XLR to line level question

[zilla]

hi all,

i'm not that familiy with XLRs and balanced signals so this might be a really basic question.

I'm trying to make a simple 3-channel mixer that can take XLR balanced and 1/4" unbalanced signals, mix them, and then output a balanced XLR signal .

The output side is no problem - i found an active DI circuit that i can use to convert the mixer output to a balanced signal.

The problem is on the input side.  I'm not sure how to get the XLR signal into the AMZ mixer circuit "properly".  Do i just take the ground and pin 3 of the XLR and use those or is there something else that i need to do to the signal first before it goes into the mixer?

Thanks

T