Main outs,Alt 3-4 outs

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Floydnirvana00

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Hi i just wanted to know what each of these outputs do and which ones i would use to hook up to the computer
 
I'm guessing you may have a Mackie (based on the alt 3 & 4).

The main outs are just what they sound like - the main stereo outs which would normally be used to send the stereo mix to whatever two channel mixdown "deck" you use (CD, DAT, cassette, etc). This would then be controled by the main stereo faders

The Alt 3 & 4 allows you to send a seperate mix (if memory servers post attenuation but pre fader) out to whatever you choose. I beleive one of the primary (or at least most common) uses of alt 3 & 4 would be a submix.

As an example if you have drums on channels 10 thru 14 (five channels of drums) you could use the alt 3 & 4 to send a submix of those 5 channels to a stereo effect/process (like a room reverb or compression and then bring the stereo signal back into channels 15 & 16 (for a stereo drum send).

Under most rather basic apoplications you don't really need the alt 3 & 4.
 
It would be helpful if you told us what mixer you have...:)

That said, it's pretty basic. The main outs are just that, the MAIN outputs. These would be your stereo outputs. You can use them to feed your monitor speakers (if they're powered, that is) or you could patch them into the inputs on your soundcard. Where you route them depends on your equipment and setup, neither of which you described. Alt 3/4 are sub outputs, depending on your mixer, you could 4 or 8 of these. If you look at each channel, there is probably a switch that allows you to route each channel to either the 1/2 or 3/4 bus (assuming you have a 4 bus mixer) , these, in turn, are sent to your main outs. This gives you the added flexibility of routing some signals, say for a cue (headphone) mix or possibly to an outboard processor or, if you connect your sub outs to your soundcard, (assuming it has more than a stereo input), you could assign each sub to its own track in your recording software.

A mixer is all about flexibility. The more options a mixer offers for signal routing, the better.

Tell us more about your setup and if you are trying to accomplish something specific or have a problem. We'll do a lot better with more information.

Another suggestion, READ! Not to be rude, but the information I'm giving you and probably quite a bit more will be found in the manual for your mixer.

Good luck.

Ted
 
Floydnirvana-

Well, the alt 3/4 works more or less as we described. When you push the mute button on any channel, it routes the signal to the ALT 3/4 output. Possible uses would be to be able to send signals out of both the Main and Alt 3/4 outputs simultaneously allowing you to record to 4 tracks of your DAW or recorder at the same time. You could also send this sub-mix out for further processing and then be brought back into another channel or the Aux returns.

This isn't a 4 bus mixer however, but it kind of gives you some of the options of one.

Ted
 
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