Re: Mixer with MIDI scene recall

[mech <mech@m3ch.net>]

At 8:43 AM -0500 10/30/06, Bill Fox wrote:
>mech wrote:
>>
>>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.
>
>This unit is not universally appreciated:
><http://www.cassiel.com/space/Gearhead/Simmons+SPM+8:2>

Yeah Bill, I've seen that review previously.  Some parts are spot-on, 
but others are way off in left field.

Starting at the end and moving up, I'll agree completely that the 
user interface leaves a good deal to be desired.  Although I've done 
the exact same button-pushing error and lost edits in exactly the 
same manner... exactly twice in ~20 years.  Honestly, it's a pain and 
I was screaming at the little @#$%!'s when it did it -- make no 
mistake.  But after you've been burned by it, you don't do it again. 
You punch the button with two fingers *hard* and wonder if you're 
going to actually break the front panel (I've not yet; yes, I'm 
shocked) but you bloody well don't lose edits from that point forward.

And I've never really had problems with tweaking the knobs unless I 
mounted the unit sandwiched between two other larger units (and I've 
got pretty big hands).  What *is* a problem is adjusting the channel 
gain attenuation on the SPM's rear panel if you've already mounted it 
in a rack wired up all the 1/4" jacks.  It's a little easier if you 
unplug the channel next to the one you're setting up though.  Luckily 
the gain attenuation is pretty much "set & forget" once you've 
finally(!) gotten it right.

However, I'll readily admit the UI is *not* the high point on the box.

The 'rumble' problem I've no clue about.  Generally, any noise from 
the unit is a sign of improper gain staging (I think I might've gone 
into this in some detail in a previous post).  But we're mostly 
talking about channel hiss, not 'rumble' (???).  Not feeding it 
enough signal is also going to exacerbate the frequency curve problem 
I mentioned previously.  And zipper noise?  I could understand zipper 
noise were there any way to control it via MIDI continuous 
controller, but MIDI CC isn't supported.  I thought I remembered 
hearing there were some small problems with software revision 1 
(maybe there was some zipper noise on its initial release?).  All 
mine are on revs 2, 3, or 4, though, so no problems here.  Otherwise, 
that's a new one.

Also, I've never experienced overheating on any of the four units 
I've got.  Sure, they get warm, but I've left 'em on for days at a 
time and they don't get warmer than any other unit -- about as warm 
as our old Eventide H3000 used to get, IIRC.

I really think Nick got hold of a defective unit (is this the same 
Nick from the Different Skies list?).  I mean, the SPM 8:2 ain't 
perfect by any means.  Otherwise, they'd still be in my 
front-of-house setup, rather than a couple of my supporting racks. 
However, its typical problems -- and, as I mentioned previously, it's 
not without some problems -- are rather different from what he seems 
to have run into here.

        --m.
-- 
_______
"No more building up; it is time to dissolve..."