Just taking my first tentative steps in to the world of very basic home recording using my trusty AX8 and could do with some info and support. I've done a lot of searching on this forum, and others, but find myself getting more and more confused the more I read as everything is new terminology or knowledge to me.
At the moment I just connect my AX8 directly to two Yamaha HS7’s for playing on my own, but I’ve recently picked up a 2020 MacBook Air and want to record some basic songs (just a few tracks of guitars/bass and programming in midi drums, though eventually down the line I wouldn't mind adding keyboards also) and jam along to Guitar Pro files.
I’m looking at the FocusRite Scarlett Solo or 2i2, but open to suggestions on other inexpensive audio interfaces. Not sure on what DAW I'll be using yet... I've got access to GarageBand in the interim while I try to work out what I'll be using longer term.
My questions are:
At the moment I just connect my AX8 directly to two Yamaha HS7’s for playing on my own, but I’ve recently picked up a 2020 MacBook Air and want to record some basic songs (just a few tracks of guitars/bass and programming in midi drums, though eventually down the line I wouldn't mind adding keyboards also) and jam along to Guitar Pro files.
I’m looking at the FocusRite Scarlett Solo or 2i2, but open to suggestions on other inexpensive audio interfaces. Not sure on what DAW I'll be using yet... I've got access to GarageBand in the interim while I try to work out what I'll be using longer term.
My questions are:
- How do I go about connecting the AX8, HS7’s, MBA and interface together? What cables do I need? I'm aiming to get playback of programmed drums in ezdrummer or Superior Drummer etc. and live guitars through the monitors as I'm recording and then also just jam along, using the AX8, to Guitar Pro files played from the laptop through the monitors.
- Initial thoughts are to record separate tracks of high gain rhythm guitar hard left and right (my limited knowledge and what I've read has led me to believe that a mono signal is better for this as a hard-panned stereo guitar loses something) and cleans and leads in stereo for using reverb/delay/chorus etc. Is either the Solo or 2i2 better suited for this? Will it require additional or different cable routing to achieve this, or is it just a case of changing something in the DAW when I switch from rhythm to lead/clean? I understand that the 2i2 has more inputs, but what I'm unsure of is if that is just for recording 2 guitars or guitar + vocals at once etc. or if it has some other impact relevant to me?
- Are there any issues with the 2 aforementioned FocusRite products used in conjunction with macOS Monterey and USB C? Am I better served going for something with S/PDIF to achieve what I'm after?
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