Last year, frustrated by having to constantly reset the input levels on my Behringer UMC202HD when switching between different instruments or mics, I remembered I had a decade-old Behringer UB1204 Pro that still seemed to work fine. The mixer has four mono inputs (XLR and 1/4) and two 1/4 stereo inputs. I connected the 1/4 main outputs of my mixer into my interface (using 1/4 to XLR cables,) made sure the decibel peaks I was getting in my DAW (Reaper) were the same as what was on the mixer's VU, then plugged the keyboards into the stereo inputs and the output from a passive DI (Livewire SPDI) into one of the XLR inputs. I kept any channel I wasn't using muted.
I was using the DI with an active bass. Soon after I'd started recording with this setup, something weird began to happen. I'd be recording with the bass for maybe thirty minutes, only for its signal to suddenly drop by about several decibels. Reconnecting the instrument cable would temporarily fix it, then the same thing would happen again. I tried a fresh battery in the bass but the problem persisted. I sent the bass preamp back to its manufacturer and they said they couldn't replicate the issue during tests.
Recently, I bought a new bass that's also active. I plugged it into the same DI. Sure enough, the signal started to dip after the same amount of time. I tried a different DI. Same problem. I bought new instrument and XLR cables. Identical result. Nothing was working. I reasoned it must be the mixer. I plugged the bass via the DI into my interface and I haven't had the problem since. What's really weird is that this didn't happen with the stereo inputs. Before I disconnected the mixer, I turned on one of my keyboards, selected an organ patch, placed a heavy object on the keys and left it there droning away for a good thirty minutes. The signal strength remained exactly the same during the entirety of the test.
I'm just wondering if any of you have some idea of what the issue might have been.
I was using the DI with an active bass. Soon after I'd started recording with this setup, something weird began to happen. I'd be recording with the bass for maybe thirty minutes, only for its signal to suddenly drop by about several decibels. Reconnecting the instrument cable would temporarily fix it, then the same thing would happen again. I tried a fresh battery in the bass but the problem persisted. I sent the bass preamp back to its manufacturer and they said they couldn't replicate the issue during tests.
Recently, I bought a new bass that's also active. I plugged it into the same DI. Sure enough, the signal started to dip after the same amount of time. I tried a different DI. Same problem. I bought new instrument and XLR cables. Identical result. Nothing was working. I reasoned it must be the mixer. I plugged the bass via the DI into my interface and I haven't had the problem since. What's really weird is that this didn't happen with the stereo inputs. Before I disconnected the mixer, I turned on one of my keyboards, selected an organ patch, placed a heavy object on the keys and left it there droning away for a good thirty minutes. The signal strength remained exactly the same during the entirety of the test.
I'm just wondering if any of you have some idea of what the issue might have been.
