I’m using Cubase 14 Pro and a Behringer UMC204HD. It would seem okay, but I just found out the Behringer can’t output stereo signal to Cubase for recording. Does anyone know of a low-cost stereo interface that does have stereo output while still having at least 2 XLR mic connections? Could an unpowered mixing board do the job?
Scarlett 2i2 is quite popular.
Edit: See Fese comment below.
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I have a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 3rd gen that works great. I believe they have a 4th generation available. Not complicated - easy, quiet, and efficient.
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Are you talking about the Mic/Line Inputs on the front? They are each of course mono, so to be able to record their input on a stereo track in Cubase, you would need to set up a stereo input channel in the audio connections and assign input 1 of the Behringer as left channel and input 2 as the right channel. Then use that as the input for the stereo track to record.
Did you do that? I don’t know why that should not work.
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I agree with @fese above. You should absolutely be able to record a stereo signal with your current Behringer interface.
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I’ve considered that as possible, but then I’d have to monitor the signal on the box instead of in Cubase, correct? So, there’s no way of knowing anything about the recording until it’s finished and output through another device for quality. Just for the record, I’m running Cubase on Windows 11 and I have a Soudblaster Audigy internal PCIe card handling regular audio.
That makes no sense….but I have no experience with Behringer.
What are your intended monitors? Speakers? Headphones?
On, say a motu Ultralite mk5, xlrs into 2 front panels, set as inputs to Cubendo….essentially then being stereo-in from the 2 mics (or whatever) as Cubendo setting showing “stereo” from the 1-2 of the motu.
Cubendo main outputs set to…say….motu in 3-4 ….essentially being stereo to the motu….headphones at the motu (or speaker outs) listening to stereo-ins 3-4.
To my knowledge, most all interfaces on the planet can route in these basic ways.
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Hadn’t considered that alternative. Didn’t think it was possible. Thanks for the insight. I’m wondering if a better approach would be to replace the Audigy card with a Soundblaster Z SE card, then buying a board with SPDIF out and run it into the Z SE. I’d get direct out audio from Cubase with little latency, no?
No…You can monitor in Cubase….turn off direct monitor of the interface by turning the mix knob fully to pb (playback) and turn on cubase track input monitoring.
Thanks for the insight. I’m wondering if a better approach would be to replace the Audigy card with a Soundblaster Z SE card, then buying a board with SPDIF out and run it into the Z SE. I’d get direct out audio from Cubase with little latency, no?
Not sure what you’re suggesting….this setup has no input for mics, you want to record stereo mics according your original post so this won’t help in any way.
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@JohnStark if you’re using a dedicated audio interface, it will connect via USB or Thunderbolt. So, you don’t need the onboard audio at all. You could, in theory, uninstall or disable all other audio devices on the computer. As another poster mentioned, you just have to take the Behringer Left and Right channel in Cubase settings and then combine them into a single Stereo channel
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Let me clarify. I wanted to cover an acoustic guitar or a singer with 2 separate mics, each in separate channels (one left; one right) to be mixed in Cubase rather than in the interface. If it has any bearing, those mics could be a condenser & a ribbon, 2 condensers, or 2 SM57s. I just wanted the recording to turn into a stereo track in Cubase.
Yes, that would be exactly the case which i described earlier. It is also the way how it is done with other interfaces (e.g. my RME UCX). Create a stereo input bus in Cubase, assign the channels from the interface to it. Done.
Not sure why you would use that if you already have the UMC? That is the one you should use in Cubase.
Or do you mean with “regular audio” normal windows playback outside of Cubase?
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One more factor: The mics could be plugged into the mixing board and then output through SPDIF to the Z SE card as 2 different channels.
Yes, it can. It’s hard to understand why you would think any of the factors you’ve mentioned would be relevant to that issue.
Let me clarify. I wanted to cover an acoustic guitar or a singer with 2 separate mics, each in separate channels (one left; one right) to be mixed in Cubase rather than in the interface.
Yes, your current setup does this already. You don’t need to buy anything.
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Okay, I admit that I’m an amateur. My past experience was with running an Acoustic Control 880 mixing board in the 1970s, then running a Behringer mixer into a simple Soundblaster internal PCI card around the turn of the century. Although what has been suggested works – because I’m certain you have all experienced it – I can’t seem to get around the notion that accessing my Audigy’s output directly during recording for monitoring purposes would decrease time lag from the signal hitting Cubase to the time it reaches my ears. Am I wrong on this?
There is no reason the audigy should have lower latency than the behringer. Does it have asio?
Definitely.
One other fault I possess: The only experience I have with Cubase s with version 5 and that was on a beginner level, although for 2 years.
I meant record through the UMC while monitoring Cubase recording with headphones through the Audigy. I guess the trouble is that I don’t see how I can feed output from Cubase back into the UMC and tap into it with cans to monitor what Cubase is recording.