Mixer to computer?

[colja]

Here's the thing. I'm in a band, and my dad is in music his whole life. I usually only played guitar, and sang. I didn't worry about mixing, recording,... But now I'm intrested! I'm a bit awkward when it comes to asking my dad, so I'm here! We have a Dynacord powermate 1600-3. It has a usb 2.0 port "digital audio interface". I want to connect it to my laptop, and record some stuff for fun. Here come the questions.

1. It's not a usual usb port. It's a bit weird.

https://www.google.si/url?sa=i&rct=...aIM217mGzk7KqNAAeLk1-7Eg&ust=1473430889881298

That weird thingy on the right. That's what kind of usb port it is! Can I connect a basic usb cable in?

2. What kind of cable will I need, to connect the mixer to my pc? I want to use that built in interface!

3. If I want to use any other interfaces, let's say the behringer uca 202 interface, what cables do I need to connect it from mixer, to interface, then to computer?

Thanks!

 

[Farview]

That is just the other side of a normal usb cable. USB cables are directional, so it has a different connector on each side. That way, you don't plug it in backwards.

A normal usb cable will work.

 

[Steenamaroo]

Hi there,
Your image link isn't working but is this what you're talking about at the top left?


If so, it's a standard USB A-B cable you want - The kind of thing pretty much every printer and USB hard drive caddy uses.

I'm looking at the manual and it sounds like that USB interface is there for input to the mixer only.
That means if you were doing a live show and wanted to integrate a stream from your laptop or something, you could use the USB port.
There
There is no mention of USB output from the desk, that I can see.
I'd completely disregard the USB option, unless I've misread or misunderstood it.


Question three.
If you're thinking about any kind of longer term recording setup with discrete inputs (separate channels) I'd start from scratch, gear wise.
If, however, you use this desk for live rehearsals or something and you just want some quick'n'nasty recordings for fun, you should be able to use any of the stereo line level out options.
The desk has RCA record sends as well as power-amp outputs.
If you're unsure, check the manual and confirm that your chosen output is line-level.

Do NOT use any of the speaker outputs on the rear with a computer or recording interface. They are powered outputs designed for loudspeakers, and will destroy line level equipment.

Hope that's useful.

 

[colja]

Hi there,
Your image link isn't working but is this what you're talking about at the top left?
View attachment 97915

If so, it's a standard USB A-B cable you want - The kind of thing pretty much every printer and USB hard drive caddy uses.

I'm looking at the manual and it sounds like that USB interface is there for input to the mixer only.
That means if you were doing a live show and wanted to integrate a stream from your laptop or something, you could use the USB port.
There
There is no mention of USB output from the desk, that I can see.
I'd completely disregard the USB option, unless I've misread or misunderstood it.


Question three.
If you're thinking about any kind of longer term recording setup with discrete inputs (separate channels) I'd start from scratch, gear wise.
If, however, you use this desk for live rehearsals or something and you just want some quick'n'nasty recordings for fun, you should be able to use any of the stereo line level out options.
The desk has RCA record sends as well as power-amp outputs.
If you're unsure, check the manual and confirm that your chosen output is line-level.

Do NOT use any of the speaker outputs on the rear with a computer or recording interface. They are powered outputs designed for loudspeakers, and will destroy line level equipment.

Hope that's useful.

Well, yes, that's the port that I was talking about! And yes, that usb is input and output! Let me link it.

DYNACORD ? PowerMate 3 ? PowerMate 1600-3

"DIGITAL USB 2.0 AUDIO INTERFACE

The USB 2.0 port serves as a digital audio interface between the PowerMate and a PC or Mac.

Four channels can be transmitted in either direction simultaneously. This interface can therefore be used either for the input of audio signals (e.g. for playback or interval music) or else for live- or studio-recording applications. It is configured by selecting the relevant setting in the menu.

For the use of the PowerMate with a PC or Mac, a free Cubase LE license as well as the requisite USB drivers are included free-of-charge on the supplied DVD."

So that means that I can record with it? Anyways, thank you very much!

 

[Steenamaroo]

Oh, ok. I see it now.
Yeah, the manuals very broken up but later on it does tell you which faders control the USB output channels.

In that case, you can use the USB interface to record your live mix.
Because you have four channels you can even separate things out a bit - keep the vocals on a separate channel, or whatever.

Same applies, if you're going for a long term studio setup it's probably not a great road but if you want to record your rehearsals it'll work just fine.

 

[ecc83]

From the quality of the writing of the specification and the general "no nonsense" wording of the manual I would say that the mixer is a pretty useful bit of kit.

Very unusual to have 4 tracks bi-directional in a USB mixer and only very recently did we see 24bit operation. The provision of MIDI ports is almost unheard of!

That manual (and all other documents) stand very careful reading especially about the implementation of the USB facility and installation of drivers. You might find W7 is the last OS you can use the mixer with but I feel sure that if you set it up correctly the device will give good results.

I suggest you set a Restore point on your PC so that if you do cluckup you can quickly "return to base" and have another try.

You now need a pair of pretty meaty passive monitors!

Dave.

 

[colja]

From the quality of the writing of the specification and the general "no nonsense" wording of the manual I would say that the mixer is a pretty useful bit of kit.

Very unusual to have 4 tracks bi-directional in a USB mixer and only very recently did we see 24bit operation. The provision of MIDI ports is almost unheard of!

That manual (and all other documents) stand very careful reading especially about the implementation of the USB facility and installation of drivers. You might find W7 is the last OS you can use the mixer with but I feel sure that if you set it up correctly the device will give good results.

I suggest you set a Restore point on your PC so that if you do cluckup you can quickly "return to base" and have another try.

You now need a pair of pretty meaty passive monitors!

Dave.

Well, I've got 2 bell V4 speakers, and a bell subwoofer! I think it's a VPS 300l sub. I kind of can't remember the tag.

 

[colja]

As I said, my dad is in music since ever. We have all the equipment, 15 mics (shure betas, sm57s, electrovoice for female vocals, and a bass kick mic t bone bd 300).