Question / Help How to use analogue mixer with OBS

[TBSupport]

Hey there guys.

I'm TBSupport - long time user, first time on Forums :)

So up till now I've been using a preamp for my microphone and voicemeeter with VAC so I can have 3 separate audio tracks in OBS Studio. It's somewhat okay, but I've decided that I would like a mixer instead of voicemeeter/VAC.

The thing is: I don't know much about mixers.

Here's how I IMAGINE the setup:

USB mixer:

Line 1 - Microphone
Line 2 - Game/music
Line 3 - Skype/TS/Discord

Headset will be plugged into mixe

I don't know which USB Mixers can do this, but I think I heard Alesis Multimix can do it?
How would I do this? Would it be possible to set a USB mixer to LINE 2 input for "standard sounds" in windows (might be wrong there on the english name, i'm Danish) and then LINE 2 output in like OBS?
Same would go for Skype - LINE 3 Input to mixer and Line 3 output to OBS.

Or would I have to do some sort of wiring I can't even imagine (which is bad, i'm an electrician) to get sound in and out from the PC with cables to the mixer?

Hope someone out there has the time/energy to teach this dumbo a bit about how to use a USB mixer with OBS. (I haven't bought one yet because I'm trying my hardest to figure this out)

 

[Harold]

For what you're doing the voicemeeter setup is actually better, especially since you can independently do postprocessing on individual tracks in your recordings.

If you're going to use an external mixer (which will typically need headphone plug to quarter inch plug or headphone plug to XLR to hook up) you can ONLY adjust levels of each channel while you're recording, then you have to do your postprocessing on a single stereo channel.

 

[TBSupport]

For what you're doing the voicemeeter setup is actually better, especially since you can independently do postprocessing on individual tracks in your recordings.

If you're going to use an external mixer (which will typically need headphone plug to quarter inch plug or headphone plug to XLR to hook up) you can ONLY adjust levels of each channel while you're recording, then you have to do your postprocessing on a single stereo channel.

That makes me sad to hear :).
I'd really like not to use voicemeeter because of it sometimes messing up and you have to restart the audio engine and on my setup the audio just isn't very high, even when i increase the DB in the program.

I saw a Youtuber named MagikarpUsedFly telling about his recording setup and from what i understand he uses a Behringer Xenyx mixer for this exact purpose.
It's 4 minutes into this video and is about 10 - 15 seconds. This is what made me believe that it is somehow possible to get several audio tracks through USB, that I can easily edit after.

 

[TBSupport]

If a setup, like the one i was asking about, isn't possible - then what is the use of a mixer? Other than messing a bit around with the EQ on your mic?

 

[Calder L.]

The whole idea of using a mixer is the ability to 'Mix' multiple audio tracks live into a single functioning audio track that can then be sent to a Headphone or line in for audio to the stream.

Yes the better the mixer you get the more bells and whistles, but its all about being able to control audio sources from multiple PHYSICAL devices.

 

[Simes]

The other nice thing about a mixer is having the physical sliders to adjust without having to shuffle windows around, but you can do the same thing with a MIDI control surface and Voicemeeter Banana (which is what I would try, if I were setting up that sort of thing).

 

[MusicGuy94]

I'm gonna go ahead and revive this thread. I recently got an 8 input channel/2 output channel mixer. The improved sound quality I get through my headphones alone is worth the purchase in my opinion.
I have limited experience with audio engineering and how it works with software and am running into issues related to this post.

First off, already mentioned in this topic: would it not be possible to have the USB output from the computer be split into its own channels on the mixer somehow? Maybe using Asio4All control panel? (which I haven't gotten to show up on my computer yet)

I.e using the physical sliders on the mixer to control the output levels of separate programs on my pc sent through the mixer output to OBS, thus controlling ALL volume on my computer through the mixer.

Now, I do understand that the mixer is meant to be used the other way around, with different physical inputs (mics, instruments etc.) be what is regulated with the sliders on the mixer and then becoming what the output signal, or MAIN MIX from the mixer is being sent to (computer or whatever other device, speakers etc.)

Secondly: my computer is only picking up 1 channel as an audio driver, which causes my desktop audio to also be output to the input, i.e people I speak to in voice chat can hear my desktop audio which is to put it mildly very annoying for the others. Is this related to the mixer itself or to the computer?