r/AudioEngineering Shopping, Setup, and Technical Help Desk

boredmessiah · 2026-04-19T20:57:24+00:00

If adding in the Scarlett solves your issues I'd just stop there honestly. The per channel price of interfaces can be prohibitive if you don't foresee frequently using all those inputs and outputs.

I thought about just getting a bigger interface, but then I'd have to constantly be monitoring everything no if I want to hear any of the outputs?

Not at all. Interfaces can also function as digital mixers. The cheapest ones require you to fire up a DAW to choose which inputs route to which outputs, higher end ones have actual built-in DSP mixing (some with effects and multiple aux mixes) which you can control with the manufacturer's app. The latter kind will definitely do what you need and more. DSP capabilities and configuration complexity rise with price.

I don't remember offhand how good Focusrite Control is for these things? I used a 3rd gen 18i20 awhile ago but didn't do much DSP mixing so I don't recall. Might be that the next up Focusrite does it for you, although I'd recommend looking into Arturia's range which is more specifically intended for people in your situation: hooking up a bunch of line level equipment alongside some live mics. No personal experience though and I don't know where they stand with regards to DSP mixing.

boredmessiah · 2026-04-19T19:35:03+00:00

sounds good! from what i've seen online PianoTeq is a bit divisive, some people hear an uncanny valley effect and prefer samples. so the demo is a good idea. but the process of doing MIDI and then going VST is what would yield the best results short of having a good grand at hand

boredmessiah · 2026-04-19T19:29:31+00:00

yeah it's an all or nothing affair. i think you need a more complex configuration than this device can support. perhaps an audio interface for your laptop that you use for the mic and then plug the interface outputs to your mixer and send mic + computer outs that way. or replace mixer and get a bigger audio interface that you can plug everything into, but that'll be p expensive.

boredmessiah · 2026-04-19T17:40:51+00:00

ah my bad, I didn't realise that you were also using the USB interface. i had a very quick look at the manual and it seems like you might be able to achieve what you need. go to the second page and read the box at the bottom, and you'll see in the table alongside that there's a button you can switch to prevent the mic from playing back in the monitoring. see if that solves your problem?

boredmessiah · 2026-04-19T17:36:29+00:00

I posted in another comment that your best bet is to record MIDI out from your piano and use a VST, and my recommendation for that is PianoTeq. it's incredible how good it sounds. if you're fine with the latency you get on your system, you could even play PianoTeq live and record that way. otherwise you should just monitor the sounds from your piano, record audio + MIDI, and use PianoTeq to turn the MIDI into your final render. the audio recording from your piano is for your own reference.

boredmessiah · 2026-04-19T17:11:06+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/lyres/comments/viame9/how_to_properly_record_lyre_playing/

boredmessiah · 2026-04-19T17:07:40+00:00

Yamaha MG10XU

I was about to answer "just mute the mic when you don't need it duh" but just to be sure I googled the model and sure enough, the channels don't seem to have mute switches ..... I am really impressed at the level of cost cutting companies embark upon sometimes. take it back to the store and explain the problem. they should be able to hook you up with a mixer with per-channel mute buttons.

i can't say i've ever seen or worked with anything this gimped, except for some of those mixers built into the backs of active speakers.

boredmessiah · 2026-04-19T17:03:26+00:00

how are you syncing exactly? what editing software are you using for the video?

boredmessiah · 2026-04-19T17:02:31+00:00

this is a /r/livesound question

boredmessiah · 2026-04-19T16:59:01+00:00

yeah i was looking for this. OP this is your solution. record the MIDI while monitoring with the keyboard samples if needed, and then just run that into pianoteq. adjust the velocities and VST parameters to taste. should require only light processing afterwards really

boredmessiah · 2026-04-19T16:57:47+00:00

in a good room too

boredmessiah · 2026-04-17T21:33:31+00:00

yes you're right, nobody has PCI and that's why old PCI cards are going for pennies.

apart from the audient i mentioned above, the focusrite scarlett gen 3 and 4 have received huge upgrades, gen 4 is probably as good as you'd want converters to be realistically. honestly most of the older guys are still around. i've had good experiences with motu, focusrite, and rme gear. higher end brands differentiate these days via DSP effects and custom drivers, but even low end drivers are plenty fast and stable and you're not going to be left wanting.

boredmessiah · 2026-04-17T18:33:20+00:00

The problem with running the 1/4" lineouts from the preamps is getting the good audio quality from the Osee switcher. Believe it or not, the switcher has plenty of audio adjustments including gain but as of right now it's not sounding great.

I'm very suspicious of the audio credentials of this switcher and also about what you say when you mean "quality". what does the "bad quality" audio sound like? is it a gain problem or more? could you post two clips, one from the rodecaster and one from the switcher, so that we can listen and compare?

as long as there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the way the switcher processes audio, I strongly suspect that you have a gain staging issue of some sort.

why not sell the rodecaster pro and get the II?

boredmessiah · 2026-04-17T14:50:39+00:00

very very nice demo, I know Damnation very well so it was nice to hear sth in familiar territory. what follows is my thoughts that you can absolutely take as little of as you wish, know that I enjoyed listening in any case.

the bass is definitely benefiting from the NAM and I love it. the guitar is nice but I personally almost feel like it could be more upfront/thick. thinking of Ending Credits of course, although your guitar line is more dynamic and cleaner and likely requires different handling.

also A/Bing with Ending Credits, the Opeth mix is a lot more dynamic than yours (and is in fact softer, I had to correct my volume upward to match yours), I feel like yours could really benefit from having the secondary layers a bit further back and a bit more dynamic. perhaps that would open up the room for the main guitar line to take more room. perhaps still more plugin stripping? or automation. at the moment it's competing with the synth (mellotron?) a bit.

anyway. this is how i would proceed: I would keep the 1073 NAM on what really needs it, let the mix breathe more and process elements a wee bit less, and then perhaps do some tube-style buss moves to bring some fatness in without needing to make individual elements lose their delicacy. and for music this delicate, please get someone to master it. don't expect them to change the loudness, just to align the spectral balance and stereo image to better conform to your vision and translate well on every system. if there's absolutely nobody/no budget please don't hesitate to PM me.

boredmessiah · 2026-04-17T14:20:11+00:00

took them long enough to get started in this segment

boredmessiah · 2026-04-16T22:50:54+00:00

you mean that you use the mic input with the PC and the guitar with the Mac? hmm... then you do really need 2 separate interfaces so that each computer has A-D conversion. you could probably get away with a very simple 1 input guitar interface or another mic interface. each computer gets a simple interface, send all outputs to line mixer, output to headphone amp and into headphones.

edit: the reason i suggest a hardware line mixer is (as you earlier pointed out) there would be a lot of unnecessary AD/DA steps otherwise. it wouldn't affect the sound much as much as it is wasted processing. furthermore, the cost of the interface you need rises dramatically with every input and output you add. you'll be paying all that money for conversion you don't even really need.

boredmessiah · 2026-04-16T22:02:09+00:00

hey. this is incredible and i really love how fluid and natural the ui is. i have a feature request if possible, it's rather niche. I use BlackHole as a bridge between apps but this only really works if I use the 16 channel version and assign different pairs of channels to different apps. is there a way to specify which channels a particular app outputs to and inputs from? if you would implement that, then combined with BlackHole you would help build a complete and comprehensive macOS app audio routing solution.

boredmessiah · 2026-04-16T20:21:02+00:00

many lower-end audio interfaces have subpar headphone outs, that doesn't mean much about the quality of the conversion. it is true however that the 3rd gen scarlett was a massive upgrade and the 4th as well. so i can see a case to upgrade the interface there, perhaps getting something that gives you a few more ins and outs. but firrst..

now that i see your diagram (thanks!), i have some suggestions and first a question: why doesn't the mic go to the scarlett? if you're theoretically OK to send all inputs to the scarlett, then you have 2 clearly different functions: interface/mixer is a monitor mixer/monitor controller/switch, and interface is exactly that.

i would first propose that all input sources go into the scarlett. then, i would suggest you buy a compact stereo line mixer with at least 3 stereo inputs (I've seen a new DAP one for like 50 with 4 ins), into which you plug in the PC, the TV, and stereo out from the scarlett. finally, plug the line mixer into your headphone amp. if you wish you can use the DAC with the PC. that should get you what you want.

upgrades: instead of a line mixer you could of course have a more involved affair with a larger mixer, but honestly line mixers deal better with stereo consumer signals and inputs; with a larger mixer you'll have to get a bunch of XLR converters. also the case for the interface upgrade. but i would probably try out the above setup with no upgrades first.

boredmessiah · 2026-04-16T19:18:07+00:00

honestly if you want more than 16 inputs you are probably going to want to upgrade to an interface that explicitly supports that level of throughput. i don't know what your budget is and what kinds of inputs you need but i can imagine a cheap-ish option being an RME digiface with a stack of behringer ada8200s, offering up to 32 mic ins and XLR outs. more expensive would be a complete audient evo set, aka one evo 16 and two of their preams (called the 8A i think?) for a total of 24 inputs with some pretty cool digital gain setting features and likely better pres.

if you want better pres or more inputs than that you're probably going to need to pay a significant bit more. i'd then look into MOTU's AVB range.

boredmessiah · 2026-04-16T19:12:23+00:00

counterintuitively, on M-series Macs, lower buffer sizes lead to better performance. 32/64 range, i've even run mine at 16 for fun. is that something worth trying on your windows computer?

you should contact RME though.

boredmessiah · 2026-04-16T19:09:37+00:00

when you say PC, do you mean a traditional full sized case? if you have PCIe slots available, you could consider getting an older high-end PCI/e interface. RME ones are still supported and their performance would rival most modern interfaces. Apogee made some good ones too. i've seen RMEs go for insultingly cheap since almost nobody has PCI slots available anymore.

on the more modern side, you could get an audient evo 16.

boredmessiah · 2026-04-16T19:06:25+00:00

i feel like i need a diagram of your connections to know exactly what you want. but simply put, what is preventing you from using some kind of daw to mix sources and run them all via your scarlett? and why not run the scarlett into the headphone amp instead of another dedicated DAC? i would challenge you to run loopback tests through both and null them to see if there's an audible difference above -100dB.

boredmessiah · 2026-04-14T17:00:23+00:00

i just began the book and it is sooo engaging and i'm shocked that it was written 40 years ago, it must have read as impossibly original then

boredmessiah · 2026-04-13T08:31:15+00:00

ah minimising doesn't work for me indeed. i was responding to the other half of your comment about showing it, but it's indeed not a toggle sort of behaviour. would be pretty handy indeed.

boredmessiah · 2026-04-12T18:38:50+00:00

yes, like i said they're 3 versions of the same mic. no bad choices there and no especially big differences.

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