Gears i have
1)Cubase SX 2
2)Presonus Firepod
3)Mackie 16 channel mixer board
4)Some effects and eq outboard hardware

I need some advise on how to hook up the system..do i send the main outputs of the firepod to the main inputs of the mixer and out from the mixer to the monitors? or do i send audio in thru my mixer to the firepod and out to the monitors? Sorry if this doesn't make any sense, but this is the best that i could explain it to you guys..any help appreciated

Its me again..sorry but i forgot to ask..when i have all this hooked up, where do i monitor the levels for recording hot? Do i set up my mixer outputs 0db then monitor clipping from firepod? or the other way around? Or do i monitor the whole thing thru my mixer in cubase? Thanks for your help guys!

It depends very much on what you are trying to do -

One thing is for certain - with regard to monitoring for clipping, listen from the pod and watch the levels in the Cubase mixer.

How many tracks are you recording at any one time?

Sometimes I use my mackie 1420 and my firepod together if I am recording a live gig. I do this so I can have effects in the monitor mix but not on the recording.

Channels 1&2 of the firepod are for instruments or mics, not for line-level signals - so never connect anything electronic to them (even an electro acoustic guitar).

An example of what I would do is to plug a bass into channel 1/2 of the pod - then connect channel 1/2's line out to a line in on the desk.

I plug mics into channels 1-6 on the desk (because these are the only ones with inserts).

I then take mono leads plugged (halfway) into the insert to the FIRST CLICK only. This sends a signal without interuption to the master. I plug the other end of the mono leads into 3-8 on the pod.

This still only gives me 8 tracks to record but as I said it allows me to record dry but let's the audience listen wet.



Anyway, if you could be a bit more specific about what you want to do, it might yield some more productive answers.....


nelly

Don't put main outs of either device into any of each other's inputs - main outputs to speakers or amps good- most other places bad.............

The signal level (gain) from the main outs is much higher than that coming from things like sends, inserts, cue mix and so forth - whatever you plug into has to be able to cope with the incoming signal....

Hey nelly, thanks for the reply! That was some useful info for me...ok so i'll try to be more specific here, im trying to record a track by track recording in cubase using the firepod..i will not be recording drums for now until i get another firepod..so i plan to rec audio fsay from the guitar, into my mixer..then my problem is, how do i continue the chain to my firepod? output from the mixer via what? ok so the main outs is not a good idea to connect to my firepod ins i know that now! so im stuck there...and after i connect to the firepod, which output do i use to connect to my monitors? Cue mix? or Main?

Or is it better that i connect from the guitar straight to the firepod and use the line out of the firepod to the mixer ins and main outs to the monitors? Thanks again for your help guys!

Just my personal opinion - but if your just recording track by track just use the firepod...

If you are using guitar pedals etc make sure that you use a line channel and not channels 1 or 2.

You can monitor through the headphones jackplug - the volume of this can be controlled with the knobs on the front---- or from the cue mix outputs -
the cue mix outputs are not controlled by the mixer knobs on the front of the pod- only by the volume control on individual channels or by volumes in the sequencer mixer...

A possibility is to connect the cue mix outs to a stereo channel on your mixer and use your mixer to feed your monitors/headphones ... this will give you more control over the volume of the monitor mix - also if you wanted, for example, to send a bit of reverb to a singers headphones but didn't want to record the reverb....

Recording one track at a time is not too complicated especially with the pod because of the zero latency monitoring - it's probably the easiest thing to do..


Are you recording yourself or other people?

Well nelly, thank you so very much! u've cleared a few airs for me! I wanted to know how to do it with the mixer and all coz i'll be recording drums later..i would need 10 channels to rec drums so i cant do that now till i get another firepod..Im quite new to this digital thing coz i use to record and mix from an analog mixer. kinda old school i guess! Anyways, im recording for other ppl..the in house producer insist that i use cubase to record! so got alot of cathing up to do..thanks for your help anyway..i think im gonna have a few more questions in the future..

which 16 channel mackie board do you have? because some have direct outs, some i suppose have that ALT 3-4 option, so there's ways to accomplish what you want to do. also, me not being familiar with the firepod, how many ins and outs does it have? cheers