Hooking up a mixer to a computer
Whether you are a live events manager, a touring musician, or simply a radio stock to a amp hooking an up audiophile, getting the most out of your carefully chosen sound system setup is key. Many people don't realize that even with read article best sound equipment, the bottom line of your audio quality usually comes down to how well you have it all connected together. The most important connection is between the mixer and your main speakers. This easy, step-by-step guide will show you hooking to read article up the smartest, most dynamic, and scalable connection between your mixing console and your powered speakers. You may have also heard powered speakers referred to as active speakers or self-powered speakers. All of these names simply describe a speaker unit that contains both the speaker and its amplifier, alongside all of the other relevant accessories such as crossovers and subwoofers.
If so, how? The output section of a mixer may have a number of different connectors this Yamaha MG only uses jack socketsso you'll need to have the correct cable to interface with the PC input. Via email. News Editor Chris Al pacino dating history replies : To get the audio from a mixer or any source here into a computer, you'll need some kind of audio interface — also known as a soundcard. If this is the case, you can simply plug the outputs hooing the mixer in this case either the Stereo Out, Monitor, Rec Out or Aux Send into the input of your on—board soundcard.
Back to hooking up mixer to computer basics, help needed? - Cockos Incorporated Forums
Last Updated: July 28, References. With more than 35 years of experience, he specializes in home automation and home theater system installations. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewedtimes. An audio mixer, also known as a mixing board or a soundboard, is please click for source to control the levels of multiple inputs so you can balance the sounds correctly.
View Full Version : Back to hooking up mixer to computer basics, help needed? All the diagrams show using it with the brotherly model, Tascam MUF, i. I mean, I know you have to send the main outs to the interface, in my case it is a firewire unit, but what is the best way to connect so you can monitor with and without headphones and take advantage of the inputs and outputs correctly. I have searched all over the Net for a decent diagram, but no dice. When with your help I get it figured out, will post a pic. I go through this warmup part when I go back into the studio after a long hiatus, and forget the best way or tinashe and g eazy dating basics, but each time learn a new method that has been tried and true for someone in this forum who has been through the prepping and hooking up fire, amen.
Do not use a hub. Click the device. With Mac, hardware devices can make use of pre-existing drivers on your computer, and no "installations" are usually required. If your controller is not recognized by your software, you may need to install a new "mapping" list of reactions your computer gives to MIDI data sent by your controller to get it working.
Usually, mass-marketed controllers are listed by brand and model in your DJ software, and you will be able to simply select it the first time you set up your software like in Traktor , or you may have to learn how to download, or make, and then apply a third-party mapping to your device.
This, while somewhat confusing for a first-timer, is usually straightforward, and there are many online resources to figure this out. Be sure to research what you want to do, and use YouTube as a resource.
Remember, someone has already done what you are doing. Rely on your resources; the internet is your biggest one.
Route sound from your computer, out to the speakers. Route the cue sound to your headphones. To do this: Connect your headphones to your computers headphone jack Find "cue" or "monitor" or "preview" in your audio - routing page of your settings window. Your hardware will almost always have a button which allows you to select which decks are in the cue. There is also usually a knob on the front of your controller, or in your software, enabling you to choose how much main vs. This is called the cue mix.
Be sure you set this properly or you will hear all cue, or all mains in your headphones. Use your headphones to preview a track and see how it sounds before you mix it in. It takes practice to listen to two things at once. Do I have to download specific DJ software for my Mac? Or should one come up straight away when the USB cable is connecting my Mac and laptop together? You don't have to download software, as in early Macs there is Thunderbolt 3, which supports up to Gen 3. In later versions there is an updated software for USB data transfer, so don't download any additional software.
Yes No. Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0. You can find it on the manufacturer's website at studiomasterprofessional. Not Helpful 0 Helpful 1. Where will I connect the wire of the speaker to my laptop if I already used the headphone jack in my laptop? Unless the laptop has a second plug for audio output, you can't. However, you could use an adapter to use both, though I'm not sure the laptop will play through both of them. Not Helpful 2 Helpful 0.
Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. If your hardware fails to show up on a Mac, the hardware itself is second to blame. First should be user error. Passive speakers are easier to upgrade and modify to your particular needs, whereas powered speakers are difficult to modify - and sometimes actually impossible to modify.
However, with active speakers, this difficulty of modification is compensated for in other ways. Powered speakers are less likely to need modification, as the amplifier they contain is built and optimized for the speaker. Now that we have defined both powered speakers and mixers, it is time to see how the two come together.
Luckily, as powered speakers are a convenient all-in-one product, this is not a difficult or complicated process to get correct. As there are a huge range of different mixers out there, you will need to identify whether your mixer utilizes a balanced connection or an imbalanced connection.
You will be able to tell which of these connections your mixer utilizes by looking at the port. If your mixer has three separate contact points, then it will be balanced. If not, your connection will most likely be unbalanced. The next step to optimizing your sound quality is to consider the position of your powered speaker units themselves.
Obviously, this will depend on whether they are being used as the main speakers, in-booth monitor speakers, or if they have a different function for example, for use in a radio or television show production. Now it is time to connect the mixer to the speakers using your choice of cable either balanced or unbalanced.
To do this, connect the output cable from the speakers into the input port on your mixing console. When it comes to surround-sound systems, most connections will allow multiple speakers to be connected.
Thanks to the simple design of powered speakers and the lack of multiple pieces of equipment, such as adding high-powered subwoofers , this step is self-explanatory and should not present any difficulties or complications.
To save your expensive equipment from any unexpected disasters, ensure that the volume on your active speaker is set to low before turning it on. Once your setup is connected, you can increase this volume in increment to your desired level.
The best way to be safe in the knowledge that your setup is optimized to your preferences is to test it out yourself and make any tweaks necessary. You will want to test each individual feature of your mixing console, including each element of the EQ and the volume controls. As mentioned earlier, it could be a good idea to check how the sound reaches various areas of the venue or space in question. We would advise moving around the room while the sound is playing at the level it will be during the actual event and seeing for yourself.
You can make any adjustments to the positioning of your powered speakers based on what you can hear. When you want to start the other inputs, press the "Solo" button a second time to turn it off. You can solo multiple channels at the same time. Use an auxiliary channel to "send" an audio signal to another source. Auxiliary channels work well when you need to send copies of audio to specific monitors or put effects on them.
Plug the monitor or effects rig into one of the ports on your mixer labeled "AUX" to start using the labeled auxiliary port. Turn the knob labeled "AUX" on the channel you want to send to adjust the volume level of the input. You can send multiple channels to an auxiliary channel. Basically, mixers take sounds from 2 or more input sources and merge them together to create a single output.
The sound engineer controls the way the inputs mix together to create the best-sounding output. Yes No. Not Helpful 1 Helpful 6. For most home studio recordings, you can get a lot of the same functions out of a sound mixing program on your computer.
Not Helpful 1 Helpful 5. It really depends on what kind of sound you are trying to achieve. A good rule of thumb for a basic mixer is to have at least as many input channels as band members. Not Helpful 1 Helpful 4. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube.
Helpful 2 Not Helpful 2. How to. And Other Equalizer Settings Explained. More References 1. Co-authored by:. Co-authors: Updated: July 28, Categories: Audio. Italiano: Usare un Mixer. Nederlands: Een geluidsmixer gebruiken. Bahasa Indonesia: Memakai Audio Mixer. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read , times.
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