Stereo out from mixer to Multitracker

[paz8473]

First post!
I have been making home recordings for at least 10 years, nothing serious, just a hobby, recording stuff to give to anyone that is interested, I have always recorded direct into my multitracker (formerly Fostex DMT-8, currently Fostex VF160ex), I just purchased my first mixer thinking I could have a little more tweakability over sounds before they get recorded, also I miss having knobs to turn for adjustments instead of going into the menus of the VF160ex to change things.

Being new to actual mixers and how to hook them up, I can't figure out how to get a stereo signal out of the mixer and to my recorder, if I hook my L and R out from a synth or guitar processor to the stereo inputs on the mixer and plug headphones into the mixer it sounds awesome and I can change the balance from L to R perfectly, however, any way I have tried to connect the signal to my 160 I only get a mono signal, I have tried a Y splitter (Hosa YPP-118) is this the proper splitter? or am I just connecting something wrong?

I can connect the L and R outs of a device to say mono channel 1 and 2 on the mixer and then direct out to channel 1 and 2 on my recorder, achieving stereo sound using 2 tracks for each instrument, but I just can't figure out how to utilize the stereo channels on the mixer for recording purposes, the mixer is a Behringer 2442 fx pro if that helps, and I don't need to be told a bunch of negative stuff about Behringer boards, I have read enough of that elsewhere on this site to know owning a Behringer product gets you frowned upon and categorized as some sort of loser, but it's what I bought and what I intend to use.

Any insight on how to use the stereo channels on this mixer will be greatly appreciated, Thanks.

 

[AlexW]

I'm not familiar with that mixer, but you should be able to connect the stereo main outputs from the mixer into your recorder using two balanced cables (left and right main output). This output should have the tracks panned correctly from your stereo input. Interesting that you can plug your guitar into the mixer and get a decent tone as well. Does the mixer have a high impedance input?

 

[paz8473]

Is it even possible to get a stereo sound recording to a single track? The more I thought about it, it seems like you would have to split the left and right signal on two seperate tracks to be able to pan them to the left and right channels of a stereo recording, correct?
I am interested in this because I have a synth now and many of the patches utilize a very 3D effect which becomes flat if recorded into a single track even if I use a stereo Y splitter, so is it a reasonable conclusion that if you send a stereo signal into a single track it essentially becomes mono? or can you somehow get the stereo effect on a single track?

In the past I always wrote and recorded very heavy metal type music and stereo effects didn't matter so much to me, I would just record multiple guitar parts and pan them where I wanted them to get a stereo sound, now that I am experimenting with synths and such, I want to record the patches with the full stereo surround effects.

The mixer I have has 8 mono inputs and 8 direct outputs, then it has 4 stereo inputs labeled 9/10 11/12 13/14 15/16, but I don't know where they output to, possibly the sub outputs? but these outs are labeled 1-8, just like the direct outs which I am using without any confusion.
I've looked through the manual a few times but I guess it just confuses me, I always just plugged in and hit record, all this additional stuff involved with a mixer makes me want to go back to that method.

 

[AlexW]

On my mixer (Spirit M12) there are four stereo inputs as well. They get bussed out to the master section of the mixer--there are no direct outs associated with them. Maybe the same for your case--so you'd need to use the stereo output from your master section as I indicated above or use two mono channels if you need direct outputs.

If yours has a direct output on it; it's probably a stereo jack (similar to a headphone output). In this case, a typical y cable won't work--you need to get an insert cable, which has a single balanced TRS 1/4-in jack on one end and two 1/4-in TS jacks labeled "tip" and "ring" on the other end. This will provide a stereo output that you can route to your recorder.