Yamaha MG10XU quiet USB audio?

[JoonasD6]

5 minutes ago, _Grid21 said:

I am gonna stop you there and say that the USB channel is NOT designed for what people seem to think it is. It's designed for taking a USB signal in from the PC if your playing music and being able to hear it in your music to play back out through the stereo out. Like Yes the USB is a in and out, but not in the way you think it should work.

 

Considering I wasn't going anywhere and I didn't have any initial way it should work, nice job stopping me.

The USB feature is certainly plenty useful, but complicated. I personally have it set up sufficiently and it doesn't require any adjustments; I just mentioned a feature that wasn't mentioned here before.

[_Grid21]

3 minutes ago, JoonasD6 said:

Considering I wasn't going anywhere and I didn't have any initial way it should work, nice job stopping me.

The USB feature is certainly plenty useful, but complicated. I personally have it set up sufficiently and it doesn't require any adjustments; I just mentioned a feature that wasn't mentioned here before.

I don't really get it though, the USB dail doesn't make any other channel louder, it just affects channels 9/10.

[The Legendaries]

On 3/10/2019 at 4:19 PM, DOutram said:

I am also experiencing similar issues! I am using a Macbook Pro (OS X 10.11.6) with the Yamaha MG10XU and the Shure SM58 mic. I am trying to record a podcast using Audacity, but the waveform is so small. It is not reaching the 0.5 mark. I am using the USB 2.0 cord to connect it to my mac. Also, when i play it back, I'm not hearing anything through the headphones.  I've attached photos for reference.

 

The first guy in the thread has his compression too high.  You have your line in button press while using a USB connection.  Unpress the HPF 80Hz.

[anothertom]

17 hours ago, The Legendaries said:

You have your line in button press while using a USB connection.  Unpress the HPF 80Hz.

That is not what that button is. It simply puts a high pass filter over the input, it doesn't switch it between mic and line level inputs.

 

On 3/11/2019 at 1:38 AM, _Grid21 said:

I don't really get it though, the USB dail doesn't make any other channel louder, it just affects channels 9/10.

Because that is the USB input channel. The USB output is taken from the master bus, after the master fader (I think, been a while since looked at the schematic).

 

@DOutram if you haven't given up on this yet, you probably just need to turn it all up. You can easily give the mic channel more gain before clipping, and the master should be set higher. (You'll want to turn the channel level down slightly though).

 

if you want to use the USB input to playback, then you need to select it as the output device in macOS, then on the mixer, the USB channel wants to be set as the 'USB' input and not the 'LINE' input and the destination 'to MON' which will route it to the monitor bus (which is split to the headphone output) and not 'to ST' which would send it back out the main output (which if you're recording will create a nice feedback loop). Depending on what you're doing and how your outputs are connected, you may want to have that button in either position.

 

feel free to go back and read my previous post in this thread to learn how to properly set up the channel and mixer levels.

[_Grid21]

4 hours ago, anothertom said:

That is not what that button is. It simply puts a high pass filter over the input, it doesn't switch it between mic and line level inputs.

 

Because that is the USB input channel. The USB output is taken from the master bus, after the master fader (I think, been a while since looked at the schematic).

 

@DOutram if you haven't given up on this yet, you probably just need to turn it all up. You can easily give the mic channel more gain before clipping, and the master should be set higher. (You'll want to turn the channel level down slightly though).

 

if you want to use the USB input to playback, then you need to select it as the output device in macOS, then on the mixer, the USB channel wants to be set as the 'USB' input and not the 'LINE' input and the destination 'to MON' which will route it to the monitor bus (which is split to the headphone output) and not 'to ST' which would send it back out the main output (which if you're recording will create a nice feedback loop). Depending on what you're doing and how your outputs are connected, you may want to have that button in either position.

 

feel free to go back and read my previous post in this thread to learn how to properly set up the channel and mixer levels.

The master Volume doesn't affect the USB output level. I actually made a whole video about this board.

[CruncyLicensePlates]

I hate to say this but this is where reading the manual actually helps. Yamaha has a great book on how audio mixers work. "Yamaha Guide to Sound Reinforcement" 

That aside. 

 

The signal path goes like this:

Mic Input --> Gain Knob --> EQ --> Pan --> Input Volume to Bus (Knob at bottom) --> Input to USB (9-10). 

 

The first issue may be that you're using a dynamic microphone, the SM58 is driven by the air moving across the diaphragm. You may want to consider getting a phantom powered microphone so it is louder (more sensitive) to your voice / music, etc Using a Beta 58 or other condenser mic will help greatly. The 48V button is the phantom power to electrify the diaphragm so you don't have to work so hard to get audio to be picked up by the microphone. 

 

The second issue is that you need to set the gain before adjusting the channel volume. The gain knob should be able to go to about 12 to 3 o'clock on the dial to get enough gain on the input. Then as this is a Mixer, each white knob adjusts that channels input to your 2 channel mix, which is 9/10 that is being sent to your computer over the USB connection. 

 

As another poster mentioned, make sure the button below the XLR jack for HPF is NOT depressed, this is a high-pass filter, unless you are trying to weed out high frequencies on the input. 

 

You DO NOT want to turn everything up because then you'll get the noise floor of the mixer and it will sound bad, and distorted. 

 

Once you set the gain where you have good level on input, then adjust the white knob for how much of that channel you want put into your mix. 

Then on channels 9/10, there is a white knob but that's only for playback, the gain and channel mix knob is all that feeds the stereo mix that then goes over USB to the computer. 

 

Once the audio is in Audiacity, select the audio that is low and in the options select "Normalize" to bring all the levels up to Normal levels. This may enhance the noisefloor so you'll need to adjust your gain and the channel mix knob to get the sound you want. 

 

Then you're done!

 

Seriously though, Yamaha probably has all of this written out in the manual with step-by-step instructions on how the signal path works. Most people hate manuals, but then consider the time spent fiddling with it vs getting your project done. 

[_Grid21]

20 minutes ago, CruncyLicensePlates said:

I hate to say this but this is where reading the manual actually helps. Yamaha has a great book on how audio mixers work. "Yamaha Guide to Sound Reinforcement" 

That aside. 

 

The signal path goes like this:

Mic Input --> Gain Knob --> EQ --> Pan --> Input Volume to Bus (Knob at bottom) --> Input to USB (9-10). 

 

The first issue may be that you're using a dynamic microphone, the SM58 is driven by the air moving across the diaphragm. You may want to consider getting a phantom powered microphone so it is louder (more sensitive) to your voice / music, etc Using a Beta 58 or other condenser mic will help greatly. The 48V button is the phantom power to electrify the diaphragm so you don't have to work so hard to get audio to be picked up by the microphone. 

 

The second issue is that you need to set the gain before adjusting the channel volume. The gain knob should be able to go to about 12 to 3 o'clock on the dial to get enough gain on the input. Then as this is a Mixer, each white knob adjusts that channels input to your 2 channel mix, which is 9/10 that is being sent to your computer over the USB connection. 

 

As another poster mentioned, make sure the button below the XLR jack for HPF is NOT depressed, this is a high-pass filter, unless you are trying to weed out high frequencies on the input. 

 

You DO NOT want to turn everything up because then you'll get the noise floor of the mixer and it will sound bad, and distorted. 

 

Once you set the gain where you have good level on input, then adjust the white knob for how much of that channel you want put into your mix. 

Then on channels 9/10, there is a white knob but that's only for playback, the gain and channel mix knob is all that feeds the stereo mix that then goes over USB to the computer. 

 

Once the audio is in Audiacity, select the audio that is low and in the options select "Normalize" to bring all the levels up to Normal levels. This may enhance the noisefloor so you'll need to adjust your gain and the channel mix knob to get the sound you want. 

 

Then you're done!

 

Seriously though, Yamaha probably has all of this written out in the manual with step-by-step instructions on how the signal path works. Most people hate manuals, but then consider the time spent fiddling with it vs getting your project done. 

I'd like to point out too, that that Level Stereo nob does NOT affect how out the USB signal is into the computer, and I know because I have done numerous tests on this and the 9/10 is only designed for mix out of ALL THE CHANNELS, and USB in for bringing your computer playback into the mixer and I really feel people are missing this point royally.

[CruncyLicensePlates]

Just now, _Grid21 said:

I'd like to point out too, that that Level Stereo nob does NOT affect how out the USB signal is into the computer, and I know because I have done numerous tests on this and the 9/10 is only designed for mix out of ALL THE CHANNELS, and USB in for bringing your computer playback into the mixer and I really feel people are missing this point royally.

You are 100% correct. Integration of USB into Analog mixers is confusing for this 1 reason. It's a single channel on the mixer that is dual purpose. One for use stand alone / input to mixer and output from the computer. I neglected to mention that on Ch 9/10 there's a button to send the audio to the computer in either Mono or Stereo. 

[_Grid21]

1 minute ago, CruncyLicensePlates said:

You are 100% correct. Integration of USB into Analog mixers is confusing for this 1 reason. It's a single channel on the mixer that is dual purpose. One for use stand alone / input to mixer and output from the computer. I neglected to mention that on Ch 9/10 there's a button to send the audio to the computer in either Mono or Stereo. 

Although I have to say, this is a REALLY POOR design of this mixer since they could've 1, used a better driver for louder output since windows uses WDM instead of MMD or ASIO, and 2. they could've made a really good digital mixer with each channel being its own input/output and I hate that I have to spend for something from sound Craft or Helicon Gaming GoXLR. 

[CruncyLicensePlates]

2 minutes ago, _Grid21 said:

Although I have to say, this is a REALLY POOR design of this mixer since they could've 1, used a better driver for louder output since windows uses WDM instead of MMD or ASIO, and 2. they could've made a really good digital mixer with each channel being its own input/output and I hate that I have to spend for something from sound Craft or Helicon Gaming GoXLR. 

Yamaha doesn't want to design their own ASIO driver, simple solution is to recommend people to use ASIO4ALL which is just a WDM driver wrapped in an ASIO container (which is crap). However it is class compliant on a Mac and it just works. So I guess using it with GarageBand on a Mac might be a better / easier solution? but the hardware remains the same. SoundCraft and PreSonus both make mixers like you mention where each input has it's own channel over ASIO / OS X. They are more money though. 

[_Grid21]

7 minutes ago, CruncyLicensePlates said:

Yamaha doesn't want to design their own ASIO driver, simple solution is to recommend people to use ASIO4ALL which is just a WDM driver wrapped in an ASIO container (which is crap). However it is class compliant on a Mac and it just works. So I guess using it with GarageBand on a Mac might be a better / easier solution? but the hardware remains the same. SoundCraft and PreSonus both make mixers like you mention where each input has it's own channel over ASIO / OS X. They are more money though. 

I know Helicon Gaming did a thing where each input in their software is it's own channel with a final Stereo mix out and I was gonna combine my current mixer and their mixer into one by doing a stereo out on my yamaha to a Line-in into GoXLR and then that USB out into OBS which according to Helicon, they said that will work fine.

[Bnjmn]

On 3/10/2019 at 8:00 PM, _Grid21 said:

This is what I finally did, I got a quarter inch to 8th inch cable and ran out of the Stereo out to the Line-in on my motherboard of my PC. You should be able to do the same on your Mac. That USB dial does NOTHING to boost the volume. It's designed to change the volume of music you'd be playing through the board from your Computer. Example, playing iTunes and sending the music to the mixer.

I realize this was awhile ago, but I'm struggling with the same issue. I bought your same cord but am having trouble taking in the sound as stereo (L and R) to my PC using the line  out. When I try all of the  ports, it only records the audio for the L or R. How did you make this work to record for both L and R? - Thanks,

[d4ve_tv]

I was having this same exact issue with my mic sounding quieter FOR SOME REASON I when I googled I found this threat. 

 

After many hours of long hard thoughts about my life and shots of vodka I believe I'm 99% sure I figure out the solution. 

 

I have a shure sm7b going into dbx 286s into channel 1 on the mg10xu mixer. 

 

The main issue is when you have the PAD turned OFF your signal is too hot. BUT when you turn the pad on and have the "gain" knob turned all the way to the left it says on it -6db so I think it was lowering the level by -6db.I THINK THAT WAS THE ISSUE  So the way I fixed it was I turned the PAD ON and I turned up the gain knob slightly to where that thick gray mark is around the gain knob. I also set the level on channel 1 to the triangle which is unity gain I believe so It doesn't add or reduce the volume. I also noticed that before doing this I was hitting the "peak" light on channel one so once I made these changes I got the gain to that thick gray area and I was just below setting off that "peak" light which I believe is what you want. Now my mic audio sounds amazing and perfect level and doesn't peak/distort. 

 

Also for the most part you want to set your other channels from your gaming PC and streaming PC to unity gain which is the little triangle so you aren't adding any volume or losing any volume. I HOPE THIS HELPS if someone in the future finds this thread.

 

 

[The Flying Sloth]

The simple solution is just to use an audio interface instead of messing around with cheap USB mixers.....
Drivers will be infinitely better on an interface and it you really need the mixer (for some ungodly reason) get a nice vintage one and run the DB25 / direct outs to a converter like an Antelope Orion or Lynx Aurora (or an interface, really just use an interface)

@d4ve_tv How do you find the compressor on that DBX strip? I've heard they're not anywhere near as good as the old DBX or Urei stuff but have you found it painful to use? I suppose if you're just talking you may not notice the differences that one might on a sung vocal track.

Sloth

[_Grid21]

21 hours ago, The Flying Sloth said:

The simple solution is just to use an audio interface instead of messing around with cheap USB mixers.....
Drivers will be infinitely better on an interface and it you really need the mixer (for some ungodly reason) get a nice vintage one and run the DB25 / direct outs to a converter like an Antelope Orion or Lynx Aurora (or an interface, really just use an interface)

@d4ve_tv How do you find the compressor on that DBX strip? I've heard they're not anywhere near as good as the old DBX or Urei stuff but have you found it painful to use? I suppose if you're just talking you may not notice the differences that one might on a sung vocal track.

Sloth

 

22 hours ago, d4ve_tv said:

I was having this same exact issue with my mic sounding quieter FOR SOME REASON I when I googled I found this threat. 

 

After many hours of long hard thoughts about my life and shots of vodka I believe I'm 99% sure I figure out the solution. 

 

I have a shure sm7b going into dbx 286s into channel 1 on the mg10xu mixer. 

 

The main issue is when you have the PAD turned OFF your signal is too hot. BUT when you turn the pad on and have the "gain" knob turned all the way to the left it says on it -6db so I think it was lowering the level by -6db.I THINK THAT WAS THE ISSUE  So the way I fixed it was I turned the PAD ON and I turned up the gain knob slightly to where that thick gray mark is around the gain knob. I also set the level on channel 1 to the triangle which is unity gain I believe so It doesn't add or reduce the volume. I also noticed that before doing this I was hitting the "peak" light on channel one so once I made these changes I got the gain to that thick gray area and I was just below setting off that "peak" light which I believe is what you want. Now my mic audio sounds amazing and perfect level and doesn't peak/distort. 

 

Also for the most part you want to set your other channels from your gaming PC and streaming PC to unity gain which is the little triangle so you aren't adding any volume or losing any volume. I HOPE THIS HELPS if someone in the future finds this thread.

 

 

I'd like to correct both of you and say that the real way I fixed it, was to simple go from the Stereo out, to the Line-In on my motherboard. That fixed 100% of my issues. Although part of the main mix goes through a compressor I have between my PC and mixer to just keep the levels from going over board and distorting. 

[athisdude]

On 3/4/2018 at 1:03 AM, _Grid21 said:

Can someone help me understand why windows 10 is seeing my Yamaha MG10XU as such a quiet input over USB when my gain on my board is really loud and the recording volume on windows is maxed to 100%? I installed the right driver for the board and everything, so what's doing on here?

there was a lot of answering with non-answers and incorrect statements in this thread... so i'm curious if you ever figured this out? or do you even have this same mixer anymore?

[Ahoy Hoy]

9 hours ago, athisdude said:

there was a lot of answering with non-answers and incorrect statements in this thread... so i'm curious if you ever figured this out? or do you even have this same mixer anymore?

The "correct" answer is obvious because that mixer isnt designed to be used as a USB audio interface. Yamaha makes a USB audio interface mixer it's the AG03 and AG06. The MGXU series is a mixer with a crappy USB for audio recording software which have built in gain. So his solution of not using the USB for something its not designed to do and then using the mixers outputs for what they are designed to do isnt a big shock.



If you have this mixer and have one or two microphone inputs and plugging it into a computer. Return the mixer and buy the Yamaha AG03 or AG06! Stop wasting our time with the same problem when the problem is you buying the wrong product and using it incorrectly and then complaining it doesn't work right.

[athisdude]

4 hours ago, Ahoy Hoy said:

The "correct" answer is obvious because that mixer isnt designed to be used as a USB audio interface. Yamaha makes a USB audio interface mixer it's the AG03 and AG06. The MGXU series is a mixer with a crappy USB for audio recording software which have built in gain. So his solution of not using the USB for something its not designed to do and then using the mixers outputs for what they are designed to do isnt a big shock.



If you have this mixer and have one or two microphone inputs and plugging it into a computer. Return the mixer and buy the Yamaha AG03 or AG06! Stop wasting our time with the same problem when the problem is you buying the wrong product and using it incorrectly and then complaining it doesn't work right.

wow. i'm not even going there with you. but i suggest you walk into Guitar Center, or spend more time messing with this mixer- if you own one-... so that you can learn that it is an INTERFACE.. and more.

 

do you know what "interface" means in the term "audio interface"?   -now you see what i mean by "non-answers" and "incorrect statements" everywhere. people who don't really know SHOULD NOT BE TYPING.

[Ahoy Hoy]

2 hours ago, athisdude said:

wow. i'm not even going there with you. but i suggest you walk into Guitar Center, or spend more time messing with this mixer- if you own one-... so that you can learn that it is an INTERFACE.. and more.

 

do you know what "interface" means in the term "audio interface"?   -now you see what i mean by "non-answers" and "incorrect statements" everywhere. people who don't really know SHOULD NOT BE TYPING.

The MGXU has a cheap USB because its just a a MGFX without the effects and a USB wedged in. The USB struggles to transfer audio both ways at the same time and the controls on the mixer are very limited when it comes to controlling the audio going to and from the USB. Yet the Yamaha AG line up is special designed for the purpose all these people are using the MGXU for. It has multiple settings for the USB and lots of control on routing the audio.

The Yamaha MGFX mixers are personally my favourite small analogue desks with lots of control and decent built in effects. While the MGXU has none of those pros has less control and the USB it adds doesnt work well. 

The MGXU sucks as a USB interface and if you goal is to send a single audio input to a computer dont buy the MGXU because its also expensive.

[H713]

I'm going to echo a lot of people here and point out that if what you need is an audio interface, buying a cheap USB mixer is a terrible idea. There are a few tech Youtubers who have misled people on this. There are a few problems.

 

1) Most people don't know how to use an analog mixer and inevitably struggle. To do so properly, you really need to know some amount about how one works in terms of signal flow. Although the Yamaha mixers mentioned in this thread are simple toys compared to something like an SSL or Neve VR console, they still have more controls than most people understand how to use. 

 

2) People inevitably end up trying to us the EQ "because it's cool", and they end up making things a whole lot worse. This ties in closely with #1, but is its own issue since you can know what all of the knobs do and still screw things up.

 

3) The performance of cheap mixers is generally very poor. Go to Mouser or Digi-Key and do some searching to see what good-quality pots and switches cost. Even in quantities of 10,000, they're not cheap. Now multiply that by the number of pots and switches on the console. Starting to see a problem? In order to meet the $200 price point, you're getting the utter cheapest pots and switches on the market. That means that in just a few years, they're going to be noisy and intermittent. There's also no budget for decent op-amps, and the number of them needs to be kept to an absolute minimum. Good mic preamp chips aren't cheap either. If the mixer includes a USB interface, then it's going to be the cheapest thing available.

 

If all you want to do is get your microphone output into your PC, get a decent audio interface. It will cost less and perform better. The DAC and ADC will be better, the USB interface will be better, and the microphone preamplifiers will be a whole lot better.

 

If you really do want or need a mixer for some reason, and have a good reason to want one, be ready to pay up. There aren't too many small analog mixers that aren't a load of garbage, and even fewer that are still in production.

[athisdude]

On 3/24/2021 at 2:53 PM, Ahoy Hoy said:

The MGXU has a cheap USB because its just a a MGFX without the effects and a USB wedged in. The USB struggles to transfer audio both ways at the same time and the controls on the mixer are very limited when it comes to controlling the audio going to and from the USB. Yet the Yamaha AG line up is special designed for the purpose all these people are using the MGXU for. It has multiple settings for the USB and lots of control on routing the audio.

The Yamaha MGFX mixers are personally my favourite small analogue desks with lots of control and decent built in effects. While the MGXU has none of those pros has less control and the USB it adds doesnt work well. 

The MGXU sucks as a USB interface and if you goal is to send a single audio input to a computer dont buy the MGXU because its also expensive.

hm... glad i never considered the MGXU, although the sliders were tempting. i didn't choose it because it was more expensive and didn't have FX, but also i decided that i didn't need those sliders. i'd rather they be in a different controller unit so they could be assigned, and maybe i could have 2 controllers chained.

 

but i agree about the MGFX, it is fantastic. great pres (for the price point), great control, and works like a charm once you figure out exactly how the PC should interact with it, because simply installing the driver didn't work for me. i think maybe people don't realize that the USB cord must be plugged in, and *then* the mixer must be turned on afterward. but it never struggles once i set it up properly. and i don't worry so much about controlling the volume to the PC, because really, i set the levels already allowing plenty of headroom, which makes me understand why Yamaha didn't allow people to increase the volume, since those that wish to may not fully understand this mixer/headroom/levels. i honestly can't see myself upgrading, especially since i will be buying a SSL2 interface, but that is simply to run my vocals (and music tracks) through the Legacy 4k feature.  

[athisdude]

i must agree that youtubers often have an agenda to pay for their lives (or even just for some more toys) with the videos they upload in the hopes of going viral and getting a lot of views, and they often mislead people, make themselves appear to be qualified, and/or simply do not supply enough information. it's all about what you intend to do. and simply, if you walk into Guitar Center or Sam Ash (if you can find an employee that isn't swamped) and have a small conversation about what you intend to do, and what you intend to do with the final signal/recording, they don't mind guiding you, even if you walk out without buying.

 

My advice to anyone looking into this:  do not shy away from learning something complicated. it is a journey that i wish everyone would experience. but that doesn't mean a mixer is for you. and if you already bought a mixer and hate it, chances are you didn't need a mixer at all.

 

Are you going to be recording or simply performing live or streaming? and if you are recording, say, in a podcast, will there be music behind the discussion? or let's say that you are Celine Dion's favorite nephew, and she's decided you will record her vocals at her house. you need to take a close look at what you need. and it goes without saying that if it's Celine's vocals, you'll need a budget of tens of thousands of dollars for, say, classic hardware such as UA preamp, compressor, and reverb units. but i just said that to further illustrate that anyone can go above and beyond what most people are actually on a forum for. chances are you are not here because you have a budget of tens of thousands of dollars, or a proper education/prior career in audio engineering. give Celine my best.

 

A mixer is great for having control of your signals in a live situation, but can be used for otherwise. i do agree that the preamps and converters will be higher quality if you have a simple audio interface that doesn't allot large amounts of the price point budget to pots, switches, and sliders. but, that being said, more important than high quality preamps, converters.... and even microphones.. is acoustic treatment, that is if your recordings will not have music behind them. what good are world-class preamps, converters, and microphones if you have an untreated recording space? are you making music? making/recording a podcast/gaming stream? here's some of my two cents for you:

 

Podcasting/streaming/live performance:

in these situations, noise is absolutely fine and is hardly even noticed. so the quality of the preamps and converters aren't as important. the Yamaha MG10XU is a great multi-channel place to start, (especially since it has FX, compression, and USB interface capability), with a $100 mic if you want a more polished sound for publishing to online communities, but if it's just you and your buddies playing games and talking, and you want it for memories, then a Blue Yeti is fine, or something below $100.

 

Recording vocals for softer music such as R&B):

you'll need to get an audio interface and treat your recording space with isolation and sound absorption panels. also, put your computer and its noisy fan far away from you, specifically in the direction perfectly behind your mic. you can also buy a higher quality, quieter fan for your computer. turn off the A/C. record a little and see if this is fine. if it is not, then you may need to buy/build a booth, or fashion one out of a closet. but expect these items to run you a little more than equipment for podcasting and streaming.

 

you can learn a lot from youtube, but beware. many people there have simply watched a lot of youtube videos and decided to teach in the hopes of what they *think* will be an easier job than, say, flipping burgers or answering billing phone-calls all day. find a youtuber that has had a professional career in the past, and preferably still does. from them, you can learn everything else you need to know about acoustic treatment, monitoring, equipment, music theory, and anything else you need.

 

some product suggestions for PODCASTING/STREAMING:

•  Yamaha MG10XU mixer . . . . . . . . . $209 + tax
•  Audio Technica AT2020 mic . . . . . . . . 99
•  better than cheap mic cable . . . . . . . . 20 
 

product suggestions for higher quality VOCAL RECORDING:

 

•  SSL2 or Scarlet 2i2 audio interface . . . . 250ish
•  Rode NT1-A mic/pop filter  . . . . . . . . . . . 230
•  Mogami (custom) mic cable (15 ft) . . . . . . 30 
•  Surge suppressor w/RFI/EMI filter . . . . . . 30
•  Vocal shield for mic  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
•  sound absorption panels  . . . . . . . . . . . . 100ish

 

obviously prices and quality can go up from there.