Don't do it unless you really have to as its never ending and it might not even improve your recordings, in fact you might find your software mixes sound better, be prepared for noise to creep into you mixes with hardware. If you really need hardware then I'd say you are better off with just a couple of hardware synths that are really going to something you cant get in software and then try to record into a DAW and then process. Using hardware compressors and mixers can be tedious even for home use, everytime you want to mix a track you are going to have to recall all your fader levels, compression settings, EQ, reverb etc. You might not have appreciated how easy working in the box has made everything so could be surprised at how much work you have to put in with hardware. Maybe a digital mixer with built in effects and compressors is a better way to cut down on the clutter but you have to weigh up whether its adding anything to the quality of the recordings.

 

Hi @FrankWhite23 , I sent you a PM to discuss this

 

Really depends on what you're trying to achieve. Normally if you're looking to expand to hardware, its for creative or workflow reasons. I think the best way to approach this without any experience is to look at the things you like working with as a software user and start from there. Its a lot of information to process and you definitely will need to do some research first because there's a myriad of options. You could choose to go with modern hardware which is more flexible with connectivity and accessibility, or old school for a more traditional approach. Each has its pros and cons.

Older recording gear can be more immediate to work with which is nice starting out, but you may find it limiting as a software user. Older hardware can also be a bit unintuitive or more fiddly to work with. If you've never had to do things like cc programming, patching outboard gear, routing signal, menu diving on an small lcd screen, etc... it can get a bit frustrating to say the least. Newer recording gear tends to marry both worlds better but you might feel overwhelmed with the complexity and multitude of options that newer hardware can come with.

My suggestion would be to start off with a hardware synth to learn inside out, read its manual front to back and REALLY learn it. Understand how to access parameters, create sounds from scratch, route midi, implement sysex dumps, set up CC channels to use it as a controller and also control it from your sequencer. From there you can graduate to a mixer and also read its manual front to back. Learn how to patch and route signal from your synth as well as getting your feet wet with gain staging. Use your synth in conjunction with your mixer as an fx module in a send chain (if it allows it). Do just about everything you can possibly do with those two pieces of kit, even if you don't need to. The whole point of this is that once you're extremely comfortable navigating through them both, you'll be able to tackle more complex gear. You can probably graduate to a hardware sampler at this point and really put that knowledge to the test. From there you could add a few fx units, maybe some more synths. Sky's the limit from this point on and then you can get sucked into the never ending world of GAS like the rest of us

Hardware is infinitely more process intensive than just clicking on your computer screen, but you'll come to appreciate the way things work a lot better. I owned and operate music gear for years before I even owned a computer, and although the majority of the music I make now is in the box, I still own and use a small amount of hardware and I apply that hardware mentality of less is more in everything I make.

Hope that helps

 

Last edited: Apr 19, 2020

an interface will give you the most flexibility, but lots of I/O is going to cost you.
a hardware mixer can give you plenty of inputs for much less money than an interface, but you will likely have only a few outputs unless you go high budget end.
have you thought about how many I/Os you will need?

 

dont buy any old mixer. and if its actually a karaoke mixer stay well clear.

a mixers primary purpose is for summing multiple inputs to one place. so you could connect multiple instruments, such as keyboards, various microphones, whatever, mix them on there the same way you would in a DAW then send them to 'one' output, which you could send into your laptop over USB if you get a mixer that doubles as an interface. most mixers will also handle monitors and other outputs too, so you could send some outputs from the computer to external gear too.

with an interface you have full flexibility with all your I/Os, but you will have to mix in the box.
personally i prefer this.

honestly if you are not sure what you want yet then you should wait until you do. there is no sense in rushing into spending money just yet.
do you feel limited with your current setup? what is it that made you decide you wanted to venture into external hardware? for the most part you can work completely itb these days.