How to record with a simple mixer

[delfdc]

How do I record with a simple mixer

Ok, I have an 8 channel mixer. I want to record onto my reel to reel 8 track. I want to record my band all at once in my basement, I guess this is called recording live. So I put my mikes into the mixer, but the mixer only has one output. I guess the mixer is made to mix a bunch of mikes down and then send that to a power amp at a club. Is this normal for mixers or are there mixers that have an in and an out for each channel so that I can run each mic into the the mixer as a preamp and then send each one to the tape machine? Or maybe I should just put all the mikes directly into the tape machine and then run each channel from the tape machine to a mixer and just adjust levels during playback?
any help would be great,
casey
delfdc@slu.edu

 

[Sennheiser]

You have a PA board. You need something more flexible to use with your eight track.

Most dedicated recording consoles have direct outs and tape returns. They also feature at least four busses (for eight track) to as many as 12 or more for routing and grouping of several channels to the recorder.

The Mackie mixers are great, but the smaller ones (1604VLZ) do not have tape returns, but the leftover channels can be used instead.

TASCAM makes decent recording consoles and they're dirt cheap.

Soundcraft makes good consoles too, and so does Allen & Heath.

Stay away from Peavey for recording. They are noisey.

 

[regebro]

A Mackie mixer is a good bet, or a Behringer if you can't afford the Mackie. Another option is to get a rack unit with eight preamps and run the mic and instruments into the preamp and then into the reel-2-reel. But then you still need a good mixer to mix the recordings, so getting a mixer is probably a good bet.

One of these should be plenty. You might even be fine with one of the smaller models.

http://www.behringer.com/02_products/prodindex.cfm?id=MX2004A&lang=eng

http://www.mackie.com/Products/VLZ_PRO_Series/1642VLZPRO.asp

 

[Sennheiser]

I agree with Regebro about the Mackie but I cannot in good concious recommend the Berhinger. And it's not because of the preamps.

It's the way they have their 16 channels configured. Their ad copy is slightly mis-leading about the 16 channels and you will be better off with the Makie.

Better than that, find a TASCAM M-1516 and be done with it. You can fine them for $350 on E-bay, That was a $1200 console 10 years ago. It has decent pre's, direct out's and tape returns, inserts on the first eight channels and three effects sends and returns, sweepable mids, and a dual function that allows a 32 channel input. Plus all the other in's and out's you will ever need for an eight track setup.

TASCAM made dedicated recording consoles to go with their analog recording equipment. It's matched, it works, and it's good for an eight track. There are alot of other features on the M-1516 that I didn't mention, but if you want to know, reply and I'll tell you.

And yes, I do own and use this console. With a TASCAM 38-8 1/2" eight track.

 

[sjjohnston]

Your problem is that you have a two-bus mixer (I assume when you say "one output," you really mean one stereo output, i.e. two channels).

Most recording mixers, as noted, have a four- or eight-bus design. This allows you, say, to mix 16 inputs (if you have 16 inputs) to four or eight tracks.

You can use a different approach (with most recording mixers) if the number of inputs isn't larger than the number of tracks you want to record to: rather than use the busses at all, just use a direct out or insert to connect each input to one and exactly one track.

Does your mixer have inserts? If so, those can be used as direct outs. Just connect the insert send to the tape deck. Where, in the signal path, the insert send appears varies from mixer to mixer. It would always be after the mic preamp though.

That's a way effectively to get direct outs without something that's labelled as a direct out.

A way effectively to get more busses without things that are labelled as busses is to use aux sends. Does your mixer have sends? They might be described with other words: auxes, cues, effects, fold-back, etc. You can connect these to your tape deck too. Adjusting them might be a bit kludgey, particularly since some may be pre-fader and other post-fader, but you can do it.

You normally can't plug microphones into a recorder. The mic level is way too low (that's what mic pramps do), not to mention the very high input impedance of the tape deck, which could make the mic sound lousy. The exception would be a recorder with mic preamps built into it (like a portastudio), but if you had one of those you probably wouldn't be asking the question in the first place.

 

[littledog]

They also feature at least four busses (for eight track) ...

Since I'm pretty confused as to what that means, I imagine that a relative newbie would be as well...
how are four busses related to eight-track recording?

 

[Sennheiser]

littledog, Hi!.

A four buss mixer without direct outs may be used to record up to four track at a time to an eight track recorder by assigning the channel to one of the four busses and "bussing" the signal to one of the tracks using the pan pot.

The way a four-buss recording console is usually set up is:
TRACKS 1-3-5-7 LEFT BUSS, TRACKS 2-4-6-8 RIGHT BUSS.

You use the pan knob along with the buss assign buttons to tell the signal which track it is supposed to go to. Say you want a signal from channel 2 to go to track 5. You assign the channel 2 to the left buss and use the pan pot and pan ALL THE WAY LEFT.

Record your track and it's there. Upon mix-down the pan pots function as pan pots. On limited equipment especially in analog, there are always ways around signal routing problems.

An eight-buss board will allow you the same flexibility with a PLUS!. You can route any or all of your eight inputs to any, or all of the eight outputs on the eight-buss board. On an eight track machine and an eight buss board you use the buss outs exclusively to give you that flexability and the hell with the direct outs. You do use the tape returne though. You still need a way of monitoring what you've recorded, especially for overdubbing and mix-down.

Your can route a five or six channel mix of a drum kit to two tracks on the recorder after you have it exactly the way you want it and record it in stereo.

Bussing Man, it's where it's AT with analog!