Digitakt pedal + mixer question - routing a Soundcraft MTK

Elektron Gear Digitakt
#1

I got exhausted making music staring into ableton and using a mouse, and picked up a few hardware pieces I enjoy, but I hate having to plug and unplug everything , so I’m trying to run everything through a mixer so that I can just sit down and start working.

I have 4 mono sources: 1) a digital synth (microfreak), 2) an analog synth (k2/m20), and 3) a semimodular (ø-Coast), [I also have a contact microphone and a stereo condensor, and would ideally like those connected as well, but let’s leave those two out for now…]

Then 1 stereo source: 4/5) Digitakt

and 2 stereo effects pedals: a HOF2 reverb and a Nemesis delay.

I use a Sound Devices Mixpre3 as both a direct recoder for live jams and as a 2 channel audio interface. It’s a little finecky as an interface, but usable.

I picked up a Quad-splitter to split the midi from the digitakt to the 3 mono sources and the Nemesis delay, and I also have midi coming into the digitakt from a keystep - that’s all fine.

  • So mixer -

I picked up a Behringer Xenyx 1202 FX locally for next to nothing, and it worked fine. Plugged in everything, could adjust levels and hear through headphones, could send the mix into my MixPre for recording or sending to the computer. Preamps may have been a bit sketchy compared to the mixpre, but not a big deal. The problem was how to get these two effects to work, and I found that if I put them in an effects loop, I either had to have them both on, or neither, which started to drive me crazy.

The forums listed all kinds of expensive guitar effects routing solutions, but when someone was selling a brand new Soundcraft 12MTK for $300, it seemed the perfect solution: I’d have 12 channels of audio interface, which alone cost as much or more than the mixer, but then 3 channels of aux, so I could separately route effects into the reverb, or the delay, or the internal (or a new effect down the road.)

Problem is, I cannot wrap my head around this thing at all, and the manual is absolutely no help. First off, when I plug in my gear, I can hear it through the headphone jack even when the master levels are turned down. WTF? Second, I’ve tried to route the two mono sends into the two effects pedals, then collect the stereo signals and merge them back into ONE stereo signal, which comes in at 9/10. So I assumed, adjust send levels on the individual channels, then raise 9/10 for an overall effects volume. No. The effects, first of all, don’t sound right at all, but also they come in depending on how much I raise the master signal for each channel on the fader. (?!?) And the 9/10 fader seems to do nothing.

I just have no idea why the routing is so wierd, and how to make it more straightforward. I love the idea of sending the channels out to the computer, through computer effects, then back into the mixer, then back to either the computer or a recorder to record, but I kind of wanted to wait to get into that complexity for later. I just want to be able to quickly and easily hear by 3 mono and 1 stereo source, and send the two effects pedals to each. That’s it. Is that possible, or do I have to sell this and get something more basic? Or is what I’m asking just impossible without esoteric gear, and I should maybe just forget about the effects pedals altogether? I really, really don’t want to have to rewire the damn delay pedal to a different source every single time I want to switch sources. I’d rather just go back to using ableton…

Please help. Thanks!

1 Like
#2

Ok, so firstly, you need to send and return each of your FX separately. If it’s the same as my soindcraft EFX12 then the aux sends are mono out, but I’m pretty sure both your pedals will do mono in-stereo out, so no big deal.
So go aux 1 into one pedal, then stereo out into either your spare stereo channel or two mono channels panned left and right.
Repeat the same from aux 2 into the other pedal, then you can simply send whatever you want to them using the aux knobs on the corresponding channels.
Now I’m not super familiar with the MTK, but there should be a bunch of dials and buttons under the level meter for the aux. Make sure that all the PFL and AFL (if it has them) are not engaged, usually fiddly little white buttons. This might also be what’s causing your headphone issue, so check somewhere for that too.
Sorry I can’t be of more help, but without one in front of me there’s not much more I can tell you.

1 Like
#3

but also they come in depending on how much I raise the master signal for each channel on the fader.

your aux are on POST position which means they come after the fader
from what I read,you want your aux being send before the fader (so independently of your fader)
so your aux has to be put on PRE

Make sure that all the PFL and AFL (if it has them) are not engaged, usually fiddly little white buttons. This might also be what’s causing your headphone issue, so check somewhere for that too.

here its a bit of the same PFL meaning Pre Fader Listening and AFL After Fader Listening
so what you hear depends on those settings and the setting of your (monitor) outputs

its ag good thing to learn the signal flow of your mixer so you get a better understanding

Normally the manuals of the brand soundcraft are packed with info and a decent structure, so don’t gave up on the manual yet :wink:

#4

For that you can use your group busses
or your aux sends but they are in use for your FX :zipper_mouth_face:

#5

and you have the MTK version so also the usb off course

#6

Thank you. Sorry, so busy with work, I hadn’t been able to get back to this. But YES, a few of the PFL buttons I thought were not checked were checked, so I went through and turned off all the PFL and AFLs and suddenly, HEADPHONES AGAIN! Awesome.

I had run a sort of esoteric path to get the stereo effects back in. So AUX 1 out ran mono to the reverb, AUX 2 out ran mono to the delay. But then the L of both the reverb and the delay ran into a Y splitter, which I thought (on the basis of nothing much) might combine them into a single balanced mono L, with the R’s doing the same, so that I could just use the mixer’s 7/8 stereo for both effects on full, and control the levels through the individual faders. I guess that doesn’t work, probably because the two monos don’t combine into a balanced single mono.

Anyway, I’ve got the headphones working, and I also ran the main outputs into my recorder, and was able to monitor correctly from the mixpre (I love this, because when I find something I like I can just hit record and keep jamming). And the Delay seems to work perfectly.

Only problem remaining (for now) is that the damn reverb doesn’t work. I used the exact same signal path as the delay, which worked fine, but the reverb still sounds like crap. Almost nonexistent, then goes soft at 0 and way loud (and unbalanced) at +20. Just weird behavior. As a test, I just ran things (digitakt, microfreak) directly into the reverb, then out in stereo into the mixpre 3, and they sounded wonderful. So it’s not the reverb. But the reverb and the mixer isn’t working at all. Have to investigate further.

Thanks for all the help. Slowly learning!!!

#7

the bad reverb sound was that when you used the Y splitter Cable?
Because like you wrote yourself that is not the right way.
A Y splitter cable is used the put in the inserts of a mixer so the channel goes to the fx and the output of the fx returns to that same channel.

Go from the fx output of the delay and reverb either mono to one mono channel on your mixer or if you want stereo, to two mono channels where you pan channel 1 left and channel 2 right for each stereo effect.

You can connect each mono output of the fx to a stereo channel but it wont be practical because you are getting two different levels off audio one left and off course one right so what are you going to do if you want to raise the level of the delay but not of the reverb and vice versa

When u are using fx via aux sends you have to put your fx on fully wet
so you channel on wich you want fx is the dry signal and the return of your fx the wet

When you put a signal on a channel do yo first check the input level of your signal with PFL, and when its to low do you adjust it by turning the gain up so that the signal level on your meterbridge is ± 0 db?

or vice versa ?