Are the level meters on a mixer gains or just faders?

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MASTON

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Hi

I need a mixer to mix the outputs of my 2 soundcards (SBLive and audiophile) into monitors, so I think I'm going to get a small behringer mx602A. Obviously I just need a clean what goes in is what comes out mix, but looking at the eurorack the level knobs on the stereo inputs (and I mean the level knobs not the gain knobs for the mic inputs) have a +15 gain/attentuation on them.
Does this mean they apply gain to the signal (which I don't want) or just give you control over the signal input from 0 to 100%(i,e, if so I'd just set them to max, and all the eq to middle)
I alsp thought of getting a midiman multimixer 6 or 10, and I can't work out whether the knobs are gains or just levels either.
Anybody know??

cheers

Maston
 
If you want it clean, then you don't want to go thru a mixer at all! And if you MUST go thru a mixer, for "clean", you DON'T want to be going thru a Behringer!!!

Anything you put between your card's outputs and your monitors will affect the sound. The higher end in gear you go, the less it will be an audible effect. Behringer is nowhere near "high-end".

Check out this Speck unit - http://www.proaudioreview.com/par/august99/Speck-web.shtml

Or this API -
http://www.mercenary.com/api314chanmi1.html

Obviously, those are high-end -- assuming your budget is more modest check out stuff by Soundcraft - http://www.soundcraft.com/products/multi_purpose.html
http://www.soundcraft.com/products/spirit_notepad.html

You'll be WAY better off than with Behringer.

Bruce
 
why do you need to mix the output of those 2 cards?.....As Bruce said, it will either cost many $$$, or degrade your sound....describe your situation and there may be a better option......

I have a Delta Audiophile and a Soundblaster type card in my machine....i use the SB for midi parts, record the midi parts to audio, and throw them into N-Tarck with my Audiophile.....the outputs of the Audiophile go to my Proto-J's....I have headphones on the SB since Im only doing midi with them....but Im never using the 2 cards at once so no need to mix them....
 
rightey-ho,

here's what I'm doing.
I use the Live for midi and the audiophile for audio, I'm recording midi drums, midi bass, guitar, vocals (me and female vocalist), midi piano, various midi lead parts (piano, pads, oohs , flute soundfonts)

now, Gidge, we've already been through this before a while ago when you gave me the solution of doing all the mid parts first, recording tham and then doing the audio, which I thought was a great idea and went off and did it.
The problem though, is I work interactively, so I constantly need to make changes to the midi tracks so that didn't really work. It kind of used to work as all my backing was midi, but now some of lead stuff is midi too(soundfonts).

I really need to be able to hear the midi along with the audio.

Now the other option is to run the SBLive digital out into the audiophile digital in, and direct the spdif directly to the audiphile H/W outs i.e I'd just be monitoring the SBLive.
This I'd do but I'm worried about damaging the audiophile as I know nothing about digital I/O levels. Can anybody vouch this is safe and I'll give it a go.

Will a behringer really make all that much difference, I'm not all that mega-fussy, as long as it's not like the quality I got from trying to mix it with a $20 home mixer (which was unusable, volumes were halved)

Bruce, I note you recommend the folio notepad, I take it this is seriously better than the behringer. All those knobs and buttons though for such a simple thing. All I need is two sets of rca ins, and one set ot outs???

and what about an maudio multimixer??, isn't that what they were designed for-SPECIFICALLY TO MIX SOUNDCARD OUTPUTS WHICH IS ALL I WANT, and they're cheap and supposedly ultra-quiet, I really don't want to pay much money for such a simple thing.

what about phonic, are they crap too?, can get one for $70.

God, I'm starting to get sick of this problem, such a simple thing been bugging me for months now!!!


On another point, Gidge, when u record midi to audio do you record them 24-bit with the Live, or run the Live into the audiophile, and record at 24-bit? Just curious?

God this post is getting enormous, Thanks for the input guys, hope to hear from you.

Maston
 
The M*Audio unit would work for you... I forgot about them! Reasonable, useful, workhorse-type stuff....

Stay the HELL away form Phonic............

:)

Bruce
 
And the Yamaha's .... how are they ?

I'm talking specifically about the mc1604 mixer which I'm gonna use between the input source and the Foxtex recorder to control the input source volume ...

Will this mixer keep the original sound as it comes in ?
 
That I can't tell you (it's a secret!) ;)

Actually, I don't know - I've no experience with Yamaha mixers, but I don't recall hearing glowing endorsements either... I suspect you're better off with Yamaha than either Behringer or Phonic!

Bruce
 
Heres my list of mixers to avoid.

Phonic-
Nady
samson
Optimus
peavy
Or any other Mackie clone out there.

P.S. Behringer beats the shit out of all of these but I dont recomend them either.
 
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