Need a Firewire or USB interface

[legierk]

First post guys (and gals?). Go easy on me. I'm in a band. Guitar. Loud rock. I run the board (a Behringer Xenyx 2442) and record our practices via the included RCA to USB breakout box that came with the mixer. I run this into Guitar Tracks Pro (because I haven't figured out how to work Cubase yet...but that's another topic for another day I guess).

PROBLEM: The USB only sends left and right channel to the laptop. We play LIVE and I wanted to be able to fine tune the mixes for later playback. I can't do that with just the left and right stereo channels.

The mixer has 10 analog 1/4" direct outputs for "recording, monitor sends or...". I want to send these to a Firewire or USB interface so the computer gets 10 CHANNELS that I can independently mix and fine tune (and alot of fine tuning is required).

(FWIW the channels would be 1 x drums [6 mics already mixed via a small Behringer 6 input board sent to the "mother" board], 4 x vox (Beta 58A's), 1 x bass direct to board, 1 x acoustic guitar direct to board and 2 x guitars (SM57) . One spare for a keyboard if needed.)

MY IGNORANCE: Can USB pass more than left and right audio? I also have an Alesis Multimix 8 USB that I use here at home, and it only passes the 2 channels also. Sure I can overdub all I care to, but for the band, I need everything to go in simultaneously.

So, I've been looking at various rackmount Firewire interfaces. Most have features that I don't need. Mic preamps for example. Remember, while I'll need the capablility to set rough levels to send to the computer, I don't need preamps. Also, I notice that many have analog outs similiar to my mixer. I don't need those either.

WHAT FITS MY NEEDS? I'd be willing to spend upwards of $500-600 for something that would fill the bill here. Just looking to cut out all the fancy stuff that I won't use (at least not the way I intend to record the band). You'd think this would shave some costs.

Finally, will Firewire enable me to do what I want. When all 9 (or 10) channels get to the computer, will I be able to manupulate them as I see fit? Add effects? EQ? Adjust the levels of individual channels? Pan?

Thanks for any and all help. I'm glad I found this place.

PS. I should point out that the Xenyx board is connected to a full PA and Subs running pretty high SPLs. Our "practice mix" through the PA emphasizes vox and kick drum. So my 2 channel sends via USB to the computer are mostly vox and kick drum and everything else is bleed through....

[brandondrury]

Can USB pass more than left and right audio?

No, but USB 2.0 can and so can Firewire.

There are a few points that may help you.
1) You need 10 analog inputs. Most audio interfaces go up to 8 and then jump up to 16, but there may be a few stragglers that fit your 10 input requirement.

2) Many 8 channel audio interfaces will have S/PDIF which will allow you to get to more inputs in your rig (things brings the # to 10). You'll need an analog to digital converter with S/PDIF for this to work for you like this. You could snag an 8 channel audio interface with ADAT Lightpipe so that you could add something like this . 16 inputs may be excessive, but that would allow you to record all of your drum tracks individually.

3) Pretty much all audio interfaces have a bunch of outputs. There isn't any way of getting around that. Many include preamps. While the fact that you don't need preamps may save you money, in most cases there isn't much of a price difference between audio intefaces with and without preamps.

4) Going with a more advanced mixer / audio interface could probably solve your problem, meet your budget, and allow you to sell your current mixer. Something like this.

Brandon

[legierk]

Thanks for the help Brandon. Eight inputs may work for me. I just got this mixer, and it's built more around live performance than for recording. Being able to record is just an added bonus. (We were using the little Alesis and the little Behringer "chained" together but I could see we had outgrown it.) The drummer like to set his own mix using the little Behringer now, and it seems to be working well. We could use the isolation wall (well, whatever they call them, those plexiglass panels to isolate the drums) as the drums mics pickup alot of ambient sound.

Is there any advantage of Firewire over USB 2.0? I already have all the interfaces, (I build my own computers, so no issues there) but I can't understand why Behringer would ship a relatively new board without USB 2.0. Too cheap? LOL!

My next project is to get into the Cubase forum and see if I can get smart on that. I can't get that program to work for me no matter what.

[brandondrury]

Is there any advantage of Firewire over USB 2.0?

Sorta...not really. This is no different than debating the type of screws to use in an audio interface or to select the thickness of metal to house the audio interface. In othe words, the issues with USB 2.0 and Firewire are more for designers than users. There are many fine USB 2.0 and Firewire audio interfaces out there.

I can't understand why Behringer would ship a relatively new board without USB 2.0. Too cheap? LOL!
It's a little more complicated than that. Simply upgrading the I/O to USB 2.0 from USB 1.1 doesn't take into account that they would need an analog to digital converter for all the new channels. So, I'm sure it's about hitting a price point. I know that Alesis offers both USB 1.1 models with simple stereo I/O and USB 2.0 models with up to 16 simultaneous inputs.

Brandon