Question about recording a band with Reaper on a laptop

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romanianreaper
romanianreaper
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I'm interested in recording my band on a laptop with Reaper and have only ever done my own recordings with tons of overdubs, a drum machine, etc.

If I want to record all of us together at the same time for an initial track or all of the drums, etc, can I just get an analog mixer and run it into the laptop?

Right now I just have a two channel mic pre that I use. Other than the old school Tascam way, I've never recorded with a ton of channels, etc.

Not trying to do perfect recordings. Just thought it would be cool to record some songs, separate from actually going into a studio. I've recorded a lot on Reaper over the years so know I could get some great stuff. Any info would be appreciated!
 
You could run the outs from the mixer into an interface, but you'd only be able to capture the stereo out from the mixer.
 
romanianreaper said:
Even if it has a usb?
Click to expand...

Can the mixer be used as an interface? In some cases, you might be able to get all the channels, but the one I owned still only allowed for the stereo outs even via USB. Which mixer do you have?
 
NeubyWanKaneuby said:
Can the mixer be used as an interface? In some cases, you might be able to get all the channels, but the one I owned still only allowed for the stereo outs even via USB. Which mixer do you have?
Click to expand...
I don't have one yet.
 
romanianreaper said:
I don't have one yet.
Click to expand...
Oh, ok. Then what you want to check is that the mixer is capable of sending all the channels vs just the mains. Otherwise you're just better off buying an interface with the amount of inputs you want to use to record with.
 
Multiple drum mics and recording 2 channels from the mixer, that’s too much work considering you can’t adjust the individual levels afterwards. I’d rather just use 1 condenser mic, either place it where you get the whole band or get just the drums and add in guitars later. If you want to just get everyone at once, put the mic in the best spot for drums and adjust guitar volume on your amp til playback sounds right, might need to crank the shit out of your amp since the mic is pointed at the drums.
 
If you buy a digital mixer most can act as an interface and send all channels over usb. The tradeoff is that the converters aren't as good as a dedicated interface but it's still decent. Those that don't send over usb have a sdcard slot that you can record all channels to then you can import and mix in reaper.

There are several that do this based on your i/o needs and budget, I'd do a search or talk to sweetwater
 
You can get older 8 channel interfaces that still work fine for next to nothing.

The Presonus 1818VSL often goes for under $200 and gives you 8 mic pres. Def enough to get you started with drums. This was my primary interface for years prior to youtube.

There are also a bunch of really afforable drum mic kits on the market. The Samson DK707 comes to mind. Def better out there, but really hard to beat for $299

Take it from me - don't try to do a goofy workaround. You'll only end up disappointed and end up spending more money in the end.
 
boltzthrower said:
Multiple drum mics and recording 2 channels from the mixer, that’s too much work considering you can’t adjust the individual levels afterwards. I’d rather just use 1 condenser mic, either place it where you get the whole band or get just the drums and add in guitars later. If you want to just get everyone at once, put the mic in the best spot for drums and adjust guitar volume on your amp til playback sounds right, might need to crank the shit out of your amp since the mic is pointed at the drums.
Click to expand...
That is a good idea. Record the drums and go back and do the guitars separate.
 
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