Subject:Using a mixer with MAudio 2496

Posted by: Lostdog

Date:7/11/2005 6:07:30 AM

Hi
I've recently purchased an MAudio Audiophile 2496 soundcard and I'd like to use it in conjuncition with a Spirit Folio F1 mixer. I've never really used a mixer for recording before - always just gone 'straight in' into my old Creative card. Can anyone give me any tips for the optimum setup with this card & mixer or know of any good websites that give tips on recording with mixers?

Just for info - the soundcard has analogue audio in (L&R) on RCA jacks & analogue out (L&R) on RCA jacks. There are lots of ins & outs on the mixer. Is it correct that I should take a line out of the 'insert' on the mixer & send it to the 'audio in' on the soundcard? If I'm taking 2 lines out of my Line6 PodXTLive into the mixer tracks1&2, presumably I need to take 2 insert lines out of the mixer to the soundcard to get stereo? So I'd need a connector cable from 2-jacks to RCA L&R phono?
And then I feed the audio out from the souncard back into the mixer, right? So I'd need to go from RCA L&R phono to 2 jacks (or just to 1 jack?)
Sorry to be a dim-boy on this - just wanna make sure I'm doing it right for optimum sound quality.

Thanks

LD

Subject:RE: Using a mixer with MAudio 2496

Reply by: JohnnyRoy

Date:7/11/2005 9:31:59 AM

The Aux outs and Inserts are primarily for routing to effects devices. You want to take the Master outputs from the mixer and route them to the stereo L/R inputs of your sound card. Then take the audio out from your sounds card and route it back to the Tape Returns on the mixer (since you PC is acting as a tape recorder). You should also have an external amplifier and speakers to monitor from the mixer, but a pair of headphones will do in a pinch.

If you have the manual, it shows you how to set up for Stereo Recording on page 17. Just substitute the tape record for your PC sound card.

~jr

Subject:RE: Using a mixer with MAudio 2496

Reply by: Lostdog

Date:7/14/2005 5:07:26 AM

Thanks for the response & manual link JR. My mixer looks different to the one shown in that manual - think I may be getting mixer up with my 'Folio' and 'F1' - this is the link to my mixer: http://www.soundcraft.com/product_sheet.asp?product_id=85

I think it's suggesting lines out of the inserts to the soundcard for recording particular tracks - would you agree? One slightly irritating thing is that the headphone out on the mixer is in mono only, so to get a stereo mix I'll have to take lines out of the XLR outputs into my amp for monitoring.

Also, if I'm recording through only one channel of the mixer, I notice the sound of the recorded instrument is in one ear only (when listening through the monitors) - then I have to pan the track to the other side to get it more central in mixing. Am I doing this wrong? Is there a setting within Acid for recording a mono track so it sits centrally in the mix?

Thanks

LD

Subject:RE: Using a mixer with MAudio 2496

Reply by: JohnnyRoy

Date:7/14/2005 7:57:21 AM

You certainly could record from the insert outputs. As you have noticed, that will be a mono output since you are just sending one channel to your PC. You are also bypassing the rest of the mixer but if you are only recording one track at a time that shouldn’t be a problem. Be careful if the mixer has a pre/post fader switch on the send. You want to be sure its in post mode so the channel fader affects the output.

In ACID, you can record mono tracks by selecting just one input on your soundcard. At the bottom of the Record dialog is the Record Device selection. Open that dropdown and select Left Mono or Right Mono depending on what input you plugged the mixer into on your sound card. If you are recording mono instruments like guitar, bass, vocals, you should always use mono mode in ACID.

~jr

Subject:RE: Using a mixer with MAudio 2496

Reply by: Lostdog

Date:7/18/2005 6:23:58 AM

Thanks JR - seems to be working now. My Line6 Pod has the option of mono or stereo outs - seems to make quite a difference to record in stereo, especially when using the built-in reverbs, tremelo & chorus effects (a 'bigger' sound). Does it put a lot more strain on the system to records in stereo? ie is one stereo track equal to 2x mono tracks in terms of PC resorces?
LD

Subject:RE: Using a mixer with MAudio 2496

Reply by: JohnnyRoy

Date:7/18/2005 8:38:03 AM

If you are preprocessing the guitar with stereo FX before you record it in ACID then by all means record in stereo. I was referring to recording true mono into ACID as stereo which serves no purpose other than waste disk space. (a mono instrument recorded in stereo is 2x the disk space with the exact same information on both tracks) I always record dry (without FX) and add FX later this way you have more control over how the FX lay in the mix. That’s why I gave the advice I did. In your case, you should record in stereo.

~jr

Subject:RE: Using a mixer with MAudio 2496

Reply by: Iacobus

Date:7/21/2005 11:06:44 AM

Adding to what JohnnyRoy mentioned, I don't know offhand if the PODxt Live has it, but my GNX2 guitar processor lets me listen to my guitar "wet" through the analog outputs while recording "dry" via the S/PDIF output.

This can be an ideal situation if you want to work with an unprocessed track to play around with later.

Depending on the situation, I mostly record in mono since I'm using only the GNX2's distortion effects and not much else. I'll usually split a recording into two and divide the take up so that one track is panned hard right and another panned hard left. It makes a great stereo effect.

I'll record in stereo if any of the effects require that (like a ping pong delay).

Iacobus
-------
RodelWorks - Original Music for the Unafraid
Buy Instant ACID by JohnnyRoy and mD!
mD at ACIDplanet