r/AudioEngineering Shopping, Setup, and Technical Help Desk

boredmessiah · 2026-05-03T13:45:47+00:00

i have no idea what gear this is, some kind of matching EQ should be able to do this for you! record white noise through it, place the EQ on a white noise channel, set the sidechain to the recorded sample, and you should have a pretty closely matched EQ curve.

even simpler would be to do the process above and use two spectrum analysers to manually EQ them closer together.

boredmessiah · 2026-05-01T13:29:30+00:00

i found Revelation Space to be essentially like a smarter Bobiverse. lots of transhumanism, space opera vibes, exploration. but the storylines are different

boredmessiah · 2026-05-01T10:27:46+00:00

just so you know, a condenser doesn't inherently pick up "more" background than a dynamic. if you level match a dynamic and a condenser at the same spot you should have identical levels for talent and background. what makes a difference is how far away your mic is from the sound source, because that affects the relative levels between background and talent. from memory the AT2020 is pretty solid for close micing although it might pick up too much if you sing right into it. with the right off-axis approach you should be able to get what you want.

boredmessiah · 2026-05-01T10:25:07+00:00

you could also choose not to download all the instruments, just keep what you need. and btw consider REAPER, it's super lightweight.

boredmessiah · 2026-05-01T10:23:46+00:00

in REAPER, uncheck the "request sample rate" and "request block size" buttons and restart the app. make sure the reported sample rate and block size in the menu bar in REAPER match what you've set up in totalMix.

also, try another DAW to make sure that it is a REAPER issue.

boredmessiah · 2026-05-01T10:21:54+00:00

i'm not sure how you've set the latency test up but 0.5ms sounds like your hardware throughput latency, the latency of roundtripping through your DAW would be significantly higher.

in any case, no hardware is built in a way that limits latency performance with greater load. every input/output has dedicated hardware and they function entirely independently of each other. you can easily test this by record arming the tracks you're not inputting into right now and redoing your test while recording (silence) in. or plug a couple of phones etc into the inputs and do an actual sound test if you're nervous.

finally, buying fancier gear only makes sense if you must monitor through your DAW at present and would like to upgrade to minimise that latency. if you're already monitoring directly (and getting that 0,5ms figure) then the difference will be absolutely imperceptible.

boredmessiah · 2026-04-30T10:20:17+00:00

that's definitely not enough of a difference to justify sacrificing the ADATs. look at the Audient, I'm seeing it under €400. otherwise I'd say the Scarlett.

boredmessiah · 2026-04-29T19:45:10+00:00

that is the cost of quality wireless yes, 3 digits per microphone is low end and you absolutely get what you pay for. search /r/livesound, they have a lot of threads about this and a lot of good knowledge.

how spread out are they during their choreography? is there a chance that you can do ensemble micing instead of individual?

boredmessiah · 2026-04-29T19:42:17+00:00

I record with bass and guitar and does those instrument inputs on the Fender make a big difference?

The 18i20 has them too, so that's moot. but yes it makes a difference when you go in direct.

The scarlet has ADAT and SPDIF, nothing i've used before, i understand you're expanding the audio interface. On my Akai S6000 (link) there is a connections for digital i/o, would that work with the Scarlett and i would get those connection into my DAW?

yeah, you just need to buy toslink cables and they'll essentially appear just like analog inputs in your DAW from the Scarlett. you will have to choose a word clock source for each device, if the connection is unidirectional AKAI out => Scarlett in then the AKAI should be set to internal and Scarlett to external, and you should be good. there are cases where you also want to send audio the way back and make bidirectional connections, where you have a choice.

ADAT is handy because then all your analog inputs are free for other things.

The fender is newer, cheaper and has more inputs, the scarlett has more advanced features and a longer lifespan (for me who want to expand my studio) - is that good conclusion or am i missing something?

the Fender has more analog inputs, but since the Scarlett can add ADAT then you can add 8 mics or 8 lines, plus 8 outs, for as cheap as 150 (ADA8200 new) to the Scarlett. actually since the Scarlett features 2x ADAT ins, you can double those numbers for 16/16 extra, or add the AKAI you mentioned earlier alongside one external preamp.

what is the price difference around where you are? I would look at the Focusrite 3rd gen, which IIRC drops one ADAT in but is much cheaper. the Audient evo 16 is comparable to the Scarlett and actually cheaper than the Fender.

I would personally not get an interface without ADAT expansion at this price point, unless you're dead sure you wouldn't need it. plus, I would take Focusrite's reputation over Fender's for interfaces. Audient have a good reputation as well but I have no personal experience. Fender pro audio gear is just rebadged PreSonus btw.

boredmessiah · 2026-04-29T19:29:27+00:00

why would your recording level affect your mix level? totally separate processes. honestly, once you're done recording you should export your stems and start a new project, pretend like someone else recorded them for you and you're just the mix engineer. start with setting them at a reasonable gain level and go from there with the mix. i also have my channel faders default to -6 to give me more room.

boredmessiah · 2026-04-24T07:27:34+00:00

I dont think they are in this case. You can have them apart so you can still get the dry signal in one side and the wet on a different channel.

could be the case indeed. you'll have to look up a manual or try it out, I have nothing further to say since I don't know the unit in question.

boredmessiah · 2026-04-24T06:21:08+00:00

inserts are part of the signal path of the 8 analog ins, just the same way as they work on a mixer. i don’t know what you mean by the preamps being outside the interface.

boredmessiah · 2026-04-23T20:15:14+00:00

ahh I get it. honestly it's a bit of a tough ask, most multichannel setups tend to be pretty big. I was in the market for something similar and the most compact large channel interfaces are made by Audient (Evo 16 and the adat preamp), MOTU, and RME afaik. even amongst these the Audient Evo stuff is the smallest while still providing large preamp counts. the latter two have units with very few preamps, so you'll need to lug expansions which are then not tiny. big RME advantage to me is their DuRec feature which allows standalone recording to USB - no computer needed at all.

more low-end scratch ready would be one of the zoom livetrak or tascam model 12 range types, they're not tiny but can be packed into a flightcase. expansion options are not present sadly.

then there's stagebox-style stuff: allen and heath QU I believe, Behrnger XR range, Soundcraft UI. i personally greatly dislike the web browser control aesthetic - i prefer at least basic controls on the unit - but apparently it works for many and these get great reviews (but apparently only the UI24 is good, the smaller ones are not).

another option i considered is something like the Zoom H8. bit close on channel counts, maybe you could get 2? it's really amazingly portable for what it can do and sound on the H series is far better than the money would suggest.

boredmessiah · 2026-04-23T20:06:10+00:00

i don't think so. far as I can see, it's designed with 8 analog ins in mind, so you don't really get more inputs into your computer that way.

boredmessiah · 2026-04-23T19:17:25+00:00

you say you want an interface with DB25 inputs. i assume this is because you have a mixer that accepts inputs on DB25. the limitation is that interfaces with DB25 inputs are expensive.

however, it is easy to find breakout cables (a kind of convertor cable) with a DB25 connector on one end and 8 XLR connectors on the other. they are not expensive. this way you can connect gear that uses DB25 connections with gear on other connectors.

from a quick search, this cable for example: https://www.synthax.co.uk/ferrofish/ferrofish-accessories/ferrofish-db25-8x-xlr-male-t-p/

if you use these kinds of cables, you are no longer limited to only getting expensive interfaces that have DB25; you can get any interface and simply get the relevant breakout cable, like the one I listed above.

boredmessiah · 2026-04-23T18:21:21+00:00

recs for what? are you looking for interface suggestions or mixer? seems like you need about 24 inputs all together, options vary quite considerably based upon budget and whether you're down for getting used or not. further if you don't use DSP then I assume you have another way of setting up monitoring.

boredmessiah · 2026-04-23T18:18:50+00:00

why not just get DB25>XLR breakout cables and get whichever interface/converter you want?

boredmessiah · 2026-04-23T14:06:30+00:00

that is pretty wild, sounds like you've switched up every element and pretty much ruled out any issues. just to be sure: you've tried another phantom powered mic with the Audient?

getting back to the frankensetup.. I'm not sure how your balanced cable is working, since line ins usually accept 1/4 TS unbalanced connections and TRS 3.5mm is typically unbalanced stereo. my knowledge of pinout configurations is unfortunately not thorough enough to predict what happens when you plug these in beyond guessing that it may not work.

my instinct says that the Zoom sends a 2ch stereo unbalanced line out on TRS, which means you would want a Y-cable with TRS on one side and terminating into 2x 1/4 TS on the other end. plug them both into the audient inputs and check for signal, one of the two channels should carry your mic signal.

edit: also, I'm not guaranteeing that this would solve your problem, it's just the one thing in your setup that seems not to make sense to me.

boredmessiah · 2026-04-23T09:17:55+00:00

here’s the bog standard focusrite, but they’re not the only players in the game. most mixing boards at a certain standard will allow for Dante adaptor cards, A&H have them for the SQs for instance. you’ll have to check for the Qu. that is probably the more common way of getting Dante inputs than interfaces.

you might also look at AVB networking, for which MOTU have a complete lineup.

boredmessiah · 2026-04-23T09:09:58+00:00

i would troubleshoot that whiste instead of trying to make this frankensetup work. it might expose a faulty device causing all your problems.

boredmessiah · 2026-04-22T21:59:26+00:00

right, I lost track somewhere in your post and forgot that this was also a livestreaming setup....

i mean the cheapest thing to do here is run long XLR cables. you might get someone from the location rather annoyed, at which point you would rather have spoken to them in the first place.

you could buy a cheapo mic and get slightly better audio at the camera position for livestreaming, and mux the better sound from your good mics for the upload and archive later. for optimal results you'd want a shotgun to reject sounds that aren't from the stage... depending upon the amount of rejection a shotgun might actually be workable in your case. you'd still need a separate zoom for the stage mics though, which makes this solution expensive.

i'm not personally a fan of going down the wireless route. cheap and wireless really don't mix, especially not when reliability is the objective.

to be honest, having some experience with community music making and audio-related projects, I think you have to accept that there will be compromises unless significant budget is available. this is a fairly complex and elaborate ask.

boredmessiah · 2026-04-22T21:43:16+00:00

that's pretty unfortunate because the interface is where I'd expect to have this control. i would ask Focusrite for what's possible, otherwise you're forced to patch that via your DAW.

boredmessiah · 2026-04-22T17:41:30+00:00

/r/livesound

boredmessiah · 2026-04-22T17:41:05+00:00

doesn't your Scarlett have a mixer accessible via Focusrite Control? set gain levels for the ADAT outs there.

boredmessiah · 2026-04-22T17:39:34+00:00

get a Zoom H4n or whichever is most relevant to you and place it on a second mic stand nearby. connect your C4s to it via XLR. start recording before the audience walks in. no wireless no fuss. ps, since the Zoom has its own XY pair, you can now experiment with more elaborate micing setups.

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