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Using an External Mixer with my editing set up…
Is there a mixer of choice some of you would recommend to add to my editing set up? I wouldn’t need anything fancy or crazy expensive. I just want something to be able to control my playback monitors and run balanced audio to them and to use with either Final Cut Pro/Garageband/Soundtrack Pro or for doing voice over work. I keep hearing you can’t use an external mixer for FCP but I always see images of mixers on the editor’s desks who are using FCP, in various magazines I subscribed too. Right now I am running unbalanced audio from my Behringer monitors I use for playback. I was told by the folks at Guitar Center that I would need to have a mixer or an audio interface in order to run balanced audio to the monitors. Currently I am getting a nasty sounding hum and I even purchased brand new cables that helped but the hum is still noticeable during playback. I am using both a Macbook Pro and a new 21.5″ iMac. Any thoughts or suggestions?
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6 Replies
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The Mackie Onyx 820i would be a nice choice. It connects to one of your computers via FireWire, so you can use it as the soundcard for the computer. You get 3 XLR inputs for recording voiceovers and whatnot, and you can connect the balanced TRS control room outputs to your monitors. The main XLR outputs can be set to a mic-level output, which enables you to connect the mixer to a video camera (one that doesn’t have switches for line-level audio signals), if you ever want to mix multiple audio sources directly to a camera.
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Can’t go wrong with a Mackie board- those are incredibly common in FCP setups.
Noah
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Mackies are certainly a standard, but I find their functionality to be lacking in what I as an audio mixer, etc. want.
I agree with the others that an audio interface is what you want…now, I would prefer one that has the most functionality for me. For a studio setup, I would look for a unit with a very low noise floor and a lot of clean gain. If you have a lot of clean gain, that means headroom galore, and hi-resolution metering won’t be “as important” (although it is very nice to have).
You might want to look into stuff by PreSonus, Focusrite, and MOTU. Pick the one that has the features you need now AND a little more for later. You want a good ROI, so demo and test out accordingly.
Wolf
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Oh wow! Thanks Sam!!
Cre8tive Minds Entertainment, LLC
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Are you the same Noah that used to be on the DVXuser boards? I think I will have to look into the Mackie board it sounds! Thanks for the suggestion!!
Cre8tive Minds Entertainment, LLC
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Thanks for your input Wolf!!
Cre8tive Minds Entertainment, LLC
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