gadget needed

[soundmanjim]

lets hope they decide to use some better quality components then. im still getting very small levels of hiss in everything i own thats got the 'b' word on the front of it. mind you, i even get a bit of hiss on my dbx which i was quite suprised about - it went away when i selected +/-6 db instead of 12!!

i thought the 01v96 WAS the new one they just rolled out - supposed to be way better than the old ones. I'm confused now. i suppose the best thing to do is go and try one in the shop! I didnt realise that the Alesis was 8 channels of 31 in 1u!!! blimey!!!! i may have to get one if thats the case!

[soundmanjim]

...and ive just had a look. £309!!!! that would save me 6 u of rackspace at the club!!!! even more on the road! cheers for that!!!

[Simon Ryder]

The new Yamaha live board is the LS9. it comes in two formats, one with 16 faders, the other with 32. No more sodding layers - yippee!
I also has 4 SPX 2000 processors that can be used simultaneously with 4 31 band graphic EQs that appeaR ON THE Faders. 1 fader for each frequency if you have the 32 channel board.
Take one for a test run.

Seriously though, stay away from the 01V96. Good features, reasonable sound quality - not up there with your GB4 in terms of clarity though it does have more bells and whistles. It is just too d**n fiddly.
Given the choice of your GB4 and an 01V, I would plump for the GB4 every time. reasons: 1 speed of use, 2 sound quality.
The LS9 is supposed to have much better pre amps than the 01V96 which is, lets face it one of its significant downfalls.

[markpaman]

simonryder said:

........Yamaha's new digital live desks - don't know the model number.

LS9
www.yamahaproaudio.com/products/mixers/ls9/index.html

[soundmanjim]

read several reviews of the desks and made comparisons - the ls9 is only 48Khz sampling rate whereas the 96 is 96Khz - and there were some other differences, the ls9 has 31 band graf on every channel, the 96 is para, the ls9 hasnt got any balanced jack ins and the 96 has - i still think i need to go to a shop and just have a go - or EVEN....is anyone out there using one of each at a giog anywhere, i could pop along and have a ook i suppose - i still cant make up my mind which one to get!!

[Simon Ryder]

I would say that 48KHz is unimportant when other things are of far greater consideration. 20 bit 48KHz is already better quality than any CD. The only real gain in going to 96kHz is increased high frequency response, which you are never going to reproduce on a PA system anyway. Please note that both the M7CL. PM5D and the PM!D all run at 48kHz.
For the record, the bit rate is far more important for defining the resolution of the signal. These are all 20 bit consoles.
The hype about 96kHz is just that - hype. Most users can not tell the difference, expecially as only 1 percent of users have equipment that can reproduce frequencies above 20kHz anyway. Mostly it is a means of marketing guys getting you to upgrade your perfectly workable and tried and tested equipment in favour of the lates whizz-band that crashes every five minutes because they skimped on the testing process.

The LS9 has ALL analogue inputs and outputs on XLRs - finally, someone listens! You will find this a common feature on large pro boards such as big Midas and Soundcraft consoles. Your multicore is all on XLRs anyway so, occasionally, you can plug straight in - so long as whatever instrument is on the same power phase. Most decent gear has XLRs as main I/O with jacks as an alternative. Hell even Behringer fit XLRs to all of their outboard!

As for EQ, there is 4 band parametric on every input and up to 16 graphics assignable to the outputs. My personal preference would still be to have an outboard GEQ of note on FOH and use the internals for monitors.

You can easily use the board as 32 in with 4 FX and 4 monitor mixes and of course the L/R or L/C/R FOH mix. With internal Graphics on all O/Ps

You can also configure it as a 16 out monitor board.

Can you do any of this easily with the with the 01V96? Nope.

Another point is that the screen is much larger, full colour AND daylight viewable.

All in all, if a PA provider offered me an 01V96 for one of the bands I tour with I would (and have done on many occasions) say no thank you, please give me a live desk. If you were to present me with an LS9, I would be a happy man. The GB4 also meets rider specs. It has less busses than I use for most of my acts, but they are great boards and if that is what there was, I would not turn it down.

On shows were the venue declares that 01V it is, we bring our own 24/8/2 steam powered board and a hefty FX and dynamics rack. The effort of lugging our personal gear is worth it over multi layered needless complexity all displayed on a tiny monochrome screen that washes out in sunlight.

Please go have a play with the LS9 and see what you think.

For the record, I have seriously considered buying an 01V96. For my home studio.

[Pete]

Simon,

Not that I want to get in to a row,but you seem to be saying that mixing a show on a desk with layers is hard!
I've mixed a fair few shows on DM2ks,they are a stunning console.
OK I/O is a bit of a pain,but I persoanlly feel that for the riginal OPs purpose,an O1V96 would be fine and he could pick one up for less than £1k!Thats not going to happen with an LS9!

[Simon Ryder]

I too have mixed a fair few shows on the DM2k. It is not so much the input layers I am refering to but the dificulty in adjusting for example the dynamics settings on the fly in a live gig. For example when your drummer switches from sticks to brushes and you completely need to redo the gate settings. On an 01V96 this is a royal PITA.
On the DM2k it is MUCH simpler as you have seperate pots for each function and don't have to thingy around on a tiny monochrome screen that has washed out and become illegible under the bright sunshine having to go through 4 or 5 button presses to get where you want. On the DM2k (and on the DM1k, LS9, M7CL, PM5D & PM1D for that matter) you select your channel and turn the gate threshold pot. Much quicker, especially when you have four toms, a high hat and a double miked snare to do this to.

OK you argue, this could all be set during soundcheck on a patch. Yes indeed but what happens (as it unfortunately does with monotenous regularity) that you don't get a real sound check for whatever reason. Then you REALLY want fast access. The 01V96 cannot do this.

If your console is ever going to see the light of day, you reallly needf the screen to be vidsible under sunlight. Come next summer, you will be cursing if it is not.

The 01V96 would work well live if you are able to take your time during sound check and save everything . If you are not able to do this then you will be praying for the return of the analogue board or a propper digital live board.

Also the pre amps on the DM2K are much better quality than those in the 01V96. The LS9 also has superior pre amps. Of the pro users that I know of the 01V96, it is the pre amps as well as the difficulty adjusting dynamics etc on the fly that form the biggest complaints.

[soundmanjim]

Hi simon. thanks for the info. yes, 20 bit, failed to register in the old grey matter. (mostly black due to Guinness abuse nowadays however).
i really want one of these now.
Im getting even busier - ive got a bloody great samba/reggae/indie/drum and bass gig coming up in brixton soon so im pretty glad i didnt sell all my subs cos im going to need them!!
The ls9 will be beautiful for that job. Perhaps Santa could drop it off early perhaps?

thanks for all the info guys.

[soundmanjim]

Ok i give up. When do these LS9's become available for sale? i cant find any outlets at all.

[nigeyc]

Allen & Heath Mix Wizard.... not sure which model it is.. but a friend owns one and they are brilliant desk.

Infact here is a link:

www.allen-heath.com/UK/DisplayProduct.asp?pview=49

[Simon Ryder]

Good desks the Mix Wizards. I own the 14/4/2 which I mostly use for routing the measurement mics for my Smaart rig. It does see occasional use though with small gigs doing either FOH & mons or just mons on its own. If you don't need more than 10 mic channels then you can give 6 monitor mixes + 2 side fills off one of these.

You just need a decent dynamics rack of decent outboard to go with it.

[soundmanjim]

....and so where can i buy an LS9??

[Pete]

Tried Sound Foundation?

[soundmanjim]

thankyou!!!