The Top 5 Cheapest Ways To Get Lots of Synths Connected To Your DAW
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- Опубликовано: 5 июл 2024
- You've got a problem: After an acute "GAS" attack, you bought another synth. You managed to sneak it into the house past your wife, but now...how do you hook it up to your computer? You've run out of inputs! In this video I talk about all the different methods of connecting multiple synths to a DAW PC, and go over the options, from cheapest to most expensive.
Behringer Patch Bay: amzn.to/45VgBeN
My keyboard Z stand: amzn.to/3Ix5xuF
Z stand extra tier: amzn.to/3XtVpa6
My keyboard A frames: amzn.to/3YwAPav
My silver keyboard covers: amzn.to/40VySFx
My black keyboard covers: amzn.to/3Gt5oXz
0:01 Intro
0:49 How I Started: Cassette Deck
1:08 How I Started: Portastudio
1:20 How I Started: Analog Mixer
1:58 How I Started: Gain Staging
2:46 How I Started: Yamaha MG16XU
3:26 How I Started: Soundcraft 22MTK
4:39 My Current Setup: Behringer X32
6:46 Cheapest: Sound Card
7:11 Built-In USB Audio Interface
9:28 Two Channel Audio Interface
10:29 Patch Bay
12:04 Multichannel Analog Mixer
13:59 Multichannel Digital Mixer
14:15 Multichannel Audio Interface
#Inputs #Synthesizer #DAW 
Видеоклипы
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Patchbays are essential. Once you have all the ins & outs connected it makes life a lot easier...just don't forget the hookup diagram.
... and its a nightmare to connect all in's and out's to and from each device to the patchbay. It costs of money for zillion of cables and you're ending with enough cable length to connect earth to the ISS :-) But once this is done, fortunately it's "easy" to use... 🙂
I respectfully disagree. I have an aggregate audio device on my old Mac with 2 8-input audio interfaces, each with their own 8-input ADAT expander. That’s 32 channels (36 if you count the two S/PDIF inputs). This also handles inserts to output gear. All latency is compensated within my DAW. No need for external mixers or patchbays and all my synths are permanently connected.
Old OS?
@@robertkiss7003 yes, Big Sur. And it works well.
Finally, the video we have been waiting for. I have the Mackie Onyx 24 and love it! It allows me to hook up my synths and allows me to go directly to my PC, DAW setup. Thanks Scott!
Adat is also ideal as more inputs are required. I use an RME Fireface 800, which allows x3 ADAT cards, so i have 26 inputs.
Great conversation btw as this is something that all us studio owners ponder on, a lot! 😊
The problem with mixers is that they usually just have a limited number of inserts for external effects and the integrated effects are usually just of basic quality. I decided therfore to go another way. I bought a USB-controlled patchbay (XPatch-64) and can now use all my synths and external effects in every configuration, I can even switch between true analog insert effects for tracking without any latency and use my hardware effects as sends in my DAW like a VST for mixing and mastering. And I can save and recall each configuration with a mouse click. These USB patchbays are quite expensive, but offer you the greatest flexability.
I have 16 hardware synthesizers going into 2 Behringer 1602 line mixers. I stereo out from each of those into a Focusrite 1802. I also use 2 MOTU 5x5 midi interfaces and the USB midi on a few of the later model synths. It's not the greatest setup but it does work and each synth can be recorded without repatching anything. I love this stuff!
Back in the late 80's, I had my keyboards and modules connected with MIDI, going into a 12 channel mixer, which was connected to my 16 channel Tascam mixer that output to my Tascam 246 recorder.
Lot's of FUN...
I am also spoilt with loads of synths and while I love the idea of a desk, I do not have the room now (and found that it didn’t fit with my workflow). So I bought three MOTU 24 IO audio interfaces giving me 72 analogue ins and outs so I can now have all of my synths hardwired into my Cubase mixer. Perfect solution for me.
ditto... 3x MOTU 24 i/o + 3x MOTU MIDI Express AT...
I recently purchased an Arturia AudioFuse 16rig and they just released the AudioFuse 8x in/8x out expanders. I also purchased the iConnectivity MioXL for the midi routing. Absolute game changer for my studio!
yeap got the same thing for my studio
And so do I! The best for the money!
Me too, love it, it will hold up for a good amount of time for me to grow into it. I recorded vocals as well with it and the preamp is sounds great and is Sooo quiet it stunned me. Actually, the whole unit it silent. Love it. And flexible? Man!
Aye, got one as well. Pretty solid so far!
Got the Audiofuse 16rig with a Alesis AI3 and a Focusrite OctoPre MkII dynamic and it works pretty good.
Still curious about the new 8x in/ out units tho since I have suggested that to Arturia since those aren’t made by a lot of other company’s and are what somebody with a 16rig might need
Finally a video that’s actually NEEDED! Awesome job! There are so many videos out there like “is so and so still worth it in 2024?” or “top things you never knew your daw can do” and it’s just the first ten basic things in the manual 😂 Home studio owners need more vids like this, so thank you.
Great timing! I'm about to redo my mini studio and was wondering what options I had. So much great info and explanations, great job! Note to self "Figure out how to control my studio lights with the super knob on my montage..." 😂
That intro was just like how i like my synths, with the perfect amount of cheeze! immediately subbed!
ADAT has got to be among the best options for getting a large number of analog inputs separable into your DAW, especially now that relatively inexpensive interfaces are starting to support ADAT expansion
This. I have 2 8-input audio interfaces, each connected to an 8-input ADAT expander. I’m on a Mac, so everything is aggregated together into a 32 channel audio card with 2 2channel S/PDIF inputs also. My DAW sees all this simultaneously and I gain stage each synth. Also, I have inserts for some outboard gear. No separate mixer or clunky patch bay needed.
ADAT ❤
Scott!!!! Your video is desperately needed by many!!! Thank You.
On windows you can use asio4all driver to use multiple interface together.
And I think for the first audio interface, get one with midi is a good investment, and those come with midi will most likely more then 2ch input.
"You managed to sneak it into the house past your wife"... I have no idea what you mean, Scott 😆😆😆
"What, this old thing? I've had this for years!"
@@ScottsSynthStuffI see that everyone is using the same technics 😂. Once it's with the rest, she usually cannot really spot the new one.
Buy her some shoes. 😇
A good wife knows, that you need all that stuff and she will support that 😉
😂😂
I went with the Presonus Studiolive 32s Series III mixer for my multikeyboard setup in my studio. It's more expensive than the Behringer, but integrates well with Studio One. It also allows you to apply Fat Channel compression and EQ while tracking, then in Studio One you can call up those effects and adjust further if you want to for mixing.
To me, a digital mixer as an audio interface is the only way to go for those who want more than 8 inputs.
I had a Studio Live Series III 24R. When I found out I could get a free NSB 8.8 with a new Studio Live Series III 32R I returned The 24 and got the package deal. Very satisfied. I also have a Behringer XAir R18. I will eventually try to make the SL and the XAir an aggregate and have 50 input channels.
@@ronaldfigura1465wait when and where did you do that??
I got the same mixer but 5-6 months ago damn
Thank you! Great video. Next i sant to know how you connect midi with so many synths?
Great video! I’ve had lots of challenges attempting to get multiple pieces of gear synced and recordable at the same time. Lots of good ideas etc. Thanks! And I have that same t-shirt, in black 😊
Those Behringer mixers are awesome. Built in effects (including sidechain) AND those inputs are actually ins/outs. I've got two of the XR18 since it's so affordable and takes up such little space. I got one, liked it so much, got another, and 2x is actually quite manageable. I may very well go to the 32 at some point since it can snake to another input box, but not sure it's worth the extra cost really, especially since a simple stage box costs way more than an XR18).
My life definitely changed when I discovered Samson patchbays and Iconnectivity MioXL and the Midronome or ERM Multiclock. There’s so many ways to hook all this gear up but the patchbays definitely make connecting everything easier. Great video man.
Great article! Often overlooked, but the Mackie LM3204 rack was a godsend for me. 16 stereo channels, so perfect for rooms of synths. Since most of them lived easy lives in studio racks, can be had for under $450 used.
Patchbays are also great to extend what you have, or to also add in hardware effects where needed vs. just inline.
It's true - the Mac has an "aggregate audio device". There's a caveat though.
The reason for Windows allowing you to using only one is that you need to sync to the audio interface/synth (in this case - the Montage) audio clock. Obviously it can't sync to more than one and one synth's clock might be not run at the exact same frequency as the other one (i.e. one might be somewhere around 44101Hz, another one at 44098).
Mac circumvents this via... resampling those synth outputs to its own clock. Yup. If you use an aggregate audio device you forfeit the sample-accurate audio.
I hope this is clear?
Hello Scott.
Once again, a great video from you, in which you also show the possibilities of how to connect many devices inexpensively.
Not everyone can afford expensive studio mixers (whether analogue or digital) and this is often forgotten on many RUclips channels, that not everyone has a well-filled wallet.
A big compliment for that.
I am lucky that, like you, I can call the Behringer X32 my own.
Yes, it is one of the expensive solutions, but it is the cheapest of them.
The Behringer X32 is currently priced at EUR 2199 in Germany (they reduced the price from EUR 2500 about 2 months after I bought the X32...(annoying).
The price in the US is currently $2999. I don't know if the price has always been like that.
I also have to "count" my money and thought long and hard about whether to get a smaller mixer.
But then I said to myself "Do you want to change the plugs and sockets every time? Set the gain every time because every device has a different output?"
I made my decision quickly and went for the X32.
With the 32 XLR inputs you have peace of mind for a while.
I also have 4x DI-800 8-channel DI boxes from Behringer for all 32 inputs, which luckily aren't that expensive.
These DI boxes can also be used as a "patch bay" if necessary ;)
And the nice thing about the X32 is that I'm not "at the end" when the 32 inputs are full.
The ability to expand the X32 with additional inputs using the Behringer Stage Boxes means you don't have to buy a new mixer straight away.
And cascading the X32, X32 Rack, Stage Boxes etc. really solves the problem very well.
I can recommend this to anyone who wants to buy "expensive" synthesizers:
Think about whether you need the 1 or 2 new synthesizers for € or $1000-2000 each.
Perhaps you can wait a little longer to buy one (yes, I know. That's very hard) and invest the money in a future-proof mixer first.
But for anyone who doesn't have a lot of money, Scott's solutions are a great alternative that works well.
I started out that way too and there's no shame in working that way.
And the "normal" consumers of your music probably wouldn't even notice the difference.
Everyone does it as they can. The main thing is that you have fun with what you do and people can enjoy your music.
Have a nice weekend everyone
And Scott. Keep it up. I love your channel. :)
Get a Behringer UMC1820 8 channel audio interface. Throw in a couple of Behringer rack mixers RX1602. Each rack mixer will give you the opportunity to connect 8 stereo instruments to two inputs on the audio interface. So one audio interface and 4 rack mixers allows you to connect 32 stereo inputs and have 4 stereo inputs in your DAW. This of course means that synthesizers share the same audio inputs.
You can then add an additional ADAT interface like Behringer ADA8200 for 8 more audio inputs. The draw back is that sample rate will be limited when connecting the ADA8200 to the UMC1820.
I have 2xUMC18020 and 2xADA8200 as an aggregate device on Mac giving me 32 inputs. I have two RX1602 and an additional analog mixer. Some synthesizers are directly connected to the audio interface and some via one of the mixers. A combination of both mono and stereo synthesizers.
Great information Scott... thanks for sharing!
This is an important video for synth lovers. One option you forgot to mention, though, is ADAT: you can get an audio interface with a limited number of inputs that supports ADAT. Once you run out of inputs, you can then add additional digital inputs by adding an ADAT interface on top of it and plugging that into your interface. This way, you can upgrade to a higher input count when the need arises (i. e. after buying more synths).
Myself, I was in the market for a suitable solution not too long ago, coming from an M-Audio M-Track Eight Interface with eight mono inputs. After much deliberation, I decided to put a Behringer RX1602 V2 analog mixer into my rack, which adds 16 mono inputs. The analog outputs then go into my M-Track Eight (just as you describe) and take up two of its inputs, leaving me with six additional ones (-> 22 mono inputs in total). I also have an SSL 12 interface for recording vocals, and that supports ADAT, so I might switch to that at some point, should the need arise.
Exactly this is what I needed to watch. Thanks for sharing
Blown away by your knowledge. Thank you!
May I request a video on how to keep all your gear clean? Especially mixers. You won't believe how many videos I see on YT with studio gear, and it looks like they never clean their gear. Dust everywhere and that only ruins gear in time. Maybe include room temp and carpet or Hardwood for other reasons of dust and cleanliness. Also maybe add the best way to use power strips to connect your gear. I have my strips mounted on the rear of my stands for each 3-4 tiers and then several others on the wall at desk height. Hope Scott reads tis and comes up with something on the "How to keep your studio gear clean and connected" :)
I keep everything under dust covers (when not shooting a video). This video has a link to the dust covers I use.
great video! now I am using a Tascam Model 24 and it is working fine for me.
today I really learned something very interesting. thanks Scott.
Love your happiness. It's refreshing. Thank you for the tips. I ended by buying an Arturia Audiofuse 16Rig and A Ferrofish Pulse 16 connected in ADAT. I have 32ins and 28outs in a very very beautiful quality for 2200€. It's quite cool.
Thanks Scott for a great video. I always follow your videos and it gives me great pleasure. I had the same problem a few years ago when I started building my studio. Too many synths and very difficult to sneak them down to the studio without my wife discovering 🤣I solved the input problem by buying 2 Ferrofish Pulse 16 for 32 channels. I connected these to an RME Digiface USB. It costs a lot, but god it's nice to be able to have everything connected all the time. I have heard that you can connect 3 Digiface and 6 Ferrofish to the same computer (Mac) for a total of 96 channels. Of course, the wife is told that it will never happen 😇 I agree with neatfreak 2180, iConnectivity MioXL is incredibly good for the MIDI side. I have two of them.
I also have the mioXL, I did a video on it some time back.
Behringer rx1602 v2 can also be a good option for 110€/120$...
- 8 Stereo inputs
- stage gaging @ each stereo inputs + Mute / pad...
No eq but 8 synths can be pluged an take only a stereo input on your harware audio card.
Got a studiolive 16/4/8 but never inputs enough ;)
Big yes on the patch bay. Also useful is a MIDI patch bay such as the Ensoniq KMX-16. You can connect 16 MIDI devices, which is useful if you want to control a synth that has very few keys (or none), with another synth that has a better keyboard such as an 88 key hammer action controller. Also, you can take a MIDI track in your DAW and route it to one synth or another and then record the audio out.
I got a Conductive Labs MRCC. Changed my (synth) life.
I just checked it out. That looks fantastic! And I see where you can connect two together if you need more jacks. It looks very much like my ensoniq but with a lot more connectivity for newer protocols such as USB. Thanks for the tip. I notice their dealer in Portland has a wide selection of brands available including Buchla. I will to look in greater detail. Could be dangerous.
I use a mioXL: ruclips.net/video/9vdHKQp-4Rk/видео.html
I have a A&H SQ-5 mixer with MADI interface to connect to my outboard effects (H9000). Works great!
Nice I came here from canard boulevard and I totally dig the humor and information. Thank you for sharing your life with us all online!
Do you have more channels?
man great video got some great ideas
My issue is space. Not that our house is small, but I have my synths in the living room, which is also my work-from-home space. I found out that this works better for me than some other, dedicated room.
In the 1990s I bought a Yamaha AN1x, and Yamaha EX5, and a Yamaha 01V mixer. The latter didn't work out as planned. It's big, it was very quickly superseded by the more capable 01V96, and its value is a now a fraction of what I paid for it. I still have it, though, because of the sunk cost fallacy.
Because of the space limitation, all my other synths are 19 inch rack modules. And I think I'm not the only one who thinks this way, because the modules are often more expensive than their keyboard counterparts on eBay and Reverb. One of the few where this isn't the case is the Jupiter 8 and the MKS-80, although they're not identical.
I ended up with a MOTU 24Ai, and recently acquired another one. All second hand, or new in box. This gives me 48 analogue inputs in a mere 2U of rack space. It also uses proper IEC C14 connectors, so you don't have to muck around with external power supplies. And it's a universal power supply, so you can buy them from wherever they are cheapest. The second one comes from Canada, while I live in Europe.
The downside is that you need special DB25-to-eight-TRS-jack snake cables, and those are pretty pricey. But all in all, including import duties, value added tax, and snake cables, I think I spent about €2000 for those 48 inputs. There are audio interfaces out there that cost a multiple of that, for fewer inputs.
I've considered a lot of alternatives, including the rack version of the Behringer X32. Eventually, after literally years, I decided upon the MOTU. There was a problem for a while to actually get these units, due to the global chip shortage of a few years ago. Plus, I ran into the ASIO problem.
There is a tool out there, which you can find in the Microsoft app store, called DS WASAPI ASIO router, that will solve that. If nothing else, I need it because I also have a Roland TR-8S, and I don't want to waste precious audio inputs, when this thing has USB audio.
This DS WASAPI ASIO router is not free, and costs €25 here in Europe. The evaluation period expired before I had a chance to fully test it. But the point is that there are ways to get around Windows' quite frankly rubbish support for professional audio.
On the Mac it is called creating an aggregate interface.
Thank you. I couldn't remember the name of it while I was making this video!
Yup. It comes with a caveat though. It resamples the audio as it cannot sync to the digital audio clocks of all synths and one synth's 44.1kHz might differ from 44.1kHz of another one.
Aggregate Device
@@JanMichalSzulew right. If you aggregate devices (I have 4 currently) one needs to be the master clock. Therefore I cannot connect my V-synth through S/PDIF as it also expects to be the master clock. As you say, these clocks are not identical, resulting in clicks and pops. But I still have 32 channels right now, which suffices for my needs.
@@crhkrebs but doesn't the aggregate device simply say "well, I'll pretend I accept your "master clock", but I'll just resample you anyway according to my own clock". I don't have a Mac, but I heard that's how it works. It avoid clicks and pops but you forfeit sample-accurate audio (which, I believe, is a non-issue in the proverbial 99.99% of the case?)
I went with Motu AVB interfaces. As soon as you need more than 18 inputs. You buy a Motu 1248 or any other Motu interface with thunderbolt interface, AVB and the set of audio inputs you need (they have a lot of models with various type and number of I/O). Then on your synth rack you buy Motu 24Ai that give you 24 line level inputs that you can send through AVB with a CAT6 cable to the other Motu interface connected to the computer through thunderbolt. In my case, I have one Motu 828 ES with a Motu 24Ai and it gives me a total of 32 line level inputs, 2 microphones inputs with phantom power, 8 line level outputs, 4 monitors outputs, 2 headphones outputs. All this for about $2000. And I have 5 sets of ADAT input and outputs so I can potentially add 40 analog inputs and 40 analog outputs by using ADAT preamps and output modules. I also have the possibility to add an AVB switch and add more Motu 24Ai.
Just read up on AVB capabilities. Impressive! Thank you!
I use Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 4th Gen USB, with Analog Mix with 16 Keyboards, with DAW using the Keyboards USB interface, it works for me on Studio 1, very Cheap and low noise mixer, Behringer RX1602 V2(This works great you chain them). He did not mention MIDI, use iConnectivity mioXL 8x12 MIDI Interface, which is great for connecting lots of MIDI devices.
I use a Focusrite scarlett 18i20 audio interface and expanded it with Adat and another behringer preamps.
Because its controlled over software I can control it over midi.
Means with one switch or button I can change my entire routing. Effects and Synths can be chained in different order with one click.
My Setup contains a Casio WK3000, BossRC505, Circuit Tracks and Rhythm, Guitar Multi effect Pedal/Preamp and some mics.
I have a lot of stereo channels to fill. 😏
Because I do Live Looping I often wanna change the order of my devices. Sometimes I wanna sample something from the Rhythm into the loopstation and sometimes I wanna sidechain my loopstation through the rhythm. So with one click I can change the order what is awesome for live performancing and its far less expensive then getting a big digital mixer.
Scott, one thing why I'am also using a digital mixer (X32) is the option to record/monitor all of my synths seperately at once at different tracks in my DAW and apply (real-time) effects etc.
Get a Yamaha O2R second hand.
They’re 200 quid used, make sure you get one with a meter bridge though as you can see all your levels.
Get a couple of ADAT cards with optical outs and run those digital outs into a couple of linked USB motu 828 mk2’s.
You can run one of the motu’s via FireWire to your computer for 16 digital channels in real time.
Enjoy!
Great video as always Scott.
I do have a couple of suggestions in addition to what you mentioned. One is the older Mackie Onyx Firewire mixers - still really good, you can get them used in really good shape for not much money and you can get firewire cards for PCs pretty cheap. Ironically, since Firewire was first for Macs it's actually easier to hook up firewire mixers to PCs that can take firewire cards. It can be done with newer Macs but takes several steps of adapters.
The other thing I'll mention is that some fairly basic 8 channel interfaces can be expanded via ADAT to 16 or even 24 channels. Once you have a USB interface that has 8 channels input plus ADAT you can buy older interfaces for firewire that work perfectly fine for ADAT and instantly expands you inputs pretty cheaply. A studio I helped a friend put together has a Behringer USB 8 channel interface and an older Presonus firewire interface ADAT connected - the two interfaces cost about $600 all in.
Good video! I only have a couple synths and a line 6 pod go for guitar. Just a hobbyist and I only had to spend $150 US on a Mackie 12 channel mixer. I got a 4 channel interface free with credit card reward points.
hi scott great video and a great insight to this subject, my current set up is i use a behringer u phoria umc1820 interface and a behringer ada8200 connected via adat so i have 16 inputs to allow me to plug in all my synths and guitars and microphones and i have then set up a template project in my daw so that everything is all connected midi wise and audio at the same time ! i find this works great for me and also may be a solution for others too! what do you think of this type of set up?
thanks in advance brett
You didn't mention 'digital stage boxes', which could be flug in a far corner of the studio.
The X32 is equiped with swappable expansion cards for connecting to other multi-channel audio networking via USB, ADAT, MADI and Dante protocols, in addition to the onboard ULTRANET and AES50 connectivity.
Dealing with the wiring mess can be a chore, especially when having to trace an intermittent audio or MIDI line. I bought a bag of colored nylon tiewraps that have a tag to stick a label on and put them at the plug end of every cable. I labeled where they go so I can keep track of what it plugs into. For limited space, line level mixers are useful for keyboard rigs as they usually have all stereo inputs. Fine if you do not need effects sends or use microphones.
Very enlightening, thanks! You talked about maxing your mixer inputs out with stereo keys, what about vocals? And on a different subject, on your multi-channel mixer going to interface and DAW, do you use the EQ or keep it flat?
Vocals I just use a single channel. For MOST of the channels I have no compression or EQ. There are a couple channels on old synths where there is some noise floor, so I have a very low-level gate on those channels. On my console mic channel I have a slight EQ cut at 500 Hz to kill some of the room resonance that it picks up.
Ah….the Mirage…love Ensoniq!!
Great video. I had the same problem but I went from a 48 channel mixer back to a multi-channel interface and only 1 or 2 synths connected at a time and the others on shelves....why? I find if I concentrate on one, I value it more and work with it better than jumping from synth to synth. But that is of course a question of workflow and personal preference. But since I do this (about a year now) I am more creative with each individual instrument.
I have been waiting for a video that talks about hooking up multiple synths at once. Thank you! I would love to see a video Midi. You mentioned that you send things through Midi to multiple keyboards. Are you just using Midi Through, and of course assigning a different Midi address to each synth? Again. Thanks!
No, I use a mioXL: ruclips.net/video/9vdHKQp-4Rk/видео.html
Welcome to my world. Been working with a live setup since 1996. Enough MOTU MIDI Express 128 interfaces (10x) and five Behringer X32R/S16 and an Yamaha LS9-32 working with DANTE to my Mac. Total control. :)
Btw.. You won't get Midas components on the X32, then you have to get the M32 FYI.
With Macs you can create an Aggregate device using multiple interfaces.
That intro..... :O
Thank you for the video quick question. How would you connect 2,3 synths and drum muchine together maybe with a Yamaha mixer?
Nice sum-up, but I miss the Midi and Master keyboard part which is also a very difficult topic to get the correct routing done.
I love the X32, the final solution for my little studio too after nearly the same history like you had. Your next video about midi? 😂
Buying second hand older professional audio interfaces is also a way to do this. Mostly the older firewire stuff goes for pretty much nothing, firewire is old sure, but as a IO device that has 32 channels or more, it still will work fine. Would need to be a bit computer sawvy though, firewire is a problem in newer os'es so you might need to get your hands dirty and do some research. I remember i got a focusrite liquid 56 interface a few years back, it worked perfectly, I expanded inputs with a digimax d8 via adat which gave me an additional 4 stereo inputs. I've later upgraded to a new focusrite 18i20 card which is amazing and is priced reasonably, also works great with the digimax d8.
I have a pretty simple setup for my little "home studio" that is reflective of my needs. Unlike you, I only have two keyboards, both Yamaha. I have my MODX7 and a CS1x. There is about twenty years separating them in terms of technology and connectivity. I got the MODX in 2019 from Pro Music Alaska, a music store here owned by an old college buddy. He helped me with everything I needed to get my keyboards set up. I have a Tascam audio interface and an eight-channel mixer. The MODX was much easier to connect because of the USB connection, but I had to use a MIDI connection for the CS1x. I had another old friend of mine build a two-tier keyboard/music desk. The two keyboards are on platforms that pull out, one on top of the other, and the top of the thing has my monitors and the small dedicated computer for my music production, along with the monitor for that.
And there is a whole spaghetti pile of cables and connections going this way and that on the top of the stand.
But it works for me, more or less.
Anyway, this was a great video as always!
Thank you for the great amd informative video! I had the same issue and went slightly a different road. I have 5! Behringer RX1602 line mixers. One of them gets all the outputs of the other 4 and from there I go to some speakers (for rehearsal purposes, not recording). I guess I could have used a patch bay too. I also have a Arturia 16Rig where I connect my keys I record mostly. It’s not an ideal situation but it’s ok. I recently bought a Radial Key Largo for live purposes so I can connect my laptop to it without having to bring an Audio Interface and it’s fantastic. It also solved a grounding issue I had in my room which I was never able to solve. It’s not the cheapest but worth the investment for me. I play more live than I record but I’d love an X32, it’s just a bit too pricey for my situation.
I wish you’d mentioned submixers, I’m on a really small space experimenting with “Moukey” 6 channel mixers feeding in to a rx1602. The 1602 provides a headphone out that goes to my bass amp, ( zero latency monitoring is key) and also an effect return for a reverb pedal, as well as the main out to the interface. So I can play the hw synths + iPad synths Dawless, that is very important for me.
What do you recommend for stereo out from synths to mixer input ? Do you go mono? I have a zoom L20 mixer and about 10 synths i am using a snake to for better cable management but i am using 2 channels for each stereo synth.
Hello, I have a studio with many synthesizers from the 80s and 70s but I don't know how to connect them to a digital console. How to route the analog outputs to the digital console once the console's physical inputs are busy
Great video! I just upgraded from the Yamaha MG10UX to a Onyx 24 for the reasons you mentioned. Have you done a similar video showing how you route all the MIDI to your synths in a similar way you explained the audio strategy?
Yes, right here: ruclips.net/video/9vdHKQp-4Rk/видео.html
Thanks for great input. I believe one option - with great price/performance - is missing for the purpose of having a lot of synths connected to the audio interface (and the computer/DAW) and to always be ready-to-record: simply use one, two, three or more rack line mixers, such as the clean Behringer RX-1602 V2. Each mixer provides 16 inputs. Your main outs (L/R) from your last mixer in your chain goes into two of these inputs on the second mixer (and so on); and the last mixer main outputs connects to your audio interface. Cannot think of any cheaper and yet such a good/clean way of connecting multiple synths 👋
Daisy chaining mixers like that adds noise - each mixer in the chain adds a bit more noise. It's better to have a set of mixers that all connect to a single submixer, which then feeds the input. That way, the most number of mixers the signal traverses is two.
I’m curious about power. Do you walk around turning an every synth on every time, or do you have some sort of “master-on” like a power strip switch. If so, does that require leaving the synths switched on, and is that safe for your gear?
I have UPS/surge protection, but I turn the synths on individually. Some modern synths do not like having the power just disconnected, they need to shut down.
Would it be a good/bad/ugly idea to have individual audio interfaces for two or three synths? Would they show as individual channels in DAW? With such setup how could I hear everything (all synths played live + all tracks already recorded in DAW) with a headset?
Im still have this Emu Interface. Its still pretty good. I connected a Korg 168RC Mixer over Adat to connect my Synths to my DAW.
Talking about gain staging you made my day. 😊
Now I know why I keep 20 synths plugged in and half normalizing is wrong.
For any on a budget (like me!), check out the Allen & Heath CQ-20B. I bought one for my blues band (now rip) as a live mixer/recorder, moving up from a Soundcraft 12Mkt, which still sounded good for live use as a bar band. The CQ, being digital, sports a 24x24 (@48kHz), or 16x16 (@96kHz) USB. It's awesome. I'm supporting a Modx+, BARP GM2600, Korg Wavestate, Arturia Analog Lab and a bunch of East/West symphonic samples. Great mixer & interface.
On Windows you can install Asio4All, which is an Asio Wrapper. In it you can combine several Asio devices to one. The con is Asio4All uses its own drivers which is of course not optimized with each hardware device. And afaik there is no way to do sample acurate sync unless you have 2 devices that can sync via an adat optical cable or coax wordclock.
I thought about mentioning this, but Asio4all causes so many latency and stability problems (at least for me) , I've never been able to get it to work successfully and consistently.
@@ScottsSynthStuff Ya I agree. I have also tried using it eg. together with a soundblaster and a small 2ch Presonus and also throw it away, and today the soundblaster drivers is actually ok latency wise alone, but the Asio4All totally hampered the Presonus performance, so I decided it was not worth paying for. Windows has always been kinda poorly coded with how it handles multimedia devices. Had major issues getting my Kronos USB to play along until I found out the culpit was how Windows handles the different multimedia devices. People should delete all the devices they don’t actively use. If you have more than 10 devices installed things go haywire and you manually have to edit the matrix adressing each device in the registry, which is not for the faint of heart unless you know what your doing
I have successfully used asio4all with a bunch of Roland Boutiques and a multichannel audio interface. Have to increase latency/buffer due to my old laptop and mixer is 24/24. I enable a subset of ins and outs and seems better. Boutiques with a 2x2 is great. Probably USB 2 and old computer to blame not asio4all.
Whats your opinion on the studiolive 16 presonus or the tascam 32dp multitrack recorder
Great video thanks - I have the MGP32X and was wondering how to connect to my windows device using pro-tools.I have around 8 synths.Please can you assist! Thanks Scott.
Great shirt!
I use an 02r96 into a fireface 800.
Plenty of inputs plus more analog & Adat options. Mine sits in an Argosy console and 14 synths are permanently connected. Plus also 2track DAT & Cassette (!). Not forgetting outboard returns into channels, for recording into logic/PT. It’s a great system that really works well. The RME provides master clock to the 02r96.
These desks are often criticised for their hard eq. On the original 02r, I’d have to agree. But not so with the 24bit 96k mk2. That’s said, I belive in clean unadulterated sound.
I can’t recommend these old Yamaha desks enough because they are astonishingly cheap these days. I’ve seen original 02rs selling for £150 ($200). It’s worth it for the noise gate and compressor on every chennel !!
Great. I already have a small Yamaha mixer (MG12/4FX), a Behringer mixer (MX1604A), and you just made a sale on the PX3000 patchbay 😀
I use a UAD twin with an 8 channel digital break out box. pretty cost efficient and sounds excellent
Thanks! Nice one! How do you deal with the power consumption side of it? How many sockets and extension leads do you have?
I have a large UPS, which feeds a massive power strip that is intended for a server facility, that has 24 receptacles on it.
@@ScottsSynthStuff OMG! Massive rig. 👍 Thank you for the answer! 🙏🙂
What about something like a Radial Key-Largo? That would allow you to consolidate the outputs of the three synths in the rack in front of you to one stereo signal, with gain for each at the keyboard mixer. I'm asking as someone who has been looking for an answer that this video addressed (thank you!) and have a Key-Largo on order.
I had a similar journey. Started with a Fostex X15 4 track cassette and gradually moved up through an analogue mixer to my current Clarett 8 pre with an extra 8 channels via adat (Behringer add on). I’m Mac based so I can have some of my USB based synths in a composite audio interface. Only issue is some synths - like my Roland Jupiter XM don’t like USB hubs if used with the proprietary driver. Would be good to have a video on how you link all the midi side up. Great synth collection by the way.
While I have an expensive multichannel audio interface (Steinberg AXR4U), there are cheaper [than $3k and $4k] options. For example, the Steinberg UR816C (16 ins/outs) costs about $600.
I think there are other low cost options to connect many synths such as rack mount line mixers such as the Behringer ones, or making groups of keyboards with stage boxes
My real problem is space, I can really only keep the Montage and the piano running. If I ever solve this, I will get something like the MG12XU
If you also want everything connected via MIDI, you can use Kenton MIDI splitters for that. You don't have to daisy chain your gear and have it turned on unused to transmit via MIDI.
I use the mioXL: ruclips.net/video/9vdHKQp-4Rk/видео.html
I'd just like to know how I can connect my ipad pro to korg pa4x so I can get the voices from apps on ipad to play through my korg on upper 3
good info, i use (2) Scarlett 18i20, (one in slave through ADAT). I also use that in conjunction with a second laptop with identical setup, 32 live channels for $1600. i plan on getting a patchbay and a mixer, but for different experiments..
What do you do for combining old keyboards with DIN midi and newer keyboards with usb midi? Do you use DIN to usb converters? USB hub? Do you use VSTs?
I use mioXL: ruclips.net/video/9vdHKQp-4Rk/видео.html
@@ScottsSynthStuff Thanks! Probably overkill for my current keyboards.
...started with a cassette recorder either when I was a 4year old boy. Later, in the middle of the nineties, I got me a Behringer mixing desk for my first synth stuff still recording with a cassette tape deck improving to an audio cd recorder a few years later 😜
...as time goes by 😇
And the lights go down.. 🤣in the city😄 funny
I am “down to” 12 synths (currently; still selling and buying to refine the “perfect set”!) but also use a lot of outboard gear and need room for folks to plug in their instruments, microphones, &c. My solution (in addition to the MioXL ;) is a 32-channel passive summing mixer for most of the synths (since I can gain-stage the volume controls and then mix via MIDI volume) but then be able to patch in my “special children” when I need outboard processing or a full mixer channel or whatever. I do not understand why passive summing mixers are not wildly popular for this application, but I plan to build more since they seem to be so rare!
I have a tascam model 12 wirh my old edirol audio interface (8 inputs) plugged into two channels and a Moukey 8 channel mixer plugged into another two channels and I still don't have enough inputs!
I am literally waiting for delivery of a Behringer pre-amp to expand the number of inputs on my Scarlett 18i8 from 8 to 16 using the optical (ADAT) jack. Fingers crossed that it will work as expected. But yes, unplugged synths do not get used.
This is what I have and the Behringer works like a charm.
@@crhkrebs This setup is also working for me now (at 44.1k, which is fine for me).
@@JoeJohnston-taskboy I use 44.1kHz too.
I have a midas venice 320 and use direct outs to a few firestudios that go to my daw. That gives me 32 channels. How do you have your power and midi to your synths? When you think 32 channels is a lot, don’t t start using drumcomputers with separated outputs, then you need 60 channels (naah more 😂)
You went through all the same levels I've gone through: a burst of GAS, small mixer, larger mixer, patch bay and now, having maxed out everything, I am thinking of getting a Presonus Digital Rack Mixer with 32 inputs (yes, pretty pricey at around $1600) which can hang on the wall under my desk. But the thing I REALLY want to do is control it with a Raven touch screen, so I can be hands on with soft synths. I really hate mousing around when playing with Pigments or any of the Arturia V collections, it's so clunky. Anyone have experience with the Raven screens?
Over the past few years I’ve moved over to networked audio (AVB) using MOTU hardware and CopperLAN for midi. Unfortunately CopperLAN, though it works very well and easy to setup, hasn’t been updated in decades I believe and has a cap of 32x8x2 midi channels to a single pc. I tried RTPMidi before but poor windows support is a limitation, and is a but of a pain to configure with large setups. I think these network-based setups make more sense in the long run if you plan on expanding your setups.
the question is how do you connect your synths outputs jacks to the X32 XLR inputs ? DI or adapters ?
The synths have 1/4" snakes that go from the synth to the patch bay, then there are separate snakes that go from the 1/4" TRS out on the patch bay to the XLR on the mixer.
@@ScottsSynthStuff thank you !
For a small 12 inputs audio setup Behringer x air 12 digital mixer is great plus you can record your live mix to USB stick and it's road worthy. You can get higher models but it'll cost more. What should be mentioned that quality cables will add up to be just as pricey as the hardware itself
The second I started watching this brilliant and needed video, I recognised the first note played on the first synth at the beginning. I racked my brains knowing it was the intro from a JMJ album track. Finally I found it. It's the exact key he uses....
The track and album... (check if you like): Oxygene 7-13 Track 7.