Ableton Forum

I have one questions about how to mixdown 4 different external channels into one audio file for mastering. I'm sending 4 different buses from Ableton to 4 different channels on my mixing console and then I want to rout it back but I don't have any clue how to do it. Anybody knows?

I hope you have a good reason to do that.
Anyway be very careful, cause you could easily make an wire loop and cause huge damage to your ears and speakers.

My idea :

You should add a track in ableton, select a stereo input from your soundcard (should be enabled in the prefs), for instance "audio from 1/2". Switch monitor to off. route the stereo output from your mixer to the stereo input you've chosen. Enable recording on that track. Hit record and play.

Before doing this, maybe wait that someone confirms...

Thinking of it, there is a device called " external instrument ". I never used it, but it may be useful.

chapelier fou wrote:I hope you have a good reason to do that.
Anyway be very careful, cause you could easily make an wire loop and cause huge damage to your ears and speakers.

My idea :

You should add a track in ableton, select a stereo input from your soundcard (should be enabled in the prefs), for instance "audio from 1/2". Switch monitor to off. route the stereo output from your mixer to the stereo input you've chosen. Enable recording on that track. Hit record and play.

Before doing this, maybe wait that someone confirms...

But i want to record 4 external channels from the mixer simultaneously. If i activate from "audio from 1/2" then i will only be able to record one channel at a time which was not my idea. So where do i route ext 1-2, ext 3-4, ext 5-6 and ext 7-6 to?

Send the master out of your mixer to one input pair on the soundcard. Don't route each mixer channel on the ...errr.... mixer to the soundcard seperately.

Tarekith wrote:Send the master out of your mixer to one input pair on the soundcard. Don't route each mixer channel on the ...errr.... mixer to the soundcard seperately.

Then I lose whole my point to mix down 4 different channels. I guess routing thru Logic gonna be my only option.

Sorry, I guess I am not at all understanding what it is you're trying to do.

Tarekith wrote:Sorry, I guess I am not at all understanding what it is you're trying to do.

I'm just trying to record different external channels into one audio file

Multichannel audio? Why would you like to do that? Surround?

For some reason you want to route your four buses in four tracks of your hardware mixer, and record the result back in ableton, right ?

chapelier fou wrote:For some reason you want to route your four buses in four tracks of your hardware mixer, and record the result back in ableton, right ?

exactly.

external outs from ableton to hardware mixer and then back to computer again.

Does your soundcard have 4 stereo inputs?

Tarekith wrote:Does your soundcard have 4 stereo inputs?

Of course.

You say of course, but you never say what card you're using, so we have no way of knowing. Does this help:

Tarekith wrote:You say of course, but you never say what card you're using, so we have no way of knowing. Does this help:

I have Motu896HD as soundcard and my mixer looks exactly like the one on the picture. So how can I record all external channels to only one audio file?