Compact 4 mixer - use mic and line at same time?

Ordered used soundcraft mixer because it's small and didn't like the new ones. Trying to get cables for it before it gets here. Manual's a bit weird. Shows too many cable types for comprehension. I know these questions are supposed to be figured out by thinking about them but one thing is bugging me.
There's 2 mono channels. Each has a XLR/TRS combo jack. Mics are XLR, line in are TRS. They have inserts, EQ etc. I want to plug the vocal mic that needs 48v on XLR on one channel and a line out for guitar from my pedalboard on the the other channel. I'd need a special TS to TRS psudo-balanced cable but I found one. The pedalboard has a mixer send thats about +10 dBu with it's gain at 1/2 so I want to use the mono line in on the Comp-4 since it can take more juice than the phono inputs. But the manual says "Unplug any mic connection when using the Line input." I figured the manual was loopy since the line and mic share the same combo jack and can't be used at the same time but I guess they mean on either one of the mono channels. Maybe it has to do with the phantom power being on both mic jacks when it's on. Anybody got one or know about it? Compact 10 as about the same. Tried Soundcraft forum but got discouraged. Hope the C-4 can play well with H-6 (as recorder and interface), MPC, synth etc.

The manual if anybody cares. Warning it's 48 pages and confusing
https://www.soundcraft.com/en/product_d ... act-ug-pdf

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Ok, thanks

1. Oktava condenser mic XLR for vocals and bongos etc.
2. (2) 7 dollar Cherub wcp-60v contact piezo mics no phantom power (used for various acoustic bira) TS out. They need a boost before pre-amp but the pedalboard does that.
3. Couple dynamic mics XLR
4. Electric Mbira with contact mic no phantom power TS out
5. Electric guitar through 1 digital and 3 analog pedals to Mesa V-twin overdrive pedal with line level mono TS out to mixer
6. MPC 2500 TS or TRS in/out
7. Akai Miniak synth. manual says TRS balanced but TS cables seem ok
8. Zoom H6 recorder/interface 4 XLR/TRS combo jacks and (1) 1/8" stereo in, (2) 1/8" stereo outs (line out and headphones), USB 6 out 2 in.
9. Old Kenwood preamp to powered monitor speakers. Dual TS in. Everything uses it. One stereo channel left for mpc, synth, laptop or whatever
10. Laptop with reaper
11. And the Soundcraft Compact 4 mixer. (2) XLR/TRS mono in. (2) stereo channels with
L/R Phono in. L/R playback in dual TRS. Record out dual TRS. Mix out dual TRS. Monitor out dual TRS.

Also have Art tube MP pre-amp I never use. And Quadraverb (if it still works) I might use with inserts on Compact-4 mono channels (mixer doesn't have a Aux send/receive but there's probably a workaround if I'm not using both stereo channels at the same time).

Plan to use mostly line level guitar plus Oktava plus MPC, or use Oktava plus 2 contact mics in stereo to record the bira (plural for mbira). Haven't figured that one out yet. This setup is for songwriting, learning and experimenting. Mixer is small but I think it's enough.

The Compact 4 mixer will work, you'll just have to patch gear in and out, because the C-4 doesn't have enough inputs. With all the gear you have, you're going to need a mixer with more I/O.

Yeah, needs some patching. I won't be using everything at once. Had hoped to use the mono ins for the Oktava and the v-twin and save stereo channels for synth and MPC but I guess the manual is right. I wouldn't think it could send 48v to the line-level signal on TRS but if it did I guess there might be smoke.
If I hook one or the other to the H6 instead maybe it can be monitored by from the playback returns on the C-4. Will try and see. The V-twin could go to one side of a stereo channel, would need to watch the levels though. Also no inserts on the stereo channels.

I have a different setup with more ins and out for real recording but I'm setting this up for fast and easy. Or slow and complicated.

After reading the manual another two hours I'm again thinking the manual is bonkers. Page 16, titled "wiring up" and "Line input" says it accepts Balanced TRS or unbalanced TS "which will automatically ground the "cold" input. It says the input is balanced but you can use unbalanced sources by wiring up the jacks as shown. The picture shows what looks like a normal TRS jack and balanced cable, it says "balanced". Next to it is a picture labled "unbalanced" of a balanced cable hooked to a TS jack with the +ve wire to the tip, and -ve wire and the screen connected to ground.
Great.
Except on page 22 it rehashes the Line input section. This time it says it uses TRS balanced inputs (no mention of TS) but you can use unbalanced sources "by wiring up the jacks as shown below."
This time the picture shows a balanced cable with TRS each end, labeled "balanced connection". Under it there's another picture of a cable with TRS one end, TS at the other end, with +ve going from TRS to tip of TS, -ve from TRS to ground of TS, and the screen cut off before it gets to TS end.
But both pictures call out that the cables go from balanced mixer outputs to unbalanced external device. Picture of output wiring in the Line Input section that don't agree with what it said before. And this wacko manual is all I have to figure it out. I read so stuff at gearslutz but they all know more than me so it's over my head, and they seem confused too.
https://www.gearslutz.com/board/connect ... ables.html

Beer time.

Sounds like a lot of errors and inconsistency in the manual. Maybe use your Zoom H6 as your mixer?

Maybe the boss at Soundcraft told them they had one day to write the manual.

Yeah, the H6 can do some mixing. Some menu diving to do it though. Rather just spin knobs and mix while listening. The C-4 has 3-band EQ on all channels and will let me mix 2 mono and 2 stereo channels down to 1 stereo channel in the H6. Then more tracks in the H6 for overdubs that could each be mixed down from C-4. The current crop of mini-mixers lack stuff that's on the C-4 and have FX and interface I don't want. Have better FX and interface.

BTW Soundcraft user forum is a joke. Only goes back to 2018 and 90% of the questions get zero replies. Many questions from 2018 to yesterday deal with USB interface drivers that don't work with win10. Not just the cheap mixers either. Allen & Heath users gripe about the same thing.

Finally got it up and running. It's power adapter looked like it was hit with a hammer so ordered a new one that got lost in the mail until today. Hooked up an old e609 mic, tried singing into it, thought the mixer was busted cause no sound was coming out the monitors. Then I accidentally thumped the mic and heard it. I forgot the e609 is only for close-micing a guitar amp so you'd have to scream to hear anything. Put the mic against the hardwood sounding board of a Zim-bira - it sounded sweet smooth and mellow and didn't pick up noise from the fan.