What piece of gear am i missing?

[joaboa]

Heya, i am about to install the home studio.
But me,dumbo,forgot to check the inputs availability.
So; i got the UAD Apollo X16, Eventide H9000,and want to connect guitar,bass,about 20 hardware synths, el-drums and and a DJ setup.
So what is the best piece of gear to connect the Eventide and the Apllo X16 ?
Is it best to just buy a snakebox,from Behringer or so, and then run the synths thru a mixer and the mixer in the snakebox?
Any other suggestions?
I appreciate anyone taking time out.
Have a nice day Sir(ene)

[The Elf]

1. Do you need all of that I/O to be simultaneously available?
2. Do you need all your sources to be recordable to separate tracks in your DAW?

If the answer to both those questions is 'yes', then you are going to need an audio interface with more available I/O. Maybe your current interface has potential to add I/O via ADAT, or AES/SPDIF?

If answer 1 is 'yes' and 2 is 'no', then you could get by with a mixer and then patch around it (or mute other sources) to record individual sources. After that it's about how many sources you want to record simultaneously.

[joaboa]

Heya , thank you so much for taking time out !
I dont need to record things simultanously, so a mixer be fine.
Im just too noob to know if it corrupts the signal much?
I think the UAD Apollo is supposedly very good signal, so dont want to contaminate it with too much noise.
But since it has no direct I/O's I'll need equipment pre Apollo.
It has the options you named , , can i use a mixer into those?
Have a nice day/weekend.
Regards
J

[djangodeadman]

If you want to avoid having a mixer in the audio chain, I would recommend getting enough patchbays (Samson S-Patch, for example) to handle the outputs from your gear as well as the inputs and outputs of the X16 (you’ll need D-Sub to balanced jack looms for this).

Normal the outputs from the most often used gear to the inputs of the X16 and the outputs of the X16 to the inputs of any gear that you might want to use to process audio from your DAW (if that is something you might want to do). Then connect everything else to the patchbays and make sure you have enough patch cables to be able to connect it to the inputs of the X16.

[The Elf]

Heya , thank you so much for taking time out !
I dont need to record things simultanously, so a mixer be fine.
Im just too noob to know if it corrupts the signal much?
I think the UAD Apollo is supposedly very good signal, so dont want to contaminate it with too much noise.
But since it has no direct I/O's I'll need equipment pre Apollo.
It has the options you named , , can i use a mixer into those?
Have a nice day/weekend.
Regards
J

Every piece of gear you put in the chain 'degrades' it to some extent, so minimising it is a good aim.

Mixers do often involve compromises and complications, so I would say avoid one if you can, but after that it's just down to budget and preference.

if your interface has ADAT connections then it's pretty easy to add an external 8-in/out interface (not a 'mixer'). The humble Behringer ADA8200 is a pretty reasonable option at the low end of the budget list. Ferrofish (previously Creamware) do some good options, but are often line level only. You have a few options beyond these, though I only have direct experience of the ones I've mentioned - maybe others can chip in?

[Arpangel]

Eventide H9000? 20 hardware synths? Apollo X16?
And you’re on here asking about Behringer? and how to hook up a mixer?
I’ve just woken up and I’m already freaked out, and just a bit confused.

[James Perrett]

I’ve just woken up and I’m already freaked out, and just a bit confused.

Having looked more carefully, I'm confused too. This is the sort of question that should have been asked before spending all the money buying the gear. Given that you've bought it all, I'd probably invest in a patchbay or two and patch things through as you need them.

[Arpangel]

I’ve just woken up and I’m already freaked out, and just a bit confused.

Having looked more carefully, I'm confused too. This is the sort of question that should have been asked before spending all the money buying the gear. Given that you've bought it all, I'd probably invest in a patchbay or two and patch things through as you need them.

I’d suggest a nice Neve, or an SSL wrap-around, Real World style, they come with built in patch bays, good value there
"But seriously" I think you need to get the basics sorted, depending on how you work, what music you make, that’ll determine which way you need to go, you’ve got some nice stuff, but you won’t realise it’s full potential if you’re not able to use it how you want, sounds like you’ve got a decent budget, sit down and think about things, and then come back and ask questions from the right end of this dilemma.