First Steps - A mixing console

[home_listening]

Can't seem to get this link to work, does anyone have an alternative host?

If you haven't done, I recommend reading the series of excellent articles by Steve Dove.
http://84.255.203.119/Steve-Dove-Console-Design.pdf
May seem jurassic in some respects but OTOH some things never change.

 

[JAY X]

Hi All,

Try and start doing, drawing, reading,, studying, etc... maybe you will not reach 100% of your goals, but at least you will learn a lot in the way. And take your time....maybe 5 years at least... if you never soldered anything... or don't know any thing about opamps.... because layout is key... either in stripboard and more on pcb.

Jay x

 

[My3gger]

Here it is: http://www.collinsaudio.com/Prosound_Workshop/Steve_Dove_Console_Design.pdf

 

[r2d2]

want to post a question a little bit out of the thread
but widely on the topic  about mixing consoles ,
and as if it would make it by  a "layman" :

why neve (v-vr) sound different  from a ssl (4000-6000) ?
both are based on 5532-5534 ic ,

but also mackie , amek,soundcraft,dda,soundtrascs, etc...
are based on the same ic ,

peace
r.

If you haven't done, I recommend reading the series of excellent articles by Steve Dove.
http://84.255.203.119/Steve-Dove-Console-Design.pdf
May seem jurassic in some respects but OTOH some things never change.

+1.. There is precious little textbook advice covering the kinds of problems you encounter in consoles design, so this is a great resource and comprehensive in scope. I wish this article was available 10 years earlier.  ;D

Today we have off the shelf solutions for some of the brick and mortar circuits he explored in such detail. A modern console is likely to use canned IC mic preamps and IC balanced output drivers (because they are that good now, they weren't back then). 

The EQ is still an area for subjective choices, and the sum bus design is not going to be found in some off the shelf IC applications note (or if you do, probably not worth copying). 

Of course the devil is in the details so you can combine perfect building blocks and still get a sub standard result. How you connect the dots matters.

JR

PS: Yes, I'm the same John Roberts mentioned in the acknowledgments on page 72. I've known Steve for years and he is the real deal. Last time I talked with him he was working with DSP, so not an analog only purist. but he surely knows his way around analog circuits .

 

[john12ax7]

Regarding 5532-34 consoles, there is a lot more to it than just one chip. Components, layout, chips, power supply, bypassing, etc all influence sound to some degree. 5534 is particularly sensitive to implementation, some gear uses them and sounds great, others are rather dreadful.

Passive components all have a sound too. When you have hundreds of them it all adds up.

 

[JohnRoberts]

want to post a question a little bit out of the thread
but widely on the topic  about mixing consoles ,
and as if it would make it by  a "layman" :

why neve (v-vr) sound different  from a ssl (4000-6000) ?
both are based on 5532-5534 ic ,

but also mackie , amek,soundcraft,dda,soundtrascs, etc...
are based on the same ic ,

An op amp is just a high gain stage. The negative feedback network connected around it defines the transfer function, or what you hear as audible differences. 

JR

peace
r.

If you haven't done, I recommend reading the series of excellent articles by Steve Dove.
http://84.255.203.119/Steve-Dove-Console-Design.pdf
May seem jurassic in some respects but OTOH some things never change.

+1.. There is precious little textbook advice covering the kinds of problems you encounter in consoles design, so this is a great resource and comprehensive in scope. I wish this article was available 10 years earlier.  ;D

Today we have off the shelf solutions for some of the brick and mortar circuits he explored in such detail. A modern console is likely to use canned IC mic preamps and IC balanced output drivers (because they are that good now, they weren't back then). 

The EQ is still an area for subjective choices, and the sum bus design is not going to be found in some off the shelf IC applications note (or if you do, probably not worth copying). 

Of course the devil is in the details so you can combine perfect building blocks and still get a sub standard result. How you connect the dots matters.

JR

PS: Yes, I'm the same John Roberts mentioned in the acknowledgments on page 72. I've known Steve for years and he is the real deal. Last time I talked with him he was working with DSP, so not an analog only purist. but he surely knows his way around analog circuits .

 

[magnified]

Lol, yes I put this on the back burner quite a while ago. Too many mix sessions as well as a new child

Here's a slow update!

All 500 series slots, with exception of the fader bank of course.

 

[magnified]

Thanks Adam!

Yeah this is going to be a long ongoing project, eventually:

Top bay will eventually be for Metering
2nd from top is 500 series anything (patchable)
3rd is 4 mono sends and 1 stereo send
4th is the 8 bus assignments + pan
bottom are faders, considering a switch to disengage faders(when Dawtomation is available)