Alto L8 mixer + some mixer routing help please

[born2die]

As the title says I have just picked up an L8 Alto mixer for £50 http://www.altoproaudio.com/html/mixers.php I am picking it up next week I was wondering if anybody here has used them and if they are any good. My only other real choice was a Behringer Xenyx but I have heard bad things about there noise levels etc.

 

I also have a couple of routing questions.

 

1)

 

Is it best to send the keyboards into the mixer as either Mono or stereo IE going stereo pairs out to mono input on the mixer or keep them as a stereo source.

 

2)

 

I understand that phantom power can cripple a keyboard and that this mixer has phantom power on or off for all four of it's channels as a group. Now is the phantom power only present through the mic xlr socket or would it be present at the jack input sockets. IE If I have the phantom power on for the 4 mic channels and I plug a keyboard into the seperate jack input am I going to kill my gear?

 

3)

 

I take it that the separate control room out's mean that I can connect a second pair of monitors to the setup please correct me if I am wrong.

 

many thanks in advance and I know that these are dumb beginner questions but this is my first foray into the world of mixers and I really don't want to blow anything up or cause irreparable damage to any part of my kit.

 

Tristian

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[J. Dan]

Phantom Power only goes on the XLR - it will not be present at the 1/4" Inputs.

 

Assuming you are planning on running stereo out of the mixer, I would just use a stereo channel. The only advantage to using two mono channels (panned hard left/right) is that you get individual control (EQ, FX) over each channel whereas on a stereo channel, everything is applied equally to both channels.

 

Not sure what difference there will be in the control room output as this mixer does not have PFL/solo buttons. Normally soloing a channel only does it in the control room/headphone output but does not affect the main mix. Looks like the control room output on this is exactly the same as the main mix.

[timwat]

Beginner questions are by definition NOT dumb - much "dumber" is not asking the questions at all. But providing more information makes responses easier. What purpose are you intending? Live use? Home recording? Do you run stereo speakers (if live)? What keyboards are you using?

 

1) Sending keys mono or stereo depends on a) if the patch you're using is imaged as stereo (many digital pianos, multilayer string pads, etc.) or set up as mono, and b) if you're running stereo or mono output - for live sound or recording. One easy test is to use your ears - listen to the patch on headphones and determine if the patch has built-in stereo imaging or if it is simply mono duplicated. Despite one output of your keyboard being labled "mono" (often the left channel), the patch itself may sound different/worse using only one leg. Some keyboards recognize this and provide a menu option to turn the outputs into dual monos...check your manual for that.

 

2) The manual for your mixer states that phantom only appears at the XLR inputs, not the TRS bal/unbal line inputs. When in doubt, use the Google and the Internets to read your manual. Just use 1/4" cables to connect your keyboards to the mixer and you'll have no phantom power issues. BTW, always connect your mics to the mixer BEFORE turning on phantom power (or powering on the mixer).

 

3) From the manual:

 

"2 TRACK signal path: If you push down the 2TK TO CONTROL ROOM button, the 2 TRACK IN signal will be routed into the Control Room output and the level will be adjusted by the Control Room knob nearby the Main MIX LEVEL knob. If you push the 2TR TO MIX button the 2 TRACK IN signal will be routed into the MAIN output and will be adjusted by the MAIN MIX LEVEL knob."

 

Hope that helps some.

[born2die]

Many thanks for all the advice I found the manual link then posted without reading doh

 

I am using solely for home recording purposes

 

IE Keys in

Sound Module in

Tascam soundcard in (Runs the audio from the pc)

pc onboard built-in soundcard in (Old dos games that cannot hack firewire

audio)

Mic in

Line in for cd tape etc

 

Outs

Pc 2.1 logitech speakers

to amp for jbl monitors

 

It's a simple setup at the mo I know I should have spent more and got a bigger soundcard but I got a tascam fireone new at an unbelievable price so I planned for a mixer in the future but now that I have a good second hand one coming it's time to figure out the wiring.

 

As I mainly play piano using either the Juno-G or VST I guess that the audio from the juno and tascam would be better going to the stereo inputs and run the rest in as mono sources I also will have an extra stereo pair or dual mono on the fireone if needed.

 

What I am kinda hoping is that as well as simplifying the routing nightmare I have now I can wire up the two sets of speakers so I can switch from one to the other for monitoring purposes without having to grope for wire behind the rig (I know this will involve switching off speakers)