DAWs recording both mics on both channels from digital mixer.

Report · Apr 27, 2023

Hi All! I am creating a series of podcasts for my organization. I will be interviewing guests in the same room with me. I have 2 XLR mics going into a Yamaha MX12GU digital mixer. MIC 1 (XLR Input 1) is hard panned left (Host). Mic 2 (XLR Input 2) is hard panned right (Guest). The onboard mixer meter supports this. I need my guest's audio to be on a separate channel from my audio. The problem is both mics are being recorded on the left channel and both mics are also being recorded on the right channel. This is true whether I'm using Audition or Audacity. No matter how I map the channels, the problem persists. I have tried XLR outputs from the mixer to a USB cable into my laptop's USB port, XLR outputs from the mixer to a 1/8 inch stereo mini pin into an external sound card plugged into my laptop's USB port, and also a USB cable from the mixer's USB out to my laptop's USB port. I only have USB inputs on my laptop. I'm stuck with the equipment I have. How can I make this work? How do I get Audition or Audacity to record each microphone on a separate channel of the stereo feed from the mixer? Any help anyone could offer would be greatly appreciated! I've spent three days on this with nothing to show for it! Thanks in advance!

Report · Apr 28, 2023

We'd need to see exactly what recording options you get in the pulldown on the track you are trying to record on. What you are looking for is an option to separate the two channels of a stereo USB feed, which should be possible. But it does sound rather as though something somewhere is turning all of this into mono when it shouldn't be. Since this is also happening with other software, I'd want to check the mixer settings carefully (Source Select should be in stereo, I think). If you plug a pair of headphones into the mixer, are the voices in the correct place?