The undisputed king of live loop playback is Ableton Live. However, if you are recording a new loop continuously you can pretty much use any of the big DAWS.
As for hardware, get a mixer with USB out. Something like this:
I know older firewire mixers presented multiple channels to a DAW while recording. I'm not sure if that mixer does the same or outputs a single channel. Ideally you want the multi out and it's worth doing some research.
I am not aware of any mixers that provide a USB mic input. There may be some, but I haven’t heard of it. There are a zillion cheap analog mixers with three mic inputs. To use those you need one that also works as a computer interface. This is about as cheap as you are likely to find new.
Reverb.com, Craigslist or FB Marketplace might help in finding a used one. Of course you’ll also need three mics, tanks and cables, three pairs of headphones and either a small headphone amp or a splitter. You also need an iPad and something like Soundboard Studio (or another tablet and an app to allow you to roll in sounds/ SFX/ Music, etc. A stereo mini to 1/4” cable will let you plug it in to your mixer.
Obviously you need a computer with some kind of DAW and/or streaming software (e.g.Mixlr)
Consider selling your focusrite 8i8 and getting this as a replacement. You get 4 mic inputs bussed into a stereo USB audio interface that’ll do exactly what you’re asking. You also get EQ and compression for each mic input which is a nice bonus for podcasting. You’ll barely have to fiddle around with any software with this. It seems to have been developed specifically for podcasting. Nice and cheap as well. These Behringer mixers are a bit noisy but that shouldn’t be a problem for a podcast.
I've had an old mixer hooked up for years. I don't record much anymore but I just can't give up having a physical volume knob. Also handy for sending music to multiple stereos at the same time.
Either find a compressor with phantom power to make your life easy, or use the Aux Sends/Returns on that mixer, so you'll send the audio out of the mixer to the compressor then back through the compressor out the USB which I believe is the same as the main audio out of that mixer.
*edit- Wait is this the mixer?? https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-1204USB-BEHRINGER-XENYX/dp/B00871VO5Y it says it has a built in compressor.....
I have a Behringer 1204 USB myself for this purpose, but this one only has 1/4" and XLR stereo outs. I'm not aware of any interfaces that have a 3.5mm stereo out for standard computer speakers though.
> Behringer xair xr -12
That's kind of overkill for what you're trying to do tbh. You should be fine with a Behringer 1204USB, which is only $149 on Amazon compared to the xair which is $399. The main thing you want to use the Behringer for is its compressor which can act like a limiter, and there should be a built-in noise gate in OBS.
what would be the benefit of using a 2 mic audio interface vs a full blown mixer. for my couch co-op streams I mic all my friends with the Behringer-Xenyx-1204USB and it's roughly the same price.
I was making gaming videos.
I ran with a Behringer 1204 USB Mixer, Hauppauge Capture Card, Audio Technica ATR2100, and an A/V Signal Amp. Admittedly, we didn't have three microphones - which we should have had, and the quality suffered. I don't have the old YouTube links, as I'm at work.
I didn't want to do that at first. I wanted to vlog and make skits and other types of videos. I just couldn't get the type of camera I needed nor did I have any friends that were interested in being in the videos - which was a huge part of why I wanted to start YouTube almost 10 years ago. Now, I have some money, but I don't have any drive like I did when I was 13.
So, I wanted to upgrade the ol' mic setup, I went from a ModMic 4 to an Audio Technica AT2020.
That microphone requires phantom power so I bought a basically the cheapest mixer that has a USB interface, Compression, at least 2 XLR inputs and Phantom Power. That led me to buying the "BEHRINGER XENYX 1204USB." https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00871VO5Y/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Once I received it, I plugged everything in and realized that I have to have the audio level of the microphone basically at max and have some gain to get to to any reasonable level for windows.
My question is, would getting a better/more expensive mixer help with not having to use as much gain, or is this something that you just have deal with for this microphone, or all in the condenser space.
Overall, the quality sounds better than the ModMic obviously, but I'm not sure if it's sounding as good as it could, and I don't want to go past my return window on the Behringer if I could get something better just by spending a little more.
If I was to get a different one, would this one be a good option? (Yamaha MG10XU 10-Input Stereo Mixer with Effects) https://smile.amazon.com/Yamaha-MG10XU-10-Input-Stereo-Effects/dp/B00IBIVL42/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1531359078&sr=8-3&keywords=yamaha+usb+mixer
Also, the mixer makes a popping noise occasionally (maybe once every hour or two), I have no idea if that's normal, I'm assuming not, but I'm very new to this so I don't know for sure.
-Joseph
Thank You for reading, and I hope you have a great rest of your day!
I use the Behringer 1204 USB and it does the job just fine.
BEHRINGER XENYX 1204USB https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00871VO5Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_lwhtAbQNYGMET
Good cheap/midrange mixer with USB out
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00871VO5Y/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=IZ3J4X33V0E8F&colid=23M5ZI7S00GOT
Great mics that can take a beating
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0006H92QK/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I2ISTF8QVAE08Y&colid=23M5ZI7S00GOT
Behringer Xenyx 1204 USB $125 on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-1204USB-BEHRINGER-XENYX/dp/B00871VO5Y
Correct! I mainly use it for audio from my computer or my record player to the Rokits.
what about this? seems to have good reviews.
You need a mixer with a USB-interface, for example the Behringer Xenyx 1024USB
Microphone (vocals and/or guitar amp) and analog keyboard need a way into the DAW.
Along with the fact that those other to-USB converters are so damn expensive for just a single slot, that you might as well get a mixer.
A Blue Icicle is $50. 1 XLR->USB, no options besides gain, mandatory phantom power (which ruins certain types of microphones!)
A decent ass analog (USB capable) mixer is ~$120 - https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-1204USB-BEHRINGER-XENYX/dp/B00871VO5Y
4 XLR slots, plus TONS of instrument cable slots. Analog effects: 3-band EQ, compression, gain, option of phantom power or not, plus the ability to wet/dry mix through an effects loop (all my guitar pedal-heads know whats up).
TL;DR If you have a for love analog sound and real instruments, plenty of reasons to get a mixer. If you do everything "in the box" and don't care about using anything non-digital, then no reason for a mixer.