Connecting a VideoCam to a Yamaha Sound Mixer

[Bob Mark]

Hello Denis. Well, the basic answer is connect the wireless receivers to the mixer, (you don’t say how the receivers output is wired e.g. XLR, 1/4″ miniplug) then take the XLR outputs from the mixer to the XLR inputs on the camera. Make sure the levels match. Either mic to mic level or line to line level. Not being able to adjust levels at the mixer means you will have to set the levels low enough to avoid clipping the signal, but high enough to avoid too much noise. I do not believe that mixer has a tone generator. It would be nice if you had a reference tone to use through the mixer to set the camera audio at -20 db. I’m sure others will chime in on this too.

Bob

[Ty Ford]

Hello Dennis and welcome to the Cow Audio Forum.

I’m reading your post differently than Bob. He’s thinking you’ll need to bring your wireless mics to the mixer to be part of the house system and then go hard-wired from the mixer to your camera.

Is that what you have in mind?

I thought you might be hard-wiring mics to the mixer and then using the wireless gear to get to your camera.

Can you please clarify?

Regards,

Ty Ford
Cow Audio Forum Leader

Want better production audio?: Ty Ford\’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
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[Bob Mark]

I think you are right, TY. Sounds like a wireless hop, now that I read it, again.

Bob

[Denis Williamson]

Thanks Bob and Ty, and yes I’m hard-wiring my mic(s) to the mixer and using wireless to transfer to the camera – or at least trying to.

The main problem is my lack of knowledge of the Yamaha mixer, and the fact that it is (for me) so large and complicated – as mentioned I would like to upload a photo of the mixer but can’t find out how to do that – and… since writing yesterday (I’m in Hong Kong so I write while you guys sleep and vice versa) I’ve found the Yamaha MG16XU Manual online.

When, at my first event using the Yamaha, I tried plugging my mic into sockets called “Group Out” and into others called “Aux Send” – both with no joy at all (and I avoided the “Monitor Out”) but now, having had a little more time to look through the manual, I see that there are 2 x XLR outputs called “Stereo Out” : L & R.
I have cables/plugs which could convert those into mini-jacks to go into my mic transmitters, and, as long as I can find the “volume out” control on the Yamaha, then that might work. Any comments on that?
I was disappointed that the “Group Out” sockets didn’t work, but that may have been because it wasn’t easy to find the right volume control and they may simply have been “turned dwn”. Another problem is that I get so little time to try out these things as the venue is always being used – but I don’t think you guys can help with that :o)

Anyway, thanks again for any help.

denisw

[Ty Ford]

Hello Denis,

Do you have time to play with the console and your transmitters?

Where are you?

Regards,

Ty Ford

Want better production audio?: Ty Ford\’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
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[Denis Williamson]

Ty,

I live in Hong Kong (I don’t know if you’re close?) but the venue with the Yamaha Mixer is used by lots of organisations and I can’t just walk in and access the mixer, I’m afraid. That is a major problem, but I have learnt a bit from studying the manual. The next event is coming up early in December, so I may get the chance to practice then. In the meantime I thought to try and tap into the knowledge base of Creative Cow ;o)

Denis

[Ty Ford]

Denis,

If this is an important gig, I’d suggest hiring a good audio person.

Regards,

Ty Ford
Cow Audio Forum Leader

Want better production audio?: Ty Ford\’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
Ty Ford Blog: Ty Ford\’s Blog

[Rob Neidig]

Hi, Denis!

With your Sennnheiser wireless mic set (I assume you have either the G2, G3, or G4 EW112 ?) in addition to the cable you probably use to get from the receiver to your camera, which has a mini connector on the receiver and an XLR to attach to the camera, you should have a cable that has mini connectors on each end. That cable is used to send instrument and line level signals to the transmitter. You would also need a 1/4″ to 1/8″ inch mono adapter. I would go from the left channel of the “Monitor Out” on the mixer, using the 1/4″-1/8″ adapter and the 1/8″ – 1/8″ cable I mentioned. This would allow you to use the “Monitor Level” control to only affect the output to your transmitter, and not affect the “Stereo Out”, which I assume is what they are using to go to the main speakers for the venue. You will then need to change the “Sensitivity” setting on your Sennheiser transmitter because you are sending a line level signal into it instead of the usual much lower strength mic level. You might start by selecting a Sensitivity of -45 and then changing it as necessary to match up your levels correctly. Note that your wireless mic is only going to send one channel of audio, so if the mixer is set up to send actual stereo information out (not likely for most live venues, but possible) then you would only be getting one channel.

There are way too many possible settings on the mixer to try to tell you what to do there. If it’s not already set up correctly and you do not understand how a mixer works, then you will not be able to get decent audio. If what you hear out of the main speakers sounds good, then you should be able to do what I suggested above and send that sound to your camera.

As Ty said, though, there is no substitute for bringing along an audio person that knows how to do all this and can concentrate on just the audio.

Have fun!

Rob

Rob Neidig
R&R Media Productions
Eugene, Oregon

[Denis Williamson]

Many thanks Rob, for the detailed instructions and I’ve been trying to work through them whilst looking at the photo I took of the Yamaha mixer and reading its online manual. And I seem to have Sennheiser AVX mics (2 lavaliers) – more below – rather than any of the G series.

The people who own this venue do seem to take their room mics out of the 2 x Stereo Out jack sockets on the mixer (as I can see in my photo – although there must be a separate box somewhere else, amalgamating the 5 or 6 mics that were being used at the event) but… there are a further 2 x XLR Stereo Out sockets remaining unused on the mixer, presumably with the same function as the Stereo Out Jack sockets. Whether both outputs (jack and XLR) can be used at the same time, I’ll have to find out when I next get access. And I could use my 2 wireless mics to cover the full soundscape in case they have different mics wired up to different channels.

I also see the Monitor Out channels (L & R) and note what you say about them sending line level signals rather than regular mic signals. Unfortunately, with the Sennheiser AVXs, I don’t seem to be able to change the sensitivity of the transmitter (not manually, anyway). However, I would like to believe that your suggestion to use the Monitor channel might work anyway, with the AVX being able to automatically adjust (I live in hope).

Whatever, I am grateful for all the suggestions and when I next get back to this venue I shall have a good few options to try out.

Many thanks to all for the help.

Denis

[Rob Neidig]

The two different “Stereo Out”s can both be used at the same time. However, if you want to raise the level of the feed to your Sennheiser, you would end up also raising the level to the main speakers – not ideal. That’s why I suggested the “Monitor Out”. Everything that is going to the “Stereo Out” will also go to the “Monitor Out”. But you have separate control of the output signal without affecting the main speaker’s level.

As far as the Sennheiser AVXs being able to compensate for the level difference between mic and line level – I don’t have any experience with the AVXs but I would be shocked if they have that capability. What you will like end up with is line level being sent into an input set up for mic level, resulting in an overmodulated, distorted mess. NOTE – I just took a look at the manual for the AVX system, and it appears that you CAN hook up line level signals into it, though you may have to use a different cable as there is some sort of diagram showing mic level on the tip and line level on the ring. I don’t know what that’s all about so you will have to experiment or get info from someone who knows the AVX system.

You also state “…there must be a separate box somewhere else, amalgamating the 5 or 6 mics that were being used at the event)”.

No, that’s what a mixer does – it takes all the different mic sources and mixes them together so it can send the resulting mix of sound out. So I presume the 5 or 6 mics are run into the channels of the Yamaha mixer and then out from the “Stereo Out”.

Have fun!

Rob Neidig
R&R Media Productions
Eugene, Oregon