Question about Synths, Drum Machines and Various Gadgets

[Blood_mountain]

Hi All,

I'm very new to playing things like synths, drum machines, samplers, etc. so I'm sure this is a noob question, but can I run them all into into a mixer and then into a single audio source for playing live? Like for shows, or just rehearsing, writing and playing at home, etc. My budget is almost small, but not totally non-existent, so wondering what some options might be.

Currently I just have a Volca Keys, Teenage Engineering PO32 and an Electro Faustus Drum Thing that I'd like to be able to/have the potential to play together. I'm also likely going to pick up some of the following: Volca Sample, Microgranny, Chamber of Sound Jupiter III, etc. And, I would love to be able to put a contact mic on, like, an old bag of potatoes and turn that into an instrument as well. Joking/not joking.

Halp/advice?

[lordgalvar]

Yea, you can run them into the same mixer, no problem. With the e.faustus drum thing, you may run into some additional noise from it needing more gain.

$30 stereo simple mixer should be fine for starting.

Old Mackie or tapco mixers can be found around $100.

DJ style mixer could also be of use and can sometimes be had for cheap if you put that guy at the wedding in his place.

An ok preamp may be useful if you like playing with contact mics.

Also, Koma Field Kit may be of some interest (mixer + other fun stuff)

Noise gate (like boss ns-2) may also help...or a cheap rack style compressor like Alesis 3630. Clean power will probably dictate your noise floor for a while kind of matching the levels across the board.

[crochambeau]

can I run them all into into a mixer and then into a single audio source for playing live?

Yes, it's what mixers do best. Mixing multiple sources and summing them to fewer channels (mono or stereo, or more if you like) Which mixer is really up to you and your budget.

I'm fond of old mixers that are large and sort of unwieldy, noisy and quirky... and cheap. But you're really at the mercy of what you can find used in that arena.. and I only bring that up because you mention micing a bag of potatoes. A lot of time (most of the time) they have some problems that may cause you grief.

If you're after reliable and clean you're probably better off with something modern.

...or even a resistive summing or matrix mixer.

A "line mixer" will serve electronics just fine, so long as you have another way to boost a microphone (if applicable).

[Blood_mountain]

Yea, you can run them into the same mixer, no problem. With the e.faustus drum thing, you may run into some additional noise from it needing more gain.

$30 stereo simple mixer should be fine for starting.

Old Mackie or tapco mixers can be found around $100.

DJ style mixer could also be of use and can sometimes be had for cheap if you put that guy at the wedding in his place.

An ok preamp may be useful if you like playing with contact mics.

Also, Koma Field Kit may be of some interest (mixer + other fun stuff)

Noise gate (like boss ns-2) may also help...or a cheap rack style compressor like Alesis 3630. Clean power will probably dictate your noise floor for a while kind of matching the levels across the board.

Thanks! And can I just run the mixer then into an amp? Or does it need to just go into something like a PA speaker? I ask because I have an extra amp, I don't have any PA speakers.

[Blood_mountain]

can I run them all into into a mixer and then into a single audio source for playing live?

Yes, it's what mixers do best. Mixing multiple sources and summing them to fewer channels (mono or stereo, or more if you like) Which mixer is really up to you and your budget.

I'm fond of old mixers that are large and sort of unwieldy, noisy and quirky... and cheap. But you're really at the mercy of what you can find used in that arena.. and I only bring that up because you mention micing a bag of potatoes. A lot of time (most of the time) they have some problems that may cause you grief.

If you're after reliable and clean you're probably better off with something modern.

...or even a resistive summing or matrix mixer.

A "line mixer" will serve electronics just fine, so long as you have another way to boost a microphone (if applicable).

Thanks for the advice! I'll have a look at what I can found used. Except the potatoes, those I'll buy new or grow myself.

[lordgalvar]

Amp is fine, just gotta watch the frequencies so you don't blow any speakers. May not sound the best though (bass stuff will work better than guitar).

The peizos may feedback too (on anything really...some kind of gate or eq or filter can help...which is why a mixer is nice).

Maybe just jam on headphones until the right price bass setup or pa comes your way. Just keep an eye out for some PA stuff or keyboard amp (I don't like keyboard amps...we used to blow the speakers in the Roland ones about once a year randomly...never had a problem with a cheap Peavey or Carvin PA cab Craigslist score with a cheap power amp though...all depends on how loud I guess).

[Blood_mountain]

Amp is fine, just gotta watch the frequencies so you don't blow any speakers. May not sound the best though (bass stuff will work better than guitar).

The peizos may feedback too (on anything really...some kind of gate or eq or filter can help...which is why a mixer is nice).

Maybe just jam on headphones until the right price bass setup or pa comes your way. Just keep an eye out for some PA stuff or keyboard amp (I don't like keyboard amps...we used to blow the speakers in the Roland ones about once a year randomly...never had a problem with a cheap Peavey or Carvin PA cab Craigslist score with a cheap power amp though...all depends on how loud I guess).

Right, thanks for reminding me of that! I'm not doing super bass heavy stuff, pretty minimalist, ambient and typically at pretty low volume.

[PeteeBee]

Mind if I piggyback on in here? I'm making a concerted effort to learn my way around my little zoomMRT3b drum machine. It's super challenging to perfectly get my loops on my guitar pedal in time with the drums, especially when they go for a couple minutes, they drift really far apart. I know that practice will help some, but I can't really imagine being so accurate with my stomping that they will line up perfectly. What combo of drum machine and looper do I need so that they'll talk to each other and quantize? Currently, neither device I have can link up with anything else. Certainly, there is a cheaper looper option than the boomerang? And what drum machine do we like as an introduction but I can still quantize with?

[MrNovember]

Mind if I piggyback on in here? I'm making a concerted effort to learn my way around my little zoomMRT3b drum machine. It's super challenging to perfectly get my loops on my guitar pedal in time with the drums, especially when they go for a couple minutes, they drift really far apart. I know that practice will help some, but I can't really imagine being so accurate with my stomping that they will line up perfectly. What combo of drum machine and looper do I need so that they'll talk to each other and quantize? Currently, neither device I have can link up with anything else. Certainly, there is a cheaper looper option than the boomerang? And what drum machine do we like as an introduction but I can still quantize with?

I am honestly still kind of a noob when it comes to syncing everything together, but it sounds like you're looking for almost anything with MIDI sync. Looks like the zoom thing has MIDI input, so you just need some kind of looper with a MIDI output, which unfortunately I know nothing about. A quick search of loopers with MIDI sync brought me to the Ditto X4, which I am assuming is probably the cheapest/easiest to find option, but it looks like it also only syncs to external sources. Other "beginner" drum machines that might be of interest are the Drumbrute, TR8, or TR-08, all of which I believe they all send and receive MIDI sources.

Also, Blood Mountain, my setup is a bunch of synths (modular, Sub 37, Lyra 8, Digitakt) mixed together through a Montreal Assembly Fewtility One and a cheap Behringer Q1204FX and played through a bass amp (Traynor DB200):

Overall, I am very happy with everything, but I am looking to invest in a set of proper studio monitors.

[Gone Fission]

I was searching ILF along similar lines over the weekend with little found. Kind of surprised tabletop fuzz and glitch breaux haven't made FRFR (full-range, flat-response) systems a thing yet. Seems like a natural thing if you want big clear subs and not to impose instrument amp-ish tone shaping on things except by choice. The trick I've read with a lot of powered PA speakers is that they aren't that flat--a midrange push to help vocals is common. So research of other users for similar use to your own before buying is a good idea when possible. Active studio monitors are an easier zone for home use if they have the bass extension you need.

For lurking quarters that are into these systems, I'd lurk Muffwiggler and Vguitarforums. TGP digital/modeling sub is a pass because they're really about guitar amp freqs from their modelers trying to recreate pre-boring sounds of decades past. The synth guys and VG hardcore will care about full frequency response.

[Heraclitus Akimbo]

Following this thread with interest, though, to be honest it never really occurred to me to think about my frequency response. I just plug stuff in and hope to get a working signal all the way through the chain.

I was doing a gig once at a bar with a decent PA/sub where I had, like, three cheap cassette players going through my mixer + I was floored that there was all this low-end stuff coming out that I had never heard at home monitoring on earphones.

[mr. sound boy king]

I have had good luck for this kind of thing using "Used JBL EON10 G2 Powered Speaker." One day I will acquire a second one in case I ever need to do the stereo thing. Less expensive than mid-range near-fields and very LOUDER.

[crochambeau]

Kind of surprised tabletop fuzz and glitch breaux haven't made FRFR (full-range, flat-response) systems a thing yet.

From an engineering standpoint, FRFR puts pretty heavy criteria on a circuit class that benefits, nay, prevails in non-linear operation. Reining in these circuits to behave across bandwidth in a flat manner can be detrimental to the nuances many of us gush about.

Out of curiosity, I've grabbed a Tetanus Booster (the most "non-invasive" circuit I build) to make a sweep. In this instance I'm looking at a sine wave of 100 mV applied to input, gain full down, output full up. Here are my findings:

Hz / output level measured in volts peak to peak

10 / 1.32
20 / 2.84
40 / 3.68
80 / 4.08
160 / 4.16
320 / 4.20
640 / 4.20
1K2 / 4.20
2K4 / 4.20
4K8 / 4.20
9K6 / 4.16
19K2 / 4.16
40K / 4.12
80K / 3.96
160K / 3.40
320K / 2.40
640K / 1.40
1M2 / 0.840
2M4 / 0.440
4M8 / 0.140

While I'm somewhat amazed it even passed signals measuring into the Megahertz, it's clearly not flat between 20 and 20K, and once I crack the gain the curve varies wildly as it runs into the 6 volt headroom (circuit runs on 9, but passes 6). I would rate this as not meeting FRFR criteria, but it takes synth well (my opinion, FWIW).

EDIT: It *just now* settled in my brain that the systems referred to are monitoring, not the crazy shit we use. Please ignore the above (I'm leaving it sit because it was fun to make)

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA