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Post by roly on Nov 15, 2020 23:35:43 GMT -5
Being an old dog, I was reluctant to make the change. Long before I bought a digital mixer, stage boxes etc, I was driving the Soundcraft Vi6 at our Arts Center. From a speed perspective, I found the rig to be slow...IE...."yikes, 4k spike in M4"....select M4, access the M4 EQ, correct problem....in an analog world, I would have been on it in a heartbeat.....even a few milliseconds of 4K is very offensive to the performers, me and the audience. I have concluded that the benefits of going digital outweigh the inherent liabilities. So....I am now the proud owner of a Soundcraft si impact mixer and stage box. The impact is kind of like the "training" version of it's bigger siblings but has the same preamps and converters. The ability to do soundchecks, store them and recall them is worth the price of admission. Primary beef I have is that the maximum gate release time is only 500ms...unacceptable when a natural decay of the toms is what is desired. My old Klark gates will go far beyond that.
So....if anyone out there is considering going to the dark side, I suggest you take the plunge. cheers
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Post by oldfartbassplayrwalt on Nov 19, 2020 18:27:45 GMT -5
My friend mixes his band realtime using his cell phone from the back of the room, using a digital mixer and blue tooth. No hassles with long cables or snakes...
Sounds pretty seductive for the Dark Side.
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mikem
Wholenote
Musician soundman musician soundman
Posts: 233
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Post by mikem on Nov 19, 2020 19:28:38 GMT -5
As a small/local sound provider I found it necessary to go digital, so I did so 6 years ago. I started with a A&H QU16 and purchased a QU24 the following year.
Coming from MixWizs'it was an easy transition.
One thing I learned quickly: on a digi board, do not go into clip.... A little red on a Mixwiz and I still have some time to attenuate the channel down, a little redon a QU - toast!
Mixing via an iPad (mini) is convenient but I still like to have the faders available - just in case.
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TBird
Wholenote
Posts: 298
Formerly Known As: greg1948
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Post by TBird on Nov 20, 2020 8:15:17 GMT -5
I'm a sucker for new technology, so I got a Behringer digital, iPad controlled mixer. At home, it was a challenge to get to the right menu/page for adjustments, but I was getting the hang of it. It did offer a fantastic amount of control over each channel as well as the main mix. The huge fly in the ointment was that the ipad and the mixer would stop communicating out on a gig. Maybe it was the number of cell phones around that interfered, but when I muted the main for a break and it wouldn't unmute again, that was it. Back to a good old fashioned analog mixer.
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mikem
Wholenote
Musician soundman musician soundman
Posts: 233
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Post by mikem on Nov 21, 2020 8:47:31 GMT -5
As I understand, the Behringer mixer with internal router has connectivity issues. You'd be best to go with an external router (I know, more stuff to schlepp.)
I use an external router with my digi boards. If I'm in a crowded room I put the router on a mic stand (on a home made mounting gizmo)and get it up in the air. The only time I have ever experienced dropouts is when I do outdoor HS graduations....usually 1000+ people in attendance with all (or nearly all) of them on their cellphones streaming, etc.
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Post by roly on Nov 22, 2020 2:33:46 GMT -5
I too had iPad dropouts that were very frustrating. Buying a more expensive router made no difference. The only way to regain connectivity was to restart the mixer. I only use the iPad for doing monitors from the deck (I have a full split with independent EQ per monitor channel) and to make changes if needed to the house right outfill (which is time aligned). The problem was solved with a software and firmware update from Soundcraft....so....I was beating my head against the wall for months thinking my router was the issue. If I absolutely had to, I could mix with the iPad. Some key functions of the mixer are not accessible via iPad...mute groups and channel trim. So I would have to assign all the vocal FX to a VCA which can be muted between songs via the iPad. I am much more comfortable at the mix position where I have 24 faders per layer and access to mute groups and channel trim. Cheers PS My router is hung upside down on the ceiling half way between FOH and the deck.
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