New mixer, setup has me stumped...any suggestions?

Hi all, I am an amateur songwriter, and primarily into vintage keyboards/synths. I am a former radio news director, and set up my home studio only for voiceovers at first, then began recording my songs. It was my favorite activity in the world until the mixer gave out. I am kinda broke right now, so I bought a very inexpensive Ammoon 7 channel mixer (The model is not even available to tag on this site). I can't get it connected, and would appreciate any suggestions...

I thought the mixer would connect via USB , but it doesn't, there's just one channel with a usb port in. I have a cable that has a double headphone jack on one end and usb on the other. I have those headphone jacks in the line out ports, and the USB end goes to my computer. The cable has always functioned as a digital audio interface by itself...but now my computer does not recognize the mixer at all. The mic, and all channels I put my synths on...just dead air now. I am so frustrated I could burst into flame.

I know it is super hard to diagnose the problem without seeing the setup in person. But I am just wondering...has anyone switched equipment and found they needed a new interface? And is there any place that provides outside help in these crazy COVID days? I.E. can I take the mixer to someplace like Guitar Center for guidance? I dont see a way to post pics of my setup here...it would be helpful if I could do that. I did put it on my profile, but it's hard to see.

I apologize for such a vague and amateurish question. But while I have been using this type of equipment at home and in radio stations for 25 years, I am figuring out that setup is a whole different beast. And I am pretty good at operating the equipment, but just discovered I am quite lousy at setup.😉

Thanks for your reply...yes, that is the exact mixer I now have! I wonder...is it possible the old one had a built-in digital interface, and this one does not? I didn't think it did...that thing was old. I think the power supply died on it. But the reviews on the headphone/usb cable say it functions as an interface and it always did. I am running windows 10 on a laptop that should probably be better quality, too. It used to lag sometimes, but as long as I didn't put too much else on it, pretty much dedicated it to music, it did okay. If I bypass the mixer and plug the mic directly into a headphone jack, the computer picks it up, but that won't work for my keyboards or drum kit. What an irritating mess. I really miss working at the station and having an engineer to call, but we are in a different state now.

This is the cable... https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.amazon.com/BEHRINGER-Stereo-Interface-Cable-LINE2USB/dp/B01DT827FA&ved=2ahUKEwiwp_nLwbXuAhVQWq0KHa4pD4gQFjAKegQIGxAC&usg=AOvVaw2oy_7OwSYMy_Bvz65xV0NV

It is a Behringer cable. Sadly, it is probably too late to return the mixer. But on the bright side, I only paid about half that much for it thru the Wal-Mart site.

Yes, you're correct, the USB is only one port in on the last channel, no USB out. The description about that on the site was misleading, but I knew as soon as I opened it. Sorry...part of my neurological condition is that I can't find the right words and tend to go in circles sometimes. It's why I love writing music...I can still express myself that way.

There were no reviews at all on that mixer when I bought it...big mistake there. But I figured having worked with old/crappy equipment at my first radio jobs, I could piece it together. Now I know differently.. lol.

Thanks for your reply, and you're right. I need to do a lot more research and make better selections next time. Having worked extensively with this type of equipment, I honestly thought I did know what my needs were, and what I had the knowledge to use. My old mixer made the perfect set-up. I am trying to have patience, but my only looming deadline is that I have Multiple System Atrophy. The average life expectancy is 7 years from diagnosis. Next month I enter year 8. It is starting to get very difficult to make the songs sound the way I hear them in my mind. And even though the quality will never be great now, I just really wanted to make those songs while I can.😔

Thank you so much.

Thanks for the good advice. I have two teenagers who will need all I can leave them, but I do understand and agree with your point. The first board I ever worked with at my first station was so old and dilapidated, I had to do an almost daily ritual of twisting the copper wires back together to get it to work (Parts were covered in foil!😂). But the mixer itself probably had a lot more quality anyway.

😂😂 just wait till they hit the teen years... oh, it is a joy though. My oldest just got accepted at a college yesterday. It is a wild ride...sometimes frustrating, sometimes wonderful. It goes by so fast. Enjoy every moment...

I was in very rural eastern CO and western KS. I was the news director first at a tiny classic rock station, then a country station covering a six county area. I started in 2000, and the equipment was older than I was. The main console was 70s, wood paneled, and to play soundbites, I still had to use carts! (Which was basically like an 8 track). Our prod room had a board just a bit newer, but no editing. If you messed up, you had to scrap it all and start over. Not fun with a 15 minute evening newscast. I will never forget how wonderful it was when we finally got a new computer and Pro-Tools! My newsroom had no recording, but a small board for live broadcasts to the studio. That's the board I was always putting back together. Sorry if TMI, but thank you, that brought back some wonderful memories.

The Behringer cable is interesting in that it's a USB interface that is input-only, no device support for output... so Windows has to "split" it's audio i/o and have one device for input (the behringer) and another device for output (whatever internal chipset the laptop uses by default to push should out of it's laptop speakers). This would have been begging for trouble back when I still used Windows for audio (XP era), but, obviously, it's doable now. (I know you know all this, just thinking out loud)

You're exactly right! It has to do with the input-only. The computer somehow coped with it for the old mixer, but is not having it with this one. I unplugged the Behringer cable completely from the mixer, and when I plugged it into the computer, it recognized the cable as if it was attached to something, though it wasn't. It just won't let the mixer and computer communicate. So I'll order another set of cables and use a sound card I have. If that doesn't work...I'm chucking the thing into traffic. I have loved recording because it is one of the few things I can still do where I feel I have any worthwhile skills at all. That's the only reason I do it. But if this doesn't work, I guess the other advice is right... it's time to hang it up and spend all day watching Tom Selleck hawking mortgages on TV. 😔

Lol, I would have LOVED one that fancy. Our main studio board had nine channels (I still remember, #7 was the one that went to my newsroom), no control knobs at all, just the slides for volume and two big buttons at the bottom of each channel for on and off. And that was the best one in the place. It was also about the size of a Buick.

Oh, what good memories though. I moved out of state and KVAY moved its location afterward, the pics show all new equipment. I wonder sometimes what happened to that old stuff. I hope they didn't just throw it out.