Compact desktop line mixer?

[Brian Roth]

Which reminds me, the mixer will need some AUX returns. Are you sure one stereo return will be enough?

Cheers

Ian

Good point I had overlooked.

Bri

 

[OneRoomStudio]

I like the selector for multiple speakers....can never have enough! Speaking of selectors, it's cool having an unbalanced 1/8" "ext" jack for guest phone/whatever sources on the front panel, but I would think at least more input should be added so I can hear playback of my mix from my Ampex ATR-100 <g> after I'm done recording.

My original thinking for things like that was that you could bring the tape back in through the stereo FX return - which can be routed to either the mix bus (standard), or muted and selected as a source from the "Monitor Source" switch...but I had an error in "Version 0.6," since I was routing the AUX 3 L/R sends to the Monitor Select instead of the Stereo FX Returns (fixed in "0.7").

EDIT: I forgot to ask....are we totally giving up on the input trim, as found on the x-desk and LILO?

I'm not completely opposed to it, but since the very first thing the signal encounters after being unbalanced is either a fader or an Aux level control, I guess I don't see the point. What are we trimming? In a "standard" console, you might need it since there could be EQs or other inserts with no input level control before the fader, but the idea here is to patch inserts before the input of the board, and you should have control of the output level of those devices (or your interface).

An elephant in the room remains.....Solo.

Again, my preference is for KISS design principles. I like an AFL/SIP style solo with an indicator LED and a relay to mute the mix bus when activated, like this:

Simple, effective...and what most people would expect when they hit "solo."

And here's "Version 0.7":

 

[OneRoomStudio]

Good points. I will check out those reverb units.

Which reminds me, the mixer will need some AUX returns. Are you sure one stereo return will be enough?

Cheers

Ian

That is a good point. I don't want to get too crazy for lack of budget & panel space, but maybe it should be one mono and two stereo returns instead of two mono and one stereo?


Edit: Thinking out loud - when I mix, I typically use two aux sends. Generally, a mono delay (there are some nice plugins out there, but I have a Roland RE-501 that I like OTB), and either a mono-in/stereo-out reverb, or a stereo-in/stereo-out reverb (usually digital hardware, but one day I'd love a plate or a nice spring like an AKG BX15). I often use the delay on the vocals and send the return to the reverb to add a little extra pre-delay on the vocals to bring them more out front of the "band." So for my purposes, I'd probably use two mono sends and one mono return and one stereo return. If I wanted a stereo cue mix for overdubbing, I could still use the stereo send, and since I don't need to return that, I'd still have a mono return at my disposal that I could use as an additional input channel in a pinch. I can see the utility of that being a stereo return too...all that to say I could go either way.