looping mixers coming out of the woodwork, lol

["Andy Owens" <andy@1800pathways.com>]

Well, I guess I should have said that the Rane CM86 is the best mixer for ME, lol.....

 

I am using all eight channels on this mixer, which is probably not normal around here, lol, but I am some kind of maniac (wait all us eggheads in here must be crazy.....is there ever an end to figuring this stuff out, are ya'll like me, is there not an activity any more fun that screwing in rack screws on a new rack unit? I mean, I am whack, I refuse to even use an electric screwdriver because I dont want to speed up the pleasure of putting in rack screws....) like this

 

1 Digitech 1101, which is all my acoustic instruments

2 Yamaha TG 55 hooked to the keys on the Novation controller

3 Drum machine

4 Hammond XM-1 organ module (cool organ sound and cheap!!!)

5 Bass line for Fender P bass (I am working on getting this on a stand so I can just walk up to it)

6 Mic for hand percussion instruments

7 Mic line for mic that I use for going into the V4 vocal harmonizer/effect unit, so I can just switch to this mic when I want harmony and loop that output

8 Vocal mic for lead vocs

 

Now, the CM 86 is NOT LIGHT, so it fails there for sure, all Rane stuff is heavy, this is an old old unit of theirs, I used to endorse them and set up at trade shows and show their stuff, so I have a lot of it laying around.

 

I guess what I am trying to accomplish in some way is a way to switch things in and out of the looper to decrease noise accumulation, so I like the on/off possibilities of this mixer......BUT what I really want is that Sound Sculpture midi controlled analog patch bay, then you could really get some control. Actually, it has the ability to, with midi control, just build a mixer into the patch bay, there is level control, pan, blah blah blah, so that would mean a 16 x 16 mixer in one rack space, but you need a Novation or something to control it.

 

Also, TOO BIG, but something I have been looking at on ebay lately is the old Mackie CR 1604s with the Otto midi control, you can control a lot of the aux's, faders, etc on those old mixers with midi, now that would be a cool way to build a system that with one button push you can set up all you need for a new song.

 

One limitation I just found last night on the CM86 (I spoke too soon, lol) is that the aux sends are made (aux a aux b) to only go to the main out a and b, which makes no sense, BUT if you set a and b main out to mono then it sums, but what I like about the non-stereo stereo of this mixer is that there is no pan, you actually have on the main chanell out control of the channel a set of concentric knobs that send more or less of a to a and b to b, so that is really two mixes, I can send a to mon and b to the LP1 and set the LP1 to wet only and it makes it real easy to set levels that way, and I dont have to monitor through the LP1 like I used to, cause it is a bit noisy, BUT since the auxs are split like that, since last night when I added another TC m300 (LOVE IT, midi control, cheap, like 100 bucks on ebay) then I cant use both auxs that way.....arrrgggg.....my brain is about to blow up figuring this out. But each chanell has an insert point, but if I put a reverb on there for example, then I lose my "on/off" of setting the aux to pre and post which acts like an on off switch,,,,,,

 

Anyway that little behringer is nice, they are just a bit noisy, I have a couple of different ones.

 

Kevin mentioned getting from one section to another on the lp1 as a bit of a challenge, but I am working now with my Novation control surface on that, it is really cool to set the faders to control the LP1 tracks, and then I have a set of eight buttons that alternate between play and stop, so if I cut the first three tracks for example to section A of a song, then track the next section on the next three, then with the push of a button or foot switch I can turn off section A or B..........now I dont have this down yet, but it is possible, I am doing it.  Programming the LP1 and Novation so that with a foot button control I can say to the LP1 "mute that last track, and start recording a new one" you know, ya'll probably all have all that down anyway, I am just a hillbilly here in a log cabin in North Carolina, 18 miles from the grocery store, and so looping, I dont have to wait for anyone to come over and jam!!!!

 

Well, I sure went from silent to too long winded, but those are my random thoughts for the day. I hope to have some music for ya'll to hear someday soon. For my "regular" music, you can go to www.andyowens.com