Maybe I do need a mixer. Or maybe it’s that Allen & Heath’s new ZED14 is the first mixer I’ve seen that is truly flexible enough to fit into a computer-based home studio without too many compromises.
The ZED14 offers a USB audio interface to connect directly to your Mac or PC. There are other mixers that allow you to use the mixer as an audio interface (Yamaha MW series, Alesis MultiMix series and Berhinger Xenyx series for example), but none offer the flexibility of the ZED14. The USB out can be fed via AUX 1 & 2, AUX 3 & 4 or Main mix pre fader. This allows for many possibilities when recording and mixing, including using the USB port as an effects send/return.
As mixer manufacturing companies get more in tune with the way musicians are recording, I’m sure we’ll see more products like this in the future.
The ZED14 comes bundled with Cakewalk’s SONAR LE. So if you’ve got a Windows based computer, you can set up a pretty nice little studio with just this mixer and the bundled software (and a few good mics). And you’ll also have a good live board too! I guess mixers aren’t completely out of style. -mc
Michael suggested I put together a list of free online resources for SONAR users. So without further ado…
Cakewalk.com: SONAR Support
- This is the official site for SONAR technical support. It features solutions for common issues, tips, downloads, recommended books and more.
SONAR Wiki
- A comprehensive wiki dedicated to SONAR!
Sound on Sound Magazine: Sonar Notes
- Access to the most recent articles is limited to paid subscribers, but most older articles are available for free online. Their website contains archives going all the way back to 2002 – useful if you’re working with an older version of SONAR.
CakewalkNet: The Ultimate SONAR Users Website
- Features news, articles, tutorials, tips, downloads, and other free resources for SONAR users.
CakewalkSoftware on YouTube
- Search for “SONAR” in CakewalkSoftware’s videos to find dozens of short video tutorials for SONAR.
SONAR Flash Tutorials by Digital Music Doctor
- Eight free flash tutorials about mixing, mastering, using AudioSnap, MIDI editing, using Rewire and soft synths, and the Session Drummer in SONAR 6.
Know of any good SONAR resources I missed? Let me know! -kf
