Mute Alt34

[[email protected]]

There is a feature in the Alesis Multimix Firewire mixers called Mute
Alt 3/4. This feature send the signal of the selected channel to the
Stereo Bus Alt 3/4 and mute the signal in the Main Mix Stereo Bus.
BUT does this means that these muted channels will not be recorded via
firewire?

I have read the entire manual in from Alesis, with no results. I have
seen this feature in other mixers, like the Onyx from Mackie.
This feature is important for scenarios like this:
I want to record a band live. All mics from the drums, guitars,
singers go to the inputs of the mixers. ALL the channels are recorded
in a laptop via firewire. BUT I dont wont to hear the drums through
the main speakers, so i mute the drums, but i still want to record the
drums.

Thanks for the help. Hope I have been clear enough. (not native
english)

[Mike Rivers]

On Feb 3, 2:05 pm, wrote:
> There is a feature in the Alesis Multimix Firewire mixers called Mute
> Alt 3/4. This feature send the signal of the selected channel to the
> Stereo Bus Alt 3/4 and mute the signal in the Main Mix Stereo Bus.
> BUT does this means that these muted channels will not be recorded via
> firewire?

> I have read the entire manual in from Alesis, with no results.

I'm going to make an educated guess here. The manual says:

The Firewire port sends every individual mixer channel as well as
the MultiMix's MAIN OUT/2-TRACK OUT left and right signals
to the computer. This means that, for the MultiMix 12 FireWire,
12 individual channels are sent to the computer along with the
MAIN stereo pair (14 channels in total.) For the MultiMix 16
FireWire, 16 individual channels are sent to the computer along
with the MAIN stereo pair (18 channels in total.)

The INDIVIDUAL channels sent to the computer send the signal
after the preamp gain knob, the high-pass filter, the three-band EQ,
and the channel fader.

The block diagram for some strand reason (at least in the PDF on the
web site) doesn't show the Firewire interface, but given that
description, I would think that the individual channel Firewire feeds
come ahead of the bus assign (mute) switch. The Firewire feed from the
main L/R output would of course be affected by the mute switch since
anything assigned to bus 3/4 wouldn't go to the main L/R bus.

You can always call Alesis and ask them. Or if you want a good laugh
or you're interested in statistics (how many will have any idea what
you're talking about), call your friendly local dealer.

[[email protected]]

Mike, I know that you own a Onyx mixer. How it is in the Onyx?
And yes, the block diagram (i saw it too) doesnt show the Firewire.

Thanks for the help

[Mike Rivers]

On Feb 3, 6:45 pm, wrote:
> Mike, I know that you own a Onyx mixer. How it is in the Onyx?

I like it just fine, and I've used it for recording live shows quite a
bit, but I almost always record the stereo mix rather than individual
tracks. I don't have the patience to mix something that I've already
mixed. <g>

I suspect that the preamps on the Mackie are better than on the
Alesis, but that's not based on any listening or measurements, just on
reputation and the fact that the Mackie can hold its own until you get
up to the boutique level preamps.

One significant difference between the topology of the Alesis vs. the
Mackie is that the Mackie Firewire converters are connected directly
to the preamp outputs, and on the the Alesis they go through the EQ
and fader. There's no EQ bypass so you always have some extra parts in
the signal path even if you have the controls set flat. Also, it's
post-fader so the fader position affects the record level, not just
the preamp gain.

About half the Onyx owners or "i'll never buy one because" non-owners
want it to be like the Alesis so they can EQ tracks going to the
recorder and set levels with the faders. Those are the ones who don't
use it for live sound as well as recording, where you may not want the
same EQ on a mic for recording as you do in the PA, and you don't want
the record levels changing every time you adjust the PA mix. So you
need to figure out what kind of person you are. <g>

[Rv!]

If I have it right, All the channels are sent to FW pre the main fader.
If you want to record, but not hear the channel, leave the fader down.

That's how I interpret the manual.

....thinking of buying one of these 16 channel ones, any opinions from folk as to the general quality?
I don't need stunning performance, just half-decent pre's and faders. The mixer will sometimes
be used for live stage mixing, but is being bought as a 16 channel firewire interface with faders!

Robert




> wrote in message oups.com...
> There is a feature in the Alesis Multimix Firewire mixers called Mute
> Alt 3/4. This feature send the signal of the selected channel to the
> Stereo Bus Alt 3/4 and mute the signal in the Main Mix Stereo Bus.
> BUT does this means that these muted channels will not be recorded via
> firewire?
>
> I have read the entire manual in from Alesis, with no results. I have
> seen this feature in other mixers, like the Onyx from Mackie.
> This feature is important for scenarios like this:
> I want to record a band live. All mics from the drums, guitars,
> singers go to the inputs of the mixers. ALL the channels are recorded
> in a laptop via firewire. BUT I dont wont to hear the drums through
> the main speakers, so i mute the drums, but i still want to record the
> drums.
>
> Thanks for the help. Hope I have been clear enough. (not native
> english)
>