hooking up fx unit to MD8

[Nilbog]

What's the best way to hook up my fx uint (behringer virtualizer) to my MD8?
The basic probelm is I dont know if the aux outs are stereo, or the aux in's on my unit are stereo, or how all that works.
Also, if anyone has used the unit, how do you use the vocoder??
-Nilbog

[jontflesh]

Hey Nilbog,
I don't have a MD8 but here is some Flesh insight:
Do you have a effects loop on the MD8? If you do the jack is probably 1/4 in I/O. You will need to plug the Effects out to the In on the proccessor, then the out on the processor into the in on the MD8. You might need to get a couple stereo 1/4 in cables. You should be able to now record an added track with the effects in it. If you want it to be stereo you might have to use two tracks one for left and one for right. I would just record a couple of tracks dry with vocals (just talking into it) and mess around from there. The manuals on these things are so easy to read, I just fiddle until I figure it out.
When I do this with my 4track I use the Aux send and return I/O for this. If I want stereo effects though I use Cakewalk or Wavelab, thats the bummer with the 4 track :-(
Hopefully this helps, probably not though, hehehe
jontflesh

p.s.
My old band Nilbog is playing a free show at the Snakepit on this Saturday, it is all ages. I might be going so send me a maily or something if you might go.

[GraveRocker]

Use the Auxiliary Send to go to the inputs of the Virtualizer and go back into Channels 9-10 or 11-12 (Page 84 of the manual)

[The Green Hornet]

Yo Goblin:

All that you have read is the truth....that's how effects works on the MD-8; however, here is one item.

You can hear effects and NOT HAVE THEM RECORDED IN THE NORMAL SEQUENCE OF RECORDING, AS PER THE MANUAL.

If you want to have FX recorded, as you hear it in the head set or the monitors, you have to punch a few different buttons; I've done that before by following the manual...not too hard to understand;

But, in about 99% of my work, I listen to effects while recording, but always ADD THEM IN WHEN I MIX down to tape or, whatever you mix down to.

Hey Mon, enjoy the rest of the summer and aint' this new Dragon Delight of a program something????

Green Hornet

[Nilbog]

Are the AUX outs on the MD8 stereo?

[GraveRocker]

I think they can be used as stereo outs to a 2 channel effects processor since they can be directed back to the stereo bus through the 9-10 or 11-12 channel inputs. I'm new at this and haven't gotten to that part of recording and mixdown yet, so I'm kind of guessing.

[The Green Hornet]

Yo guys: The kneebone is connected to the thigh bone, and the thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.....

Love those song metaphors.....

the FX sends are 9, 10, 11 & 12; two of these work with one FX unit, as I have hooked up; the other two work with a second FX unit that I've hooked up; the FX controls are the bottom two control dials for each of the eight channels.

If you get two FX units hooked up correctly, via stereo or single line in, you can twiddle one or the other when doing mix down. Just follow the manual's directions or the directions in the Fx unit's manual.

Keep twiddling the dials,
The Green Hornet

PS, I thing the Rocker of Graves has it right.

[Nilbog]

ummm...okay...So I'm looking at my aux send.
I have a TS cable in the left hand, and a TRS cable in my right hand. Which cable would I plug into the aux send?
The TS, right?

[GraveRocker]

Yes! The Aux. Sends are normal 1/4 phone plugs not 1/4 TRS. The TRS Y plug can be used in the inserts on Channels 1 or 2 which can loop through a compressor and back to the MD8 mixer through the same TRS plug. Thanks Green Hornet for the confirmation and the hip bone's connected to the back bone and the back bone's connected to the.....

[The Green Hornet]

Yo Rocker-man:

Thanks, thanks, thanks for mentioning those "unknown to me" TRS cables.

I have an idea of how they're used but have never bought any. I forgot to tell Goblin that I was using 1/4 regular cables.

Speaking of 1/4 inch cables, I do have one middle quality Monster and use it to send sounds from my synth to the MD-8 and it's a good cable; I also have one for my vocal mic and it's a good cable too.

Thanks for the insights and I think you should do a short instruction about the use of TRS cables for all of us.

Green Hornet

[GraveRocker]

A TRS Y Cable seminar? .....hmmmm.....ok! Shoot! I just used one for the first time last night with an old Boss GE-10 Graphic EQ, so here goes my "expert" description. The TRS Y cable consists of a TRS plug, and two normal TS 1/4" plugs (Tip and Sleeve) which are labeled Tip or Send, and Ring or Return, or something like that. The TRS plug consists of 3 separate sections, Tip, Ring and Sleeve. The TRS Tip goes to the Tip of the Send 1/4" phone plug which goes into the input jack of the let's say a compressor. The Ring part goes to the Tip of 1/4" phone plug which is a return and is plugged into the return jack on the compressor. The Sleeve part is a ground. When plugged into a channel insert (not the channel input) like on the Yamaha MD8, the signal goes from the tip of the TRS plug into the Tip of the TS 1/4" plug to the input on the compressor and out of the compressor via the Tip of the Return TS 1/4" plug back to the ring part of the TRS plug in the channel insert. On the MD8 the insert is between the EQ and the Fader on the mixer in the signal path. On page 50 of the MD8 manual is a good diagram of the cable and it's use.

[The Green Hornet]

Yo Rocker-man:

Very cool explanation. And, I often forget the manual; it does have some good parts in it besides the abundance of logorrhea. [typical of a retired English teacher to use a word like that]

Although I don't use a compressor [I have one in my storage area] I may resurrect it and experiment.

Have a fun summer and keep the information coming.

Green Hornet