Wth bro Zoom needs to hire you to do all their video demos. Being able to watch you work with this mixer/recorder was what convinced me to buy it. Thanks!
I had been recording live shows and rehearsals on the L12 with great success. But 5 minutes of your video had me multi tracking at home alone to a click track. I will never forget this day!
Most L-8 reviews on TH-cam only talk about the general features, pros & cons and other walk through about the L-8. But you went way beyond that and dived deep into the whole of possibilities of L-8, well done! David, love the music and the groove as well, crystal clear and clean sounds!
Yeah it seems most videos talk about the glaringly obvious things, or assume we know some basics we may not. The Mackie Onyx cannot record separate tracks like the L-8, but Mackie kinda ignores that. The funny thing is, Zoom kinda ignores recording one track at a time with playback. They don't say it explicitly, so I was Googling like mad trying to find out if this simple but unmentioned feature was possible.
@@davidshanhun This should absolutely be on the Zoom site with full endorsement for you. This is helpful for ALL of their LiveTrak models. Really you've made the best video about this mixer (for the solo artist) that I've seen yet. Zoom has nothing like this.
Damn,, its about time someone "gave a simple EQUATION" on how to MIXDOWN to Stereo. Go Figure!!!! I just got my L-8 Zoom recently and all of the Videos would skip the mixdown portion. Thanks alot 🙂😀👀.
Thank you, thank you, thank you...I became more excited about this video as it went along because it is, by far, the best and most concise “tutorial” relative to using the Livetrack as a recording device. I’m so looking forward to experimenting with mine.
Without this excellent introduction I would have put my new L8 back into the box and never used it. Now working through it a few minutes each day to glue the basics into my old brain. Thanks David, you're doing great work mate :)
I bought the LiveTrak L-8 based purely on your review video and it's great! Thank you for these tutorials, they're really helpful, I love the song too!
This is a great tutorial. There's another feature that's really handy that you missed, you can move tracks from the project menu. Mono tracks can be moved to any other track, handy if you want to record layers of guitars using the hi-z inputs on track 1 and 2. Also, you can move stereo tracks to 7 and 8. Handy if you mix down to master, then move it to 7 or 8 and do another mix down with a fresh set of tracks. Keep repeating for infinite layers.
Appreciate you mentioning it - both of these are ace options, and especially the mixdown for the likes of BV's etc (or really anything you wish to do haha!).
Could you tell us how to achieve moving track from one channel to another? I couldn't find that option in my zoom L12. The only way to do that is to export the tracks to a USB drive and then import them back assigning them to different channels at the same time. That's a bummer that one has physically switch inputs. Very inconvenient and bad for condenser mics with phantom power
You can tell Zoom that I ordered one as soon as I'd finished your video. You're a natural teacher (& muso) & I can't believe how generous you've been by answering so many people's questions - Zoom really should look after you. My question would have been about the metronome pre-count. (Can it be turned off later so doesn't record to Master) but no need to answer b'cos I'll experiment myself now that it's arrived. Just wanted to say thanks for the demo AND for answering everyone else's questions.
@@davidshanhun love it - just not finding (making) time to do it justice yet. Aside from recording, it's a useful tool for creativity - working out lines for multi instruments and also practising tricky parts over the top of other instruments. Short of putting your band mate in a pocket, it's quite handy that way. thx for helping me decide.
David- this was incredibly helpful!!! Can't for the life of me figure out why it has dislikes. Even though I have the L12, I needed this breakdown, much appreciation for all aspects of this video.
I JUST got this L-8 and you explained how this works SO WELL..... Thank you very much..... I absolutely appreciate it. Can't wait to start recording with it. Again..... Thank you, you've got a new subscriber 👍👍
Thanks, it’s been many years since I’ve used a mixer. Did some professional mixing (Sound Engineer) for a band I was in during the early 70’. Just purchased the L-8 for Podcasting and felt a little lost until I found your channel. Thanks and it feels good to get back in, even if there are 100 of years since I’ve done this, again, thanks!
very interesting, my Zoom L8 is still in the package since February 2021, currently i am composing and writing songs on a sheets handbook, it's very long but it's my way of proceed. Today I am going to open the package and start a Project as I learned from you. Thanks a lot, take care and stay safe.
Great, great content :) it's always easy to tell how talented someone is by how seemingly easy they make their craft appear 😄 really enjoyed this and will come back to it - thanks for producing it 👍
Thanks man! I’ve been struggling with playback vs recording overdubs this cleared it up! I was missing the step of changing the Orange to green for playback! Would love to see a video on exporting tracks to Logic Pro x and working with the files. Subscribed ding 🛎!
no but that would work - either for the initial loop, or to add a slightly different sound as an overdub, although for an overdub i'd be tempted to head further up the neck to create some space - maybe 7th fret, Em, D, A. The endless ideas to play with!
I had asked a question I just saw answered on your other video tutorial/review of the L-8. Thank you so much for such easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions! Been feeling really new to all of this, so this is incredibly useful. Keep up the great work!
Yes I've had mine now since October. I first bought it because I needed a small mixer with USB for my solo act. I've done 2 gigs and it's been awesome to use. I've never had built in effects that were actually this good quality in any other mixers I've had other than my Yamaha01V. I used the recorder to record myself at the gigs just for fun. It was a simple push of a few buttons. But I didn't expect to also use it as my main audio interface. It is possibly the best set up I've had mostly due to all the monitoring options. And it outperforms my Motu M4. I can run it at a much lower buffer and I think the pre amps are sounding a lot better. For the price of 1 device you get 3.
Now I am excited to use my new Zoom Live Trak L-8... Thank you for this awesome tutorial... very straightforward and easy to understand... Hoping that you have more in-depth videos on this awesome little unit... You are an excellent teacher... Thanks again David!!! Oh BTW... awesome song too!!! ❣
I cannot thank you enough for this video! You answered my biggest question about recording one track at a time with playback, because someone said it wasn't possible but nobody really talks about this...including Zoom! Sure, Live bands can all record, but what about the solo artist (like me) who wants to play back previously recorded parts whilst recording new parts? It was like pulling teeth to find anything about this, let alone a demo like you made. You did this exactly, and it was so bloody helpful. I liked your 'funny' harmonizing too which showed us that it was different. You even covered punch in....and recording a master stereo mixdown (with FX and all that). Historically I've been a synthpop artist but I got weary of the mechanical nature of doing everything in a DAW, especially because I also write songs with beatboxing (much like Michael Jackson did). I also learned how to play guitar, and songwriting with guitar and vox is so organic and natural for me. So I wanted to escape the DAW for the initial song ideas and it's amazing that we can take separate tracks from the L8/L12/L16 into Logic/Studio One, etc. and each track remains separate. But for me, I want to record other instruments after the vox/guitar 'meat' of the song...such as an electric bass and a drumkit, second vocalist or myself harmonizing, etc. I love how you just used a mic for everything, because seeing you actually switch inputs was incredible (despite the plug-in noise hehe). If you just had a second mic or everything plugged in already it would be easier, but you really explained it with this technique. Seeing it visually makes it so obvious and I guess it helped for me to see that. So, with the L-20 I guess I'd have even more tracks to play with? Amazing. I think I can squeak by with 12. Now I want to learn how to play electric bass and get an electric drumkit so I can hop around to different stations and record different parts. I'm wondering if there's an easier way to rewind and record if I have to move around, like a record and play pedal switch or something? A remote device would be even better, but if I recall correctly I can control transport with an iPad mini? I have an Android phone but as far as I know it doesn't work with Android...or not yet. I'll have to check. Thank you so much! P.S. You've got a great voice and some good guitar chops! P.P.S I bought the L-20!
thanks so much for this comment! Stoked you got the L-20 and will be super fun to play around with. Not sure if I mentioned it in this video (I may have) - but you can use markers to set different points for easy enough skipping back and forth. It's perhaps not the most ideal, but makes life a lot easier if you set them up at key points in the track!
@@davidshanhun Hi David! Thanks man. I just got the BTA-1 Bluetooth adapter for the L-20 so now I can control it with the iPad Mini. That was the main reason I had to send the L-12 back. Also, if I get a drumkit the L-20 will have enough inputs for it. :)
Thanks for sharing this good info -- an excellent tutorial for the L-8. So useful to have the option for loading the basic tracks into Studio One/DAW for further editing or tracking,while also saving an on-board stereo mixdown. So many options,including USB interface, and very easy to use...Now that we watched this video! Thanks
wow thank you , I was lost considering I used tascam 4 and 8 tracks to cassette in the early 90's ! was stoked to find this! really appreciate this!!!!
Thanx for your video I recently bought the Zoom livetrack L20 this has helped me out a bunch So I can get up to speed and recording, I appreciate it much
Very good Video, Thanks. l've had my L8 since last year and was mainly using it for a sound card, and of course with intentions to use it for recording, wasn't till just lately l am using the mixing part of it for my drum n bass machine. Your'e explanation of how to use the multi-tracking is just what i needed to see as the manual can be a little vague, l didn't realise just how easy it is going to be recording. 😁
Its funny - its the 21st century multitrack tape deck. Reminds me of recording on my old 1990’s Tascam in certain ways where that was the whole brain. Obviously this has SO MUCH more and is digital and tempo and reverb and more more more. But it feels just like that a little in the sense that you have a recorder that’s independent from a big studio or tied to a computer. Ace! Great video and learnt a lot. 👍🏻
yeah pretty much eh! I actually really like being able to test ideas, record and remix, and actually have used this a bunch of times simply for practise using the metronome in it haha! Do you have one JohnPaul?
Thanks for this David. Ready to replace my old Korg D888 before it dies on me. The L 8 has a very similar work flow. Gotta go and hit the "Buy Now" button.
Thank you for this series of videos. I ordered this mixer earlier in the week, largely by your content on ease of use. Can’t wait for it to arrive and get started.
Wonderful way to show us how to navigate through this beautiful device. I will be doing my 1st recording using this and learnt a lot from your demonstration. Keep it up David. Appreciate your efforts
David you are absolutely amazing! Always love your videos and this has to be the BEST Zoom Livetrak Tutorial on youtube by far!!! you just pushed me off the edge to get a L12 :)😀
**great video**. just a few notes about the Scenes function. Projects only save one set of mixer settings; Master, A, B, C. Scenes are saved with the console, but are *not* saved with the Project to the SD Card. If you load a Project, and then load a Scene, the mixer settings from the Scene will supercede the mixer settings from the Project. If you turn off the console via the switch on the back, the mixer settings loaded by the Scene will overwrite the Project settings. If however you eject the SD Card before turning off the console, the Project settings will be preserved. Scenes cannot be deleted without resetting the console to factory settings. (LiveTrak L-8 firmware 1.12)
@@davidshanhun also. input configuration (and the Mute settings) is project specific, but not mixer specific. you can however set different input configurations per scene. I have devised a work-around to save/restore scenes from projects. it only saves one mix per scene but my aux mixes are generally minor adjustments of the master mix so this works for me. unfortunately, because input/mute configuration is not specific to mixes, I cannot save/restore these for each scene.
Awesome instructional video Mr. David!!! A great video is better than any owner's manual! Well done! Thank you! Only drawback ....... I will be humming and singing that chorus for the next three days!!!! (At least!) LOL!
Grateful for this, I've been sitting with various models of Zoom mixer/recorders, R- and L-series in my Amazon shopping cart, reading the manuals, etc., and your review sealed the deal on an L-8 for me, order placed. Appreciate a music-focused rather than podcast-focused review and demonstration. And I'm tired of using an iPhone voice recorder! 😆 And tired of using my laptop with audio interface because I seem to have trouble syncing overdub tracks and have to adjust manually.
@@davidshanhun Thank you! It arrived a couple of days ago and I used your walkthrough to get started, it works great, but I don't know how long it would have taken me to figure out recording multiple tracks and overdubbing if I'd only had the manual!
Thanks very much. Incredibly helpful. Clear, informative, upbeat, interesting and fun! Subscribed and just bought the L-12. 👍 Love the track also - you are very talented!
This is what I needed to see! I’ve been debating against this or a regular interface and this seems way better bang for your buck for multitrack recording.
Thank you for this!! I've been looking for this exact tutorial of basic recording on the L8/L12... they're just non existent for some reason.. Seems not to difficult, other than getting used to when and which button to press.
Hi David , Great video…very helpful insights into using this in a song writing flow. Have just purchased the L20 to record our band in my rehearsal studio. The ease of operation is what sold me on this after looking at the Tascam and Soundcraft desks. Great guitar and vocals also…really like your vocals you remind a lot of my favourite Christian artist from the 90’s - a guy called Grover Levy - very similar . Great stuff cheers, 👍
Thanks for this comment and compliment - much appreciated my friend! Going to go look up Grover now ;) Hope you're having fun with the L20 and getting some good recordings!
ah thanks. Haha I've had some funny comments from people saying that they've chatted with Zoom support who told them they can't do certain things with this unit - then they've talked to me and I've told them how to do it haha. Cheers for the comment!
This has been on my list. Could you let me know if it was successful now for this video? // Esto ha estado en mi lista. ¿Podrías hacerme saber si tuvo éxito ahora con este video?
First and the most important question: I noticed the 48 boost for condenser microphones is shared between all the channels. Does that mean you cannot have a mixture of dynamic and condenser microphones when doing a podcast? Second question: I noticed there's external effects inputs. May I put in a compression/eq pedal for the master output?
ok... realise I've missed a lot of comments here.... yes - 48v is shared between channels. Doesn't restrict use of condensor and dynamic mics in general - dynamic mics are fine with 48v running for the most part. If you had a ribbon mic or something in particular that you are super precious about then perhaps exercise caution or don't use, but an sm58 or e935 etc are no problem. No specific external effect inputs for this one. the only way to do it would be to run Mix A (or B or C) as your mix, run out of the headphone output through your EQ/compression, and back into a spare channel that only goes into your main mix. Not ideal but would work. Would need to check your fx pedal is ok with the unbalanced headphone output though, or have something to convert it.
Hi Eric - I hadn't thought about that at all tbh. Curious if there's anything in particular you wanted a walkthrough on - my initial thoughts would be 3 settings - for live use, for recording using only the LiveTrak, and connecting and running it as an interface for a DAW. Interested to hear any more thoughts comments you have on what would be most useful and thanks for the suggestion.
I haven't found anything else that particularly compares at the same price point as the L-8. There are more expensive options like the Tascam Model 12. More channels, more expensive, more comparable with the Zoom Livetrak L-12.
great video , with a tascam dp 24 sd for example you don't have to plug and unplug the mic cable , you just assign the input to the track you want to record .... but zoom is a good machine , its just an idea .......
Great Video! I have a few questions if you don't mind. 1 - How do I change the recordings from 44,1 to 48 hz in the SD card files. 2 - When I'm about to make changes to Mix A,B or C, I turn down the Master fader ( Master Mix), but I want to keep hearing the mic inputs in the headphones. You know, mute the PA but still able to talk to the other members of the band in the headphones. Every time I turn that down, the headphones mixes also turn down. Can you help me? Thanks!
heya! for the first question this is in the settings menu. click 'settings/system/sample rate, and then choose. (it's not an option to change the actual files once you have recorded them however - you'd have to do this on a computer or similar). For your second question it is one of two things. most likely you are pressing the 'mute' button on the master which applies to all mixes. If you simply slide the fader down on the master and then slide it back up that will achieve your desired result. The other option is you have the headphones still set on the master setting in which case you need to slide the little knob down to 'mix a/b/c' etc underneath each headphone output. Trust that helps!
Ur Awsome! This opened my eyes to the possibility on another way to make this device a good use! Keep these videos coming! Thank you!
Thanks Isaac! Glad you got some new ideas from it!
@@davidshanhun plan on using it in the next few days, thanks for the video
Great little start to finish tutorial for a very basic recording session. Well done.
Cheers :) Hope it was useful to you!
Wth bro Zoom needs to hire you to do all their video demos. Being able to watch you work with this mixer/recorder was what convinced me to buy it. Thanks!
ah thanks so much retro! Did you go with the L-8 or a bigger version?
I had been recording live shows and rehearsals on the L12 with great success. But 5 minutes of your video had me multi tracking at home alone to a click track. I will never forget this day!
whoop whoop! That's awesome!
I know, right?
Most L-8 reviews on TH-cam only talk about the general features, pros & cons and other walk through about the L-8. But you went way beyond that and dived deep into the whole of possibilities of L-8, well done! David, love the music and the groove as well, crystal clear and clean sounds!
Ah thanks George! appreciate the comment!
Yeah it seems most videos talk about the glaringly obvious things, or assume we know some basics we may not. The Mackie Onyx cannot record separate tracks like the L-8, but Mackie kinda ignores that. The funny thing is, Zoom kinda ignores recording one track at a time with playback. They don't say it explicitly, so I was Googling like mad trying to find out if this simple but unmentioned feature was possible.
Your the only one I have actually do a demo of what this is actually supposed to be used for. Thanks
haha I just got another message saying similarly haha! Hope it was useful to you!
I hope zoom sent you a check. This was a perfect illustration of the multitrack recording process
haha perhaps it's still in the mail 😜
Thank you for this practical step-by-step video. A mandatory multiple repeat watch video. @Zoom endorse this man asap!
ah thank you! Would love a Zoom endorsement haha!
@@davidshanhun This should absolutely be on the Zoom site with full endorsement for you. This is helpful for ALL of their LiveTrak models. Really you've made the best video about this mixer (for the solo artist) that I've seen yet. Zoom has nothing like this.
@@spacep0d thank you! appreciate it
If any video on YT sells more of this product, it is your video. EXCELLENT JOB!!
haha love it! ...guessing you now have one then? hehe
Damn,, its about time someone "gave a simple EQUATION" on how to MIXDOWN to Stereo. Go Figure!!!! I just got my L-8 Zoom recently and all of the Videos would skip the mixdown portion. Thanks alot 🙂😀👀.
haha! Glad it was useful!
They skip the recording with playback portion too! Everyone keeps skipping the entire reason I'm buying this thing...until I found this video.
Thank you, thank you, thank you...I became more excited about this video as it went along because it is, by far, the best and most concise “tutorial” relative to using the Livetrack as a recording device. I’m so looking forward to experimenting with mine.
Zoom should be paying for these great explanations.
Far better than reading the manual!
thanks so much!
Without this excellent introduction I would have put my new L8 back into the box and never used it. Now working through it a few minutes each day to glue the basics into my old brain. Thanks David, you're doing great work mate :)
ah I love this Nick! Hope you get a lot of enjoyment from it 👌
Thank you so much for doing this video! Zoom has NOTHING like this to show us how to use this product!
Hey Tommy thanks for the comment! Hadn't realised there wasn't anything available from Zoom on it! Cheers!
I bought the LiveTrak L-8 based purely on your review video and it's great! Thank you for these tutorials, they're really helpful, I love the song too!
aww that's awesome Katie! So happy to hear you love it! 😊
This is a great tutorial. There's another feature that's really handy that you missed, you can move tracks from the project menu. Mono tracks can be moved to any other track, handy if you want to record layers of guitars using the hi-z inputs on track 1 and 2. Also, you can move stereo tracks to 7 and 8. Handy if you mix down to master, then move it to 7 or 8 and do another mix down with a fresh set of tracks. Keep repeating for infinite layers.
Appreciate you mentioning it - both of these are ace options, and especially the mixdown for the likes of BV's etc (or really anything you wish to do haha!).
❤❤❤❤
Could you tell us how to achieve moving track from one channel to another? I couldn't find that option in my zoom L12. The only way to do that is to export the tracks to a USB drive and then import them back assigning them to different channels at the same time. That's a bummer that one has physically switch inputs. Very inconvenient and bad for condenser mics with phantom power
You can tell Zoom that I ordered one as soon as I'd finished your video. You're a natural teacher (& muso) & I can't believe how generous you've been by answering so many people's questions - Zoom really should look after you. My question would have been about the metronome pre-count. (Can it be turned off later so doesn't record to Master) but no need to answer b'cos I'll experiment myself now that it's arrived. Just wanted to say thanks for the demo AND for answering everyone else's questions.
ah thank you! How are you going with the unit.. I'm guessing it's arrived now and you're having fun playing with it!
@@davidshanhun love it - just not finding (making) time to do it justice yet. Aside from recording, it's a useful tool for creativity - working out lines for multi instruments and also practising tricky parts over the top of other instruments. Short of putting your band mate in a pocket, it's quite handy that way. thx for helping me decide.
@@hey-jax awesome. Glad you're enjoying it!
David- this was incredibly helpful!!! Can't for the life of me figure out why it has dislikes. Even though I have the L12, I needed this breakdown, much appreciation for all aspects of this video.
aww thanks so much for this comment! ❤️
I JUST got this L-8 and you explained how this works SO WELL.....
Thank you very much.....
I absolutely appreciate it.
Can't wait to start recording with it.
Again..... Thank you, you've got a new subscriber 👍👍
Thanks, it’s been many years since I’ve used a mixer. Did some professional mixing (Sound Engineer) for a band I was in during the early 70’. Just purchased the L-8 for Podcasting and felt a little lost until I found your channel. Thanks and it feels good to get back in, even if there are 100 of years since I’ve done this, again, thanks!
Hey Eric! Awesome about the podcast and L-8 combo. Glad this vid could help a bit and so glad you're back in the game of creating 👌
very interesting, my Zoom L8 is still in the package since February 2021, currently i am composing and writing songs on a sheets handbook, it's very long but it's my way of proceed. Today I am going to open the package and start a Project as I learned from you. Thanks a lot, take care and stay safe.
haha I love it! Hope you're now having fun using the unit!
I just got my L-8 and it does so much. The tutorial was very well done, helpful and informative, especially the section on punch in and out.
ah thanks for the comment and glad you're enjoying the unit!
Wow! Thank you for putting together a clear video explanation. You sound great too.
Really learned a great deal about the L-8 from this video. You explained overdubbing very well. Thank you!
ah that's awesome. Thankyou!
Great, great content :) it's always easy to tell how talented someone is by how seemingly easy they make their craft appear 😄 really enjoyed this and will come back to it - thanks for producing it 👍
aw thanks 😊 Hope you get a lot out of it for your own creations! 👌
Thank you so much David. You have a great natural and friendly teaching style. Blessings to you man. x
Thanks so much Tiff!
Great tutorial, David. I bought the Zoom L8 yesterday and your videos help me a lot! Thank you very much and please keep it up!
Aw yay! I think you'll love it! Glad the tutorial helped 😊
That's brilliant David. Feel much more confidant now. Thank you very much.
Most welcome Tim! Happy recording!
@@davidshanhun Thank you!
Thanks man! I’ve been struggling with playback vs recording overdubs this cleared it up! I was missing the step of changing the Orange to green for playback! Would love to see a video on exporting tracks to Logic Pro x and working with the files. Subscribed ding 🛎!
no but that would work - either for the initial loop, or to add a slightly different sound as an overdub, although for an overdub i'd be tempted to head further up the neck to create some space - maybe 7th fret, Em, D, A. The endless ideas to play with!
I had asked a question I just saw answered on your other video tutorial/review of the L-8. Thank you so much for such easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions! Been feeling really new to all of this, so this is incredibly useful. Keep up the great work!
haha awesome! Glad they've been useful for you!
Excellent explanation! I am completely new to the L-8 and want to use it for live-recordings. That helped really to understand this.
glad to hear! Enjoy!
Yes I've had mine now since October. I first bought it because I needed a small mixer with USB for my solo act. I've done 2 gigs and it's been awesome to use. I've never had built in effects that were actually this good quality in any other mixers I've had other than my Yamaha01V. I used the recorder to record myself at the gigs just for fun. It was a simple push of a few buttons. But I didn't expect to also use it as my main audio interface. It is possibly the best set up I've had mostly due to all the monitoring options. And it outperforms my Motu M4. I can run it at a much lower buffer and I think the pre amps are sounding a lot better. For the price of 1 device you get 3.
Such an excellent walk-thru of the recording process on the L8. Thank you David....hope you do more. Rob
cheers Rob! More things in the pipeline!
Now I am excited to use my new Zoom Live Trak L-8... Thank you for this awesome tutorial... very straightforward and easy to understand... Hoping that you have more in-depth videos on this awesome little unit... You are an excellent teacher... Thanks again David!!!
Oh BTW... awesome song too!!! ❣
I cannot thank you enough for this video! You answered my biggest question about recording one track at a time with playback, because someone said it wasn't possible but nobody really talks about this...including Zoom! Sure, Live bands can all record, but what about the solo artist (like me) who wants to play back previously recorded parts whilst recording new parts? It was like pulling teeth to find anything about this, let alone a demo like you made. You did this exactly, and it was so bloody helpful. I liked your 'funny' harmonizing too which showed us that it was different. You even covered punch in....and recording a master stereo mixdown (with FX and all that).
Historically I've been a synthpop artist but I got weary of the mechanical nature of doing everything in a DAW, especially because I also write songs with beatboxing (much like Michael Jackson did). I also learned how to play guitar, and songwriting with guitar and vox is so organic and natural for me. So I wanted to escape the DAW for the initial song ideas and it's amazing that we can take separate tracks from the L8/L12/L16 into Logic/Studio One, etc. and each track remains separate. But for me, I want to record other instruments after the vox/guitar 'meat' of the song...such as an electric bass and a drumkit, second vocalist or myself harmonizing, etc.
I love how you just used a mic for everything, because seeing you actually switch inputs was incredible (despite the plug-in noise hehe). If you just had a second mic or everything plugged in already it would be easier, but you really explained it with this technique. Seeing it visually makes it so obvious and I guess it helped for me to see that.
So, with the L-20 I guess I'd have even more tracks to play with? Amazing. I think I can squeak by with 12. Now I want to learn how to play electric bass and get an electric drumkit so I can hop around to different stations and record different parts. I'm wondering if there's an easier way to rewind and record if I have to move around, like a record and play pedal switch or something? A remote device would be even better, but if I recall correctly I can control transport with an iPad mini? I have an Android phone but as far as I know it doesn't work with Android...or not yet. I'll have to check.
Thank you so much!
P.S. You've got a great voice and some good guitar chops!
P.P.S I bought the L-20!
thanks so much for this comment! Stoked you got the L-20 and will be super fun to play around with.
Not sure if I mentioned it in this video (I may have) - but you can use markers to set different points for easy enough skipping back and forth. It's perhaps not the most ideal, but makes life a lot easier if you set them up at key points in the track!
@@davidshanhun Yes I saw that! Thanks so much. Maybe you did mention it but somehow I knew to check, so maybe you did!
@@davidshanhun Hi David! Thanks man. I just got the BTA-1 Bluetooth adapter for the L-20 so now I can control it with the iPad Mini. That was the main reason I had to send the L-12 back. Also, if I get a drumkit the L-20 will have enough inputs for it. :)
Excellent tutorial, and nice songwriting, playing, singing, harmonizing and mixing as well. Cheers!
Thanks for sharing this good info -- an excellent tutorial for the L-8. So useful to have the option for loading the basic tracks into Studio One/DAW for further editing or tracking,while also saving an on-board stereo mixdown. So many options,including USB interface, and very easy to use...Now that we watched this video! Thanks
wow thank you , I was lost considering I used tascam 4 and 8 tracks to cassette in the early 90's ! was stoked to find this! really appreciate this!!!!
Glad it helped! :)
Thank you! It took your video for me to figure out this basic, superb functionality!
Great video. Not just for the recorder specifically but it stand alone recording period
thank you so much :)
Thanx for your video I recently bought the Zoom livetrack L20 this has helped me out a bunch So I can get up to speed and recording, I appreciate it much
most welcome! Enjoy the L20!
Very good Video, Thanks. l've had my L8 since last year and was mainly using it for a sound card, and of course with intentions to use it for recording, wasn't till just lately l am using the mixing part of it for my drum n bass machine. Your'e explanation of how to use the multi-tracking is just what i needed to see as the manual can be a little vague, l didn't realise just how easy it is going to be recording. 😁
Thanks for this video, David. What a very simple yet informative tutorial. Appreciate videos like this. Keep them coming.
thankyou!
Best tutorial yet on the zoom!! Thanks for sharing.
most welcome Wayne! Glad you found it useful!
Great video -- exactly what I needed to get started. Thanks, mate!
ah that's awesome! Hope you have fun with the unit!
Fabulous tutorial on the features of this mixer. This is like my old Zoom R8 but on steroids! We’ll done!!!
Cheers Lloyd!
Its funny - its the 21st century multitrack tape deck. Reminds me of recording on my old 1990’s Tascam in certain ways where that was the whole brain. Obviously this has SO MUCH more and is digital and tempo and reverb and more more more.
But it feels just like that a little in the sense that you have a recorder that’s independent from a big studio or tied to a computer. Ace!
Great video and learnt a lot. 👍🏻
yeah pretty much eh! I actually really like being able to test ideas, record and remix, and actually have used this a bunch of times simply for practise using the metronome in it haha! Do you have one JohnPaul?
Thanks for this David. Ready to replace my old Korg D888 before it dies on me. The L 8 has a very similar work flow. Gotta go and hit the "Buy Now" button.
nice - enjoy the new unit!
i just bought the L-20 and i didnt know i could do this! thank you!
Love it! Enjoy!
Nicely done. Organic and untechnical in real-time. Love it. So helpful. Thankyou!
thankyou! Glad it was useful for you!
Thank you for this series of videos. I ordered this mixer earlier in the week, largely by your content on ease of use. Can’t wait for it to arrive and get started.
love it! How is it going for you one year on? :P
Thank you for posting this helpful in-depth "how-to" review.
most welcome :)
Thanks for the effort in putting together such a great instructional video, really helpful and very much appreciated.
most welcome and thankyou!
Wonderful way to show us how to navigate through this beautiful device. I will be doing my 1st recording using this and learnt a lot from your demonstration. Keep it up David. Appreciate your efforts
Thankyou :) Have fun with it!
Used it for the 1st time yesterday and loved the capabilities
@@rajavass awesome!
David you are absolutely amazing! Always love your videos and this has to be the BEST Zoom Livetrak Tutorial on youtube by far!!! you just pushed me off the edge to get a L12 :)😀
thanks Eric! Good on you for getting the L12 - great unit and trust you enjoy it!
**great video**. just a few notes about the Scenes function.
Projects only save one set of mixer settings; Master, A, B, C.
Scenes are saved with the console, but are *not* saved with the Project to the SD Card.
If you load a Project, and then load a Scene, the mixer settings from the Scene will supercede the mixer settings from the Project.
If you turn off the console via the switch on the back, the mixer settings loaded by the Scene will overwrite the Project settings. If however you eject the SD Card before turning off the console, the Project settings will be preserved.
Scenes cannot be deleted without resetting the console to factory settings.
(LiveTrak L-8 firmware 1.12)
Perfect! (and thanks) 😊
@@davidshanhun also. input configuration (and the Mute settings) is project specific, but not mixer specific. you can however set different input configurations per scene.
I have devised a work-around to save/restore scenes from projects. it only saves one mix per scene but my aux mixes are generally minor adjustments of the master mix so this works for me. unfortunately, because input/mute configuration is not specific to mixes, I cannot save/restore these for each scene.
Awesome instructional video Mr. David!!! A great video is better than any owner's manual! Well done! Thank you! Only drawback ....... I will be humming and singing that chorus for the next three days!!!! (At least!) LOL!
haha! Cheers Walt!
Grateful for this, I've been sitting with various models of Zoom mixer/recorders, R- and L-series in my Amazon shopping cart, reading the manuals, etc., and your review sealed the deal on an L-8 for me, order placed. Appreciate a music-focused rather than podcast-focused review and demonstration. And I'm tired of using an iPhone voice recorder! 😆 And tired of using my laptop with audio interface because I seem to have trouble syncing overdub tracks and have to adjust manually.
cheers Andy! Enjoy the unit when it shows up!
@@davidshanhun Thank you! It arrived a couple of days ago and I used your walkthrough to get started, it works great, but I don't know how long it would have taken me to figure out recording multiple tracks and overdubbing if I'd only had the manual!
@@crotonrivernet awesome glad to hear you're up and running!
Thanks very much. Incredibly helpful. Clear, informative, upbeat, interesting and fun! Subscribed and just bought the L-12. 👍
Love the track also - you are very talented!
Thanks Peter! Have fun with the L-12 👌
Great demo!!! This is how it should be done..thanks a lot!!
Thanks Jose!
This is what I needed to see! I’ve been debating against this or a regular interface and this seems way better bang for your buck for multitrack recording.
This is a great video and has really given me a better understanding of the device.
ah that's awesome! Hope you're having fun with it (if you have one!). 👌
I can just imagine finding out about those features and techniques in the manual or online. HAHAHAHAHA. Thank you so much David!!!!!!!!!!
Most welcome Terence!
Great video going to get this board actually the 22 track board for my church
nice! They're great units eh!
Very good demonstartion and also the song is amazing!
thanks mate, great video. Got my zoom L-8 today.
ah nice! enjoy!
About to get the l-12, I can't tell you how reliefed I am to know I can use this mixer in this way
Thank you for this!! I've been looking for this exact tutorial of basic recording on the L8/L12... they're just non existent for some reason..
Seems not to difficult, other than getting used to when and which button to press.
I was going crazy trying to find this info too until I found this video!
Hi David ,
Great video…very helpful insights into using this in a song writing flow. Have just purchased the L20 to record our band in my rehearsal studio. The ease of operation is what sold me on this after looking at the Tascam and Soundcraft desks. Great guitar and vocals also…really like your vocals you remind a lot of my favourite Christian artist from the 90’s - a guy called Grover Levy - very similar .
Great stuff cheers, 👍
Thanks for this comment and compliment - much appreciated my friend! Going to go look up Grover now ;) Hope you're having fun with the L20 and getting some good recordings!
Excellent video, Zoom needs to write you a check. You sold this machine as if you was a salesman 👌🏾. I’d had questions and couldn’t find it nowhere.
ah thanks. Haha I've had some funny comments from people saying that they've chatted with Zoom support who told them they can't do certain things with this unit - then they've talked to me and I've told them how to do it haha. Cheers for the comment!
@@davidshanhun yeah man….. keep up the good work…..you have a great voice.
Absolutely - excellent video !!! Thank you
Cheers!
Thanks David ,great and clear , please do some video about setting effect for Vocal and effect for guitar ,thanks again
Hi Hung, do you use this mixer also? What would you like to know about setting the effects?
David Shanhun yes I do
Muchas gracias amigo por compartir tus conocimientos. Insisto deberías subtitular tus videos para la comunidad latina
This has been on my list. Could you let me know if it was successful now for this video? // Esto ha estado en mi lista. ¿Podrías hacerme saber si tuvo éxito ahora con este video?
This was an excellent tutorial video
Thank you 😊
Thank You Very Much For Your Great Contribution and Work! You can really make someone's day! 😊👌 Many Greetings!😊
aww I love this comment thankyou! :)
Fantastic song, and demo!
Thanks Raphael!
Ah man thanks so much for this. Massivley helpful.
Las Zoom son geniales🎵🎶🙌😄👍👏👏
yess!
You had fun on that one ! Thanks for sharing
hehe yep!
Super enjoyable! Cheers from Canada
cheers!
First and the most important question:
I noticed the 48 boost for condenser microphones is shared between all the channels. Does that mean you cannot have a mixture of dynamic and condenser microphones when doing a podcast?
Second question:
I noticed there's external effects inputs. May I put in a compression/eq pedal for the master output?
ok... realise I've missed a lot of comments here....
yes - 48v is shared between channels. Doesn't restrict use of condensor and dynamic mics in general - dynamic mics are fine with 48v running for the most part. If you had a ribbon mic or something in particular that you are super precious about then perhaps exercise caution or don't use, but an sm58 or e935 etc are no problem.
No specific external effect inputs for this one. the only way to do it would be to run Mix A (or B or C) as your mix, run out of the headphone output through your EQ/compression, and back into a spare channel that only goes into your main mix. Not ideal but would work. Would need to check your fx pedal is ok with the unbalanced headphone output though, or have something to convert it.
Suuuper helpful! Thank you for making this video!!
ah awesome I'm glad it helped you!!
Awesome! Thank You! I have a Zoom R8, but same , same in a way…
similar! Hope you're enjoying the R8!
Wow very nice video. Thanks a lot, really easy. Cheers and keep it up
thanks!
Thanks David very useful video
Glad you got lots out of it :)
Excellent tutorial, thanks.
excellent videos, I'm learning a lot
Thanks Daniel! Hope you have lots of fun creating with it!
Hi David. Wow. Wonderful Job. Have you ever thought about doing a tutorial on the Live Trak L-8 in detail and charging for it? I’d pay for that!
Hi Eric - I hadn't thought about that at all tbh. Curious if there's anything in particular you wanted a walkthrough on - my initial thoughts would be 3 settings - for live use, for recording using only the LiveTrak, and connecting and running it as an interface for a DAW. Interested to hear any more thoughts comments you have on what would be most useful and thanks for the suggestion.
Impressive. Im gonna get this. But i need comparison with other product at this price range
I haven't found anything else that particularly compares at the same price point as the L-8. There are more expensive options like the Tascam Model 12. More channels, more expensive, more comparable with the Zoom Livetrak L-12.
Hello from France! Merci.
Muy buena demostración 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👍👍👍👍🇨🇱🇨🇱
Fantastic to watch this, David!
Thanks! 😊
Great video. Just what I needed.
Love the tutorial bro... thank you.
most welcome! 😊
Thanks David! Really useful video, I love this little mixer also. Keep on picking! :)
Will do! 😊
great video , with a tascam dp 24 sd for example you don't have to plug and unplug the mic cable , you just assign the input to the track you want to record .... but zoom is a good machine , its just an idea .......
That'd be superb if that was an option here! 👌
Love Ya David, Great Vid as Always, Thank You !
Thanks, great vid. I Was thinking about the zoom for some time. It Looks like a great way to record some ideas. Looking forward to play with it.
Yep - very much enjoying creating with it!
Great Video! I have a few questions if you don't mind. 1 - How do I change the recordings from 44,1 to 48 hz in the SD card files. 2 - When I'm about to make changes to Mix A,B or C, I turn down the Master fader ( Master Mix), but I want to keep hearing the mic inputs in the headphones. You know, mute the PA but still able to talk to the other members of the band in the headphones.
Every time I turn that down, the headphones mixes also turn down. Can you help me? Thanks!
heya! for the first question this is in the settings menu. click 'settings/system/sample rate, and then choose. (it's not an option to change the actual files once you have recorded them however - you'd have to do this on a computer or similar). For your second question it is one of two things. most likely you are pressing the 'mute' button on the master which applies to all mixes. If you simply slide the fader down on the master and then slide it back up that will achieve your desired result. The other option is you have the headphones still set on the master setting in which case you need to slide the little knob down to 'mix a/b/c' etc underneath each headphone output. Trust that helps!
Thanks! Everything works now. Thanks so much for your help.
Great video.....and a great voice!
Thanks Keith!