Need hook up help

  • Thread starter Thread starter ChadP56
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ChadP56

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After a little time off from past attempts, I've ordered some more equipment and am hoping to try again. I have a Mackie DFX12 Mixer
and I want to plug my insturments/mics into that and then go to my new M-Audio Firewire 410 interface. Right now I'm using cool edit pro and have a pretty top notch Windows XP PC. My biggest problem has always been noise which is why I have this new Audio interface and bought the mixer before.

OK, so here is what I'm trying to figure out. What is the best way to hook these two devices together to get the best quality? When I hook a mic into the Firewire 410 straight to it, I get no noise, very nice. When I hook a mic to the mixer and then to the 410 I start getting noise. If I use the Main outputs with only one wire I get signal to one channel, should I use both outputs? Should I use the 1/4 inch or the XLR? Should I use the tape out and some sort of adapter? Where am I best to plug into the Firewire 410? What other factors am I not considering? What is an acceptable level of noise using the mixer when I don't get any noise going direct in?

Below are links to the products. Thanks for your help. Without this forum I'd be pulling my hair out!

Firewire 410 click on close up view
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/FireWire410-focus.html

Mackie DFX12 Mixer
http://www.mackie.com/home/showimage.html?u=/products/dfxseries/images/DFX12_front.jpg
 
here's what I would do:

microphones into mixer...main outs of mixer into FireWire 410.
Microphones that you want to go into channel 1 of the 410 pan them hard Left on the mixer.
Microphones that you want to go into channel 2, pan them hard right. That way if you have only one microphone you're recording off of, it goes out the Left channel of the main output of the mixer and into channel 1 on the firepod (mono channel). Bam! You got signal. Easiest/cleanest way you'll probably be able to do it.

However, probably even a little more cleaner would be to utilize the inserts on the mixer instead of the main outs. This will also leave the main outs on the mixer available for monitoring back if you wanted...but not needed. This way you just plug in a patch cable into the inserts (plugging all the way into it will break the connection, but you don't really need it to go out the Main outs anyway) and the signal will be sent to the 410. This can be handy if you find yourself upgrading to an interface that supports more than two analog ins. Then you can also return the stereo buss from Cool Edit out the 410 and into one of the stereo inputs on the mixer...then monitor off the main outs.
 
Clarification

This way you just plug a patch cable into the inserts (plugging all the way into it will break the connection, but you don't really need it to go out the Main outs anyway)

What do you mean when you say inserts? Also, are you saying not to plug it all the way in? I get confused easily.
 
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