HELP!! How do I connect all these wires!

[TLEE1183]

Hey guys, I'm having some trouble connecting things so that I can record into my computer. Aite here's my setup. I have small Behringher mixer that I'm trying to connect into my computer. I connect it through the tape out of the mixer into the line in of the computer using a radio shack rca cables with a 1/8" end. This is as far as I got before I started getting feedback and screeching noises trying other connections. I want to be able to record listening through in the mixer's headphone outs into my headphone and then be able to listen to what I just recorded through the same headphones and lay another track at the same time. But also I want to lister through my computer speakers as well. I tried to stick the output of the computer into the tape-in of the mixer. Then put some 1/4" adapters on one end of the rca cables and stuck it in the ctrl room outs. That's when the screeching and craziness began. Can someone help the sad newb out? Thanks.

 

[manning1]

heres my set up...to stop feedback/problems etc
mics>>>recording mixer>>>sound card line input
(on B mixer try using aux send to sound card line in).
sound card stereo line out>>>> hifi receiver(with a headphone jack)>>>
main monitors(with a switch box from radio shack to switch between various
spkr sets). hope this helps. i put fast blow fuses in the speaker leads.

 

[TLEE1183]

so you use the aux send straight into the sound card?

 

[manning1]

well in my case i use a bunch of stuff.
i dont have a B mixer. but if i had i would try the aux send.
on some mixers if the mic preamps have direct outs you can go from
direct out to sound card line input. but i found in some cases there was not enough gain using direct out on some mixers. (eg : mackie going to 2 inch plus 4dbm)
so in my case i built a bunch of diy mic preamps , the output of which i send into a line mixer i built for added gain then into the sound card.
at some point if you ever go the route of (like a lot of folks) multi input sound card then you go standalone mic pre (into some sort of outboard fx
as an option) into a sound card input.
if you want to save some money and want to get into diy there are lots of schematics on the net. but i would advise for safety take an electronics course in transistors and op amps. if you want to try diy mic pre sometime you could do worse than the TAOS mic pre. my mic pre costs 10 bucks
in parts. examples>>> soundclick.com/bmanning try the working mans song
or up in the sky. to compare with a very expensive hi end studio console try take my love song. ive used everything from hi end down to ultra budget mixers. why i like to do my own diy mic pre's is the control i have over
component selection.

 

[manning1]

by the way i was not involved in the TAOS mic pre at all. i found it after doing my own design and to me it looks pretty clever whoever did it.

 

[MISTERQCUE]

Welcome back to the club BManning!!!

 

[TLEE1183]

Hmm..interesting. I'll have to try using the aux out sometimes and see how it is. Thanks.

Does anyone know how to hook up these wires so that I can record a track while listening to what I previously recorded? Right now I got it so that I use 2 sets of headphones. One out of the mixer to acutally hear the intrument and fine tune it (mic placement, etc.) and then when I lay down the track I listen through the headphone outs of my computer speakers. This works but the sound I'm getting from the computer headphones are not accurate at all. And I can't really hear that well, It's very muddy. If anyone could help me so that I can just listen through the mixer and record that would be great. THanks.

 

[guttadaj]

Hiya, TLEE.

I've got a similar setup - using a Behringer Eurorack MX602A mixer myself. Here are a couple of options.

1) Does your computer software have "Input Monitoring" or does your soundcard allow for "Direct Monitoring"? If so, and your latency is bearable, then you can do what you've done pretty much and it should work. Signal into the mixer, out through the TAPE OUTs to the soundcard, out the soundcard back into mixer's TAPE INs. Just make sure Input or Direct Monitoring is enabled in your software/soundcard. You will have to select the output of your soundcard to be Analog Out or whatever to push the signal out of the card to your mixer, so you won't be able to listen on your computer speakers at the same time if that's what you're trying. You can just toggle back and forth though in your soundcard control panel between output being sent to your computer speakers and your soundcard's analog out. On the mixer, you should have the 2TK or TAPE to CTRL ROOM button pressed.

2) If latency is too high (usually 10msec is considered threshold workable, but lower is better) or you don't have Input or Direct Monitoring as an option, then you can try a different setup. (FYI - with better mixers you should be able to use the same setting as above to monitor through the mixer instead of with Input Monitoring, but with my basic Behringer mixer, it only lets the channel signal or the tape in signal go to the CTRL ROOM... not both, hence this workaround which TexRoadKill told me about btw.) Signal into mixer and out an aux send into the soundcard. Take the soundcard output and bring it back to the mixer into a stereo channel (will need a 1/8" stereo miniplug to two 1/4" mono plugs cable - had to use a couple RCA to 1/4" adapters myself). Now turn up the AUX level on the channel you want to send to the computer. Unfortunately, this doesn't allow for a stereo signal (at least on my mixer) since the aux send is mono and combines the left/right channels. But it does let you tweak the monitoring level between the existing mix and the new track you're recording.

FYI - the control room outs are for monitors, so they should be taking the signal OUT of the mixer. That's probably what all the screeching was about.

Good luck.

 

[manning1]

thanks MisterQ.very kind of you. just taking some R n R.
i'm on sorta a quest right now.....trying to build a new mic pre for laughs.
ive been playing deep purple too much misterQ and still blown away by machine head that used a helios console.learnt every darn lick on the cd cos its so good. great sound. gonna see if i can find a way to get better outta my diy mic pre's. those helios were soooo
darn nice. didnt use tubes. all transistor apparently. used all over DPple.
know anything about helios ? like components used way back then ?
-----------------------
to the poster at the header... if you follow my monitoring set up i posted you will be able to hear your source eg: guitar befor hitting record.
then all the tracks playing while your recording.
peace.