Question:
I will be getting the Alesis MultiMix 12 firewire mixer soon. It only has 4 XLR inputs, and 4 other stereo channels with L/R 1/4" ins. If I buy converters (F XLR to M 1/4") and plug mic's into those 1/4" inserts will it affect my sound at all? I'll be recording with it.
Answer:
You may have some trouble getting enough gain from that and phatom power will not work (so condensors on those channels without a preamp before it is out). However, if the mic has a relatively strong output or the interface has good gain on those channels it should work.
The sound probably won't be as good if you were to use a preamp, but it should be alright.
Answer:
The mic's that go in those channels will be dynamic mic's. So...no preamps needed.
Answer:
Check the spacing, sometimes those 1/4" stereo pairs on mini mixers are really close together, your adapters might be too big to let you plug two in side by side.

Another problem is you will have the same gain on each mic, so hopefully you can match the mics and sources so that won't matter.

I think you will lose some quality by transforming the mic signal.
Answer:
Preamps will still be needed, just not +48v of them.
Answer:
My fast track USB had no preamps and dynamic mic's worked fine with it. I just never tried the mic in the 1/4" input.
Maestro, the spacing is fine. I'll be using the 1/4" L/R channels for toms, so I'll only have either L or R plugged in on a channel and then i'll pan it, you know, floor toms to the right, rack tom to the left.
Answer:
Originally Posted by SoapbarII My fast track USB had no preamps and dynamic mic's worked fine with it. I just never tried the mic in the 1/4" input.
What do you mean? The Fast Track has an XLR input/mic pre-amp in it.

You don't need phantom power for dynamic mics.
Answer:
It does have an XLR input...but there's no preamp in it. Its just a dynamic mic insert basically.
Anyway...bottom line, if all I used the converters for were toms would it matter THAT much? Even after EQ'ing?
Answer:
Ok, question:
Mackie, Presonus, Roland, and many others make interfaces with 2 Mic pres and 6-8 1/4" in's. What is intended to go in those 1/4" in's? Surely no one wants to record 8 guitars at once or 4 guitars and 4 keyboards and...well, you get it.
Answer:
Those ins are balanced ins. Anything with a balanced out can be recorded through it (guitars and basses aren't actually intended to go in there the impedence isn't right).
You can do numerous things with balanced ins. You can take the outs of individual preamps, the outs from a mixer for live recording. You can also use them to add some outboard processing to a signal... take a signal and send it through one out, run it through a compressor, EQ or whatever, and then send it back in through a balanced in.
Answer:
If Possible get a mixer with more I/O's If you keep converting from XLR to 1/4 you will lose quality, Not much but your still losing some quality
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If I need anymore i'll be getting preamps.
Answer:
Originally Posted by SoapbarII It does have an XLR input...but there's no preamp in it. Its just a dynamic mic insert basically.

Anyway...bottom line, if all I used the converters for were toms would it matter THAT much? Even after EQ'ing?
I meant to address this before and I forgot.

Basically, If something has an XLR input that is designated "mic" for a microphone, it by definition has a mic pre-amp built into it. The nature of the signal coming out of a microphone requires it to be amplified a certain way. It is a balanced signal coming out of the mic, so if you stick a cheap transformer on the end of the mic cable (XLR-F to 1/4 TS from radio shack), you are matching the impedance of the mic to the impedance of the line input of what you are plugging into, so you will get sound. But the signal is no longer balanced, and the loading on the sound will be unpredictable at best, meaning you may comprimise the low and high end freq0uency response of the mic (it won't sound as good )

Sometimes a piece will have XLR line in's and out's, but they will be marked as such. Those would be balanced line ins and outs, and are not intended for a mic to be plugged into.

What the Fast Track appears to lack is phantom power making it pretty useless with condenser mics, unless they have a built in battery, or you have an external phantom power supply.

Another note: Converting an XLR to a TRS with an adapter isn't what causes the loss in quality, it's when you use a balanced to unbalanced transformer in the line, taking a mic signal down to a line signal. Adapters without transformers won't drop quality, in fact they are sometimes
necessary, especially in sound system interconnects. The signal retains it's balanced nature.
Answer:
Originally Posted by SoapbarII If I need anymore i'll be getting preamps.
Yea, that will work to...