Turning off main monitors on Model 12 when using headphones?

[Mackaygtrs]

New to the Model 12. Can you turn off/bypass the main monitors on the model 12 and use the headphones only when recording live in the same room?. I can't seem to figure out how to just use the headphones only, right now I get bleed from the monitors in the mic when recording live in the same room mic'd up to my amp. When I mute the main it also kills the headphones? I notice a button by the headphone volume that has AUX1/2 and MAIN, should I run the phones out the AUX in the back and then I can mute the main button by the master red slider?
Thanks

 

[Freebird]

Well... I don't have model 12 (have Model 24). But according to the manual page 23:

"SD MAIN MIX RETURN switch: When this switch is on (pushed in), playback of stereo master files recorded on the SD card is output from the MAIN OUTPUT jacks.

ATTENTION: Be aware that when this switch is on (pushed in), the sound of the MAIN MIX L/R bus is not output."

Seems to me that if you "disengage" this button (= NOT pushed in), the sound of the SD-card does not go out to your speakers. But I could be wrong....

 

[Mark Richards]

I don't own one of these mixers, but the obvious answer would be "turn off the active speakers' power switch or volume control". But if that's not feasible in your situation, issues similar to yours have been raised in the past:

• Try doing a forum search using "headphone" or "monitoring" as the search term. (The "New Members" sticky thread pinned in the shaded area at the top of the first page of this forum explains how to search.)

• You may also want to check the "Tutorial and Informational Videos" sticky thread.

• If you're familiar with following block diagrams, the one in your OM should show you all the signal routing paths.

 

[JSchmo_Bass]

To the OP:

The Model 12 doesn’t have a dedicated control room bus that splits the headphones out like the M16/24. So in most cases the headphone volume is driven by the master fader.

So per Mark above in many cases if you plug your monitors into Main out, you just have to deal with it by adjusting headphone volume and or volume on you external monitors. Also caution, note if you depress the “Post Rec” button to say add some whole mix EQ while recording, the master fader also impacts the volume recorded to tracks 11/12, your master tracks. So yeah, all tied together.

BUT, you do have the option of plugging monitors into Sub outs. This gives you a slightly quieter signal, and a separate master fader control over your mix volume... just need to assign the tracks to sub and master via the buttons at the base of the fader.

And of course you can create an aux mix (for say stage monitors or cue mixes) and easily switch the phones between main and aux. you could just set Aux 1 knobs to 0db and hear a mono mix of your tracks pre fader.

And ... hey, there is a very cool feature that can give you some of what you are perhaps looking for. I recommend you spend some time exploring the difference between setting the Mixer (menu) solo choice between PFL and In Place (AFL).

*** In PFL solo mode, the headphone mix is DECOUPLED from the master mix when you solo a track. So you will hear the solo track through the phones post EQ but prefacer without changing the master out. Nice, eh?

*** In Place mode, the headphone and master bus are coupled, and both get only the. Solo track, post fader. The lights display the other tracks as muted.

I really like this feature - i regularly switch the solo mode depending on what I am doing. once you crack it, the M16’s PFL-only action feels limiting.

 

[JBL822]

I use the Mackie Big Knob with my Model 24 and powered monitors, works perfect plus it has extra things you can do with it, like check your mix in mono.
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/de...ig-knob-passive-2x2-studio-monitor-controller

 

[Londinium Pete]

I have a related problem in that I have a really loud Main output signal from my Model 12 - I can barely push the red fader up past -20db and this barely registers on the visual Output Level indicators. I have a small home studio setup and currently have no way to lower the volume on my powered KRK monitors. I switched off my monitors and tried with headphones and was able to increase the Main output - so the phones out is definitely a bit quieter - but I don't want to perform my mixdown through headphones. As a result, when I am mixing down I have no idea of how much headroom I may have - am mixing blind in this respect. I will try using the Sub outs as suggested by JSchmo above.

Just wondering if the Mackie Big Knob would also be a solution to allow me to lower the volume before it gets to the speakers? What I want to achieve is being able to record the Main output using Post Rec (button pushed in), without blowing my speakers.

 

[JBL822]

Yes that's what the Mackie Big knob is, it's a big volume knob. You would go from your Tascam out to the Mackie big knob then to your powered monitors

 

[Londinium Pete]

Nice one! Just got a nice price for one off of ebay. Problem soon solved. Cheers!

 

[-mjk-]

I've said many times, every studio needs a monitor controller.

 

[Mike Jones who]

I'm pretty sure it was already said by one of the users here but to be clear, if you hit solo and turn off the main switch for whatever track(s) you're trying to listen to, it will only go to the headphones and you won't have to manually turn off your monitors if you have them running from the main outs. I'm new to the tascam as well and am not fully fluent in some of the tascam jargon. I have the model 12 but it's probably the same or similar for other models. Hope this helps you or anyone else new to the model 12-24