Mic Pre connections help

H

Hiwatt Bob

New member
hello all, i'm a newbie and happy to be here.

i'm currently using a behringer mx2642a mixer and an Echo "Layla" soundcard into cakewalk sonar 4.

i just brought home the GT Brick and the Joe Meek VC6Q, because i want a mic pre that is an improvement over the pre's in my behringer. my question relates to how to hook these up.

i've read on numerous threads here that you want to go direct from the mic pre to the soundcard. my problem is that my soundcard is designed so that, for example, channel 1 only operates as a Left and channel 2 is right (etc. it has 8 ins). so if i go out from the joe meek into input 1 of my soundcard--i can only hear it in the left of my headphones. needless to say this is not acceptable.

now i imagine i could use the second output of the joe meek and go into my mixer to monitor--but won't the mixer still influence the signal from the meek the same way as if i just ran the meek into the mixer into the soundcard? i mean when i'm setting up a mic and adjusting the levels on the meek, i'll want to hear "it", not "it" going through my mixer. right? so does anyone know how the hell you hook up a mic pre so that it's direct into the soundcard, but still allows you to monitor? or am i just better off sending everything line in to my mixer?

next, the GT Brick only has one output--so i assume my only option will either be to go into my soundcard (and only be able to hear it out of one ear) or send it through my mixer.

sorry, but this is very confusing to me and it seems like it shouldn't be this hard to figure out.

thanks in advance for any insights you might have and it's been my pleasure to meet you all.

ryan
 
Here's what I do (I have 2 Layla 24/96 cards).

Mic pre out to Layla input 1.

Layla out 1/2 to mixer channels 15/16 to monitor. When using the Layla's outputs, mono signals play back through both left and right. The mixer does not affect the signal going into the soundcard.

Headphones are OK for tracking, but not for mixing.
 
Yeah, what MadAudio said. You need to be tracking the vocal to a mono track (with the left input selected in your software). I don't know if the Layla supports mono monitoring during tracking, but that's a good thing to enable if you have it.
 
thanks for the response.

ok, only i don't believe my mixer has an independent monitor section.

i already have the outs from the layla routed to channels 15/16 on my mixer--it's actually a stereo channel with 2 inputs, so the i have 2 cables running from the layla into that channel. but when i tried hooking up the meek to input 1 (left) of the layla, as far as setting up i can only monitor with headphones plugged into the layla, not the mixer--and it only comes out of the left. true, in playback, it's centered--but i need some kind of set up so that i can set up my track (mic placement, level, eq, etc.) and not just hear it in one ear.
 
madaudio,
thanks. when i get home i can see what's going on there--i'm pretty sure that it is on, playback is fine etc. it's actually the "input" that i would need to be able to monitor.
 
Hiwatt Bob said:
madaudio,
thanks. when i get home i can see what's going on there--i'm pretty sure that it is on, playback is fine etc. it's actually the "input" that i would need to be able to monitor.
Click to expand...
Whoops, typo, I meant input monitoring.
 
ok, i opened up the layla window--and there is no such option. but maybe i don't know what i'm looking for, the only thing i think it could possibly be are the buttons marked "G" next to all of the faders.

also, does anyone have any idea how to set up a GT brick for use with a home recording system like mine--the only feasible way i see is to run it through the Behringer mixer pre (which everyone seems to say is not the best way) or direct into my layla using a 1/4" adapter--but again i've got the same problem, the only way to monitor is with just hearing the left only side. and the brick is even worse because it doesn't have 2 outputs like the joe meek--so you're pretty much stuck with that.

i feel very frusterated right now about this whole mic pre business. i thought that with the gear i have you could easily set up an external mic pre--but it seems like the most convoluted task ever. i'm sure it's just that i don't know what i'm doing--but i'm not a complete idiot and i thought this stuff would be a bit more self evident. :mad:

please help, you're my only hope! :)
 
OK, first of all, what version of Windows are you running? The Layla control panel for 98 is not as detailed as the one for XP.

But anyway, for each input you should see a meter. These meters are grouped into L/R pairs. Right under the meter is a pan slider and a little button that has an 'm' on it. That's the input mute control. Unmute channel 1 and slide the pan fader so it's in the center. You should now hear in both ears.

Here's a screenshot if that helps...
 

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madaudio,

thank you so so much, that's a big help--i have XP--and i was able to do exactly what you showed. didn't have time tonight to hook up the preamp, but i'll probably try it out tomorrow. i'll let you know how it goes. again, thanks.
 
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