I have to do a job in a shitty little studio for my mate! He has a Mackie 32-8 and I have my laptop but he has no external soundcard and no interface! I need a way of connecting the outputs on the desk to my laptop and then my phones out on my laptop to my desk to monitor!
Can I get a lead made up that connects the L/R main outputs to the line in on my laptop? Can i still have it in stereo? I know I have to do all the mxing etc. on the desk but this is not a problem!!
Do I plug the phones out of the laptop into a channel on the desk? Will this be in stereo?
When I have the main mix going to the laptop and the laptop going to the desk, won`t the mix coming from the laptop be going back into the laptop thru the desk?
I also have direct outs on each channel of the Mackie but when I plug these into the laptop using 1/4" to minipin reducers, they get very distorted and overloaded! Should this be the case or am I doing something wrong?
Can anyone help?
Laptop Connection
2Basically, Im lookin for the cheapest way to get one channel from my Mackie onto my laptop and stream that back to the Mackie for monitoring!
Laptop Connection
3First of all, why the laptop? I don't get it.
What are you planning to do? Does this job involve a band playing music?
If you're doing this job in a studio, no matter how shitty it is, it should have it's own monitoring system and a devise to mix down to. No matter how shitty this equipment will be, it'll work better than your laptop. Assuming it's a studio for recording music and not a fitness studio.
Why do you have to plug the laptop back into the desk? Can't you just connect the phones output of the computer to the monitor amp?
The laptop's input is overloading because the mixer is sending out +4dB line level. That might be more than it can handle. Why don't you reduce the desk's output level via L/R fader?
Have you tried the control room outputs of the desk? I assume that's what it's called on a Mackie. You should be able to control the output level independently from the mains. You could get a Y-cable with two unbalanced 1/4" jacks on the desk's side and a unbalanced mini-stereo jack on the laptop's side. That should work.
If you have to send something from the Mackie to your laptop and then for monitoring back to the Mackie, use the busses to send the signal to the laptop. Just don't send those busses to the L/R output. You can use the group output's of the Mackie to do this. If you want to monitor in stereo, you'll have to bring the signal back to two channels of the desk. You can do this with a Y-cable as well.
Good luck.
What are you planning to do? Does this job involve a band playing music?
If you're doing this job in a studio, no matter how shitty it is, it should have it's own monitoring system and a devise to mix down to. No matter how shitty this equipment will be, it'll work better than your laptop. Assuming it's a studio for recording music and not a fitness studio.
Why do you have to plug the laptop back into the desk? Can't you just connect the phones output of the computer to the monitor amp?
The laptop's input is overloading because the mixer is sending out +4dB line level. That might be more than it can handle. Why don't you reduce the desk's output level via L/R fader?
Have you tried the control room outputs of the desk? I assume that's what it's called on a Mackie. You should be able to control the output level independently from the mains. You could get a Y-cable with two unbalanced 1/4" jacks on the desk's side and a unbalanced mini-stereo jack on the laptop's side. That should work.
If you have to send something from the Mackie to your laptop and then for monitoring back to the Mackie, use the busses to send the signal to the laptop. Just don't send those busses to the L/R output. You can use the group output's of the Mackie to do this. If you want to monitor in stereo, you'll have to bring the signal back to two channels of the desk. You can do this with a Y-cable as well.
Good luck.
Laptop Connection
4Thanks for your help Max,
Yes, its a recording studio with a Fostex D2424 but its broke so I gotta record everything track by track to my laptop and then mix it using Cubase!
I had the direct out of one channel plugged into my line in, this was overloading! Is this the output you said was at +4 or is that the main out? So if I get a Y cable I can plug the control room outs to my line in and with another Y cable I can plug my phones out to the two inputs on my monitors power amp?
Yes, its a recording studio with a Fostex D2424 but its broke so I gotta record everything track by track to my laptop and then mix it using Cubase!
I had the direct out of one channel plugged into my line in, this was overloading! Is this the output you said was at +4 or is that the main out? So if I get a Y cable I can plug the control room outs to my line in and with another Y cable I can plug my phones out to the two inputs on my monitors power amp?
Laptop Connection
5Also, how do I route the busses to the laptop? I know that if I have 8 mics on the kit, I can mix them on the desk and send them all to group 1 but what output do I use to send this to the line in on my laptop?
If I send group 1 to the laptop and the laptop back to two channels and send these to the master then is it true that these will not be sent to my laptop?
If I send group 1 to the laptop and the laptop back to two channels and send these to the master then is it true that these will not be sent to my laptop?
Laptop Connection
6- Press the grp 1-2 button on those channels you want to send to the buss 1-2. The button should be next to the fader.
- Make sure the "L/R" or "Main" is NOT engaged on those channels.
- Use the Group 1 and the Group 2 jack outputs of your desk (they might be called Buss 1 and 2). You'll find them at the back of the desk.
- Pan your drum signals as you would like them to appear in the stereo mix.
- If you pan something to the left, you'll send it to buss 1, if you pan it to the right it'll be send to buss 2. If you leave the signal centred, it'll appear on both busses. For stereo, you know.
- Bring your drum mix back on two of the desk's channels.
- Pan those two hard to the left and to the right.
- Don't send it to the busses but to L/R.
- Read the Mackie's manual
- Make sure the "L/R" or "Main" is NOT engaged on those channels.
- Use the Group 1 and the Group 2 jack outputs of your desk (they might be called Buss 1 and 2). You'll find them at the back of the desk.
- Pan your drum signals as you would like them to appear in the stereo mix.
- If you pan something to the left, you'll send it to buss 1, if you pan it to the right it'll be send to buss 2. If you leave the signal centred, it'll appear on both busses. For stereo, you know.
- Bring your drum mix back on two of the desk's channels.
- Pan those two hard to the left and to the right.
- Don't send it to the busses but to L/R.
- Read the Mackie's manual
Laptop Connection
7I can`t find anything that says group 1/2 out or buss out? There are tape send and returns! Are these the ones Im looking for?
Laptop Connection
8They might be called submaster outputs or something like that. If that doesn't work, use the Submaster Inserts 1 and 2. The tip is output the ring is input. Just plug the tip of your 1/4" cable into the insert. Since we're talking about unbalanced signals, this should work just as well.
And yes, read the manual.
And yes, read the manual.
Laptop Connection
9I know, I should read the manual! Thanks for all your help and Im sorry for bothering ya! I found the submaster outputs! I got two of them Y leads and connected the control room outs to the laptop and the laptop out to the monitors power amp! Everything is working fine and I can get a nice hot signal however there is still some noise (humming, crackling etc.) i the background. I`m sayin still cos this was the problem at the start! I can`t figure out why, it doesnt seem to be affecting the signal its just added to the signal if ya get me?
The monitors are just Pioneer hi-fi speakers, there good hi-fi speakers but they`e not fit for a studio but they`re all I have at the moment, the power is also old and shit and looks rundown! When I turn on the power amp and turn up the speakers, there is a crackling sound (the same as on the recorded track) even when there is nothing playing through them! Since there is no signal going from the speakers or power amp to the laptop, I can`t figure out why this crackling is being recorded?
Do you know why this is happening??
The monitors are just Pioneer hi-fi speakers, there good hi-fi speakers but they`e not fit for a studio but they`re all I have at the moment, the power is also old and shit and looks rundown! When I turn on the power amp and turn up the speakers, there is a crackling sound (the same as on the recorded track) even when there is nothing playing through them! Since there is no signal going from the speakers or power amp to the laptop, I can`t figure out why this crackling is being recorded?
Do you know why this is happening??
Laptop Connection
10Ok! I brought out a hi-fi and plugged the line out of my laptop ino the speakers, this sounds grand! The minute I plug the Control Outs, Main outs, studio outs or submaster outs into the line in, the fuzz starts even when I`m not playing anything, ust plugging them in! Its not oerloading cos when I bring the line in level right down I can still hear the crackle and fuzz! Your right bout the main mix level being louder than the control out but both have a crackling signal!
The monitors are fine when they are turned on and the amp turned up, its just when something is sent to them that they crackle! So its not the power amp, speakers or line out of my laptop! It could be the desk or my line in, any idea what could be wrong?
The monitors are fine when they are turned on and the amp turned up, its just when something is sent to them that they crackle! So its not the power amp, speakers or line out of my laptop! It could be the desk or my line in, any idea what could be wrong?