Overview:

Gain Structure Is Important, Not Only To The Overall Mix, But Also To Get Best Recording.  It is very important to follow correct gain structure to get the best signal to noise ratio.

Tips:

Here are tips to get proper gain structure in your mix:

Soundcraft UI, SI, Signature, and Notepad mixers will all record the 2 mix L&R.  The recording gain is dependent on the complete mix, it feeds the recording post[after] the main fader.

On the UI mixers, you have the analog main output pots that are after that recording point so you can run the whole mix at a good level, then adjust the pots to feed the PA with the correct amount of volume.

Make Sure the overall mix is hot to insure best 2 mix L&R recordings.

Soundcraft UI24R, all SI mixers, Signature MTK mixers, and Notepad 12 will allow each channel to be recorded independently.  The record out gain is determined by the preamp gain on each channel.  That is why proper gain structure must be observed to get the correct gain in each track recorded.

Here is example of proper input gain on a UI mixer-

Here is proper gain adjustment on a SI-

And here is best practice on a Signature-

Notepad has no way to PFL a channel so I found a quick way to get best gain is to turn up input gain until you see the peak LED, then bump down just under clip.

By adhering to these guidelines, your mix will be the best gain structure wise, and your recordings will have the most gain possible.