The B&B Musicians/Producers/DJs Thread - The Bear and Badger

Kow

Or what Cocko said, the fast bastard.

Kow

Oooh, sorry.

Kow

Actually the usb connection will probably be enough for midi, you shouldn't need to connect to the actual midi ports.

cockbeard

If that's true (USB carrying MIDI both ways) you could save some money on your audio interface by getting one without midi, but unless it's built out of jelly, for £75 that Behringer seems like a bargain

edit: hahaa Kow, well at least our information ties in with each other, makes me feel less like I'm talking out my arse

Kow

I think any half decent USB interface will come with midi as standard. Plus you'd never know when it will be useful down the road somewhere. Worth having.

cockbeard

I dunno, I saw a lot of friends at the "start" of the home recording boom buying 2 channel audio only inputs. Basically a DI box with some leds in it, and an inflated price tags. But sold really well to kids with a guitar and SM58

edit: I may have disregarded the caveat "half decent" there

GurtTractor

Yeah it looks to have some USB MIDI functionality, so learn about that, watch some videos etc and you can figure it out.

For the audio output of the synth (there are two of them for stereo, you can use just the one for mono output but presumably it can do some stereo stuff) -

Output L(mono)/R (quarter-inch TS unbalanced)

Pretty standard audio cable, the sort that you would use to connect a guitar to an amp. You can get them for very cheap but it's probably better to get a decently chunky pair that will last you. https://www.thomann.de/gb/instrument_cables.html Get a couple of them.

The reason why I mentioned additional audio outputs is so that when you inevitably get a reverb or delay effect that you want to route the synth's audio through it (hugely fun and intuitive, recommended), you can do so seperately from your main monitor output and also record the reverb as a seperate track easily, makes mixing much easier.

You can specify the minimum number of line outputs using the stuff on the left here - https://www.thomann.de/gb/usb_audio_interfaces.html?price-first=0&filter=true&feature-53834-first=4&feature-53834-last=34 Change it to 4 and it shows what's available, annoyingly there's a limited selection.

If you just want audio input then maybe go for something dead cheap for now, but if you are going to spend good money on something then I strongly recommend a minimum of 4 line outputs.

I think the cheapest thing you can get to just get audio input would be something like this for 20 quid - https://www.thomann.de/gb/behringer_ufo_202.htm

Brooks

Buy an RME UFX+ and never actually use it, like me.

ZMM

Thank you

ZMM

cockbeard wrote:

The line output allows you to record the sounds you generate with the synth, or to play them live through an amplifier, sound desk, power whatever

Awesome this is what I want, so I need an audio interface with a L R line input, and as long as the audio interface is connected to my MacBook via USB that will work? Or will I need some kind of L R line to USB cable? To go from the L R line OUT to the MacBook?

Kow

The audio device will connect to your computer by usb. The synth will connect to the device via audio cable. And that should be enough. The device will have audio out ports too, so you can connect to speakers or an audio system. Any usb audio device for music will have audio cable inputs. They'll usually take guitar style cables and microphone cables. These days they're often two in one sockets that will take both types.

GurtTractor

This is about 20 quid, I haven't used one myself but it's probably fine to get started with, and you can always upgrade to a better sounding and more capable device when it's affordable and you know what you want to do.

That device only has phono connections, so you would want either a 6.35mm jack to phono cable, or adapt two normal instrument jack cables with little adapters.

An audio interface such as the one above has ADC and DAC capability, that is Analogue to Digital Conversion to take an audio signal and convert it into 1s and 0s so it can handled by a computer digitally, and Digital to Analogue Coversion to allow you to play back and listen to audio from the computer. You will always need such a thing in order to record and playback audio. Laptops will often have a basic setup built in, at least a headphone jack for output, but the frequency response and noise floor tends to be very poor compared to a dedicated USB solution.

Kow

Personally I'd spend a bit more and go for a Roland or Motu. They'll serve you a lot further down the line. Audio recording is a bit of a rabbit hole to fall down.

ZMM

Thanks for the help.

The L and R audio outs on the synth are 6.35mm beasts. Will the audio interfaces have 6.35mm sockets or 3.5mm? I can't imagine any having 6.35mm, so that means I'll need a cable like this, right?

61G8ny6RkEL._AC_SL1500_.jpg

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07PRWBWPX/

GurtTractor

Kow wrote:

Personally I'd spend a bit more and go for a Roland or Motu. They'll serve you a lot further down the line. Audio recording is a bit of a rabbit hole to fall down.

Yeah I would too, but I suggested that just as something to get started with for now in case additional funds are limited. If you know you are serious about making music and can afford it I would definitely recommend getting a proper interface, ideally with enough inputs and outputs to allow you to grow into it as you aquire more gear.

GurtTractor

ZMM wrote:

Thanks for the help. The L and R audio outs on the synth are 6.35mm beasts. Will the audio interfaces have 6.35mm sockets or 3.5mm? I can't imagine any having 6.35mm, so that means I'll need a cable like this, right? https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07PRWBWPX/

That little Behringer thing has RCA connections, which are also called phono, classic audio and video connector. That cable there will do the job fine.

Kow

The ones on the left are guitar style cables, which are probably what you need to connect the synth to an audio device. The ones on the right would be the outputs from the audio device to speakers. That's the way mine works anyway. Depends on the device I guess. I suppose the synth is mono basically?

ZMM

GurtTractor wrote:

ZMM wrote:

Thanks for the help. The L and R audio outs on the synth are 6.35mm beasts. Will the audio interfaces have 6.35mm sockets or 3.5mm? I can't imagine any having 6.35mm, so that means I'll need a cable like this, right? https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07PRWBWPX/

That little Behringer thing has RCA connections, which are also called phono, classic audio and video connector. That cable there will do the job fine.

But with the Behringer thingy I can't see any inputs? Maybe something like this would be what I needed? https://www.gear4music.com/Recording-and-Computers/ESI-U22XT-USB-Audio-Interface/1KCT

As it's got L and R inputs, or does the Behringer have this too and I'm being stoopid?

ZMM

Kow wrote:

The ones on the left are guitar style cables, which are probably what you need to connect the synth to an audio device. The ones on the right would be the outputs from the audio device to speakers. That's the way mine works anyway. Depends on the device I guess. I suppose the synth is mono basically?

The synth is mono I guess cause it says so but also can be stereo presumably? Here's a pic. On the right is my headphone jack

[img]

GurtTractor

Yeah the phono inputs and outputs are on the top side, facing away from the camera, you can see the little markings indicating them. If you can afford something more serious with more connections, build quality etc then go for it.

GurtTractor

ZMM wrote:

Kow wrote:

The ones on the left are guitar style cables, which are probably what you need to connect the synth to an audio device. The ones on the right would be the outputs from the audio device to speakers. That's the way mine works anyway. Depends on the device I guess. I suppose the synth is mono basically?

The synth is mono I guess cause it says so but also can be stereo presumably? Here's a pic. On the right is my headphone jack [img]

From the SOS review -

The outputs from the voices are next summed in the way determined by the selected voice mode (see box) before being passed to two stereo, digital effects sections: Mod followed by Delay/Reverb.

So if you're wanting to use the onboard effects you should probably make use of the stereo output, if you wanted to use an external effects unit or process the sound with plugins on a computer then you could just use the one jack.

Kow

The cables you'll need will depend on the audio interface. Most of the newer interfaces I've seen are 1/4 inch inputs, which is the same as the outputs on the back of your synth. I have a drum machine that outputs with phono cables though, so you never know. I suppose there's some kind of adaptor for that eventuality anyway.

Kow

Actually I don't, duh. It's a 1/8 inch output.

ZMM

GurtTractor wrote:

Yeah the phono inputs and outputs are on the top side, facing away from the camera, you can see the little markings indicating them. If you can afford something more serious with more connections, build quality etc then go for it.

On the Behringer you mean?

[img=16x16]

is this the top side?

GurtTractor

Oh I was referring to the little silver thing I posted, that seems to be another model. Looks like it has the red and white RCA connections though.

Kow

They're the outputs on the back, for speakers etc. Inputs are on the front.

ZMM

Ahh right it's a combo jack, but that would be a mono jack though, I'm assuming? Which is not what I'm after, unless you could put the L into input 1 and the R into input 2?

Kow

Probably can yeah. Most analogue instruments are mono anyway. Stereo effects are added later.

GurtTractor

Yeah input 1/2 = L/R.

You might be able to get something a little better for a similar price, here a list of interfaces with a minimum of 4 outputs. The reason why I bang on about the outputs is that I know from my experience how annoying it is not to have an extra pair, like I've got a little Korg Monotron Delay which is great fun but I don't use it much because I can't conveniently route audio from my PC through it and record it. I just think it makes sense to get something you can grow into.

The quality of these things can vary a bit, and you often get what you've paid for. Check reviews or ask us if you're not sure.

ZMM

Would you recommend Thomann as a supplier? Have you ordered from them? When I was researching the synth I read a few trustpilot reviews which were less than glowing, about promising stock and it taking ages to arrive because they're based in Germany, etc. And thanks!

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