Need To No If My Soundcard Can Have A Mixer Hooked Up Into It.

[nate509]

Lets start by saying what i got going on so far, the whole works of my home studio.

i have a m-audio fast track pro, and an compressor hooked into 1 of 2 inserts, for my outboard compressor. i have a m audio sputnik microphone that goes into the tube, and goes out of the tube to my front mic line of the soundcard. i got monitors hooked into it too, well anyways my question is can i have a mixer hooked up to this soundcard threw an inserts cause i still have 1 slot open, i got 2 trs outputs im not sure what they are but can they have a mixer hooked into them? im only asking is cause with my mic compressor and soundcard my raw / dry recordings are just poor and crappy i got the soundcard turned down and the output of the compressor up still comes out crap tune, i reverse it and turn the compressor to 0db and soundcard up to about 80% 75% full volume still same crap tune, my goal is too somehow hook a mixer up to this to get a better sound adjusting eq etc, cause i get hiss little bit and crackle and my voice is just out of control, i mean without my compressor it just sucks, i can see my compressor making results but the soundcard is just unstable on quality of sound, so im working on puttin a mixer like a mackie somehow to hook into this for better results,
i would rather have my mic, go into the mixer, then my mixer into my compressor using a insert im supposing the mixer would have to the final stage going back into my soundcard interface for the final result. im thinking this will give be a better clean quality sound.

i just need to no if my soundcard can have a mixer hooked into it like a mackie or anything threw inserts or trs output or something im a novice in recording so im not sure.

heres a picture of my soundcard.
http://www.musicmall.com/cmp/Graphic...ack389x213.jpg

heres a picture of my microphone
http://www.harmony-central.com/Produ.../000001338.jpg

heres a picture of my compressor
http://www.beukhof.eu/shop/images/dbx_166XL.jpg

i just want you guys to get the best visual of what i got going on here so i can resolve my problem.

my audio program i use is adobe audition 2.0 also

[brandondrury]

Let me make sure I'm understanding you.

You are not happy with the sound quality of your M-Audio Fast Track, so you want to instead you essentially want to run your mic through a Mackie preamp instead of the M-Audio.

I would not recommend doing this unless something is broken. Is your Fast Track broken or do you just not like the way it sounds?

Attach a clip to this thread.

If the Fast Track is functioning properly, it will not sound any better or worse that the preamp in a Mackie. There is no appreciable difference in quality.

I've got a feeling that you may be over using your compressor, but I want to hear it before I decide the best way to help you.

Brandon

[nate509]

not distortedf or to compressed its just real muddy, its not crisp and stuff its like kinda deep, but just dull i mean when i record in stereo instead of mono i get great results but its just its to expanded and puts you in the song really cool understanding and stuff, but i wanted more of a centered effect song cenetered and only certain parts expanded for stereo effect. but with mono its like impossible to get a good quality to it. i have no clue why i have bought a presonus para eq comp and roll off and took it back cause i couldent get good results. its not what im using or what, its just gotta be the fast track pro i mean with my tascam 122 i got way better results even no it had no inputs for my compressor. whats the difference between a mixer and soundcard i mean soundcard has no eq or nothin just gain control so why could a soundcard be even close to equal as a mixer.

[brandondrury]

Why didn't you attach an mp3 to this thread? I'd love to help you, but if I can't hear it, I'm just guessing.

not distortedf or to compressed its just real muddy, its not crisp and stuff its like kinda deep, but just dull

How far away are you standing from the mic? Are you aware of the proximity effect?

when i record in stereo instead of mono i get great results

It's a mono microphone. Therefor, you are sending a mono signal into your software. If you try to record a stereo signal with a mono mic, you'll end up with your vocals only coming out of one speaker. However, a mono signal can be panned left, right, or center.

Explain how you are recording "stereo" vocals, because I'm very skeptical at the moment.

i mean with my tascam 122 i got way better results even no it had no inputs for my compressor.

Alright. This tells me a few things. It could be that your Tascam 122 was better than your M-Audio. Or it could be that your compressor is causing the problem.

whats the difference between a mixer and soundcard i mean soundcard has no eq or nothin just gain control so why could a soundcard be even close to equal as a mixer.

Generally, a mixer is used to combine signals. These days in recording, a mixer can be used for the preamp gain and EQ. However, I'd 100% recommend plugins over the EQ found in a cheap mixer. There are some great hardware eqs. They cost about $1,000 per channel.

Many soundcards have preamps and they soundcard gets the signal into the computer. I'd stick with what you have and post an mp3.

Brandon

[brandondrury]

Post another mp3 with the compressor completely taken out of the chain, please.

Brandon