[Dirty Gear Pimp]

thanks to all those who replied so far.

i sat in front of the audient briefly. while it is a pretty straight forward design and layout, i wasnt too crazy about the faders on it. they seemed kind of flimsy. which was a turnoff for me.

as for the 500 series consoles like the tree console and the new petes place mark 8, they seem really really really cool. (id love to have one) i just dont think it would fit the bill for what we need here. they dont have enough aux sends for me to use. the layout on those are straight forward as well, and you get to use all those nice 500 modules, which would be killer. but id like to have something that is either inline or a split line board. i want students to understand that concept because i feel that the majority of the consoles out there work this way, and it would be easier to take the knowledge they learn at school and apply it to where ever they go after school and adjust quickly to the board they will be working on. if they work on one at all.

i havent looked into D&R. so ill scope out their site and their boards.

i have used the aws900+ many times. i like the compact size of it. its a wonderful sounding board. when i used it, it was for mixing only and not tracking. i like the idea it definitely fills the gap between having an analog board and a controller and streamlines the whole room by having only one console and not 2. its a brilliant and innovative idea. but that is both positive and negative. negative being that there is nothing else out there like it on the market except for the duality. im going to contact ssl this week and talk to them and see what they have to say. what worries me the most about the aws is if it starts to break down. we loose both a controller and analog console. not sure how easy it is to repair an aws and the cost of repairing one. i have to take into account that students will be messing with this thing all the time. a pro knows how to treat gear. a noob doesnt even know what a neumann is and how to treat one, let alone which way is the front of the mic. tutt so id like something that is rock solid in the build because it is going to get abused. i also got the impression that the aws works well with digital, but didnt really seem to be tape friendly as far as the console layout. but i do have to take into account that tape is a dying medium. i dont think any more companies are even making tape reels anymore. and i do want something that is long term. i dont see ssl going out of business anytime soon.

chrislongwood--what issues did you wind up having after the electrical problems?
is the neotek all surface mount on the pcb ?