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wk6600 recording with interface


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Is there any way for me to plug my keyboard into a Focusrite Scarlett or similar interface, and get a stereo recording using only one cord, such as out the headphone port? If not, what interface should I get to record vocals and keyboard?    Any help would be appreciated.

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For decent quality recordings, use of the keyboard's PHONES jack is not a good idea, as it is neither the correct level nor impedance and runs the risk of severely overdriving the recording device's input, plus it cuts off the keyboard's internal speakers for use as monitors.  If you are talking about the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, you would be better off connecting a dynamic mic to the keyboard's MIC IN jack, then connecting the keyboard's LINE OUT jacks to the 2i2's inputs.  This would deliver a composite voice/instrument signal to the 2i2's inputs, plus has the advantage of using the keyboard's effects and mixer sections to process both the voice and instrument outputs, but use of a USB audio interface, at all, is not an absolute necessity, as you can make a direct analog connection to your computer's LINE IN jack with the proper dual 1/4 inch mono to 1/8 inch stereo adapter cable. This avoids the cost of an interface and circumvents the latency and USB ground hum that can be inherent in some USB audio interfaces, although I do not believe that either of these would be a problem with the 2i2.  Amazon is currently offering a professional 15 foot model for $18.99 USD:

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/slredirect/picassoRedirect.html/ref=pa_sp_atf_aps_sr_pg1_1?ie=UTF8&adId=A086954223MDLIPQ1XIUX&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FUGREEN-Splitter-Computer-Multimedia-Speakers%2Fdp%2FB00ZKM3SDO%2Fref%3Dsr_1_1%3Fie%3DUTF8%26qid%3D1496836805%26sr%3D8-1-spons%26keywords%3D%221%2B4%22%2Bmono%2Bto%2B%221%2B8%22%2Bstereo%26psc%3D1&qualifier=1496836805&id=664798925482380&widgetName=sp_atf

 

See the right hand column on Page E-11 of the WK-6600 manual for connecting a microphone to it. but if you are considering a profassional quality condenser mic, then you would need to go with the Focusrite Scarlett 2i4, or equivalent, and connect the mic and keyboard separately to its inputs, since the keyboard's MIC IN jack is not compatible with condenser mics..

 

 

 

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No!  The UMC-204HD is a "two-by-four" (2X4) device: 2 inputs and 4 outputs.  All of the connections on the back side of the unit are outputs, with the exception of the INSERT jacks, which I assume you are thinking about using as inputs from the keyboard, but those jacks do not work that way.  They are, in fact, bi-directional connections for external effects processors.  Here is a link to the Wikipedia description of how these connections work.  From the UMC-204HD spec sheet, it appears that its INSERT connections are the type described in the third paragraph, which starts with the statement " Most modern entry level and medium format mixers use a single TRS phone jack for both Send and Return.", with INSERT 1 being for input 1 and INSERT 2 being for input 2:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insert_(effects_processing)

 

For what you want to do, you need a three input device - a left and a right line input for the keyboard and a mic input, but all of the multiple input units I know of have inputs that are multiples of powers of 2, that is 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, except maybe the Behringer Xenyx 302 5-input unit, so you are probably going to have to go the expense of a 4 input device - either a 4 channel analog mixer or a 4 input USB interface, but that gives you an input for a second mic, if you need it at some point in the future.  Of course, you could always go with the direct analog connections from the keyboard to the computer with the adaptor cable I described earlier and a simple one input USB interface, like the Focusrite "Solo", for the mic, but that is not in keeping with your "single cable to the computer" goal.

 

If you are located in the USA, both Sweetwater Sound and Musicians Friend are currently selling the Behringer UMC-404HD (4-IN/4-OUT) model for $99.99 USD.  It normally retails for $149.99.  So, it is currently only $20 more than the UMC-402HD.  Sweetwater is currently out of stock, so if you order from them, it would be back ordered, but it looks like Musicians Friend currently has them in stock.

 

 

 

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Ok, I might get the 404hd then or the USB to stereo 1/4" cord.  I had read not to plug keyboard cords into mic inputs because keyboards are line level and the mic inputs have preamps.  Is that true?  And is the sound quality pretty good with the adapter cord?  

Thank you for all of your help

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Matt

I would have a very difficult time answering these last questions from personal experience, as I am strictly an instrumentalist.  I have absolutely no voice as a vocalist.  So when I work or play alone, and want to record, I have only to concern myself with a simple instrument stereo pair, but my old HP desktop (tower, actually) here does have an 1/8 inch dynamic MIC IN on the front and an 1/8 inch stereo LINE IN on the back.  So, when friends come over for a jam session, and want to record vocals, my old mediocre Audio-Technica dynamic mic, plus a handful of Radio Shack 1/8-to-1/4 inch audio adapters, and the PC running Sonar as a multi-track audio recorder get us by fairly well, but once I got the Casio CTK-7000 and WK-7500 I really got spoiled.  With their internal audio recorders, I could record a vocal (dynamic mic), a guitar, and the keyboard's own performance to an audio file on an SD Card completely within the keyboard, itself - no connection to any other device required.  Now that I no longer have the CTK/WK-7XXX units, I have gone back to doing my instrumental recordings with a stand-alone Fostex 8-tracker, that records two tracks at a time to a 2 Gb Compact Flash card.  I got it about 10 years ago to go with a Motif XS that I had for a while.  Prior to all this, it was analog mixers and cassette tape decks, and going back a little further it was analog mixers and reel-to-reel tape recorders.  So, i have never found myself with your current dilemma, but as for your question about the sound quality of a USB interface connection vs. direct analog connection to a computer's sound system, I think that would depend, to a great extent, upon the the quality of the computer's sound card or sound chip set.  I have never tested this, personally, but I strongly suspect that the sound quality of a decent USB interface would be at least as good as, or better than, the built-in sound system of the average computer. 

 

Now, your comment about connecting equipment line-outs to computer mic-ins is every bit as valid as my original comment about connecting keyboard phones-out to either PC line-ins or mic-ins.  You can do it in a pinch, but it is always much less than ideal.  So, I guess if I were in your position, with your obvious interest in making quality recordings, I would opt for the four channel USB interface with the capability of using quality condenser mics, but then. I have always been very adept at spending other people's money. ;)

 

 

 

 

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