home Studio is the Allen & Heath ZEDi 10FX.

This one I would recommend to anyone with a small Home Studio, or to anyone who doesn’t need an extreme number of ins and outs.

This mixer is also a lot more affordable than all the previous ones on this list which is a clear pro.

It is a 4×4 mixer, meaning that you can record the four mic inputs on to separate tracks in your DAW.

The sample rate and bit depth are 24-bit / 96kHz which is perfect for home recording applications.

ZEDi-10FX offers four mono mic/line channels (with phantom power), which are the ones that can be recorded separately on to the DAW, plus three stereo inputs as well as built- in FX.

The four mono channels feature balanced/unbalanced TRS and XLR inputs and use the GSPre preamps, which sound pretty damn nice and can even provide enough gain to drive microphones like the Shure SM7B or the Heil PR40.

The stereo Inputs come via TRS.

The first two channels also include a “guitar mode” which engage the high impedance DI inputs. This means that you won’t need to worry about purchasing a DI box.

The next two channels, 3 and 4, have a Line/Pad button which will drop the input level by 20dB.

All four channels have a Low cut button as well as the typical controls every mixer has; like Gain, balance, FX-Send, mix level, Aux send and a three band EQ.

When taking a look at the stereo channels you will notice that they aren’t as fully equipped as the mono ones.

The first stereo channel only supply up to 15dB of gain as well as a two band EQ, while the second stereo channel only offers mix level.

Luckily, the effects sound great, with 61 one presets in total split between the typical effects such as delay, reverb, chorus, doublers, flangers, and more.

This mixer also comes with a ¼” headphone output which should be able to drive most headphones out there.

Included Software

One huge perk about this mixer is that it comes with these free included softwares; Cubase LE and Cubasis LE.

Lastly, this mixer feels very solid. It’s clearly been made to last and to be road tough.

Features
•4 in, 4 out USB Audio Interface (24-bit/96kHz)
•Cubase LE Software included
•Cubasis LE App included
•2 Stereo Inputs with TRS jack sockets
•2 Guitar DI high impedance inputs
•Internal FX

[vurt]

yeah you usually get a stereo out plus a sub group stereo out, so 4 outs in all (on bigger mixers)

if multitracking (recording separate tracks for mixing later) id do as bones suggests and record each track individually, making sure each take of each track worked with no glitches.

that's why i asked earlier, jamming to me implied just getting a jam down, i do this and use the mixer to mix before a two track record.
but for multi i will do each one by one, but you may have a faster computer and get more done with less issues

[BONES]

Sounds not so great... but apart from that, does the mixer work to your satisfaction?

Yeah, the mixer is great - small footprint, very quiet (even with a bit of reverb from its on-board FX) and flexible routing. The only annoying thing is there is no on/off switch so I always have to unplug it to switch it off. It was almost half the price of the others I tried and I think it's just as good at being a mixer.

Wouldn't this serve the OP's needs?
https://www.zoom-na.com/products/produc ... controller

This looks really good and Sound On Sound seemed to rate it when it was released - https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/zoom-r16
It might solve a lot of your issues if your budget stretches that far.

[wurschtel]

thanks a lot for all your kind answers! This community is really kind and helpful!
I thought a lot about that topic and I think I'm now a lot clother to a decision.

One question is still in my head:

Is there any difference in sound quality between the tow Interfaces when recording only with line Inputs?

Behringer U-Phoria UMC1820 USB Audio Interface
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... -interface

and the

Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 3rd Gen
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... -interface

I reed a lot of reviews, and they say, that the preamps on the scarlett sound better... but when the only use for me would be to record synth... I don't need the preamp right?
So would there be a smaller difference between those two interfaces when recording synthesizer/keyboard compared to something else with microphones?



the idea behind is that I could use the interface as a "mixer" together with my iPad.. so I can play with all my synth and don't need my pc... but when I wanna record something to my DAW, I easily can hook up the interface to my pc and record all tracks individual... what do you think about that solution?

[vurt]

there really shouldnt be any noticeable difference
even with the preamps, they dont sound bad, some people just see behringer and need to find something to say, that makes it not as good...

but tbh, they make some great stuff, yes there was a time in the past they delivered some shite, but not these days, seems they want to be taken seriously.

[vurt]

may even grab one of the behringer ones myself, would give me more inputs for when i do multitrack

[wurschtel]

there really shouldnt be any noticeable difference
even with the preamps, they dont sound bad, some people just see behringer and need to find something to say, that makes it not as good...

but tbh, they make some great stuff, yes there was a time in the past they delivered some shite, but not these days, seems they want to be taken seriously.

Thanks a lot

[BONES]

the idea behind is that I could use the interface as a "mixer" together with my iPad.. so I can play with all my synth and don't need my pc...

Serious question - why would you be keen to ditch your PC but continue to use an iPad in your set-up? Surely the iPad has far too many limitations to be useful at all?