Zoom LiveTrak L-12

I have been working with the Zoom for 6 months or so. I have no prior experience nor am I anything of a techy or sound specialist in any way but I managed to figure this thing out pretty easily. I did read quite some youtube films and the manual as well a few times though. I have only used it for recording our band, something we never did before and it works brilliantly. We record our whole band live with drums, guitars and vocals all at once. I have also tracked my drums separately to get the sound I want and I got it just the way I want it thanks to the great effects and the tuning possibilities. Also vocals and guitar separately have been done, beautiful sound again. I have not used it as a live mixer yet so can't speak to that. I have mixed the tracks down and then recorded it to the master, exported it as a WAV to the USB and uploaded it to share with the band. Super easy. I am not even using any computer. So so far, super happy with this purchase.

The Zoom LiveTrak L-12 stands out in the market of audio mixers, promising not only superior performance but also ease of use. As a compact and user-friendly device, it appeals to a broad range of users, from amateur musicians to professional sound engineers.

The performance of the Zoom LiveTrak L-12 is exceptional, as evidenced by its seamless functionality. It operates smoothly, indicating high-quality engineering and reliable software. This ease of operation is a significant advantage, making it an excellent choice for those who need a hassle-free audio mixing experience. Moreover, the compact size of the LiveTrak L-12 is a remarkable feature. Its small footprint makes it an ideal companion for on-the-go recording sessions, live performances, or studio work. This portability doesn't compromise its functionality, offering a perfect blend of convenience and performance. The ability to easily carry it around enhances its appeal to a diverse group of users, from traveling musicians to podcasters who require a mobile setup.

The Zoom LiveTrak L-12 is a standout product in its category. Its combination of ease of use, compact size, and reliable performance makes it a highly recommended choice for anyone in need of a versatile audio mixer. Whether for professional studio recordings, live performances, or personal projects, the LiveTrak L-12 is a tool that promises to enhance the audio experience significantly.

I have purchased the Livetrak one year ago, for different unusual approaches to recording: In the park, in the rehearsal room, on jamsessions, etc., with a setup that will likely change on every occasion.
Let's go first of all to the limitations:
- no individual EQ buttons for each track, which requires some extra time in the beginning to switch through all the channels and see how the EQ is set
- Fader memory can lead to surprises. Especially the fact that the master fader is also memorized, can create a weird effect: You turn down the master, change the project, and all of the sudden everything goes into feedback, because the other project was saved with the master level all up. This can come to some surprise. A master fader override function would have been useful.
- No track bouncing possible
- no virtual tracks.

That being said, the sound quality is astonishing. The handling is quite intuitive, the results and the reliability excellent.
Giving it a little extra time can yield a wonderful sound, especially considering that the FX quality is very good.

I haven't used it too much as an interface, but I suppose it does its job well, too.

Awesome product, if more for live applications (like I use it) than for music production.

Go Zoom!

I only have the Zoom LiveTrack L-12 about a month now but it has excited and proved itself from first sight upon opening. I was intreagued reading about this compact mixer come recorder, it appeared to be the answer to several tasks I wanted to achieve. The first thing to amaze was the unbelieveable sound emmenating from its electronic innards, I have been involved in music on several fronts for over 55 years but I have never been so impressed with sound quality of this calibre in all of this time. Apart from being a king amongst the ranks of music production the quality, look and appeal of this little giant makes me proud to say that I own one. There are so many accolades, too numerous to mention here, that I just want to say if you are considering purchasing this carrat, this gem don't hesitate and purchase it at once. You won't regret it. As usual, Thomann are the other shining star with top class service and delivery. Well done and thank you Thomann.

I bought the Zoom L-12 for our acoustic band and we have had great live gigs with the device. I also use it for occasional home recordings.

I liked the ease of use and the intuitive interface. As a long time Zoom products user the menus were very easy to use. The preamp quality is good enough for my recording needs.

I would really appreciate if the recording menu allowed for multiple takes of one single track - that's a feature common for other Zoom recorders and I really wonder why it's missing from the new flagman Zoom L-12. Probably this feature will not be of much use for most of the users who perform and record live with the unit, but for more elaborate home recordings it's really needed.

Apart from the above, highly recommended.

I owned and worked on quite a few mixers in my life, including some huge Neve and SSL ones, just for mentioning. I particularly needed a mixer for my live gigs, which ideally would be compact, light, reliable, very good sounding and with useful features. The L-12 has them all considering the price range. The L-20 of course have a couple more of very nice features but in my opinion the price does not justify the extra bucks, and it is way bigger.
Last week I had some quality home receordings to make and I had to decide if to use the L-12 or my super tested on all occasions nice MOTU audio card. Eventually I gave a try to the L-12 and I am very pleased by the sound quality and the cool features. Very easy to use as well, I never used this mixer before and just out of the box I worked with it with musicians in the room with zero operative delay.
I gave 4 stars to "Quality" only because the whole thing is made of plastic, sturdy and stable plastic but still plastic. I am not too bothered by it in the end, even though I would have enjoyed the feel and touch of a metal case, also if it were going to be heavier.
I am super pleased that I can record all channels via USB and/or in the internal SD card memory and by the different mixes I can assign to the different headphones OUTS.
There is no AUX OUT and IN, but who cares? I can use a headphone OUT and reroute it using a channel INPUT, which basically behaves like an AUX IN-OUT, problem solved.
I like that there are two stereo USB INPUTS (instead of only 1 stereo), in this way I can work with musicians routing music from my DAW to on stero channel and the click to the other.
The firmware update was also pretty straight forward.
I bought an extra power supply, it can always come handy if one fails.
I always buy double power supply for my electronic devices.
All together: highly recommended device.

The mixer is light and almost easy to take around. The rack system fits well to the mixer but very tight to a standard rack; I had difficulty fitting it in.
It is very easy to use. I had watched a video tutorial before having the mixer. I remembered everything easily and could do it. I have not used the recording modules yet it looks a bit hard to use and end up using a DAW instead. But with DAW you need to output DAW metronome to USB channels. I am not sure about the compressor it is not editable it has one setting and not solving a lot of issues. But for direct multichannel rum recording into DAW, or computerless multi-track recording, or rehearsing at home with the band with earphones quietly I still like this unit. On top of that you can use for live small gigs and record it live. Great.

As of title, we’re dealing with an excellent multitrack recorder (up to 96KHz @24bit of quantization) that is very compact in terms of bulk and size, and versatile in terms of mixing, channel control and effects. I’ve been using it for drum recording for one year and I can say it perfectly fits my needs.

Pros:

• Many other multitrack recorders (not to say all of them) of other brands have a much higher price and give you much less (not so many simultaneous tracks). Besides, they have a complex (and often counterintuitive) interface
• 12 tracks simultaneous recording
• Standalone device: you can sample your audio sources without having to be equipped with PCs or other stuff
• Impressive audio quality acquisition (96KHz @24bit)

Cons:

• Only 8 tracks have gain
• Doesn’t have the possibility to be remotely controlled via Bluetooth (as instead L-20 does) by using accessories like zoom BTA-1, which quite a pity for such a device.

A must have for amatorial and professional recording