reasons for a mixer with digi001

[nabisko]

obviously im new to digi001, Im in the process of building a pc and purchasing the digi001 package with in the next week or so.
My question is, what benifets would i be getting if i added a mixer, either digital or analog to the set up.
And if it is better to get a mixer to the set up, would id be better going the digital mixer way or analog.
BTW, i know digi001 has 8 analog inputs, all im basically using for my preproduction is an mpc for sequencing and a rack sampler for sampling/8 analog outputs. Thanks for the help

[Okion]

I have an analog mixer into which I plug all of my gear. Then I plug the mixer's mains into the 001's ins 3 and 4. That way I don't have to move things about so much, and I can jam without turning the computer on by hitting the monitor mode button on the 001.

Since it is usualy just me, I only ever record 1 track at a time. I do this by sending what I want to record to the mixer's aux outs. These aux outs are then pluged into the 001's ins 5 and 6.

Wouldn't it be neat if the 001 was also a midi interface to the mix window -and-, when in motitor mode, an analog mixer? We also need more ins. 4 stero ins is just not enough.

[nabisko]

thanks for the reply. Hmmmm, me going the analog way kinda puts my 8outputs to waste. With a digital mixer, can i take advantage of all my 8 outputs on my sampler and record them all at the same time into digi? Im assuming this may be possible using the lightpipe in. Any other info, thanks

[Jopry]

Originally posted by nabisko:
thanks for the reply. Hmmmm, me going the analog way kinda puts my 8outputs to waste. With a digital mixer, can i take advantage of all my 8 outputs on my sampler and record them all at the same time into digi? Im assuming this may be possible using the lightpipe in. Any other info, thanks

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">if you have the money, get the digital mixer. It will give much flexibility in your routing. You are correct about using lightpipe. You could also use the s/pdif i/o to get 5 stereo pairs, depending on the i/o of the mixer. I currently use a Mackie 16 channel analogue, but I've been eyeing the Tascam DM24. This mixer seems to be a nice match with the Digi001, at least so far. Going to be dragging the digi up to Mars in the next couple days to hook up and play. I'll let you know how that comes out if you would like.

[IOP Drummer]

Get a small mackie for decent pre's and lots of in's and outs. Then get some outboard pre's and really think about using other converters with the lightpipe connection.

[jdevenny]

I actually had the opportunity to record through a Trident 80B into Pro Tools at a studio and left with a cdr of the track.
It had a really wide stereo image and a much bigger sound then the recording of the same song I made at my house straight into the 001. I actually tracked everything through Joe Meek pre's at home so it was not the digi pre's.
The engineer at the studio tracked and mixed though the Trident. So i was assuming that mixing through the board had a lot to do with the sound.
I was lucky enough to get the protools session so i could remix at home. When i mixed it in protools and burned a cd, the stereo image stayed very wide and there was really little difference in the sound compared to the mix through the board. I was very surprised and could then assume that the great sound i was hearing was comprised of the pre-amp's when tracking and the ad converters they were using, not sure which ones they had.
It made me think that having a board for mixing is probably not as important to the sound as you might think...
I have since bought the RME converter box and am experimenting with that.

joe

[jdevenny]

just to follow up:
It seems to me that having a board for mixing is just a over complication and will not really add a substantial sound improvement. I know many people will disagree, but unless you have a million budget and can afford a ultra hip board, you are just wasting your time. I don't think any Mackie board or anything like that will improve your sound.
Even with the six figure $ boards the difference is questionable at best. I saw the thread in which they did a blind test of Neve mixes verse PT mixes and it seemed the outcome was split, with most people just guessing. If that is the reality it seems hardly worth the money and extra hassle to mix outside PT. Then again if money is no object and you can increase your sound one micron, why not, but that is not the case for most of us.
The signal chain going in , is most important , i think we will all agree on that...
As far as latency goes, i have a PIII and leave my buffer on 128 the whole time i track. It works seamlessly and latency is not a issue at 128.
When i mix i switch to the longest buffer so i can maximize my plug in use.

joe

[Shannon Dunn]

One of the biggest benefits of having an outboard mixer is the ability to compress signals before they hit the A/D converters and get recorded. This allows you to hit the disk with hotter signals in relation to S/N and make better use of the bits available to you. Another big reason for a mixer is to be able to monitor without the latency issues of processing the audio through the pc. In order to mix a prerecorded signal with an incoming signal, the pc has to process it and whatever that time is manifests itself as delay in the audio signal. If it's a really small amount 10ms or less it may be barely noticeable and easy to work with. But if it takes your system much longer than that, then there will be an audible delay and it makes it almost impossible to do overtracking. A mixer eliminates that processing delay by combining the playback from disk with the input of the live instrument or voice and therefore there is no delay.

[Hadji]

One reason I would like to be able to mix on a nice console is for the summing amps. I find , final mixes through the digi 1-2 buss, loose imaging and some clarity vs on a nice desk.

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[jacko32]

so what happens when you want to track a complete kit and a bass guitar and a scratch guitar track all at once? I am new to this stuff and havent actually purchased a digi001 yet but i was just wondering. The configuration i just mentioned would need like 11 or 12 simultaneous tracks recording but if i am correct, the Digi001 only has 8 inputs.....so, how can i get around this issue?