Hey guys so I wanna start venturing out into the world of external gear... sound modules, compressor, reverb, etc and all I have right now is a laptop and a zoom uac-2 interface and a midi controller ... I'm guessing I'm gonna need a external mixer or a larger audio interface.. now as of right now my laptop ports are all pretty much taken.. what would be my best options as far as price and company's I should look at?

 

You're asking advice for an audio interface,a mixer,a synth,or a Hub ??

 

Like I'm not even sure what I need ...to be able to connect a bunch of external gear I want to get a decent EQ, compressor, reverb, and a vinyl player

 

dude nobody's going to do your homeworks. You'll have to dig way (way) deeper. Don't let people tell you how to spend you money are you insane ?

 

I'm just asking for suggestions.. like gtfo with that shit...

 

Basically I wanna know if I buy a mixer would that be a better option because I want to hook up external gear eventually... I'm using fl studio 20 on a laptop... but plan on building a PC once I get the extra cash

 

Personally, I started buying external gear about 35 years ago ...
Now I've got a Professional Recording Studio (which includes a house)
So, Where do you want to go? depends on this, it would be the answer.
Maybe the best outgear will be to buy a house!

 

Answers like the one above yours are the reason why :

- most people remain 'lurkers' , and never feel like subscribing, even 4,5, 6 years later
- new members hesitate before they dare posting something
- new members don't dare participating and replying, ever if they master the subject
- new members feel so disappointed, like everybody is making fun of them, they never post again, or they simply leave the forum
- new members know no matter what they might say, the guys with several thousands posts, who believe the forum belongs to them, are going to criticize whatever they might say, because 'hey, I have thousands of posts, I know this shit much better than most people...so shut up, and don't be ridiculous ! '

 

There's a point at which a question is just too vague to ever properly answer though. I can't just go into a computer forum and say, "I wan't to be in IT, what should I do?!"
Not to be mean but any lurkers/newbies etc. that get frightened off by lack of that kind of an answer... they should be. Google is their friend until they have some relevant and specific questions they can ask. When the student is ready the forum shall appear. Now as to the op. once he can get some focus on his situation someone here will probably be able to help.

 

if you are looking for a quick, easy and cheap way to play, what you can do is start with a groovebox: with that you don't need anything else. Then, direction on which additional gear you will surely find youself.
https://novationmusic.com/en/circuit/circuit
https://www.roland.com/global/products/mc-101/
https://www.elektron.se/products/modelsamples/

 

I second that, get a groovebox first. Bought an Elektron Digitakt 3 months ago, changed my life.

Making music 100% in a DAW is boring and pretty limiting. Try to get out of DAW as much as you can, even if using VST instruments.

Then get a MIDI controller, the Arturia Keystep Pro just came out, if not just get the regular Keystep.

WIth this already you'll be able to do much more, more instantly.

Other than that you need to research on your own they are right, I spent 8 months on YouTube and the entire internet to screen exactly what I needed before purchasing new synths, effect pedals, interfaces, headphones, speakers, etc. Finding your sound and equipment is part of the journey.

 

Thanks guys ... ya trurl I understand what you mean.. I wasn't trying to be a dick... but and I know this sounds dumb but I'm still unsure what a outboard mixer does ..and I was kinda afraid to show how much I don't understand about outboard gear... so one of the things I wanna purchase is a old karaoke maker.. I saw it in one of Jake One behind the beat and I just thought it was cool as he'll and it was like only $130 on eBay I think.. so I just wanna start picking up unique stuff that I can connect to a mixer or whatever hub is needed to get that effect or sound into my DAW... thank you guys for replying.. I'm not new to producing but I'm very new to anything analog.. so much so I'm thinking about booking studio time to sit with a engineer and him just show me how a real desk is ran and what not

 

I know but just think if everyone said.. go do your own research everytime someone asked a question.. like .. come on what do you think I'm doing here... and to think I'm just gonna go buy the first suggestion that someone gives me ... no I'm gonna take the info thats given and go look up what the product is..

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=wha...BHW7SAbsQ_AUoAnoECA4QAg&biw=1280&bih=800#ip=1

What a mixer does.

 

Sorry, I've just been super crabby lately. Testy, even. Disregard rant please

 

Everyone here will offer an opinion, but your question is as naive as it is broad - nothing wrong with that, btw.

My opinion would be a decent pre-amp. You'll eventually connect the analogue to your digital world and when you do, you'll want to have some sonic range and dynamics. I had a bunch of Drawmers that I kind of liked, but these days Im still using a UA 4-710d which, in spite of its intrinsic silliness (tube?) is capable of faithfully interpreting an analogue signal into my digital domain.

 

Something about working with hardware and a mixing desk:
If you want to record the outputs of aaalll the synths you gonna buy, separately - you need a mixer with multiple outputs, subgroups or direct outs. Simple, cheaper mixers only have 2 or 4 outputs.

Many mixers have 'direct outs' - they offer an output per input channel, but these outputs are all pre-aux and pre-EQ (which means any reverb or eq setting is not recorded). That's doable, you would then record into a DAW, use it's EQ and reverb to shape your compositions.
Note that if you wish to record gear through a mixer, you'd need an interface with as many inputs as outputs .

There's a 'cheapass' workaround to this: you could record your instruments one by one, by muting all other sources on the mixer, soloing one instrument while repeatedly play your composition over Midi & repeat the proces with other instruments. In that case you'd only need a mixer with 2 outputs.

As you'll understand, the above scenario is not for starters, but it's something you could work & save towards.
The brand with the most functionality for a low price is still: Behringer. Their X32 mixer series can be had for around $1500,- It's got enough outputs and mixbusses to start with, a built in interface, reverb & compression.. To my knowledge, there's no other brand offering so much for so little.

 

UA 4-710d is a dream machine.

and there are some low budget devices you may consider:

KlarkTeknik products some vintage compressors and eq, KT-2A, 76-KT and EQP-KT, and they're pretty cheap but useful.
They can be used in Vocal recording or Instruments analogue coloration, like kick/bass or something.


PreSonus or Focusrite they have plenty audio interfaces, some of them have multiple I/O channels, good quality and also not too expensive.


If you still get limits of inputs, you will need a Patchbay, it can allow you routing your channels freely.


I think for a beginner, an 8 inputs interface and a compressor will be good start.

 

buying gear comes natural after a while, it is part of growth as a producer/engineer/musician or whatever you goals are.

 

Don't buy anything until you have given thought to what it does and if you need it.

Having a bunch of gear that doesn't benefit your workflow is going to be more of a henderance than an advantage.
Trust me,as a former gear slut,i spent A LOT of time trying to figure out some new piece of gear and pretty much no time making music.

A Small mixer might be a good place to start if you want to run a TT a mic or something into your Laptop.
But buying outboard gear (for thousands) isn't the best idea if you're going to build a p.c. for production.Save that doe,build a dope p.c. and buy some effects/vstis.