Does Music Studio 15 recognize all the tracks from a 16 channel mixer separately? thanks
I use Samplitude Music Studio 2014 with a Presonus 16 channel StudioLive Mixer with a FireWire, not USB, interface. Each track can be accessed/edited individually. So I think your setup should work too but you may need to go to the Program Preferences screen to select ASIO Driver Interface and define your track I/O. Hope this helps.
Thanks Bluemagic. With that in mind, why do all the studio people I talk to say you should use an audio interface? Is there any loss of quality with USB / Firewire?
Thanks
Some type of audio interface is needed to convert analog signals (i.e., microphone output) into digital signals that are compatible with your PC. Typically the audio interface (e.g., digital mixer) uses a FireWire or USB connection to the PC to transfer the digital data (i.e., bits) at a high bit rate. A high bit rate is needed to support the individual tracks (e.g., 16 tracks) at high fidelity (i.e., high sampling rates). Yes, your internal PC sound card can serve as an audio interface but standard sound cards won't give you the performance of a dedicated outboard unit and may not be able to handle more than 2 channels (i.e., tracks) simultaneously. Hope this helps.
Sorry for being late to the party, but I just came across this question.
USB is limited to 2-in/2-out. That means stereo in and stereo out. So, your USB mixer has 16 channels, but those 16 channels must be mixed to stereo, which will then go through USB into your computer. The USB mixer has the DA/AD (Digital to Analog/Analog to Digital) converters built into it, so the signal going through the USB cable from the mixer to computer is digital, and vice-versa. Every USB mixer I've seen uses the Master mix output to the USB bus, but I've not worked with expensive, high-end mixers. Your 16 channel mixer probably sends the stereo out to USB, too.
To get multiple channels (16 in your case) to go into your computer as 16 individual tracks, you have to use Firewire. Since you have a USB mixer, you would either need to replace it with a Firewire mixer, or purchase a Firewire hardware device that will accept your individual channel outs (16 cables coming from the mixer to the Firewire device).
One other Firewire consideration: I don't think Music Maker or Music Studio include the ability to sync up the DAW to the hardware mixer. I believe you have to get into the professional series (read expensive) Sequoia to get this ability, as I understand it. That sync is where the DAW sliders are in sync with the hardware mixer's sliders, for example. It's not required, but sure seems like a nice capability.
Anyway, that's the main difference between USB and Firewire. What they have in common is the affect on your sound quality based on the quality of the hardware and DA/AD converters. A noisy mixer will record noisy tracks. Crappy DA/AD converters will record crappy sound. Generally, more money means better quality, but (of course) that's not alway true.
Whatever you do, never use your computer's sound card; they are always noisy and horrible, since they are designed for computer sounds and listening to audio, not music production. Please, install ASIO4ALL and use it.
Best regards,
Tim