adding linear fader to rackmixer or summing box

[hollywood_steve]

New line mixers and outboard summing units have been released by dozens of manufacturers recently. One common feature is some sort of connection for utilizing a separate linear fader unit in place of the rotary faders on the mixer/summing box. When the option is to replace all input channel and master output pots with linear faders, like the Aurora mixer, then the manufacturer often will offer a complete fader pack, ready to plug into the mixer. But when there is just a single connection to replace the master rotary fader with a stereo linear fader, like the API 7800, it is often left up to the end user to come up with a fader solution.

In this type of situation, where only the master output control is being replaced with a linear fader, the only option appears to be a simple DIY project. Purchase a stereo fader (or a pair of faders) and wire up a suitable connector and mount everything in a little box. Has anyone ever come across any online plans for building a little fader box like this? Anyone out there come up with their own design that they would like to share?

 

[soundguy]

well, off the top of my head, I can think of one solution I was tossing around when I was planning a tour that never happened using the api line mixer. You'd be adding a whole bunch of wire to the game so I dont know if it would work, but I was going to try this-

Install shorting jacks inside the box (assuming there is room) and wire the channel pots to the jack. Take your fader, wire it up to a cable and when you patch it into the back of the box, it will short the front panel pot so you could use the fader instead. You could wire up a whole box like that, you'd be adding more than a foot of balanced cable to the box so who knows if it would be ok, but might be worth the experimentation if you have an api and want more than the master fader.

That would be a an easy ghetto mod if there is room inside the box for the bantam jacks.

dave