Electro Voice EVT 5216: Help With Connections

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hemeltz

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Hello all,
I am in the midst of setting up a home recording studio, and have run into quite a snag. For some reason, I can't seem to record onto my computer off of the mixer. The problem is that the mixer is fairly outdated, meaning that I don't know all the technology like I do the newer mixers. On this mixer, there is only a Main Out, not a Main Out left and right. At the moment, I have a cable running out of that jack and into a 1/4" to 3.5mm jack and then into the microphone jack on my sound card (I know that's not good, but its only temporary until I figure out why line in has it in for me). When I hit record, I get nothing. I know the jack works because I can plug a computer mic into it and record without incident. What am I doing wrong? Here is a picture of the input/output section on my mixer (well not mine but the same one).
http://img2.craigspic.com/741/97368/1248111911-886.JPG_595.jpg

Thanks!
Harry
 
I'm assuming the Main Out is a stereo output jack. This would meant it's a three-contact, TRS jack, most likely with the tip = L, ring = R, and sleeve = gnd.

Unless you're using stereo three-conductor cables and plugs all the way through to your PC, you're going to lose the right channel, because a mono cable with a 2-conductor TS plug (and the mono mic input jack) will shunt the right channel off to the ground.

If you have only right channel information coming out of the mixer (i.e. everything panned right), it will be lost in the mono cabling and mono jack and you'll hear nothing. Additionally, you need to check to see how your PC software drivers are currently config'd to record; if they are set up to only grab the right channel, the same silence will occur.

On the other side of that chain, do you know for a fact that the main out on that mixer works, and that you indeed are channeling your signals to the main out? Double-check your routing (probably on the lower-right side of the mixing surface) to make sure you're sending signal to the right place. I'd then verify that that output jack actually works; is there something else you can plug it into (like a stereo amp, for example) to check things on that end?

Finally, if you have questions about the servicability of the main out jack, it looks as though that mixer has sub L and R outs that probably operate like normal main L/R outs; those may be a working option if there's something wrong with the main out jack.

HTH,

G.
 
Thanks! I ended up figuring it out sort of like that, but I'm running into some more problems. I realized when I plugged the cable into "monitor out," the right LEDs worked, and in "main out" the left ones. So I patched two cables together with an adapter and ran them into the computer with another adapter. Now that I have sound, I can't seem to get it to sound good. The problem is that I get the LED's when I plug into the Mic jack on my computer, but no matter how many different inputs I try, I can't get it to work again (Line in, auxiliary..) on both the computers built in sound card and the PCI card. Could this just be a problem with the card?
Thanks!
 
hemeltz said:
TThe problem is that I get the LED's when I plug into the Mic jack on my computer, but no matter how many different inputs I try, I can't get it to work again (Line in, auxiliary..) on both the computers built in sound card and the PCI card. Could this just be a problem with the card?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
It could be a couple of things. Yes, it could be your card. But (assuming you're running Windows) it could also be your soundcard's mixer settings (that speaker icon in your system tray) or the recording input settings in whatever software you're using. That last one could also explain why you're PCI card is not "working"; if your software is not currently set up to use that card, that'll stop you dead in your tracks right there.

G.
 
I've been around audio long enough to know how to configure the default windows settings so that it's picking up from the source I want it to, it just doesn't recognize the mixer in the Line-in jack (using the built in sound card or my PCI card), and the mixer doesn't recognize that it has a source to send to. The real conundrum is why it will recognize the mic jack on BOTH the PCI card and the built in windows card, but will not recognize the line in on EITHER card. I'm thinking that I'm going to invest in an external card (perhaps the behringer UCA202) to run to a USB port to better manage the signal. I'm just afraid that it won't recognize it.
 
hemeltz said:
I've been around audio long enough to know how to configure the default windows settings so that it's picking up from the source I want it to, it just doesn't recognize the mixer in the Line-in jack (using the built in sound card or my PCI card), and the mixer doesn't recognize that it has a source to send to. The real conundrum is why it will recognize the mic jack on BOTH the PCI card and the built in windows card, but will not recognize the line in on EITHER card. I'm thinking that I'm going to invest in an external card (perhaps the behringer UCA202) to run to a USB port to better manage the signal. I'm just afraid that it won't recognize it.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that is a strange set of symptoms. I suppose it is not impossible that it just so happens that it is only the mic in on both cards that actually works, but that's pretty long odds.

One thing I've found over the years is that when weird things like this happen, it's almost always a driver issue of some type. Perhaps the driver for your PCI card may be malfunctioning and blocking your native soundcard at the same time? Just a guess. At the very least you might want to make sure your drivers are all up to date.

or, just simplty go with the USb option like you say. Those are pretty infallible (except for some of the cheaper mAudios when can sometimes have some driver problems). I'm not familiar with the Bheri model you mention, so I can't comment on that specific one, but I can heartily recommend the the Tascams as having decent-sounding preamps, solidly-built, and - IME - being pretty plug-n-play with no problems getting them up and running.

G.
 
Thanks. You may be right about the drivers, the problem is that the sound card is older and out-of-print so to speak, so drivers are hard to come by. I did re-install them using the disk that came with the PCI card, and it didn't help. I think I'll be taking a trip to guitar center soon anyway, and I'll see what they have to offer. Either way, I'm finding a good amount of work-arounds for the less than desirable sound from the mic jack to make my recordings sound pretty decent. Vocals are the only issue. Regardless, thanks everyone!
Harry
 
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