is this a bad idea?

Nate Najar <[email protected]> wrote:
>I have an alesis studio 12r rackmount mixer that i've used a little
>bit for keyboards and stuff. so since i've eliminated my console in
>my project studio, i need something to monitor with. is it a bad idea
>to take the output of my millennia preamp and plug it into the line in
>of the alesis mixer and then take the insert of the alesis to my
>converters? Is it going to dirty it up or otherwise do something it
>shouldn't? should i use a y cable instead and split to both the mixer
>and the converters? the millennia now has an xlr out and i have a
>cable that goes xlr-trs. can i buy a balanced y cable? or is it
>unnecessary and i can just use a garden variety unbalanced y from
>radio shack? I know I'm nitpicking here, but i'd like to know the
>general consensus on how to best do this. thanks!

Use a Y cable.

If the signal is balanced, use a balanced Y cable.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Nate Najar wrote:

> I have an alesis studio 12r rackmount mixer that i've used a little
> bit for keyboards and stuff. so since i've eliminated my console in
> my project studio, i need something to monitor with. is it a bad idea
> to take the output of my millennia preamp and plug it into the line in
> of the alesis mixer and then take the insert of the alesis to my
> converters? Is it going to dirty it up or otherwise do something it
> shouldn't?

It'll dirty it up a little bit, yes.

Graham

On Tue, 3 Jun 2008 09:12:43 -0700 (PDT), Nate Najar
<[email protected]> wrote:

>I have an alesis studio 12r rackmount mixer that i've used a little
>bit for keyboards and stuff. so since i've eliminated my console in
>my project studio, i need something to monitor with. is it a bad idea
>to take the output of my millennia preamp and plug it into the line in
>of the alesis mixer and then take the insert of the alesis to my
>converters? Is it going to dirty it up or otherwise do something it
>shouldn't? should i use a y cable instead and split to both the mixer
>and the converters? the millennia now has an xlr out and i have a
>cable that goes xlr-trs. can i buy a balanced y cable? or is it
>unnecessary and i can just use a garden variety unbalanced y from
>radio shack? I know I'm nitpicking here, but i'd like to know the
>general consensus on how to best do this. thanks!
>
>Nate

I have a similar setup, with Millenia pre going into my convertors
(Fireface 800) and the return signal going to several different busses
one pair goes to the main mix which goes straight to the amp for
studio monitoring another 3 pairs go to headphone via an old mackie
1604 mixer I also have my talkback mic plugged in here so I can
communicate with the talent in the room down the hall where they
track. The first headphone pair gets distributed to 6 sets of phones
the other two are either solo or duo with a splitter. I use these for
the drummer in a different room who needs loads of click or for the
vocalist who wants non. or for the cans that are a different ohmage
and appear much louder than the rest.
This system seem s to work fine, I was using it for years with my
Yamaha DSP cards and the same Mackie mixer I'm sure it would work for
you if you have several returns on your sound card.

On Tue, 03 Jun 2008 09:12:43 -0700, Nate Najar wrote:

> I have an alesis studio 12r rackmount mixer that i've used a little
> bit for keyboards and stuff. so since i've eliminated my console in
> my project studio, i need something to monitor with. is it a bad idea
> to take the output of my millennia preamp and plug it into the line in
> of the alesis mixer and then take the insert of the alesis to my
> converters? Is it going to dirty it up or otherwise do something it
> shouldn't? should i use a y cable instead and split to both the mixer
> and the converters? the millennia now has an xlr out and i have a
> cable that goes xlr-trs. can i buy a balanced y cable? or is it
> unnecessary and i can just use a garden variety unbalanced y from
> radio shack? I know I'm nitpicking here, but i'd like to know the
> general consensus on how to best do this. thanks!
>
> Nate

I record straight into the computer and monitor off of the soundcard's
outputs. If you card supports hardware monitoring, this may work for
you as well.

Toby

** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

Nate Najar wrote:
> I have an alesis studio 12r rackmount mixer

> is it a bad idea
> to take the output of my millennia preamp and plug it into the line in
> of the alesis mixer and then take the insert of the alesis to my
> converters? Is it going to dirty it up or otherwise do something it
> shouldn't? should i use a y cable instead

I'd use a Y cable to send the output of your preamp to the mixer and to
the A/D converter. Although I didn't look at a block diagram, I suspect
that the Alesis mixer uses an attenuator ahead of the mic preamp as the
line input. It's probably not all that bad, but why send the output of
the Millenia through another active stage if it's not necessary? It has
plenty of output current to drive two loads.

> the millennia now has an xlr out and i have a
> cable that goes xlr-trs. can i buy a balanced y cable?

I'm sure Hosa or someone sells an XLR Y cable, which you can adapt to
1/4" TRS to go into the mixer. I'll bet the line input of your 12R is
actually balanced since it goes into the mic preamp. I have a Studio 32
manual, a mixer about the same vintage as the 12R, and that shows the
balanced line input configuration. The current 12R Multimix has balanced
line inputs, so yours probably does too.




--
If you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring and reach
me here:
double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo -- I'm really Mike Rivers
([email protected])

Hi Nate,

Does the Millennia have both a balanced and unbalanced output, or some
other form of second output? (Many preamps do.) If so, use the
balanced to feed your sound card, use the unbalanced to feed your
mixer for monitoring.

I prefer to monitor in the analog world whenever possible, so there is
no latency.

Dean


On Jun 3, 11:12 am, Nate Najar <[email protected]> wrote:
> I have an alesis studio 12r rackmount mixer that i've used a little
> bit for keyboards and stuff.  so since i've eliminated my console in
> my project studio, i need something to monitor with.  is it a bad idea
> to take the output of my millennia preamp and plug it into the line in
> of the alesis mixer and then take the insert of the alesis to my
> converters?  Is it going to dirty it up or otherwise do something it
> shouldn't?  should i use a y cable instead and split to both the mixer
> and the converters?  the millennia now has an xlr out and i have a
> cable that goes xlr-trs.  can i buy a balanced y cable?  or is it
> unnecessary and i can just use a garden variety unbalanced y from
> radio shack?  I know I'm nitpicking here, but i'd like to know the
> general consensus on how to best do this.  thanks!
>
> Nate

Nate Najar wrote:
> I have an alesis studio 12r rackmount mixer that i've used a little
> bit for keyboards and stuff. so since i've eliminated my console in
> my project studio, i need something to monitor with. is it a bad idea
> to take the output of my millennia preamp and plug it into the line in
> of the alesis mixer and then take the insert of the alesis to my
> converters? Is it going to dirty it up or otherwise do something it
> shouldn't?

It will dirty it up a bit, but if you are happy with the quality of sound
your mixer can pass in the first place, then thats not an unreasonable thing
to do.

geoff

On Jun 3, 12:12 pm, Nate Najar <[email protected]> wrote:
> I have an alesis studio 12r rackmount mixer that i've used a little
> bit for keyboards and stuff.  so since i've eliminated my console in
> my project studio, i need something to monitor with.  is it a bad idea
> to take the output of my millennia preamp and plug it into the line in
> of the alesis mixer and then take the insert of the alesis to my
> converters?  Is it going to dirty it up or otherwise do something it
> shouldn't?  should i use a y cable instead and split to both the mixer
> and the converters?  the millennia now has an xlr out and i have a
> cable that goes xlr-trs.  can i buy a balanced y cable?  or is it
> unnecessary and i can just use a garden variety unbalanced y from
> radio shack?  I know I'm nitpicking here, but i'd like to know the
> general consensus on how to best do this.  thanks!
>
> Nate

thanks everyone for your responses. y cable it is. the mnillennia
only has one output- and xlr, so i'll have to y cable it. and my
soundcard is an maudio profire lightbridge, which has no analog
section- it's stricly adat inputs so there' sno hardware monitoring.
it actually seems like using this littl emixer for monitoring would be
a good idea. i can put a reverb on the aux and put the mixer's outs
into my monitor controller (mackie big knob). so i can combine the
live input with the daw return. don't know why i didn't think of this
before. thanks again!

Nate