Yamaha MG 16/4 mixer distorts with gain knob at zero. no headroom at all.

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visa

New member
does anyone know why the pres on the MG series do that? i'm close micing a snare with an sm57 and a bassdrum with a D112 and all i get is a horribly distorted drumsound. my mics have no pads and neither does the mixer (?) so i don't really know what to do. i'm using the dmp3 for the B1s as OHs and it delivers a beautiful sound. got lots of headroom on the dmp3, too.

my question is: is there some sort of cheap atenuator that i put infront of the pres? or am i just completely stupid and forgot to push a certain button on my mixer?

help!!!
 
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have you tried the dmp3 for your snare/kick mics and the mg for your overheads? i don't think the mixer is your problem, unless it's defective/damaged.
 
yes, i have. and it's perfect with the dmp3.

i use the inserts on the MG 16/4 as direct outs with the one click method and then go directly into my soundcard.

here's a pic of the board http://image.www.rakuten.co.jp/koguregakki/img1050587256.jpeg

EDIT:

oh and, yes, i also tried the MG 16/4 for the OHs. thats even worse than the kick and the snare.

i used the PFL to monitor the signal while setting the pres on the board and noticed that they go up to +5 on the meter and even ocasionally clip when the drummer hits the drums "lightly" while the gain gnob is at zero(OFF). therefore it also clips in adobe audition.
 
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I use the 16/4 as well, and have more headroom than I can use. I used it over the weekend using the same method as you do, for vocal tracks with a SM57 (yikes) and they came out clear as a bell, with the gain knobs over half.
 
i used the 12/4 mg that i owned with a pair of 57's on kick/snare and never got any clipping that i can remember. have you tried turning down the gain?
 
hm, yeah....the gain knob is fully turned down.

i guess i have a faulty mixer?

how can stuff like this happen? =(
 
TS.

but it's already heavily clipping in the board when i monitor the snare or kick channel with PFL.

the same goes for any other source i capture with the MG mixer. such as Hi-Hat or OHs. but i have external pres for those now.
 
My 12/4 works fine.

I would try turning every single button on the whole unit off, from Phantom Power and every aux send or gain knob off. Then, one at a time figure out what the heck is up.
 
visa said:
TS.

but it's already heavily clipping in the board when i monitor the snare or kick channel with PFL.

the same goes for any other source i capture with the MG mixer. such as Hi-Hat or OHs. but i have external pres for those now.
Click to expand...

What's your exact signal chain when using the 16/4 (including cables)? Are you are using the manufacturers power supply?
 
turn every thing down as far as it will go then start from there turning it all up little by little hitting the drums till you get the right level. I just got the same mixer and it all is working fine for me.
 
On that mixer, is the P in PFL post or pre? If it's post, just pull the faders down.

As to your original question, yes there are attenuators you can attach. The best known one is the Kick Pad.
 
thanks for the replies so far everyone.

i've already tried everything that's been mentioned so far. it's still clipping like hell.

did the whole phantom power on/off, turn every knob down as far as it goes, i have the originial power supply, did the whole fader thing (it's pre fader).

could it be that i'm just micing my drums too closely? i have the D112 just outside the kick hole and the sm57 is about 3 inches over the rim pointing at the center of the head. i used these mic techniques before with the audiobuddy and the dmp3 and nothing was clipping.

i hate not to have control over this. it's driving me nuts.

EDIT:

the signal chain:

kick drum > d112 > XLR cable > MG 16/4 mixer
snare drum > sm57 >XLR cable > MG 16/4 mixer
 
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Then I say faulty board, try renting one borrowing one from a store if at all possible, and compare, if the other board doesn't clip, then its your board at fault. Good luck!
 
kick drum > d112 > XLR cable > MG 16/4 mixer > type of cable? > recording interface?
snare drum > sm57 >XLR cable > MG 16/4 mixer > type of cable? > recording interface?

what level are your signals peaking at in your recording software? it should be below 0 db. to play it safe, lower the gain on your mg's preamps until your peaks are no higher than -6 db on your software's input meters (assuming your using a computer).
 
kick drum > d112 > XLR cable > MG 16/4 mixer > TS patch cable (instert)> Hercules Firewire interface
snare drum > sm57 >XLR cable > MG 16/4 mixer > TS patch cable (instert)> Hercules Firewire interface

the signal clips in Adobe Audition. But i can't lower the gain on the MG. it's already fully turned down. that's the whole reason i created this thread.
 
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