Re: Mixer with MIDI scene recall

[mech <mech@m3ch.net>]

At 1:02 AM +0000 10/31/06, Greg Mills wrote:
>
>I've been trying to build up my guitar rig for a while and have 
>gathered a few effects boxes and rack units along the way. I need a 
>way to connect it all together such that whatever combination I come 
>up with I can save as a preset. Does anyone know of a small (rack 
>sized) 8 to 12 channel, 2 or 4 bus mixer that has MIDI scene recall? 
>I would prefer this to one of the many guitar oriented 'matrix' type 
>units available (such as the Switchblade, Max1, G-System, etc.)

Well, I think I've posted about it previously (check the archives for 
full details) but there's the old Simmons SPM 8:2 from circa 1987.

Essentials: 8 single channels with pan, 3-band parametric EQ, two 
mono effect sends/returns, MIDI scene recall (can fade between 
presets), unbalanced 1/4" inputs and stereo main outs, and some 
limited effects (panning and filtering using envelope or LFO).

Pros: compact (1U rackmount); 128 MIDI-recallable presets/scenes; 
cheap (~$50 - $100) on ebay; filter effect uses the same CEM chip 
found in many analog (Oberheim) synthesizers; extremely feature-laden.

Cons: earlier software revisions can be a bit noisy (version 4 was 
the last official, and quietest, rev); older unit so no support; 
fidelity is a little less than more modern units (response starts to 
drop off around ~15k, so it's okay for straight guitar/bass and many 
voices -- less so for instruments requiring a wider frequency range); 
programming can be more than a bit tedious(!); program dumps are only 
to tape, with no official MIDI support for that.

Also, with regard to the fidelity issue, I've a suspicion that much 
of that -- as well as the noise issues -- could be solved by 
replacing the older op-amps with more modern chips.  However, I 
haven't found a bench tech willing to do that on mine yet.

        --m.
-- 
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