How do I connect my mixing board to my M-Audio Fast Track Pro?

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Johnnyalright

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Hey guys, I'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to recording. I messed around a little bit years back, when G4 Macs were all the rage. I've stepped it up a bit now and have been gathering equipment over the past few years. Now I have a MacBook Pro, Fast Track Pro, and I recently acquired a Behringer Eurotrack UB1622FX-Pro (not powered) Mixer. I purchased the mixer because i wanted to be able to record with more than just 2 microphones on the drum kit.

I thought by plugging 4-6 mics into the mixer, I could then send the signal out of the mixer to the FTP then to my Mac. Is this possible? If so, what is the best way to do so? A friend told me go from the Control Room Out on the back of the mixer to the Input of the FTP, but I'm still a little confused. I have two 1/4" jacks for my Control Room Out, labeled Left and Right (L/R). Do I connect those 2 to the 2 input channels on the front of my FTP? Also, wouldn't that effectively just give me a L/R configuration for the recorded tracks? For example, on garageband, I would only see the 2 tracks that the FTP saw when recording. In other words, by doing this I have now turned 4-6 tracks into a 2 track left/right configuration, right?

Is this a bad way to record drums? I'm just using the 2 channels on the FTP now, would I be better off sticking with my current 2 mic configuration? What cables would I need to do it? Do I need TRS Cables to go from the mixer to the FTP? TRS to XLR? Standard to XLR? Am I way off? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!
 
Hey and welcome.

The FTP only has two analog line inputs, so yeah you're right. The only thing you can do is send a stereo mix from the desk.

That means if you have 4 mics plugged in, you'll still only be able to record those things as left and right.


It's not a 'bad' way to record. Really it's up to you.
Do you prefer the sound of two overheads and a kick and snare mic (for example), or are you happy enough with two mics directly?

Hope that helps.
 
Ok, that helps a little, thanks! But I'm sill wondering if this is a "bad" way to record drums?
 
No, not necessarily.
It just means you have to get the sound right at the time without the luxury of mixing it all later.
That's not a bad thing if you're learning.


A dual channel preamp with spdif output would expand your total independent mic channels to four.
I think art make a reasonably cheap one.
 
Oh, I see hat your saying! I'll be limited, only later, in the editing process where I won't have as much ability to edit/ alter the track(s). But, if I have the mix right on the board during the recording session, I can still achieve a "good enough" sound. Right? Also, was I right about both Control Room Outs going to the Inputs on the Fast Track?
 
That's it. You worded that way better than I would have,lol.

I'm pretty sure control outs are line level. If they are then yeah that's fine.
Main mix output is fine too.

Personally, I'd sell the behringer and pick up a dual digital out preamp.

Unless you need the functions of the mixer, it's not really worth having in your signal path tbh.



PS. make sure the FTP is set to line instead of instrument on both channels.
 
Well as of right now, that's the only means I have to get better mic coverage of our drum kit. I'm not getting a good sound with just 2 mics and I was
looking for a way to use 2 overhead mics, at least 1 on the kick drum, and 1 on the snare. I needed more inputs, hence the mixing board. What kind of cables should I use between the mixer and the FTP though? TRS? TRS-XLR? Standard?
 
You don't need to explain man, that's cool.
I'm just making suggestions for down the road.

TRS to TRS is the cable you want. Two of them (obviously)

Dont go into the FTP via XLR. That would put the signal through mic preamps, and your signal would be far too hot for that.


Have a search on the boards here for drum micing techniques. There are some simple things that make a world of difference.

Things like making sure each overhead is the same distance from the kick and snare (if you want those perfectly centred), or other techniques that rely on two mics only.

Some of them would really be worth a look.
 
Thank you so much man! I still have a couple of questions though. I was looking at a few of those dual channel preamps that you were talking about, but they look pretty pricey, and the ones I saw only had 2 inputs. Wouldn't that still limit me to 2 mics? Also, what would be the difference between using that to mic the drums and what I'm doing now? I've also read about 4 and 8 channel a/d converters, would that work better than running everything through the board? I know you said the dual channel preamp would be best, but doesn't the term "Dual Channel" suggest that there would only be 2 inputs? Wouldn't that still limit me to 2 mics? I'm a little confused...
 
Aye, that advice is based on your current interface.

You have two analog inputs (mic/line/inst) and two digital inputs.

The digital ones are spdif which you can't currently use, but if you have a two channel preamp with spdif output, you could add that to the mix bringing your total up to four.

Of course, the alternative is 4/8 channel converters as an upgrade to your FTP, but don't forget you need a way to get that into the pc, so really it's 4/8 channel usb or firewire interfaces you're looking for; Not just converters.
 
Oh, duh! I got you now! The whole point is that the signal goes OUT the s/pdif on the preamp and IN to the s/pdif on the back of the FTP, effectively giving me four channels. With the addition of the preamp, I have essentially made my FTP into a 4-channel midi interface. Right? Any recommendations for a "cost effective" model or where to get one?
 
That's it man.

Fraid not. I've never bought/used any store bought preamps. Someone else will know though I'm sure.

Try a search on the forums. I'm sure people have talked it out before.

Search term 'spdif'.
 
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