The ABCs of plugging into a board. Please bear with me...

[Sherman90]

First, let me express my gratitude for all of the help you guys have given me so far. Please forgive an amateur as I continue to learn my music-technological ABCs.

So let's say I have an interface like this one (which I do):



It's got a whole bunch of inputs/preamps and a whole bunch of buses and doo-dads. It's also a firewire interface that's integrated with my DAW, Cubase.

So far I've been using this unit in a very linear way. I plug in one or more microphones, adjust the levels, hit record, and then use the board to get some amateur mixing done (what's nice is that it has some onboard compressors and reverb on hand. Anyway...)

That sounds like the recording end of things. If, say, my band and I wanted to use this same board to play LIVE, I'm left with a bunch of questions.

For example, let's say I wanted to run vocals, my Roland keyboard, a Bass guitar, and a Stratocaster all "through the board."

If my insipid understanding is correct, this means I would need a) some kind of modeller (like a Tech 21 character pedal or POD??) for the bass / guitar (NOT the keyboard), and b) at least ONE powered P.A. speaker. Am I right so far???

If that's all correct so far (please let it be!):

1. Will ONE, high-end powered P.A. speaker - like the KSC Q10 - be able to handle all those signals WELL? My gut says obviously no. So does that mean I have to invest in SEVERAL P.A. speakers if I want to go this route???

and

2. If I'm using my interface/mixer to play live in this manner, does this mean that I can no longer use it to RECORD simultaneously into my DAW??? In other words, do I have to choose either to use it as a mixer or an interface - not both?

[dk123123dk]

Originally Posted by Sherman90

That sounds like the recording end of things. If, say, my band and I wanted to use this same board to play LIVE, I'm left with a bunch of questions.

For example, let's say I wanted to run vocals, my Roland keyboard, a Bass guitar, and a Stratocaster all "through the board."

If my insipid understanding is correct, this means I would need a) some kind of modeller (like a Tech 21 character pedal or POD??) for the bass / guitar (NOT the keyboard), and b) at least ONE powered P.A. speaker. Am I right so far???

Well that is if you do not have an amp for your guitar and bass players. If you have a bass and guitar amps, you will most likely want to mic the guitar cab, and run a DI from the Bass. For a guitar mic, use the Shure SM57, or Sennheiser e609, Audix i5, etc. Most modern bass amps have an XLR output on them that will work.

Originally Posted by Sherman90

If that's all correct so far (please let it be!):

1. Will ONE, high-end powered P.A. speaker - like the KSC Q10 - be able to handle all those signals WELL? My gut says obviously no. So does that mean I have to invest in SEVERAL P.A. speakers if I want to go this route???

This all depends on the size of the venues/places you plan to play.

Originally Posted by Sherman90

and

2. If I'm using my interface/mixer to play live in this manner, does this mean that I can no longer use it to RECORD simultaneously into my DAW??? In other words, do I have to choose either to use it as a mixer or an interface - not both?

I'm not sure on this one, perhaps its in the manual for your mixer?

Originally Posted by Sherman90

[GCDEF]

I'm a little confused on your intended use.

One good speaker would reproduce the sounds well enough, but you wouldn't get stereo. Are you talking about using that speaker in the studio or for a band? For a band for live performance, you'd need at least a pair of them for the house, a pair or more for monitors and most likely sub.

As to running through the board for live use, you can use modelers, you can mic amps, you can use amps with direct outs, or you can use direct boxes with cabinet simulators.

As to question 2, it depends on your computer interface. For recording it's best to have each instrument on its own track. Whether you can do that depends on the mixer, the interface and your software. More than likely you could at least get a stereo mix into the computer, but it probably wouldn't be mixed properly for playback.