Reddit mentions of Tascam US-16x08 Rackmount USB Audio/MIDI Interface

Yes, you need a multi-channel audio interface, then you can map the channels within any DAW.

Here's a cheap 8 channel mixer that I've used in the past: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MIXF200

I use Reaper for the latter.

If you are at a university, then the music department should have an 8 channel mixer you can use. There should be a tech guy who knows how to do this.

Haha, yep that's me! Really into Melee, and I'm studying Audio at OU.



SO there's a whole lot you can do with a $1.5-2k budget. Most of my recommendations are going to focus on microphones, but if you're not trying to do that much recording, you can discard that advice and spend more budget on keys and synthesizers—however, making your own samples and working with them can be pretty cool, fun, and very professional-sounding. I'm speaking from already deep into this rabbit hole, so note my bias. BUT! For that budget you can basically get a near-professional quality mini-studio's worth of gear, if you so choose.

In my opinion, if you're just starting out, Piracy can save you a lot of cash that you can better put towards your gear. If your budget is ~1.5k, I would say pirate Logic Pro if you have a Mac machine, or Ableton/Adobe Audition if you have a Windows machine (PM me if you'd like ;) ). You don't really need all of NI Komplete when you're starting out, especially if you get Logic Pro, because they have a LOT of built in instruments. Also, NI packages can be piratable too. This is all assuming, of course that you're comfortable with pirating software, I understand if you're not, but it can save some cash, and you don't really need a license until you start making real good stuff that you plan on selling/making a business out of.

As far as gear is concerned, if you're serious about recording you might outgrow your Scarlett pretty fast, since it only has 2 mic preamps. You might want to consider a TASCAM 16x08 or a Focusrite Scarlett 18i20. These will let you handle 8 microphones at the same time, which means you can also get a mic kit for your drums. This will get you the absolute best sound out of your drums (provided you learn to use them properly, of course). Learning how to mic drums is a really cool process and there's a lot of room for really making it your own and experimenting with different techniques.

As far as drum mics go, you have cheapest quality at Pyle Pro Mic Kit, Medium Quality at CAD Audio Mic Kit, High Quality at AKG Mic Kit, and professional quality with an Audix DP7 Mic Kit. Even with these, you're still going to want something versatile too.

If you want to also sample some stuff IRL or record other instruments, then get one or two good Dynamic Mics to handle Vocals, Guitar cabs, or wind instruments. You're spot on with the Shure SM57, that thing is a swiss army knife of a microphone and is nearly indestructible. You probably can't go wrong with a matching pair, but you could also go for a SM57 and a Sennheiser e609 to cover all your bases, as the e609 will probably sound better on a guitar cab if you're looking to record guitars.

Okay, now MIDI! The Akai Pro MPK Mini II is a good bet and will definitely do all that you need it to, but if you find yourself needing more keys, there are some good midi controllers out there for just about the same price, for example an M-Audio Controller. It doesn't have as many programmable knobs, but that shouldn't matter unless you're using it to control a software synthesizer, and you need to utilize cutoff, attack, resonance, etc. on the fly. If you're really set on electronic music, then the Akai may be right up your alley, since these knobs will give you more control over your tone.

Aside from that, if you have these tools you can do nearly anything. Check out YouTube tutorials, learn how to use a sampler, learn what the different knobs on a synth do, and get some basic production background and get started! Experimenting in a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) is really fun, so I think the best thing you can do when you're starting of is mess around and see what you can do. Best of luck, let me know if you have any questions.

Can't speak to that one, but The Tascam interfaces will do what you're asking.


Using this interface, I can mike up a whole drum kit, plus guitar, plus bass, synth, and piano through the line-in jacks, and record my whole band at once. Each input comes into the DAW as a separate track with a separate WAV. I'm about to finish up an album using the linked model's predecessor. We'll record a whole song at once, and then go back and run overdubs.

A good entry level interface is this tascam, and I have seen them cheaper than this.. https://www.amazon.com/TASCAM-US-16x08-USB-Audio-Interface/dp/B00MIXF200

> Multitrack audio interface


Something like this? https://www.amazon.com/TASCAM-US-16x08-USB-Audio-Interface/dp/B00MIXF200

Not sure your budget but i just picked up a Tascam US-16x08 to finally mic my kit right.

http://www.amazon.com/TASCAM-US-16x08-USB-Audio-Interface/dp/B00MIXF200

I've had it about a month and it works great so far.

Anyone use this Tascam US-16x08 USB interface? Looks like it provides 16 separate outs to a DAW (8 mic pre amps, 8 lines).

i use this tascam: https://www.amazon.com/Tascam-US-16X08-channel-Audio-Interface/dp/B00MIXF200/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1502468937&sr=8-1&keywords=tascam+1800

it works well!

I use the Tascam US-1800. The current version is this. I highly, highly recommend it.

A mixer will fit your needs, but it's going to take the mic inputs and mix them down to a single stereo channel. That's what mixers do. It's great if you're performing lie. For recording a podcast, You might want to consider an audio interface. The workflow will be a little different (you'll adjust levels and such mostly in software) but each mic will have their own track so if someone has a coughing fit , for example, you can easily mute their track until things have quieted down. Cost ranges from around $250 up to several hundred or more for one with 8 inputs. Something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/TASCAM-US-16x08-USB-Audio-Interface/dp/B00MIXF200/ref=sr_1_18?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1491568839&sr=1-18&keywords=audio+interface

Somebody might make a USB mixer eventually, but it's really only useful in a narrow subset of the consumer world and it would cost more than an analog mixer. The USB mics have the pre-amp and analog-digital converter built in already. To build a mixer you'd either have to have a host computer built into the box that could handle multiple USB inputs, driver support, and either a touch screen or physical controls to handle the levels and other mixer functions, then it would need another USB interface to connect to a computer. It's an expensive and inelegant solution just to allow consumer mics to be used with a form of a mixer.

Using two interfaces isn’t really an option unless they’re designed that way, and most cheap interfaces lack word clock / adat.

Search google, amazon, Sweetwater for “recording interface.”

Do you have a budget, and is 8 channels what you need?

Tascam US-16X08 16x8 channel USB Audio Interface https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MIXF200/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_U-7FAb4X996ZE