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tomeford · 20th October 2008

Have been trialing this desk for the last few days and have mixed emotions.

First of all, the bundled software has got me puzzled.
It only supports up to 8 audio streams. So i have downloaded a 30 day trial of sonar 7 which is working great.
Why they would bundle with software which doesn't make the most of the console is beyond me. I guess they want more money from people upgrading.

The sound of the console is great. Mic pre's are good and EQ is great.
It seems to be a top quality analog desk.

It took a while to find a set up which worked and in the end this is what I came up with.

I wanted to do mixing in sonar controlled with desk.

digital sends post eq so I can make most of EQ on mic inputs.
all channels in sonar to master output. so i am listening to master mix of sonar.
Sends on each channel in sonar to the respective digital output.
This makes every channel come back in to the desk as if it were an inline console with mic and return lines. This makes the "dig post eq" button effectively a flip button for aux sends.

with button pressed in aux send will be from digital return.
with button up aux send will be from mic line.
I did this to avoid the latency in monitoring while recording.
works great!! by far my favorite feature of the desk.

latency sounds like it is around 20ms (alright, but noticable)

i then have all faders as midi controllers.

The midi control section is quite handy too giving me control of pans and plugins however it would be really nice if there were a select button on each fader or at least a pan.

I'm finding myself using the mouse alot still and just making small adjustments on the faders. Not having motorized faders is causing some issues as you would expect... especially if i create any groups in sonar.
Faders are small but i dont seem to mind. they are very responsive and smooth. not the greatest feeling things to get your hands on but they do the job.

It is getting very close to being an all in one package.
A 24ch version would really get my attention. (especially with midi pans and select on each channel..)

add to all this the stereo ins to have my different playback devices hooked up, the 2 studio feeds for monitor mixes and the CRM/alt crm main outputs and it really is very nearly everything you need.

20th October 2008	#127
tomeford Gear addict Joined: Oct 2008 Location: Sydney Posts: 333	Have been trialing this desk for the last few days and have mixed emotions. First of all, the bundled software has got me puzzled. It only supports up to 8 audio streams. So i have downloaded a 30 day trial of sonar 7 which is working great. Why they would bundle with software which doesn't make the most of the console is beyond me. I guess they want more money from people upgrading. The sound of the console is great. Mic pre's are good and EQ is great. It seems to be a top quality analog desk. It took a while to find a set up which worked and in the end this is what I came up with. I wanted to do mixing in sonar controlled with desk. digital sends post eq so I can make most of EQ on mic inputs. all channels in sonar to master output. so i am listening to master mix of sonar. Sends on each channel in sonar to the respective digital output. This makes every channel come back in to the desk as if it were an inline console with mic and return lines. This makes the "dig post eq" button effectively a flip button for aux sends. with button pressed in aux send will be from digital return. with button up aux send will be from mic line. I did this to avoid the latency in monitoring while recording. works great!! by far my favorite feature of the desk. latency sounds like it is around 20ms (alright, but noticable) i then have all faders as midi controllers. The midi control section is quite handy too giving me control of pans and plugins however it would be really nice if there were a select button on each fader or at least a pan. I'm finding myself using the mouse alot still and just making small adjustments on the faders. Not having motorized faders is causing some issues as you would expect... especially if i create any groups in sonar. Faders are small but i dont seem to mind. they are very responsive and smooth. not the greatest feeling things to get your hands on but they do the job. It is getting very close to being an all in one package. A 24ch version would really get my attention. (especially with midi pans and select on each channel..) add to all this the stereo ins to have my different playback devices hooked up, the 2 studio feeds for monitor mixes and the CRM/alt crm main outputs and it really is very nearly everything you need.