Zoom L-12 Review & Setup - Audio Interface and Recorder!

Zoom L-12 lets you record & stream at the same time! See my complete write up along with gear http://thepodcastersstudio.com/L-12

The number one feature of the L-12 that impresses me most is its ability to both record to the SD card (multi-channel) while also being an audio interface, sending multi-channel audio to your computer at the very same time. Most mixers with built in recorders or even recorders that are also interfaces, make you choose which function you want to use, not allowing you to do both at the same time.

You get eight combo (XLR/Line In) inputs which provide you with the ability to connect up to eight microphones, each with its own preamp with 60db of gain. Channels one and two have Hi-Z power while three through eight provide a pad (-20db) for line in inputs. All channels provide 48 volts of phantom power for condenser microphones. And the preamps themselves are nice. I can easily power a dynamic mic like the Sennhieser e835 (as heard in the video), using ~75% of the gain. After this point, it sounds like the preamps might introduce a little bit of noise but overall they are clean.

Below the gain/trim knob, each microphone channel includes one-knob compression. This does a really nice job of preventing clipping while also helping to maintain a consistent audio level. Important to note that as you raise the compression you’ll also raise the gain because the compressor includes make-up gain. So as you increase the amount of compression, I found that about more than half way was a nice balance for preventing peaking, you’ll want to decrease your gain in order to maintain the same level and gain staging as when you are not using any compression.

With this digital mixer, your channel stops actually represent six different custom setups. In addition to the master mix, you get five custom setups which allow you to create five different “scenes” that can all be routed to their own output. For podcasters this means that you can create up to five different mix-minus setups! The setup is a little different than using aux-sends on an analog mixer but the result is the same. See the video for how to achieve a mix-minus setup. Each of these channels also includes the ability to setup a custom EQ.

The five separate headphone outputs also replace another piece of gear that podcasters with multiple people in studio often use, a headphone amplifier. Each of the five headphone outputs on the L-12 has it’s own gain knob so each person connected to one of the five outputs can control the level of audio going to their own headphones. The headphone preamps are also clean (without added noise) unlike the Zoom F8 that I have which has one headphone output and creates noise when turned up higher than 75%. I was happy to hear that the L-12 headphone preamps were clean and allowed me hear exactly the audio that was going into the mixer.

Each channel also includes a mute button. However, this does not work the way I’d want it to. The mute only follows through to the master mix. So when you press mute on any channel, the individual tracks being recorded to the SD card as well as the audio going out of the USB is not affected by the mute. Because of this the mute has little value, at least to me.

If you’re looking for a multichannel audio interface, the Zoom L-12 is a device I would seriously consider. The addition of a recorder built-in really makes this device worth the price. The recorder provides you with the ability to record a backup which for me is critical in any recording setup. Other mixers that provide you with this many aux sends (most only go up to 4) cost just as much as the L-12 and don’t provide as much functionality.

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*Gear used to make this video:

► Zoom L-12 http://podhelp.me/zoomL12BH

► Sony a6500: http://podhelp.me/a6500BodyBH

► Sony 28mm F2 lens http://bit.ly/sonyfe28f2BH

► Tokina 11-16mm lens http://podhelp.me/tokina11-16CanonAPSCBH

► SD Card http://podhelp.me/trans32gbC10Ultim60...

► Aspen Mics Stereo Lav mic kit http://amzn.to/2j66TDL

► Sennheiser e835 microphone http://podhelp.me/SennE825BH

PICTURE PROFILE: PP7: S-Log2

EDITED AND GRADED: Adobe Premiere Pro CC using Lumetri Color Presets (tweaked to my liking).

*all links should be considered affiliate links. Using these links helps support this content. I always encourage you to shop around for the best prices at the time you are viewing this. You can read my ethics statement via http://thepodcastersstudio.com/ethics. Thanks for the support!