PM5D Compact Flash

[bishopthomas]

So will any CF card work with a PM5D to store scene information? I'm about to hit the road with a new band and I have a feeling I will come across some 5D's. I have never worked on one before so if I can store the scene the first time I'm sure it will make it easier on me in case I have to use one again during the tour. I assume it has to be formatted in the PM5D before use, but is there any specific product I should be looking for?

[fifthcircle]

Not sure about the CF cards needed, I want to say, though, that it is CF in a PCMCIA adapter. I'll look at my manuals again (or you can check- go to Yamaha Pro Audio Global Site and you can download them). One thing to be careful of, though-

Yamaha has just updated the 5D to Ver 2 software. If you save your ver 2 settings, you will not be able to open them on a ver 1 board. I also don't believe that you can save as a Ver 1 setting.

My suggestion is to bring a laptop with Ver 1 studio manager on it. Program the console ahead of time with basic settings and load them up on to their board. At least you'll have a starting point for all your gigs...

--Ben

[bishopthomas]

Thanks for the tip. I will get the CF card and adapter anyway for use with my laptop, so if I need it I will have the PCMCIA adapter. I will download Studio Manager v.1 but I don't have any experience with it or the 5D. I will read up on the manuals before I go out, but there is a chance that I will not even come across a PM5D. I just want to be prepared.

Also, what about the LS9 and M7CL external storage? Do they use CF cards as well? I seem to remember the M7 having a USB port, so maybe it's a jump drive. I will probably see more M7's and LS9's on this tour than 5D's, so it would make sense to have media for all of these consoles.

[fifthcircle]

Just confirmed- It is PCMCIA compact flash adapter. Must be CF (no SD or similar).

The M7CL is USB- I use a $10 flash drive for those. haven't used the LS9, but seeing as it has a USB connector for a MP3 player, I would be surprised if it didn't us a similar format.

--Ben

[bishopthomas]

That's exactly what I wanted to know. Thanks a lot, Ben. Hopefully I'll get a chance to work on these consoles while I'm out. As a freelance engineer I feel that it will be imperative very soon to know the M7 and PM5D. Thanks again.

[fifthcircle]

The M7 is a really simple board to learn. I think I got up and running on it in a hour or so... The coolest features about it are that you can easily put your aux sends on faders and that you can also send to the matrix directly from each channel. The center section is a blessing- you can hit anything easily from there calling up each bank of 8.

--Ben

[bishopthomas]

I have spent a couple of minutes on the M7 and a little while longer on the LS9. By the end of the month the sound company I typically work for should have an M7, so I'm looking forward to learning and using it. The only PM5D/M7 class in NYC for the year was full by the time I found out about it so I'll have to figure it out on my own.

[tylaj04]

yeah LS9 uses USB same as M7, just any cheap flash drive. with the LS9 you can also record directly to your flash drive from the board, and play files off of your USB flash drive.

although the LS9 and M7 have practically the exact same basic software, you can't load and save files interchangeably between the two. but, if you've learned one, you've learned both of em.

[jude]

Originally Posted by fifthcircle

My suggestion is to bring a laptop with Ver 1 studio manager on it. Program the console ahead of time with basic settings and load them up on to their board. At least you'll have a starting point for all your gigs...

--Ben

thats the way to do it mate
read up on the manual tho, there are so cool tricks such as using all the chanel faders to control graphic EQs over the outputs (ie all the faders jump to 50% then you can use the for your boost/cut on your FOH EQ)

also, read up on the in/out/effects patch. it can be a bitch to work out while under preasur.

fortunatly you can program all this on studio manager before you get to the gig and download it to the console when you show up.

[bishopthomas]

Wow, resurrecting an old thread. I ended up not buying a CF card and reader and did not run into a lot of 5D's. There are a lot of M7's out there, though. I usually end up starting over even though the USB thing is available. Using it wipes the entire memory so many venues aren't happy with you changing all their scenes, routing, etc. Studio Manager is the only way to import an individual scene and I found that I can get a mix going faster than pulling out the laptop. Although, I have a few scenes saved on USB keys of some major acts. It's fun to see their input lists and how the FOH had the mix set up.