The art of sound engineering is more democratized than ever. The early days of Soundcloud rap and bedroom pop were nothing compared to the ubiquity of audio equipment today – a leveling of the playing field that provides more immediate access to recording music and sound than ever before.
Professional studio environments remain the ideal environments for recording, from the sources of talent that work in them to the hundreds of thousands invested in acoustic treatment and cutting-edge technology. Ultimately, the ways in which these incomparable spaces get their sound into one DAW similar to the way we do it at home, in DIY spaces or even on the go.
This means that audio interface is a critical piece of recording equipment in virtually any environment. It is a catalyst and one that serves a wide range of different disciplines in music, sound and recording. Your own interface could be the brains behind any number of very useful setups – but what are those setups?
What follows are some examples of how varied recording rig setups can be, despite using the same core tools – and within them some thoughts on how to build your own rig in service of similar ambitions. These examples are not prescriptive, nor are they exhaustive; consider them as starting points for exploring different ways of working in the same broad church.
1. Recording of bands
- What you need
- 8-input and/or ADAT-enabled audio interface: Universal Audio Apollo X8p, Focusrite Clarett 4Pre
- ADAT expands: Focusrite Clarett+ OctoPre, Behringer XLR ADA8200 Ultragain
- XLR hose: Pulse 12-way XLR Multicore Stage Box, Sub Zero 12 Channel Drum Stage Box
- Headphone Mixer: SubZero HPA800, Behringer MX400
When recording tape, two things are key: ergonomic efficiency and a truckload of input. Whether you’re recording a band live or not, you’ll be multitracking; While you can get a great drum recording with three mics (yes, we know The Beatles did it with one), a five or more mic setup gives you separation, character and possibilities.
Eight inputs would be a good starting point, but more is better – and you may be able to get more if your interface is ADAT-enabled and thus able to expand with eight inputs via a single optical cable. My DIY studio rig involves a Focusrite Clarett 4Pre and an ADAT-coupled Focusrite OctoPre Mk II, which together provide 16 channels of sound.
Professional studios will use XLR hoses to extend the availability of their inputs, in many cases hard-wired into the studio walls. In my case, an XLR hose gives access to 12 of their 16 channels. Four are first routed to an old-school mixing desk for preamps and EQ color before reaching the 4Pre via the patch bay; the remaining eight go directly to OctoPre. The hose not only centralizes various (and otherwise difficult to access) inputs, but also makes it possible to completely throw out said accessibility to different rooms.
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Unless you have a professionally designed, truly soundproof control room, studio headphones are needed when tracking to minimize bleed from audio playback during recording. Of course, you’ll need more than one set, not only for the people trying to record, but also for guests listening along with you. Solutions to this range from cheap to ch-eezus-christ-that’s-pricy, with pro studios investing quad figures in headphone monitoring systems that give everyone unique control over their headphone mix. My relatively tight budget meant I used a Behringer headphone mixer to split an available pair of headphones into four.
2. Composing soundtracks
- What you need
- Audio interface with 6+ outputs: RME Fireface UCX-II, Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 3rd Gen, Audient ORIA
- Surround sound/spatial sound monitoring: 5-7 Genelec 8010s + Genelec 7040A, Neumann Immersive 5.1 Systems, Waves Nx Head Tracker
- MIDI keyboards/controllers: Arturia KeyLab Essential 88 Mk 3, Expressive E Touche SE
If you are more of a composer, you need less recording space, microphones and outboard gear—but that doesn’t mean the average composer’s recording rig is tight. In terms of interfaces, while you don’t need one with shedloads of input, you still want one with shedloads of output.
5.1 surround sound is the prevailing choice for film directors and studios, and spatial audio is becoming increasingly popular in the video game industry. A composer’s interface will therefore often need to service a surround sound rig feeding at least six monitor speakers from its outs. For those who can’t afford to build themselves a spatial audio cocoon, there are some elegant technological solutions in the headphone space involving head-tracking equipment and spatial audio plugins.
With the exception of a microphone or two to capture instruments live, the vast majority of composition work today takes place in the box – so a composer’s toolbox should be full of methods to communicate with the box. ONE MIDI keyboard is a must as a minimum, and all the better if it’s 88 keys or so. If you have the budget, a standalone modulation controller can make all the difference in adding dynamics or humanizing sterile samples.
3. Mixing and mastering
- What you need
- Hi-fi audio interface with at least 4 outputs: Audient ORIA, Antelope Audio Goliath, Arturia AudioFuse 16Rig
- Outboard rack hardware: API 2500+, Warm Audio EQP-WA, Ruper Neve Designs Shelford Channel
- Active near field monitors: 2 x Adam Audio A7, 2 x Genelec 8030C
- Auxiliary monitor(s): Avantone Mixcube
- Screen interface: Mackie Big Knob, Audient Nero
Mixing audio is not a process completely removed from recording it; The majority of pro-studio setups are start-to-finish, where records can be both recorded and mixed, even if only for convenience. But while some gear is shared between the two stages, there are some pieces of equipment that are more suited to mixing than recording.
For example, monitor speakers are very important during the production of a record – but recording engineers do not strictly need multiple sets of speakers to refer to incoming sound. Mixing and mastering engineers do, though – to check for blind spots in their mix, to change things up and prevent ear fatigue, and to ensure that finished records sound as good as possible from any sound source.
A popular brand of auxiliary reference speakers is Avantone, whose aptly named Mixcube speakers are a precise, low-distortion analogue to the thinner, honky sound of consumer hi-fi audio sources. A standalone monitor interface like the Mackie Big Knob can be positioned after your interface and route your audio to different sets, meaning you can A/B your mixes and identify issues at the touch of a button.
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Outboard gear is a contentious topic unto itself, whether you’re a hardcore hardware recordist who prints everything directly to 2″ tape or a software-embracing mix engineer who’s sold all their Pultecs. My take is that there outboards are never out of place in the mixing process, and that your investment in – and mastery of – your own outboard rack can set your mixes apart from the rest. Tubes and transformers add untold color, while hardware compressors make you think a little more carefully about which knobs you turn and why.
4. Recording your modular synth rig
- What you need
- Audio interface with four outputs: Focusrite Clarett+ 4Pre, Behringer UMC404HD
- (Optional) Analog mixer or mixer module: Soundcraft EPM6, Doepfer A-138s Mini Stereo Mixer Module, Worng Electronics SoundStage II
- Damping module(s): Erica Synths Link 5x, Dreadbox Utopia
- Master clock module: ALM Pamela’s PRO training
- Multimodule: Intellijel Designs Mult, Doepfer A-180-2 Multiples
Modular synth rigging is a unique challenge to record. While not explicitly difficult, some interesting approaches are required – whether it’s to capture ideas as they arise, or purposefully embed a song or movement. Modular synth rigs, for one, are loud.
Consider that +4dBu is a conventional standard for line-level audio, and a level that most professional audio interfaces are designed to receive comfortably; modular audio outputs can extend well beyond 13dBu. This isn’t impossibly loud, and many modern interfaces are happy enough to accept these levels – but if you’re not sure, you risk clipping your sound at best and destroying circuitry at worst. Even if your interface can handle modular audio levels, there won’t be much headroom to work with. As such, you may want to invest in some attenuator modules to insert before sending audio out.
Another challenge relates to timing; if you’re doing anything other than recording a live performance from start to finish straight to stereo, you’ll want your DAW and your modular rig to sync with each other—which brings us to clocks. Most of us will be familiar with clocks via MIDI, where 5-pin-DIN-ing different instruments together ensures they are listening to the same BPM from a nominated clock source.
This is definitely an option for modular users, but not the best in terms of recording. An unfortunate reality here is that while MIDI clocking would be a simple and possibly elegant approach to getting your DAW and modular song off the same sheet, the USB protocol is imprecise for such purposes. For a foolproof, stable and reliable watch, think sound. This means that you generate a square audio clock in your DAW and send it via an interface output to ‘clock in’ on a master clock module (or directly to a multi).
5. Podcasting
- What you need
- Eight-input interface with preamps and phantom power: Solid State Logic Pure Drive Octo, Allen & Heath CQ12T
- Multi-input hardware compressors: DBX 1046 Quad Compressor, Behringer MDX4600 V2
- Headphone Mixer: SubZero HPA800, Behringer MX400
Podcasting is one of the least involved potential rigs on this list, if only for the simplicity of the task – quality, independent recordings of voices in conversation. As with tape recorders, inputs are your friend – although you only need as many as your maximum number of guests. However, all of these inputs will need preamps and phantom power to get the sonorous radio-style vocal presence for each guest. If you have the budget, eight channels of hardware compression can do a lot of heavy lifting to even out and normalize vocals as well.
The real trick to setting up a podcasting rig is to provide enough headphones for everyone: hosts, guests, and producers. As with tape recorders, cheap headphone amps-cum-splitters are the most economical option – and also make adjusting levels for participants a relative breeze.