new mixer not working :(

[verilath]

so i just bought a brand new out of the box Alesis Multimix 8 usb power mixer and some brand new sure sm57 and 52beta mics (for recording drums). all in all i spent close to $900 on brand new equipment and when I plug in the 4 mics to the 4 mixer mic preamps and power it up and even switch on the phantom power, i get no responce or pickup indicators on the mixer. the led lights dont show any levels when i turn gain or volumes up at all. i have tried messing arround with all the settings but i cant get any sign that the mixer is picking up the mics input at all. Im kind of new to recording setup, but it seems to be a pretty basic rig. AM i doing something wrong?

 

[Gherkin]

Have you read the manual?

Is there any indication that the mixer is actually turning on?

Have you had any prior experience using mixers?

 

[willowhaus]

Does the power light come on? That's 1st...

You don't need phantom power for those mics. Plug one in with a good mic cable (good=working), Then, set the little black knob at the top of that channel at about 12 o'clock, and set the big knob on the bottom row to the 0 mark. Finally, set the big knob (bottom row) all the way to the right to 0 as well.

Also, try switching the "2T to Mix" button - that should probably be off.

If you don't see something on the meters or hear audio (I assume you have a way to listen to this thing) then I'd assume something's wrong with the mixer.