Mixer Connection help

StarMan

Member
Hi,

I recently picked up a Mackie 1402 VLZ3 mixer. I want to hook this up to use it more as tracking/playback monitor controller for my recording sessions. I primarily use AKAI EIE Pro interface as my main recording interface and Cubase. I want to know how do I hook these up together for this purpose. I have connected two XLR cables, one in each OUT (R and L) of MAINS OUT of Mackie and the other ends of the cable which are TRS into the front INPUTS 1 and 2 of AKAI EIE PRO. I played the recording I did in DAW and no sound is coming out of either my headphones, speakers or anything in the LED section (where it tells you a signal is coming through) of the Mackie. So what am I doing wrong?
 
If you want to monitor your recordings, then you have to go from the line outputs (usually 1 & 2) of the Akaia and connect these to a pair of inputs on the Mackie (and in the case of this mixer, I would go for the RCA tape in inputs).

If you hook up speakers to the Mackie (or headphones) you should then be able to hear something on your computer being played back.

If you want to record from the mixer into the interface and then into the computer, then you need to hook a mike (or whatever) up to one of the Mackie channels, connect the main outs to a pair of the Akai inputs, setting these to line level (and it probably would be easiest to use a pair of balanced 6.5mm jack to jack leads for this).

If you are using the Mackie for both functions: recording and play back, you need to route the returning signal that's coming in via the RCA tape inputs to Ctrl room, and then hookup speakers to the Ctrl room outputs on the back of the mixer to avoid a feedback loop.

However, were I to be in your position, I would mostly use just the Akai. Connect speakers and headphones to it, feed its inputs directly, and use its monitor knob to control the mix of input and output.


The Mackie might come in handy if, say, you have a two or three synths you want to leave hooked up and not repatch each time you want to swap from one to the other. Plug these all into the Mackie, then take a line out from Mackie into Akai.
 
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