Am I headed in the right direction?

Chilli_D

Chilli_D

New member
I've been snagging deal after deal on ebay and am quite pleased with the coming together of my simple home studio for the money I've spent. What I'm hung up on now is this. I've got an Interface, MOTU 828 Original, with 2 mic inputs and 6 line inputs. I'm looking to be able to record drums, 2 OH and a kick and snare mic. I can run two mics into the interface with Xlr cables obviously, but only two. I've also got a vocal condenser mic and a pencil instrument condenser mic. So I've been looking for a cheap mixer just to be able to run XLR in and 1/4" out into the interface. Is this what I should be looking for? I can't say I'm too fond of using XLR to 1/4" cables, never felt like I could completely trust them. Plus I need phantom power. And if I am on the right track, are there any units that anyone would suggest?

I feel like I'm really not COMPLETELY sure what I'm doing at this stage and I figured I should get some advice/guidance before I go spending more money.
 
Chilli_D said:
So I've been looking for a cheap mixer just to be able to run XLR in and 1/4" out into the interface. Is this what I should be looking for?
Click to expand...

You want something that will output the individual mic pre's to the remaining inputs on the MOTU. You could do this with just about any good-quality mixer with inserts on the mic pre's or by looking at a multi-channel preamp unit.

A Mackie 1402-VLZ (or Pro) could do this from it's six pre's. Mic's go to the XLR preamps, and plugging a 1/4" patch cable to the insert would send the direct signal to the MOTU. You'd have to go unbalanced, though, due to the way the inserts are wired.

Using a multi-channel preamp would give the option of a better signal, but at a higher price. (Focusrite OctoPre or similar.)
 
Ok so I'm not way off, good to know. That's the problem I'm having, most of the mixers I find don't have both XLR and 1/4" inputs but if I'm not mistaken you can plug a 1/4 cable part way into the IN and it works as an unbalanced out, right? That's been my plan because I do need individual lines. I've got to be honest I never really knew too much about preamps other than that they were usually a little more expensve but I'll expand my search. Thanks a lot, KS.
 
Yes, we're describing the same thing in different ways. However, don't confuse a mixer's 1/4" inputs with inserts - these are different things. To tap a "direct out," you'd insert a patch cable to the first "click" on one of the insert channels of the mixer:

1402-VLZ3-Rear.jpg


To your point, you'd get six nice-quality preamps on a Mackie 1402 for not much money. To purchase a six- or eight-channel preamp (I used the example of an OctoPre, but there are many) will be more costly, but may offer superior sound quality... obviously not all preamps are created even remotely close to equal.

If you're just starting out, it's hard to beat the XDR preamps built in to Mackie mixers. If you're buying used, you'll find the XDR preamps on all the units from the VLZ-Pro forward. The original 1402, 1604, and the first generation VLZ's had different preamps.
 
I'm glad that you pointed out the difference between inputs and inserts, I had in fact been confusing them. I guess that's why this is the Newbie forum. :o I really like the Mackie boards that you suggested too, looking into them now. Hopefully I can find a good deal on a used unit. Again thanks a lot, it's all been very helpful.
 
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