- Hello and welcome back. In this video, I am going to
look at the key differences between an audio interface and a mixer. Which one is right for
your home recording studio? If you're confused about
standalone mixing consoles, USB mixes, and USB audio
interfaces in general, then hopefully this will help you out. You are not alone with your confusion. If you want to know more
after watching this, then do post your comments below. I do read them all and it
helps me decide what content to produce to help you out next. I post regular videos and blog posts on home recording studio tips and tricks especially aimed at beginners. If that sounds like you, then
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video a quick thumbs up if you find it helpful. Right, so let's crack
on with the difference between an audio interface and a mixer. I will cover the absolute basics here. Then if you want to know more, I have written a detailed
accompanying article on my website, which
I'll link to right now and which you might also find helpful. So let's start with the
standalone audio interface. Now these come in many
shapes, sizes and formats, from a simple two-channel
interface for iPad up to multi-channel beasts that allow you to record multiple audio sources. This Focusrite 4i4 is fairly typical. So let's have a look in detail. The key purpose of an audio interface is to allow you to make
high quality recordings on your computer or mobile device. This one has four audio inputs. The two on the front are multi-format so you can plug in microphones
or instruments like guitar, or electric violin, or line
level sources like a keyboard. You see these inputs have
separate gain controls so you can adjust the level
of the signal you're recording as these two inputs have built-in preamps. Now on the rear, there are two
additional line level inputs. These don't have any gain
adjustment on the interface. They're at a fixed level. Now, apart from that, there is very little
else on this interface. You can control the volume of the output for the headphones and speakers. There's a phantom power switch if you're plugging in condenser mics. This audio interface is ideal
for recording clean signals into your recording software, and then you can add
reverb, delay, compression, and other effects within the software and create your final mix. There is no effects processing
at all on the interface. The only thing you can really
adjust is the recording level where that's available. Now, another key thing you should note about this typical audio interface is you can record each
input on a separate track within your door simultaneously. So if you want your vocal on
one track, guitar on another, and maybe a keyboard on another track, you can easily do this. All you need to do is create tracks in your recording software,
arm them for recording, choose the inputs, then
start recording and play. Each track will capture
the individual audio source from the input you have chosen. Now with this interface,
you can record four things at the same time on separate tracks. On an interface like the Scarlett 18i20, you can get 18 inputs and
20 outputs in your door, so you've got mega multi-track
recording capability, and that is what an audio
interface is really good for. Now, let's take a look at the
standalone mixing console. So this Yamaha MG06 is about
as simple as you can get. Here, you can connect up to
four separate audio sources, two mic or line inputs with gain, and then two additional
sets of line inputs, either mono or stereo. Again, each with a separate gain control. Now, even on this simple mixing console, you have the opportunity
to adjust the level of the high and low frequencies
on the first two channels. So it's got very simple EQ. You can also get an effects
version of this mixing console that has built-in effects, so you can also add reverb or delay. Move up to the big brother, Yamaha MG10, and you'll see there are more channels, and you now have the
ability to add compression, more complex EQ, panning, et cetera, all on the mixing console. So what all these mixers have
in common is that the output of the mixer is stereo. It is a stereo mix of your audio sources. Your mics, your instruments, et cetera, all combined with all those
settings already applied. And that is the key purpose of these kinds of standalone mixers. You can combine different sound
sources, adjust the levels, adjust the signal, add
effects, adjust the EQ, then output the final
result as one stereo stream. These particular mixers
are not USB mixers, so they do not connect
directly to your computer or mobile device in any way. They have no built-in interface. So to record on your computer, you have to combine them
with an audio interface. That's quite simple. You just take the left and
right outputs from the mixer, connect them to the left
and right line inputs on your audio interface, then
you can record the output of the mixer in your recording software. However, you will be
recording the stereo mix on one stereo track. You will not be able to
capture each instrument on a separate track at the same time. If you want to record
instruments separately, you will have to play them one at a time and record them one after the other to get the separate sounds
and then mix them after. It is possible to combine
the audio interface and the standalone mixing
console in one unit, because many mixers you can
buy are, in fact, USB mixers. So for example, the Behringer X1204USB. Now this mix that has lots of inputs for various audio sources, you can connect mics, line
level sources, and so on. It has built-in effects. It's got EQ and panning, and this Behringer mixer can operate as a standalone mixer, too. Do beware that not all USB
mixers work as standalone mixers, so if that's important to you, make sure that you look for that feature. But this Behringer mixer
also has the benefit of incorporating a built-in
USB audio interface. And this is where you need to be careful, because yes, you can connect it directly to your computer via USB, and you can record the output of the mixer in your recording software
without any other equipment, or you could stream it live if you wanted to do live streams, but you can only record
or stream the stereo mix. You cannot separate each audio
source onto different tracks in your door and record at the same time with this USB mixer. Another difference to remember is you'll not just be
recording the pure signals from your audio sources, but the signals will already have had EQ and effects applied. So much of the work you
do with your USB mixing will be in adjusting the signal path on the actual mixer using
the hardware controls, then recording or streaming
the stereo output. So it's great for a live stream. It's a different workflow, and we'll have a look in a minute at which approach might be best for you. With the audio interface, you record your audio
signals on separate tracks, then process and mix
the sounds in software. With the USB mixer we just looked at, you set up the levels,
effects, EQ, panning, then record the result as a stereo file. But for completeness, let's
compare what we've looked at so far with something like the Soundcraft Signature
12MTK USB interface mixer. Now, if you look at the
blurb on the box of that one, it says, "This is a
high-performance 12-input mixer with onboard effects and multi-track USB
recording and playback, with a 14-in/12-out ultra-low
latency USB playback and recording interface." In other simpler words, you have all the benefits
of the mixing console. You've got the effects
and signal processing and the ability to connect
and mix multiple instruments and sound sources, plus you have the benefits of the multichannel audio interface in that you can record each
sound source on a separate track in your door at the same time. However, this does come at a price. So audio interface, mixer, USB mixer, which is the right device for you? This is going to depend
really on two main things. Your budget, obviously, and what you most want to
achieve in your recording studio. If you want to make
high quality recordings on your computer or mobile device and then refine them in your door, maybe for a podcast, YouTube voiceover, making simple high quality
recordings with your instruments, then an audio interface will be ideal. If you're more interested in live performance or live streaming, then the USB mixer might
be a better option. This will allow you to get
all your signals set up, and adjust all the sounds and mix them, and then simply stream the stereo output to Facebook Live, YouTube Live, wherever else you want to perform. And you should also be
able to use the mixer as a standalone device too, for live work, away from your computer or mobile device. But as I said earlier, be careful, because there are some that are USB-only, and you have to run
them through a computer. Now, another option is a
crossover solution like mine, where you mainly use an audio interface, but when you want to record or
mix additional audio sources, you can use a standalone mixing console, like my little Yamaha, that you then output to
your audio interface. This does mean you have to
have two separate devices. I find it's quite flexible. It's how you want to work. And finally, the multi-channel mixer with built-in interface is
obviously going to give you the best of all worlds. You can use it to create a
stereo mix for live streaming, and also use it as a
multi-channel interface to record your separate audio tracks. However, two problems with
this approach are budget, because these mixers are not cheap, they're not an entry level
price, and also they're big. So it might be that if
you want more portability, then they're not appropriate for you, or maybe you haven't got much
room in your home studio. The beauty of an audio interface
is it's usually smaller and more portable, although if you buy one of
the big 18-channel beasts, that's not gonna be the case. Well, this has been a very
quick look at the differences between audio interfaces and mixers. If you want more details,
then do follow the link in the description to my
more in-depth article. And if you have any comments or questions, please post them below. I love to read them. If you've enjoyed the
video and found it helpful, do give it a thumbs up. Don't forget to subscribe if you want more of my home recording
studio tips and tricks. Thanks for watching. I'll see you next time.
I thought this was a great video answering a question that is often asked here. :)