How to multitrack record a Zoom LiveTrak L-12 or L-20

Last checked 2026-11-07

Short answer. With the mixer off, set the rear switches: MODE to AUDIO INTERFACE, SAMPLE RATE to 44.1 or 48 kHz, and CLASS COMPLIANT MODE to ON for an iPhone or iPad. Then turn it on and plug its USB port into a computer, an iPhone or an iPad. The L-12 sends 14 channels and the L-20 22 channels, in a fixed order. Both also record the same channels to their own SD card, with or without a computer.

Quick start

1. Set the three rear switches before you turn it on: MODE to AUDIO INTERFACE, SAMPLE RATE to 44.1 or 48 kHz, CLASS COMPLIANT MODE to ON for an iPhone or iPad. (Recording settings)
2. Connect it. On a Mac or Windows computer, install Zoom's driver first. On an iPhone or iPad, use Apple's Lightning to USB Camera Adapter, as Zoom says. (Mac, iPad and iPhone)
3. For a long show on a phone, keep it charged with a powered USB hub or a camera adapter that passes power through. Zoom doesn't guarantee operation through hubs, so test yours first. (Mac, iPad and iPhone)
4. Turn each channel's COMP knob to zero for clean tracks: the compressor is in the recording. (Tap points)
5. Open your recording app and check that it sees 14 channels (L-12) or 22 (L-20).
6. Record a 30 s test and play it back before the show.
7. No USB audio? Check the rear switches with the mixer off. (Only the SD card records?)

Which mixers this covers. The L-12 and L-20 share one design, so this guide covers both. Where they differ, it says which. Zoom's L-20R manual gives it the L-20's 22 USB channels, Class Compliant Mode and REC SOURCE setting. We checked only those facts for the L-20R. The L-8 is not covered here.

Every other mixer is in the mixer recording guides. Words you may not know are in the glossary. Facts come from Zoom's manuals and product pages unless a line says otherwise. The sources are at the end.

Ways to record an L-12 and L-20

To a computer over USB

Plug the mixer's USB DEVICE port into the computer. Then record in any DAW (a recording app for computers, such as Reaper or Logic).

• Channels to the computer:
  • The L-12 sends 14 channels: channels 1-12 and the master L/R.
  • The L-20 sends 22 channels: channels 1-20 and the master L/R.
• Channels back from the computer: 4. On the L-12 they go to the stereo channels 9/10 and 11/12. On the L-20, they go to 17/18 and 19/20.
• Sample rate: 44.1 or 48 kHz only. At 96 kHz the audio interface is off.
• Bit depth: 24-bit.
• Connector: the USB DEVICE port, USB 2.0.
• The other USB port: the separate USB HOST port is for USB flash drives (saving projects, importing and exporting audio files). It is not for live multitrack recording.
• Driver: on a Mac or Windows computer, install Zoom's driver. Version 2 of the driver adds a control panel on both.
• SD at the same time: at 44.1 or 48 kHz, the mixer records to the computer and its SD card at once (Zoom product pages).

With no computer: to the SD card

The L-12 and L-20 are also multitrack recorders (one track per channel).

To record: press each channel's REC/PLAY button so it lights red, then press REC (L-12 manual).

• Tracks: the L-12 records 14 tracks at 44.1 or 48 kHz, and 12 at 96 kHz. The L-20 records 22 tracks at 44.1, 48 or 96 kHz.
• Format: WAV, 44.1, 48 or 96 kHz, 16 or 24-bit, as mono and stereo files.
• Cards: SD from 16 MB to 2 GB, SDHC from 4 to 32 GB, SDXC from 64 to 512 GB.
• Long shows: "If the file size exceeds 2GB during recording, a new file will be created automatically", and recording continues without a pause. The new files end in "-01", "-02" and so on.
• File names on the L-12: TRACK01 to TRACK08 (mono), TRACK09_10 and TRACK11_12 (stereo) and MASTER (stereo).
• File names on the L-20: TRACK01 to TRACK16 (mono), TRACK17_18 and TRACK19_20 (stereo) and MASTER.

To an iPhone, iPad or Mac with an app

• Zoom names the iPhone and the iPad, with the CLASS COMPLIANT MODE switch on and a Lightning camera adapter.
• A Mac works like any computer above, with Zoom's driver.

The details are in Mac, iPad and iPhone below.

L-12 and L-20 recording settings

Set the three rear switches before you turn the mixer on:

1. MODE to AUDIO INTERFACE, to record over USB. The other choices are USB HOST and CARD READER. The L-12 manual says it "cannot be changed after starting up".
2. SAMPLE RATE to 44.1 or 48 kHz for USB. The choices are 44.1, 48 or 96 kHz, and it also "cannot be changed after starting up" (L-12 manual).
3. CLASS COMPLIANT MODE to ON for an iPhone or iPad: "Set it to ON when connected to an iOS device." The manual doesn't say this one is read only at power-on, but set all three before you turn it on (our advice).

At 96 kHz the audio interface is off on both.

• The L-12 then records tracks 1-12 only. Its SEND EFX, EQ and OVER DUB are off, and MONITOR OUT carries only the master.
• On the L-20, SEND EFX 1/2, EQ and OVER DUB are off.
• Format the SD card before you record at 96 kHz.

Other settings:

• Bit depth on the SD card: 16 or 24-bit, in MENU > REC / PLAY > REC FORMAT (L-12 manual). An overdub keeps the bit depth of the original file.
• Bit depth over USB: 24-bit, fixed.
• Channel count: fixed, 14 on the L-12 and 22 on the L-20. Zoom's manuals give no other count.
• Clock: Zoom's manuals mention no word clock or external sync (a socket to lock to outside gear).
• File format: WAV on the SD card.

Only the SD card records? Check the rear switches

If your computer, iPhone or iPad gets no audio from the mixer:

1. Turn the mixer off.
2. Set MODE to AUDIO INTERFACE.
3. Set SAMPLE RATE to 44.1 or 48 kHz. At 96 kHz the audio interface is off and only the SD card records.
4. For an iPhone or iPad, set CLASS COMPLIANT MODE to ON.
5. Turn the mixer on again.

Still nothing? Try a direct cable. Zoom doesn't guarantee operation through USB hubs or expansion cards.

L-12 and L-20 USB routing

Recording every channel? There is nothing to set. The USB and SD order is fixed. Zoom: "After applying its compressor, each input channel always outputs its signal to the corresponding USB audio channel."

• L-12: USB channels 1-12 are channels 1-12, then the master L/R (13 and 14).
• L-20: USB channels 1-20 are channels 1-20, then the master L/R (21 and 22).
• The master is the stereo signal after the master fader. It is the last pair on both USB and the SD card.
• No per-slot routing. You can't choose a source for a USB or SD track.
• No monitor mixes. No monitor mix can go to USB or the SD card.

The one change: master on 1 and 2. Zoom's driver version 2 can send the master L/R as computer channels 1 and 2, so the inputs start at 3.

1. Open the ZOOM L-12/L-20 Control Panel. On Windows, find it under Control Panel > Hardware and Sound. On a Mac, open the driver's control panel.
2. Go to the Channel tab.

This is a Mac and Windows driver only setting. An iPhone or iPad in Class Compliant Mode doesn't use the driver, so expect the standard order there (not tested yet).

L-12 and L-20 playback for virtual soundcheck

Virtual soundcheck means playing a recording back through the mixer's channels, so you can set the mix with no band on stage.

From the SD card: this is the way to play every channel back.

1. Press a channel's REC/PLAY button so it lights green.
2. That channel now plays its track. "Playback signals are input before the equalizer", and that channel's input jack is off while it plays (L-12 manual).

From a computer over USB: only 4 channels come back, so a full virtual soundcheck over USB isn't possible.

• They come back into the stereo channels: 9/10 and 11/12 on the L-12, 17/18 and 19/20 on the L-20.
• On the L-12, a stereo channel's USB button switches it to the USB signal, before the EQ.
• The mono channels can't play back from USB.

L-12 and L-20 tap points

The tap point is where in the channel the recording is taken: the raw input, or later, after the EQ or the fader. Which one to pick, and why, is in Pre or post fader. On the L-12 and L-20:

• Which to pick: for a recording you'll remix, leave each channel's COMP knob at zero; the tap itself is fixed. On the L-20, also set REC SOURCE to PRE COMP for uncompressed SD tracks.
• L-12, USB and SD card: after the analog GAIN knob and the channel's one-knob compressor, before the EQ, fader and pan. The compressor is in the recording if its knob is up. Zoom: "The signals for each channel are recorded after passing through their compressors", and "Tracks are recorded pre-EQ and effects".
• L-12 low cut: the LOW CUT (75 Hz, 12 dB/oct) is not in the recording, per Zoom's block diagram (our reading). The diagram draws the USB feed after the compressor and before the LOW CUT and EQ.
• L-20, SD card: MENU > REC/PLAY > REC SOURCE picks PRE COMP or POST COMP, for all channels at once.
• L-20, USB: after the compressor, whatever REC SOURCE says. Zoom's text says the USB signals come "after they pass through their compressors". That the feed is before the EQ, and that REC SOURCE feeds only the SD card, is per Zoom's block diagram (our reading). So with PRE COMP and a COMP knob up, the SD track is uncompressed but the USB track is compressed.
• L-20 phase: the phase invert comes after the USB feed, so it isn't in the USB recording, per Zoom's block diagram (our reading).
• Gain: there is no digital trim, only the analog GAIN knob on each channel. There is no shared stage box.
• Slate: holding the SLATE button records the built-in slate mic onto the channels you pick (1-12, MASTER or all, on the L-12).

L-12 and L-20 on Mac, iPad and iPhone

• iPhone and iPad: yes. Zoom names the iPhone, not only the iPad.
  • Its product pages list "iPhone/iPad: iOS 8 ~ 26, iPadOS 26" for the L-12 and "iOS 9 ~ 26, iPadOS 17 ~ 26" for the L-20, with "Apple Lightning-to-USB Camera Adapter required".
  • The manual: "use a Lightning to USB camera adapter (or Lightning to USB 3 camera adapter)".
• The switch: before you turn the mixer on, set CLASS COMPLIANT MODE to ON, MODE to AUDIO INTERFACE and SAMPLE RATE to 44.1 or 48 kHz.
• USB-C iPhone or iPad: Zoom names only the Lightning camera adapter, so a USB-C iPhone or iPad is not tested yet.
• Mac: install Zoom's driver ("L-12 Driver | Mac, macOS 10.14 ~ 26").
  • Zoom ties the driver-free Class Compliant Mode only to iOS. It doesn't say whether a Mac works without the driver.
  • Zoom's Mac requirements name an Intel Core i3 or faster. Apple silicon is not listed by Zoom and not tested yet.
• Windows: install Zoom's driver.
• Power: the L-12 runs from its own AD-19 adapter (12 V, 2 A) and needs no power from the phone. Zoom doesn't say whether it charges the phone. For a long show, use a powered USB hub or a camera adapter that passes power through. Zoom doesn't guarantee operation through hubs, so test yours before the show.

ShowRecorder (the app this site makes) records every USB Channel from any class-compliant mixer (one that works with no driver). We haven't tested it with an L-12 or L-20 yet. There is no Mixer Link for the Zoom. Mixer Link, which reads channel names and colors, works only on the XR18/MR18 and X32/M32.

Runs on a USB-C iPhone (iPhone 15 or later) on iOS 26, or a USB-C iPad on iPadOS 26. Mac: join the TestFlight beta.

Your mixer not listed, or not tested? Ask us

Sources

Zoom manuals:

• L-12 Operation Manual: USB channels, the rear switches, SD recording, routing, playback, the block diagram.
• L-20 Operation Manual: the L-20's USB channels, REC SOURCE, the block diagram.
• L-20R Operation Manual: the L-20R's USB channels, Class Compliant Mode and REC SOURCE.
• Audio driver version 2 supplementary manual: the control panel and the master on computer channels 1 and 2.

Zoom product pages:

• L-12 product page: iPhone and iPad, system requirements, recording pre-EQ.
• L-20 product page: iPhone and iPad, system requirements.
• L-12 support page: the Mac driver.