Some help with my Yamaha MG 12/4?

[Mike BL]

Hey everyone, I picked up a Yamaha MG 12/4 a month or so ago, and I've been using it to track acoustic guitar and vocals. I've been really happy with the results (it's amazing how much better everything sounds going through the mixers pres before getting to my Fostex MR-8), but this weekend, I'm going to be recording drums for the first time.

The setup I'm going to be using is this:

Oktava MC012s as overheads
SM-57 on the snare
Sennheiser E602 on kick

So, because I can only record two tracks at a time on the MR-8, I have to use the mixer to go from 4 to two. My problem, though, is that I find the mixer's manual incredibly confusing, and I don't understand exactly how everything should be hooked up.

If I just plug four mics straight into the first four channels on the mixer and arm the first two tracks on the fostex for recording, how do I know which tracks will show up where? Also, I'll want to pan the overheads, but for some reason, the pan controls on the mixer don't seem to be doing anything. I assume I'm doing something wrong.

Anyway, that's what I want to do....so if someone with knowledge of both units would be kind enough to walk me through a detailed description of what I should be doing, it'd be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[StevenLindsey]

I don't have either unit, but this is basically how it's done. Run your mics, of course, into 1-4 inputs on the mixer. Pan your kick and snare straight up and your overheads left and right to whatever degree you want the stereo spread. Depending on the song, you may want to just record them in mono. But, if you want stereo, pan the overheads. Run your stereo main outputs from your mixer to the inputs on the recorder. Record onto the paired tracks that you have there for stereo recording. You have to use two paired tracks or a dedicated stereo tracks - not sure how your machine is set up. I know it has the capability of recording in stereo to two tracks. If you just record to two mono tracks, you'll get no stereo spread. If you have inserts, you can put a little reverb on the snare. Hope this helps a bit.

 

[Bulls Hit]

You're recording 4 mics onto 2 tracks so you have to decide which tracks you will use for what.
I'd suggest maybe use Track 1 for your kick drum mic, and Track 2 for the other 3 mics.

Set up your mR8 to record track 1 from the left channel, and track 2 from the right channel.

Plug your kick mic into channel 1 on the 12/4 and pan hard left. Plug your other 3 mics into channels 2, 3 & 4 and pan each hard right. Turn the ST ON switch on channels 1 - 4. Now connect the left & right ST outs to your MR8, and you should be ready to rock.

Edit: On the above I've assumed your MR8 has just 2 inputs (stereo left and right). If it has 4 inputs, you could use the group buss on the 12/4 to output 4 tracks in total