Simple Question - Recording from mixer?

[DJMoMoolah]

Hey people.

So I've decided to get a mixing board for my MPC1000, its been such a stupid delay for me to get one but in all honesty I never really took the time to understand the necessity of having one.

So as of now, I have my MPC1000 and record my beats through to audacity on my macbook, using a standard headphone jack wire.... Shit sounding beats, as you can guess.

If I connect my MPC1000 stereo out to a channel on the mixing board, is there any way I can EQ different tracks from my MPC? (e.g. just the kicks or just the snares), or will I have to EQ the whole beat through one channel?

And then, how will I be able to record it through to my macbook? (Once my MPC is through the mixing board, and everything is mixed down to my liking)

I would really appreciate it, thanks so much people.

Hope your musics going well

-DJ Mo' Moolah

---------- Post added at 02:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:05 PM ----------

im also thinking of getting this... what do you all think? Suitable for an MPC/turntable setup?

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Allen---Heath-ZED-10FX-10-Channel-USB-Mixer-with-Effects-H68044-i1627937.gc

 

[LogicalReasons45]

You'd have to solo each track individually if you want to run it through your mixer to then track it into your computer.

What you need is a proper interface, not a mixing board. You'd get the same audio quality as when you tracked out to your laptops headphone jack, plus you could eq, compress, and process sounds on the mpc already.

An interface serves as a soundcard and a mixer, the macbooks soundcard is not going to do you any good if you're serious about the audio quality of your beats. I'd recommend getting a motu ultralite, it's a decent interface and mixer for the price.

 

[DJMoMoolah]

Hey man, really appreciate that.

I'm looking for some serious crispy sounding beats, like Flying Lotus is able to achieve with those crunchy snares and hard hitting kicks. I know his equipment probably ranges further than the bedroom studio, but I want to get as close as possible.

So does this interface automatically adjust sound? Or does it come with software? Because right now, when I record through to Audacity it sounds really poor. If I feed it through the interface, will quality automatically be much better/crisper/louder? I'm guessing I won't really need the mixer as I primarily work with the MPC and reason 5 which already has its built-in mixer. Thanks for saving me that buy.

But if you could help any further I'd really appreciate it.

---------- Post added at 03:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:00 PM ----------

i was also thinking of maybe getting something a little less pricey - like this:

http://www.guitarcenter.com/M-Audio-Fast-Track-Ultra-USB-2-0-Audio-Interface-104806138-i1383564.gc

Whats your honest opinions?

 

[LogicalReasons45]

Hey man, really appreciate that.

I'm looking for some serious crispy sounding beats, like Flying Lotus is able to achieve with those crunchy snares and hard hitting kicks. I know his equipment probably ranges further than the bedroom studio, but I want to get as close as possible.

So does this interface automatically adjust sound? Or does it come with software? Because right now, when I record through to Audacity it sounds really poor. If I feed it through the interface, will quality automatically be much better/crisper/louder? I'm guessing I won't really need the mixer as I primarily work with the MPC and reason 5 which already has its built-in mixer. Thanks for saving me that buy.

But if you could help any further I'd really appreciate it.

---------- Post added at 03:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:00 PM ----------

i was also thinking of maybe getting something a little less pricey - like this:

http://www.guitarcenter.com/M-Audio-Fast-Track-Ultra-USB-2-0-Audio-Interface-104806138-i1383564.gc

Whats your honest opinions?

No it won't automatically adjust the quality of your sound, although you'd hear a significant difference due to you bypassing your laptops soundcard. You could have top quality equipment and still sound like shit if you don't know how to use your gear, let alone know how to mix. To get these sounds you're going to have to learn about processing, audio frequencies, layering, and so on.

The interface I recommended you got everything you need to get decent sound, hell you could even get decent sound processing in that mpc of yours, plus you got reason so you're already on the right track. What's great about it is that you don't need your laptop to use the mixer like most other interfaces, you could use the mixer and effects standalone. For the price, it's the best interface under the $600 mark in my opinion.

http://www.motu.com/products/motuaudio/ultralite-mk3/body.html

For the same price as that m-audio you could get the focusrite saffire pro 24. Slightly better quality, and you get more for your money.

http://www.focusrite.com/products/audio_interfaces/saffire_pro_24

I recommend you visit this site and read up, you'd learn a lot about the basics and fundamentals on gear.

http://www.tweakheadz.com/