[rec.music.makers] MIDI-controlled mixers

jkg@prism.gatech.EDU (Jim Greenlee) (06/02/91)

I'm looking for information on MIDI-controllable mixers, preferably rack
mount units. I've seen ads for the 7s by Mark of the Unicorn. I have no
direct experience with their products - are they any good? Would anybody
care to recommend another product for me to look at?

						Jim Greenlee
-- 
Jim Greenlee (jkg@cc.gatech.edu)	Just who is this "Buster Move" 
Instructor, College of Computing	fellow, anyway, and why are all
Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA 30332		these people singing about him?

kg1a+@andrew.cmu.edu (Kevin Michael Goldsmith) (06/04/91)

I work for the Information Technology Group at Carnegie Mellon
University's multimedia group (wow, never typed the whole thing out
before now I know why).  Anyway, we just set up a full MIDI lab, and for
our mixer, we got a Yamaha DMP-7, it's a really nice 8 channel full MIDI
implementation mixer.  It might be really pricey though, it was here
before I started working, so I'm not sure of the price.  It's got three
effects sends, but it also has onboard effects, so two of the sends
don't even go out!  They go to the onboard effect processors (which are
very nice) so that it never comes out of digital. Oh, did I mention that
the DMP-7 is digital?  It is.  Another nice thing about the DMP-7 is
that the faders move by themselves, we have set up some funny sequences
with the faders alone.  That is just a toy-feature I know, but it is
really cool.  I haven't seen the MOTU 7s, so I can't compare it, but if
you have some money to spend, I would rec the DMP-7

Kevin Goldsmith
The opinions presented above are mine and my own and do not reflect the
opinions of Carnegie Mellon University, the ITC, IBM, Mikhail Gorbachev
or Linton Kwesi Johnson-Reggae Great, but I am pretty sure they do
represent the views of Andy Van Slyke of the Pirates and half the
Chicago Cubs (the other half of the Cubs prefer Roland)

scott@bbxsda.UUCP (Scott Amspoker) (06/05/91)

In article <0cGuPQ600VsS81elAo@andrew.cmu.edu> kg1a+@andrew.cmu.edu (Kevin Michael Goldsmith) writes:
>       ....we got a Yamaha DMP-7, it's a really nice 8 channel full MIDI
>implementation mixer.  It might be really pricey though, it was here
>before I started working, so I'm not sure of the price.

I believe it's around $3999 list.  There is a cheaper version of it without
motorized sliders that probably will do just as well.

>              I haven't seen the MOTU 7s, so I can't compare it, but if
>you have some money to spend, I would rec the DMP-7

The MOTU 7s got me excited until I read a review on it.  This mixer is
completly midi controlled with very few manual controls on the front panel.
It is obviously intended to be used in conjunction with special software
from MOTU.  This might be useful in a studio situation but it seems
rather limited for live or spontaneous work.

-- 
Scott Amspoker                       | Touch the peripheral convex of every
Basis International, Albuquerque, NM | kind, then various kinds of blaming
(505) 345-5232                       | sound can be sent forth.
unmvax.cs.unm.edu!bbx!bbxsda!scott   |    - Instructions for a little box that
                                     |      blurts out obscenities.

house@capitol.com (Andy House) (06/06/91)

Are there any MIDI-controllable mixers (8-16 tracks) which permit multiple,
channel independent, MIDI-controlled fx sends, in addition to volume and
panning control?  

And for other MIDI-controllable mixers, are the fx send, volume, etc. levels
controlled by MIDI system & control change messages or what?


-- 
         _____    _          ______
        /____/   /_\        /__ __/     Andy House
       //     	// \\ 	      //        Capitol Video
      //       //   \\ 	 __  //         2121 Wisconsin Ave. NW

jkg@prism.gatech.EDU (Jim Greenlee) (06/06/91)

In article <1986@bbxsda.UUCP> scott@bbxsda.UUCP (Scott Amspoker) writes:
>The MOTU 7s got me excited until I read a review on it.  This mixer is
>completly midi controlled with very few manual controls on the front panel.

At least it *has* controls on the front - the only other MIDI-controlled
mixer I've found in that price range (the Niche ACM, which lists for $479)
has *no* controls on the front. If you want to add manual control, then you
need a Fadermaster to go with it (or the equivalent).

I was looking for something that I could put in a rack that would give me
some local control over the mix before it went to the sound board (either by
using the sliders on my MIDI controller, or by dumping stuff to it from a
sequencer). I'm looking at controlling voices in a purely "relative" way.
I don't want to have to fiddle with knobs during a gig - I'd rather "set it
and forget it" to the extent that I can.

>It is obviously intended to be used in conjunction with special software
>from MOTU.  This might be useful in a studio situation but it seems
>rather limited for live or spontaneous work.

There is software for the Mac (and probably for the Atari and PC by now)
that allows you to control things in real-time, but that's not what I'm
interested in doing. To me, "live" and "spontaneous" are very distinct.
While I'm not much of a proponent of sequencing *everything* (I still like
to do *some* things myself :-), it is handy to be able to step through a set
of pre-configured setups for specific songs. I figure that the fewer things
I have to worry about, the better off I'll be.

BTW, I don't own a 7s, so I'm not trying to defend it. I'm just trying to
decide if it will meet my requirements for a specific, well-defined (I
hope :-) task.

						Jim Greenlee
-- 
Jim Greenlee (jkg@cc.gatech.edu)	Just who is this "Buster Move" 
Instructor, College of Computing	fellow, anyway, and why are all
Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA 30332		these people singing about him?

ogata@leviathan.cs.umd.edu (Jefferson Ogata) (06/12/91)

In article <0cGuPQ600VsS81elAo@andrew.cmu.edu>, kg1a+@andrew.cmu.edu (Kevin Michael Goldsmith) writes:
|> Another nice thing about the DMP-7 is
|> that the faders move by themselves, we have set up some funny sequences
|> with the faders alone.  That is just a toy-feature I know, but it is
|> really cool.

Flying faders are definitely *not* a toy feature! Many good studio boards
record the fader moves on a track while you're mastering. With flying faders
you can get back to where you were on your mixer and make accurate twiddles.

If your unit can transmit the fader moves over midi as well as move the
faders in response, you've got a hot number there.

I'll bet the funny fader sequences are really funny though!
-- 
Jefferson Ogata     University of Maryland      Computer Science Department
"Animals without backbones hid from each other or fell down. Clamasaurs and
 oysterettes appeared as appetizers. Then came the sponges, which sucked up
                     about ten percent of all life."