In that case you will need a cable that connects from the output of the mixer to the input of the USB interface. In the illustration below a dual-RCA cable is connected from the output of the mixer (out of frame) to a USB interface. The USB interface then plugs into the USB port on the laptop. For details see Connecting a Mixer.

1. I have a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 audio interface and a Yamaha MG16/6FX mixer and I am considering to use the Scarlett 2i2 as an interface to a condenser microphone (to be recorded using the USB out). My question is, how should I connect the output from the audio interface to my mixer? The Scarlett 2i2 has a stereo L/R balanced TRS jack.
2. Open Audio MIDI Setup (under Utilities), and then choose the Audio Devices window (Fig. Click the little + sign in the lower left corner; an Aggregate Device box appears, and you’ll see a list of available I/O. Check the interfaces you want to aggregate, and check “resample” for the secondary interface or interfaces.
3. Connect the Inputs of the interface to the inserts of your mixer via TRS cables or a Snake. Hope you enjoyed the article and that it was helpful to you. There are links above to help guide you to the right pieces of gear needed to connecting an audio interface to an analog mixer!
4. I then connect the 'out' on my mixer to two line outputs on the rear of the audio interface using a twin rca (from the mixer) to ts cables (into the audio interface outputs 1 & 2 on the audio interface. Finally i plug a twin ts lead from the control room out into my monitors (rca inputs). This was following advice from several youtube videos.

With the introduction of USB mixers, many people are starting to ask if they can act as a replacement for an audio interface.

When I used to be in a band (a while ago now!) we didn’t do any of our own recordings. One of the reasons for this is that we used to go into professional recording studios and stand there in awe and with amazement at the apparent complexity and amount of equipment that was used in the recording process. Wigets.

Most strikingly of all, was the size of the mixer. It took up an entire desk that seemed big enough to fill my studio apartment at the time. From that point on I thought that a giant mixer was a requirement of any recording studio. And it put me off wanting to record music at home for a long time.

Well, when I finally decided to start recording music at home I found out the truth quickly. You don’t actually need a mixer for home recording! However, you do need some kind of audio interface or other way to connect to the computer.

But what about newer USB mixers? Could they be used as a replacement for an interface? Or do you still need both? Let’s try and get to the bottom of this.

Why do I need either?

As I explained in my recent article about how to connect your synth to a computer for recording. The sound card in most computers will normally not be up to the task of handling a direct input of instruments when recording. It will often result in latency or lag and leave you very frustrated. ‘Latency’, for those who don’t know, is a delay between the time when a note is played and the time it takes to be processed and appear on the computer.

As computers are multi-functional machines designed to complete a vast array of tasks, from browsing your favorite websites (such as musicianshq.com for example 😉 ) to drawing fancy artwork. They are not fitted with the specific inputs you will require to record instruments. This might be an XLR cable typical for recording microphones, or a midi input for recording a midi device. In order to get these inputs, you need to attach some sort of external device.

On top of this, most high-quality powered studio monitor speakers will not plug directly into a laptop or PC. They will require two sperate mono outputs for each speaker. An audio interface or mixer will potentially allow you to do this.

But what is best for a home recording studio? Do you potentially need both?

What is the difference?

Ok so to confuse things slightly….technically a USB mixer IS an audio interface however for this section I am comparing a USB mixer and dedicated audio recording interface.

Audio Interface

An audio interface basically acts as an external soundcard. It connects to your computer or laptop via usually via USB but also sometimes by FireWire or other methods. It converts your analog audio signal from your guitar, microphone etc into a digital signal (basically a series of 0s and 1s that a computer can understand). It will also process a digital signal from the laptop back into an analog signal once again for the speakers to play your recordings back to you.

Most audio interfaces come with two or more input ports allowing you to plug in XLR microphone leads, quarter inch instrument jacks and even MIDI in many cases. The amount of inputs varies from model to model and depending on the price bracket.

USB Mixer

A mixer takes multiple audio sources and mixes them together balancing them out and adding effects into a primary audio track. This audio track is then sent back out usually as a single stereo output.

The majority of traditional mixers do not have a way of directly connecting to a computer via USB or other connection.

The audio output is therefore not converted to a digital signal that can be understood by a computer and remains in analog. This is one of the primary differences between them and audio interfaces, meaning that you may actually need to plug the mixer output into an audio interface anyway to get the signal into your computer or laptop!

However, recently the USB mixer has become a more common piece of studio hardware adding to the confusion. Some USB mixers, as with traditional mixers, output the mixed signal as a stereo track.

This means that all the mixing must be done whilst recording and individual tracks cannot be mixed once they are on the computer. Some USB mixers do however let you record each channel onto individual tracks on the computer.

What are you recording?

This may make a difference to what you choose. If you plan on recording a full live band all at once with multiple inputs then a mixer may be useful.

When you are recording drums, for example, you are going to want several inputs for the different drums so you can mix them separately. Not many audio-interfaces have enough inputs for all your drums at once. They do however exist and 8 inputs on an audio interface are not uncommon to see although the cost will be higher.

If however, you are in your home studio alone and recording one instrument at a time. Then the need for more than one or two audio inputs is probably not high on your list of priorities.

Why an audio interface is usually the better option for a beginner

Sound quality

Audio interfaces are designed to be good at recording, that is their primary function. This means they tend to be better at it than a mixer, which is really meant more for live mixing. Far too many people (me almost included) panic and buy a mixer for the home studio setup which is actually a mixer designed for a live setup.

Because their prime function is to record sound to your computer, most audio interfaces come with decent quality pre-amps. Improving the audio quality and saving you money that you may have had to spend on them.

Mixers do not act as an external soundcard or high-quality built-in pre-amps. So you are relying on the quality of the soundcard in your computer most of the time.

In fact, many lower priced mixers will actually output in just 16-bit digital output. Which is actually lower than a CD quality. Not great if you are trying to achieve a professional sound!

Space

The majority of us are confined to a small room (or section of a room) for our home recording studio. For this reason, saving space is always a priority. A hardware mixer will take up valuable space on your desk which will be annoying and more than likely interfere with your workflow.

An audio interface is more compact and doesn’t require you to be as hands-on. Therefore it is a much more sensible option for a smaller home recording studio.

You can use the built-in mixer in your DAW

The fact is that if you are not recording large amounts of instruments at once. Then most DAW software packages come with a built-in mixer which will do the job of mixing just fine. Although some people like the physical feel of having a hardware mixer the mixer built into software such as Ableton or Cubase work just fine for mixing your tracks post-recording.

Mixers used to be preferred for monitoring recordings live, as there tended to be less latency than monitoring through an interface or computer. However, with modern day audio interfaces, this is usually no longer an issue.

Cost

Ok, so audio interfaces vary in value massively, with higher quality pre-amps, for example, adding to the cost of the unit.

However, you really can get a lot of kit for a very affordable price these days. More and more often I am hearing tracks recorded through audio interfaces that cost around $100 which sound great! The technology has really jumped with the sound comparable to very expensive interfaces you found in professional studios 5 to 10 years ago.

Keeping it simple!

Last and by no means least, the reason not to bother with a physical mixer in your home recording setup when you are starting out is to keep it simple.

Connect Mixer To Audio Interface For Recording

Fewer pieces of equipment mean fewer things that can go wrong. There is nothing worse than spending hours fixing problems with faulty equipment or trying to deduce why a recording isn’t going to plan. It will mean you can focus on more important things like songwriting. Which is the most important thing right?

Is there ever a place for a mixer in the home studio setup?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that there is never a place for a mixer in your home recording studio. I just don’t think it should be a priority when you are starting out.

Mixers do have some positives, of course. For example, they come with effects to add reverb, delay or compression to vocals, which can be nice if you want to play around with the sound as you record.

If you are recording a full band or recording gig audio in a live setting, a mixer may come in handy there too. Being able to monitor sound in an analog fashion means less strain on your computer system which may be something you desire.

If you are outputting the monitoring sound to multiple speakers for the live band to hear as they record. Then you can alter the levels of different output monitor speakers without altering the levels on the recording.

Conclusion

So to conclude, my advice would be to steer clear of buying a USB mixer when you are first setting up your home recording studio.

Make sure you have a decent quality audio interface (check out some great value recommendations for beginners here). With as many inputs as you suit your recording needs. That should be all you need.

You can use the mixer built into your DAW to mix tracks on your computer screen and save yourself some vital space in your studio.

Contents

Connecting Mixer To Usb Audio Interface

• 2 How to connect a laptop to mixer for sound?

How often do we feel this necessity and wonder how to connect a laptop to mixer for sound? It is nothing too technical only if you know the process. So irrespective of which OS you are using, this article helps you to expertise in creating the sound you are looking for.

Why is a mixer needed to make music?

Following are some of the critical reasons as to why we need a sound mixer to create and produce music:

Using Mixer With Audio Interface

• Enhanced quality of the music
• The mixers are highly portable and hence, very apt for concerts and live shows.
• They have an extremely easy user interface.
• They support a completely hands-free operation.
• They possess a huge database of memory.
• They also possess multiple numbers of BUS inputs and outputs.

How to connect a laptop to mixer for sound?

Well, there are various mixers available in the market, but one thing which you should consider before buying an audio mixer is its compatibility with various operating systems. So in this article, we will be learning about how to connect a laptop with a mixer for sound. This is applicable for both Apple iOS as well as Windows laptop:

Macbook

For iOS, most of the mixers have 2 methods of connecting to a laptop via a USB connection; one with mixers having a sound card pre-installed within the hardware and second, a mixer without any sound card.

So, let us first discuss the mixers which have a sound card installed with their hardware, such as the Numark NS7-2.

• Firstly, we will have to acquire and assemble all the requisite cables, plugs and other hardware devices.

• Now, we will need to connect the audio mixer to a power source, depending upon the rating of the console.
• It is very important to understand that most of the audio mixers drive their power from your laptop and hence, it is very important that you keep your laptop batteries charged, or else, you may face an imminent power failure.
• In order to reduce and minimize any kind of signal distortions, it is advised to use any time of power manager.
• After the power management issue is solved, we will now need to connect the box-type terminal of our USB connection to the audio mixer and subsequently, the flat-ended terminal to the dedicated USB port on our laptop.

• However, one thing which should be kept in mind while connecting the mixer to your laptop’s USB port is that you should never use any kind of USB Hub or Splitter. Apart from this, you should opt for the USB 3.0 since it will provide much higher transfer rates and one should only plug the device into his laptop’s own USB terminal.
• Once the above steps are completed, you can open your preferred DJ software and start the main settings tab. Remember to check the dialogue box indicating USB Audio Codec once you enter the Audio Device section.

• However, if you are unable to find a USB checkbox, select the “System Preferences” and click on Sound. After this, click on Input and click on the USB Audio Codec and once it is checked, close down the System Preferences tab.

• One of the most exciting advantages of the sound mixers having an in-built sound card is that they have an in-built output source on their main body.
• In order to utilize this feature, you will need to choose the output of the mixer to USB as well as the input. Thus, in this way, your laptop won’t need to process any audio clip on its own processor and can, instead, use the mixer’s in-built sound cards to process all the sound clips, thus, reducing the load on your laptop.

Rap recording software. Once all the above steps are accomplished, your sound mixer is ready to be used with your laptop. However, if any kind of glitch arises, you should always ensure that your laptop is taking the proper input signal. Although Macbooks have a very easy installation procedure, yet, if any problem arises, you might need to reset and reconnect all the cables from the beginning.

Now, let us learn about the connection of the mixers without any type of in-built sound cards, such as the Behringer U-PHORIA UM2 2 x 2 Audio Interface with USB 2.0

• In this case, it very important to identify what kind of device you possess in the first place. Although it is very simple to connect the mixers without sound cards to a laptop, yet, it becomes necessary to identify whether your console is a “mixer” or just a “controller”. If your console has all the mixers and decks fitted into one system, you might have a controller and not a real mixer.

• Now is the time to connect the controller to your laptop’s USB port. In order to do so, you will need to connect the flat end of the controller cable to the USB port of your laptop.
• One thing which is very important in this step is that you should always avoid the use of any kind of Splitter or USB hub since these devices tend to split the signals and create major glitches.
• Once this is done, open the DJ Software on your laptop, and search for your controller in the software’s “Hardware” and “Settings” tab. Once you find your device, click on it.

Windows:

Let us now learn a little bit about how to connect a sound mixer to your laptop running on Windows operating system, such as the Peavey 24FX 24-Channel Mixer.

• In order to connect a sound mixer to the input line of your Windows laptop, you will need to acquire a double-faced RCA to a 1/8” mini plug wire.
• Now, you will need to connect the RCA terminals to the RCA output terminals on the rear side of the sound mixer.
• Now, you will need to connect the stereo terminal to the input port of your laptop.

However, if you find that your laptop does not have an input port, you will need to purchase a USB Line Level interface to act as same. In such a case, you will need to find a cable which will connect the mixer’s output to the input port of the USB connector.

In the below figure, you can see how a double RCA terminal cable is connected to the input of a USB interface from the output of the sound mixer.