How to Hookup an Analog

Mixer
To a Soundcard or Audio Interface
by Tweak

So many newbs think you need to connect the main

outs to a soundcard and can monitor off the control room outs too.
 Is that you? Hah! Enjoying that high pitched whine every time you
want to record? That's called FEEDBACK. You are getting it because
you hooked up the mixer improperly. Here's some better ways.
First with a cheap mixer (which I don't recommend) and second,
with a mixer with an alt 3-4 bus or direct outs (required if you are
serious!)

One Way Communication: Mixer to Soundcard

--------->---
----->

Here's all you do is connect the main outs of the Mixer to

the soundcard line input(s). You then connect your speakers to
the line outs of the audio interface or soundcard. That's all you do.
Yes, you will need adapters if you have a Soundblaster type 1/8th
inch input on the soundcard and typical 1/4 inch phone jacks as
outputs of the mixer. You may also need adapters to connect your
powered monitors to the soundcard's output.

Advantages:
 Any stereo mixer will work

Its easy

Disadvantages:

Monitoring directly off a soundcard with active monitors means you

have to control the volume in software on your computer. This is
less than ideal. If you have multimedia speakers it's not so bad
because there is a volume control on the speakers. Active monitors
may not have that and your monitors may occasionally blast you
with full volume (that's loud!)

You cannot monitor your external MIDI synths while you record or
they will get recorded too. There is no way to separate the signal.
If you are just using soft synths this is not a problem.

You can't monitor the mix at the mixer.

Two Way Communication: Mixer to Soundcard AND Soundcard to

Mixer with ALT 3-4 Bus

<---
-----
->
Here's what an ALT 3-4 bus looks like on the back of a mixer. The
Mixer shown is the Mackie 1402 VLZ3
 This is for people that want to connect their active monitors to the
mixer, as it is done in advanced studios.

Note the following:

You need a mixer with an ALT 3-4 output (sometimes called a

subgroup out, or group out) You can also use direct outs (see
below) from two channels. Don't go cheap if you want this bi-
directional communication between mixer and soundcard/audio
interface.

The subgroup (ALT 3-4) connects to the soundcard line in. The
soundcard line out connects to any two available line inputs. The
can be aux returns, tape ins, or channel line inputs (preferred).

The active monitors (or cables to an amplifier) go to the CONTROL

ROOM OUTS.

NOTE: Though it defies newbie common sense wisdom, you do not

have the main outs connect to anything. The Control Room outputs
act as the main outs and acts as a volume control for the whole
system.

You simply press the ALT 3-4 button (often the "mute" button) to
send the channel to the soundcard.

Advantages:
 You can monitor both the signal you are recording and the playback
signal from the computer. You can use the headphone jack and
this will keep the studio quiet and the recording clean.

You can adjust the level of your monitors from the mixer.

You can put processors like compressors in between the alt3-4 out
and the soundcard input.

You can monitor your external MIDI synths and modules without
recording them to audio and when you want to record them to
audio it's just a button press away.

Disadvantages:

Mixers with ALT busses cost more, but are worth it in my opinion.

Note: The same setup applies to large 8 bus mixers like the
Behringer mx9000 and Mackie 24-8, except with these you have 8
alt outputs instead of 2.

Here's nmodi's famous pic (my eternal thanks for his graphic
wizardry)

Two Way Communication Mixer to Soundcard AND Soundcard to

Mixer with Direct Outs or Inserts
Simply connect the direct out on the channel you want to record to
the soundcard's line input.

Note: When a cable is connected to the direct out jack, the signal
from that channel goes down it and is removed from the rest of the
mixer. That is, it goes out, but does not go through. So the signal
travels to the soundcard, get recorded, and if software monitoring
is ON in the sequencer, it comes back with the soundcard output.

You can sometimes use inserts to function as direct outs by

inserting the plug in "halfway" (to the first click). Not all mixers
have these. The cheaper mixers do not
This pic, from a Soundcraft M12 (which has no conventional busses) shows the direct outputs and inserts at the top
of the mixer.

Workaround with a mixer without an ALT bus, direct outs or

inserts
If you already bought a cheap mixer without alt/subgroups out here is the workaround.

Connect two of the send outs (hopefully you have 2) directly to the
soundcard. Bring the soundcard output back to any 2 available line
in channels. Yes you may need adapters to take the 1/8th inch
stereo out of the soundcard to two separate line in jacks. You need
an stereo mini jack to dual mono cable.

On your mic channel, when you want to record, turn up the send
on that channel so the signal goes to the soundcard.

In some situations you may have to turn off "software monitoring"

in your sequencer software while you record.

NOTE: If you still have feedback you might use the TAPE inputs on
the mixer. This works sometimes but often will not allow you to
monitor your hardware synths playing back MIDI. Its hard to give
an absolute answer as every mixer is slightly different. Experiment
before you ask a question about this, OK? Try the Tape, try the line
 ins, try the aux returns, try turning software monitoring off. One of
these 6 possibilities usually works.

In the Behringer 1002 you only have one FX send, so that means you will have to
record track at a time in mono. Note that you can send both channels back to the
mixer. You could also route the cables from the soundcard to the tape in jacks.

How to hook up a Large analog Console to your DAW

2-way communication
Lets assume you have a 24 channel 8 bus mixer and an 10x10
audio interface like a MOTU 828mk3. The easy way here is to
simply take your bus outs and connect them to the 828's 8 line
inputs. You then route the 828,'s 8 line outputs to channels 1-
8 of the mixer. This way you can route any mixer channel to the
audio interface's inputs by selecting the bus button at the bottom
of the fader.
back of the MOTU 828mk3

top view of the Behringer 4882 24 ch 8 bus mixer with Mix B

You don't have to use busses though. You can also use direct
outputs if your mixer has them or aux sends. Lets say you added
a Behringer ada8000 to your 828mk3 so now you have 18 ins and
16 outs on your audio interface. Here you could use any
combination of busses, sends and direct outs going to the DAW and
you could monitor the 16 outs of the DAW on channels, aux
returns, or even tape inputs. You should be getting an idea of the
flexibility that you have. Do you absolutely have to have 8
busses? Of course not. You can get by with 4 or even with just
one stereo bus and direct outs and sends if you are not recording a
lot of tracks at a time. Its just for those times when you need to
record 24 tracks in one pass that you need an appropriately large
mixer and audio interface.

Lets say you have a MOTU 24io with 24 ins and 24 outs. This is
where the 24 ch 8 bus with Mix B boards come in handy. The Mix
B allows you to connect 2 inputs to each mixer channel and monitor
both at the same time. Here you'd run 24 DAW outs to Mix B and
24 direct outs to the 24 io. Or if you want you could use busses,
which will allow you to group channels and send them to the DAW
as a stereo submix, always a cool thing to do. The good thing
about having a 24 ch mixer with Mix B and a 24 io is that you have
unmatched flexibility for a home studio. There is always an input
open somewhere and you are just a button press away from being
able to record it into your DAW.
and some notes on the DAW of the Future
by Tweak

Tweak's current rig uses a Logic Control updated with Mackie Control Universal firmware

There you are mixing down your latest soundtrack, due tomorrow at
noon. You've been at it 3 days and nights and have lost all sense of reality. The significant
other is screaming about something in the kitchen and you decide you better get up.
Except you can't move, like there is a cable or something keeping you from getting away.
You look and see your mouse cable dangling from a stump on your wrist. Stump? Where's
my hand! There it is, on the floor. It fell off a few hours ago from all they heavy mouse
activity, but your concentration was so intense, you just went ahead and dragged it around
with a rather bloody stump. Now you have to go an get it sewn back on and you'll never
make the deadline.

Now if you had a control surface, you would have had to let go of the mouse more often,
before advance carpal tunnel and rigor mortis set in. Indeed your hands would have a
cornucopia of buttons, levers, switches and stuff with which you could control your song. In
fact, if you wanted to, you may be able to turn the mouse belly-up and never touch it at
all.

Do you need a control surface? What types are available? What are the benefits? Are
their drawbacks? What do I need to know before I get one?

Let me answer question #1 right now. No, one does not need a control surface to fully use
your sequencer. The mouse and keyboard can do everything, though perhaps not as
intuitively.

Types of Control Surfaces

A control surface is a hardware device that controls functions of the software mixers in
your computer applications. A control surface is not a mixer, though many of them look
like them. Neither digital or analog audio signals travel through them. When you move
a knob or fader, the control surface generates MIDI data which the software recognizes.
Software actually can "write" this data on an automation track in the sequencer. In
turn, the control surface "reads" the parameters of the mixer and displays them on it's
screen, if it has one, and will physically move its faders in response to these changing
parameters (if it has motorized faders).

While some control surface/audio interface combination units do route audio signals,
those functions should be regarded as separate from the control surface functions of the
device. Remember that the control surface does not ever touch the audio; it control the
software mixer that does mix the audio.

1. Small control surfaces.

Some devices that call themselves control surfaces are very small with only a few
functions. Still they meet the definition above in one way or another.

Take a look at Frontier Designs Tranzport which is basically a wireless remote transport for
your sequencer.
The Frontier Design's Tranzport is a wireless DAW controller. You can mount it on a Mic stand. So its cool for drummers
and guitarists or anyone who needs to be away from the computer as they record. Also nice for sitting in the EZ chair

Another small control surface is the PreSonus Faderport. The idea here is to give you
control over the transport and a single software mixer channel, where you can enable
the channel to record, set and use mixer automation modes and automate the
parameters your software makes available. You can switch to other channels. Like the
big surfaces, the fader is motorized and will track the automation data you written to
whichever track you have selected.

Going up another step in functionality is the M-Audio iControl MIDI transport controller.
Some people consider products like the Akai MPD16 and the M-Audio Trigger Finger to
be control surfaces, but to me they are more like keyboard controllers with pads instead
of keys. Yet these are evolving. Korg has released the Pad Kontrol USB Drum Pad
Controller. Not to be outdone, Akai upped the ante with the MPD24 and in January at
Namm '08 the demonstrated the MPD32 which adds a large display and sequencer
control.

2. Control Surfaces added to keyboard controllers.

Some of the higher priced keyboard controllers have bonafide control surfaces. While
typically these are basic, some are getting extremely sophisticated, like the Novation
Remote series (review). The control surface on the ReMote works much like a Mackie
Control. Not only will the ReMote act as a transport, but you can control 8 mixer
channels and control the parameters of your software instruments. You can write
automation data too (no moving faders here though). And you can even use it as a
keyboard too (lol!). In fact, since many people bought it for the control surface
functions they made one without the keyboard. Its called the Novation ReMote Zero.

Novation Remote Zero SL USB MIDI

Controller
Finally, recording in the dark is a thing of the past. The SL
 shines a light on the murky world of MIDI control by
providing 2 giant, brightly lit LCD screens alongside an
intelligent Automap mode*, which detects what
instruments you have in your project and intelligently and
logically maps the controls to the SL’s front panel.

Keyboard workstations usually have some for of control surface on them. One in
particular stands out. The Yamaha Motif XS has nearly all the capabilities of a
Mackie Control, except that the faders are not motorized. It also doubles as a
controller for its own synthesizer. Amazingly, the Motif XS control surface works
with Logic, Cubase and Sonar.

See more on the Motif in my review

3. Control Surfaces that are dedicated Mix Controllers

These were the first on the scene and are what most people thing of when they think of
a control surface. If there is a standard, it has to be the Mackie Control universal. The
Mackie Control was developed in conjunction with with Emagic, and was first released as
a dedicated control surface for Logic, called Logic Control. (see the pic on the top,
Tweak was an "early adopter" of the Logic Control). Anyway, the original Mackie Control
was a MIDI only device using standard MIDI cables, (in the latest, the MIDI commands
are sent by USB) has no audio interface functions, but can delve deep into most
sequencers, automating volume, pan, plugin effects, soft synths--whatever the host
sequencer makes available to it. The good thing about the Mackie Control Universal is
that it a wide range of products support it. Logic, Cubase, Sonar, and many others have
well-tuned implementations.
Another advantage of the Mackie Control system is that it expandable. You can add
more Mackie Control Extenders if you want to get 8 more channels. There is also a
Macke Control C4 Plugin in and Virtual Instrument Controller, which gives you 32 knobs
to control your plugs.
Above we see 2 pics from Albert Vinasco's Rig (used with permisssion) Visit his website. That is a Mackie Control
Universal with 3 expanders and a C4 editor.
 While just one Mackie Control can control all the tracks in your song (even if you have
100), many people want to access more than 8 channels at a time. The expanders give
the feel of working at a large automated console.

An inexpensive control surface that works much like the Mackie Control is the Behringer
BCF2000. Like the Mackie Control it has 100mm motorized faders, but alas, no display.

Behringer BCF2000 MIDI

Controller with Faders

The exciting new B-CONTROL Series combines the unlimited versatility

of today’s audio software with the feel of real controls. It lets you move
real faders and turn real knobs to control all the virtual gear in Cubase,
Cakewalk, Logic Audio and other major audio software. It’s the intuitive
way to control and create music with a real hands-on feel.

4. Control Surface/Audio Interface combination units

One of the big developments of the last few years has been the introduction integrated
audio interfaces with control surfaces. Some even include MIDI interfaces as well, in the
quest for the perfect all-in-one solution for the home producer. The industry forerunner
here is Digidesign with the introduction of the Digi 002. Not to be outdone, Tascam has
entered the fray with the FW1884 DAW controllerwhich includes a mixer surface, audio
interface, midi interface and mic preamps at almost half the cost of the Digi 002. The
FW 1884 was followed by the Tascam 1082, and more recently the M-Audio Project Mix.
 Download this image fullsize

click to enlarge

Cakewalk Sonar V-Studio 700 Recording System

Sonar users are rejoicing over the Sonar V-Studio 700 system. The system includes a
control surface with built in audio interface and an onboard hardware synth based on the
Roland Fantom. Check out more pics of this posted by our member TerraSin.
 Studio-central member TerraSin's V-studio Rig

Visit his site at : http://www.terrasin.com/

5. Control surface/digital mixer combinations

These are the biggest control surfaces and as you probably guessed, the most
expensive. These combine a full function digital mixer with complete complement of ins
and outs plus control surface functions. Most notable is the Tascam DM3200 and DM
4800.

The DM4800, for example, gives you a 25 fader surface which has a switch that toggles
between control surface and digital mixer functions. You can add an optional firewire
audio interface to the system, giving it the ability to not only get your sources to the
computer, but also get the individual tracks to the digital mixer. You can mix on the
DAW's software mixer and mix on the digital mixer simultaneously if you want, sort of
like the way people mix on analog boards. The difference here is that your tracks stay
totally in the digital domain, without passing through any converters.
 Tascam DM4800

Not all digital mixers can act as control surfaces. You have to check each product to see
what is implemented. As I said before, always consider the control surface to be a
separate device when it is integrated with a mixer, keyboard, or audio interface. Control
surfaces, big or small, do not talk to audio interfaces or mixers, they talk exclusively to
the software mixer and transport in your sequencer.

Advantages of Control Surfaces

You might be surprised. Working with a control surface completely changes the
sequencing experience. It is much more like working with a a standalone multi-track
recorder with the access to standard tape-like transport buttons. Much like a automated
digital mixer too, particularly if your control surface has access to plugins effects, such
as eq, compressors, reverb, etc.

Some can even get deep into your soft synths, where you can tweak filters and
resonance and envelopes with the knobs on the control surface. If your control surface
has motorized faders, like Mackie Control does, then you can watch the faders dance as
your song goes to town. Your song can be encoded with a great number of tweaks, so
many that it would take 100 hands to do on an analog mixer. These can include not
only volume and pan, but subtle things like slowly shifting the phase on a phase shifter
while your guitar track plays, gradually increasing the reverb on the vocal in a chorus, or
wild tweaks on a software vocoder.

Another nice advantage is for those doing MIDI tracks. You know how at your mixer you
often have 16 tracks all piped down the same 2 channels. That makes your experience
at the mixer one of setting global volume, and that's about it. With a control surface
you can have a hardware fader for every track, every channel of your multi-timbral
module. This makes mixing your midi tracks much easier.
Akai MPD32 USB/MIDI
Pad Controller
Akai's flagship pad controller with
genuine MPC pads. The MPD32 is Akai
Professional's ultimate velocity-
sensitive pad controller for musicians
and DJs. Modeled after the industry-
standard MPC series, the MPD32
delivers the most expressive software
beat control available.

Alesis MasterControl Firewire Audio Interface and Control Surface

Drawbacks to Control Surfaces

Sounds like a dream? It is, and it is reality as well, sometimes.

The main thing you have to do is figure out is how well your sequencer supports the
control surface. If the software does not support the control surface, it is not going to
work very well, if at all. How well a control surface works with your sequencer is a
function of two things: 1. the commands your sequencer has available for the control
surface to transmit to; and 2. the actual capabilities of the control surface. Just because
your sequencer can pass plugin parameters to a control surface does not mean the
control surface will have the ability to read them and send them back.
 A lot of people go with the Mackie Control Universal because it is so widely adopted by
software makers.

However, other surfaces may have differing degrees of support for your sequencer, and
vice versa and information is hard to come by. While some control surfaces say they use
the Mackie Control protocol, sometimes they do not implement it as fully Because of
this, I highly advise doing extensive research before settling on a control surface. It
pays to stay on safe ground.

Perhaps the most unanticipated drawback is where, exactly, are you going to put it?
The large control surfaces like Mackie and Logic Control are like a big 17x17 pizza box.
Ideally, you want this directly in front of the computer monitor, so you can look at the
control surface display and just shift your eyes slightly upward to the computer screen.
But other things need to go there too, like your computer keyboard, your mouse, and
maybe even your midi keys too. I have finally reconfigured my whole rig to make room
for my control surface as you see at the top of the article. Below you see the problem.

Note the awkwardness of my previous setup that really did not have space for my control surface.

The Future?
The integrated control surfaces are pointing the way to the future, I think. Imagine a
24-fader/channel Project Mix? We'd be breaking into the territory of the large scale
digital mixer. Tascam has already broken the seal on this one with the introduction of
the Tascam DM3200 and DM4800 which we already talked about. While these units are
the high end for now, its only a matter of time before such designs are put in more
modest formats. For today, the present is bright; We don't have to buy 3 boxes just to
get a home studio DAW up and running. I expect we will see much closer collaboration
with the software and hardware developers as control surface/mixer and audio interface
combinations gain a foothold.

It also means that for many of us, the analog mixer may be creeping off into the
sunset. Eventually I expect seamless integration between the controllers, software,
MIDI and audio. The solutions will be so compelling, I predict, that the only people
going mixerless will be those on a severe budget. One thing that has to happen is that
manufacturers must sit down and talk to each other, agree on common formats for
 data shuttling. Agreements are always exciting in this industry. That's how MIDI was
born, and the same kind of cooperation will lead us to the studios of the future.

Summing it all Up

Perhaps the best thing about control surfaces is that they don't get old. With every
sequencer update, there is another possibility that your control surface just got added
features. Its nice to have a piece of electronic gear that actually may get better with
age.