GETTING STARTED
1. Turn on the Zoom LiveTrak L-8 (on/off switch is a toggle on the back)
2. Set your levels on the L-8 (unless already left set). I recommend bringing the faders for channels 1-4, as well as, the Master channel to 0 db. I recommend setting the gain knobs above channel 1-4 to about 75% volume. *If you are not using all 4 microphones, turn down the faders on the mics you aren’t using.*
3. Next, move to the Focusrite Scarlett Audio interface. The Master outputs of the L-8 gets sent to Inputs 1 and 2 on the back of the Focusrite. I have linked their two controls. Using either knob 1 or 2 on the front, set the level to about 60%. This is an infinitely spinning knob, so you need to look at the lights on the knob to know what volume level you are at.
4. Now that all your volume settings are ready on both devices, I recommend enabling some of the useful features on the front buttons of the Focusrite.
a. Enable “Safe” by pressing the Safe button once. It should turn green. This automatically stops your recording from clipping.
b. Enable “Air + Drive” by pressing the Air button twice. It should turn amber. This gives a preamp boost to your signal with minimal noise added, and does some fancy EQ’ing to make your recording more clear and present (less muffled).
5. We are now set up and ready to record. Before we do anything else though. Check every microphone and make sure you are seeing signal on the L-8. If you are getting signal, then we can begin.
RECORDING
*We are going to record to the Zoom LiveTrak L-8 as well as the PC at the same time (it’s easy to do both simultaneously, so there is no reason not to do both in most cases.)*
RECORDING TO THE ZOOM LIVETRAK L-8
1. First, let’s start with the L-8. At the bottom right press “Recorder” to enter recording mode.
2. Next, ready the tracks you would like to record by pressing the “REC/PLAY” button right above the channel fader. I recommend enabling recording on channels 1-4 as well as the Master channel. This will leave you with 5 recordings. Individual recordings of all 4 mics and one combined recording.
3. To begin recording, press the record button on the right hand side of the L-8. Next, press the play button right next to it. The recording is now running and you should see a timer start ticking up.
4. To pause your recording, press the play button again. You will see the timer pause. To resume recording, press play again and the timer will continue ticking up.
5. When you are totally done with your recording, follow these steps. Press the stop button. The timer area will say “Please Wait” the light on the Play button will now be gone. Now, press the record button, and its light should now be gone. After this, the timer will once again say “Please Wait”. Now, give the system a moment to process the recording, and once “Please Wait” is gone and the timer reverts to 00:00, you can then power off the device.
6. Now, remove the SD card from the back of the L-8, and transfer your recording to a PC. Once done, please reinsert the SD card into the L-8.
RECORDING ON THE PC USING THE FOCUSRITE SCARLETT 2i2
1. First, log into the PC. Then, open your recording software of choice. Audacity, Luna, and Microsoft Sound Recorder are the current options we have installed here to record with. (Feel free to request other free software to be installed). For the purpose of this example I will use Audacity (I recommend Audacity since it is a very stable program that does basic recording very well.)
2. First let’s make sure our audio settings are correct. Set your settings to the picture below.
3. Now that you have ensured your Audio Settings are correct. We are ready to start recording. Create a new stereo track.
4. With this track selected, press record and your recording will begin.
5. When you are done with your recording, press the stop button.
6. The next step is optional, but will improve your sound quality a lot. Click and drag the mouse to highlight a 5-10 second area of the recording that is just noise (no speaking or sounds, just the noise of the room). Then go to effects and click “Noise Reduction”
7. A pop up menu will appear. Click “Get Noise Profile” this analyses the selection of noise you just made. The pop up menu will then go away.
8. Now, select your entire track, and just like the last step, select Effect -> Noise Removal and Repair -> Noise Reduction. You will see the same pop up menu. This time, set the dB amount of Noise reduction you would like. Then choose the sensitivity at which the effect determines what is and isn’t noise. Then click okay. You should see a substantial reduction in noise on your track. Listen back to make sure you set the parameters properly. Using too much noise reduction can make your recording sound odd.
9. Now you have a clean recording and are ready to export to MP3. At the top left select File -> Export Audio
10. A pop up menu will appear. Change the format to MP3, and select where you like to save the file on your PC. Other than that, the default settings are good. If you aren’t sure, just copy the settings from “Audio options” section pictured below. Click export and now your track will be saved where you decided, and you are all done! Congrats! Now you can post the recording anywhere you like.
MISC. TIPS AND TRICKS
1. If you notice orange lights on the volume fader of the L-8, this means the mixer has saved that position the fader was at. The fader will be locked to that volume until you push the volume fader up past the orange light, and then bring it back down again.
If you have any issues or questions please reach out to:
Foley Clancy (clancyr@lasalle.edu)
or
Will Allen (allenw1@lasalle.edu)