Connect Mixer To Audio Interface For Recording

📒 Show Notes 📒
Gear used in this video:
1️⃣ Audio Interface used:

2️⃣ Mixer used:

3️⃣ Cables used:

4️⃣ Mic Stand and Mic:

6️⃣ MPC One:

Links for Video Gear that I use:

DISCLAIMER: Some product links are affiliate links which means if you buy something we'll receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Social Media

[GeraldWilhelmBradenComposer]

Please always be aware of this important step for live sound AND for recording! When you set the "Gain" or "Input Attenuation" on each channel for your microphones and/or instruments, the idea is to get a clean input volume on each channel, which you will then send to the main mixer outputs with the channel volume faders or knobs. When you are checking your output at the main output LED meters for each mixer channel, you want to make sure your meters are registering at about "O -VU, " or what is called "Unity, " as Matthew mentioned, and that EACH channel is not even close to having a red "Clipping" light on any channel. Though REMEMBER that each additional microphone and/or instrument added to the mix, is going to raise the "SUM" of the output volume going to the mixers main output. This will cause your main output LED meters to show more volume, and a hotter mix, possibly now going up past "Unity" or even in the "Red." Once you have your "Gain" or "Input Attenuation" set for each channel, you will have to adjust the output fader or volume knob on each channel a little lower, to insure that the "SUM" of all the channels you are mixing and/or recording do not overdrive the main outputs on your mixer to your live PA system and/or recording device. Also be aware that raising the bass, mid, or high EQ on any channel, can also affect the output volume to the main mixer outputs, so you might have to lower a channel volume a little more with EQ adjustments! THIS is how expert sound engineers achieve CLEAN live mixes and recordings! It's ALL about setting your "Gains" or "Input Attenuation" properly!....Peace!🎼❤️

[diggeroldmate]

I spent 6 hours trying to figure this stuff out as a newb, today, and this is the one I got the most out of. Excellent.

[asleeds]

This video is the perfect beginners video for setting up a mixer into an audio interface. Clear, unhurried instruction without unnecessary waffle and then simple, straightforward demonstrations of what has been explained. This video was exactly what I was looking for to set up multiple synths into Cubase. Well done Sir.

[Luigimeraz]

I have experimented with a setup similar to this learning by trial and error. Your video was so clear and to the point and it made me confident to go in again and experiment some more. I do have a pedalboard and a few synths going into the mixer but the way you showed how to separate that in the daw with multiple channels and muting on the mixer really got me excited. Your awesome! I love this workaround since I don't have a crazy interface, or usb mixer.

[bryanmckenzie]

I have searched for long periods of time on youtube for this exact type of setup! Thank you!

[berrymusicstl]

This was extremely helpful! I am a Music teacher who does a lot of online teaching. I have a Mackie 8 channel mixer, the Scarlett 2 channel input, and I use zoom. In the past I’ve tried to use the mixer with the scarlet and the sound was awful. Your explanation of where to set volume levels was very helpful.
Thank you so much!!

[jakejuntilla]

This video is going to be so helpful for people especially getting started with home recording. Great Video!

[atoutelemonde]

after almost a life time looking for a video to explain this I finally found it here, Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge!

[Kevintendo]

Hey Matthew, I already know how to do this. The only reason I tell you this is that I did not search for this video, nor did I need the contents of it. HOWEVER, YouTube still recommended it to me, and your title and thumbnail were so enticing that I clicked anyway. Your friendly demeanor and straightfoward delivery are SO awesome. I'm definitely subbing!

[troygreen]

Small church preacher/audio guy/recording "talent" here. Your Simple, thorough walk-through was very helpful for this beginner/armature!

[TraversyMedia]

Great tutorial. I'm trying to get into music production and this was really helpful.

[alexmazyck]

My jaw just dropped when I saw you put the line inputs into the front of the interface. Who would have thought?

[Neuri]

I learned an awesome tip from Dom Hawkins. Put a gain plugin on the channel at -18 and keep the faders at 0 as they are actually more sensitive to small changes around 0 as opposed to at -18. It works and makes mixing more sensitive.

[jasonbiggs]

Thanks for taking the time to make this. It really gets people recording quickly. Straight to the point.

[grahamcleveland]

Dude, your videos are very informative and explain things in a frank and easy to understand way.. Plus your general energy is easy going and fun, which also makes learning what might be intimidating material less sinister.. Good looking out my dude!

[robertiddon]

Thanks for the lesson Man I learned a lot of things, I am just beginning my musical journey at the age of 70 and teachers like you are a god send again thank you.😃😃

[leswright]

Thanks for this. Until recently I always set the gain too high on my mixer and interface in the hope this would reduce noise later. That backfires. Recording to give an RMS level of -18 dB and peak of around -12 dB in the DAW track really IS the sweet spot, even when recording at only 16 bit. And one other thing that recommends going through these Behringer mixers (I have the 802)--the tripartite British EQ controls allow you to tweak your frequencies in analog BEFORE recording. My condenser mics tend to be really botton-heavy, so it really helps to cut the bass a tad from the get go.

[martinkulik]

Not many ppl can explain things clearly, this guy can!

[robertcraig]

Exactly what i was trying to figure out. Im brand new at this so this was super helpful. Thank you!

[OnlineMD]

Just found this channel! I owned a Mackie ProFX4V2 mixer which was really nice but it was pathetically difficult to record in good quality on a laptop. SO, I sold it on Facebook Marketplace for $50, and bought a Mackie ProFX6V3 USB mixer. I love it, though I only get 2 channels of USB recording capability at any moment. In fact, I did buy a MOTU M4 Audio interface, but quickly found out that the Stereo Line-In jacks at the back, cannot handle the output of a Smartphone or iPad; only the output from the line-out of mixers etc. The voltage involved is very different, between that of a Line-Out and a headphone jack. It was a learning experience so I had to return the M4. Sure, I could have gotten a stereo input (for stereo background music like in karaoke/covers in the MOTU by using twin line-in into the Combo inputs in the front, but that left me without a microphone input. Yes, yes, I could have recorded the stereo music track, then recorded a vocal on a separate track. No good for karaoke if I have the lyrics on the video! :)

Besides, an Audio interface DOES NOT give you any reverb; you have to cook up reverbs on the DAW you're using. Actually the reverb from Cakewalk by Bandlab, which is my DAW, isn't too bad. If you sing into a microphone plugged into an Audio Interface and set the monitor mode on, you can fool with the reverb to suit you. All this was a headache so I chose the easier way out and that was to get the Mackie USB mixer I mentioned above.