There are a number of brands that are loved and others less so. Making an article and being objective about the latter category is very difficult.
Lately I designed a small semi-professional recording studio and the client asked me to add his sound card to it fire face 800 of the RME, 8 channel-strips of good quality, but with preamps that had a slight color to compensate for the great linearity of the preamps and converters of the RME. The budget was very low, about 3/4000 euros and, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't find any solution, except to buy a standard analogue desk, like Mackie. Eventually I went to a very dear friend's studio and was able to try out the tube mixer Tube tracker M-3 by TL Audio, which we remember for the well-known Ivory and Blue series.
Valve heart
In every recording studio, from the professional one to the project one, the mixer (or mixing console or desk) is the point where everything converges, the heart of every activity. Here the signals from the microphones or sound generators arrive, they are sorted towards the tracks of the recorder, sent to external processors to be filmed more beautiful and mysterious and finally mixed and amalgamated with each other to create increasingly engaging and intended sounds. to a small master who can be played outside. Surely for the type of versatility (little) and the only eight channels available, we certainly cannot consider the TL AUDIO M-3 the very center of our studio, unless we deal with minimalist productions such as guitar, vocals and some percussive color. In this case this mixer is placed for beauty and quality in the Olympus of world audio, a real gem. Valve fever is contagious, no doubt about it. Even before the big names in the world of audio, that is the small manufacturers companies had already started with the production of numerous more or less "vintage-oriented" tube devices. Of course, if it is true that large industry manages to offer products at prices that are impossible for those who make use of the same economy of scale (purchase of raw materials in huge quantities), it is also true that the " small fishes, more slender and flexible in setting up (or changing) their work on an artisanal scale. If there is one thing that lends itself well to production in companies of little more than family size, it is tube technology; the valve allows the development of circuits that are as simple as they are effective from the sound point of view and this explains the reason for the proliferation of valve devices in the industrial economy. This premise serves to frame the production of the British house TL A., acronym behind which it lies TONY LARKING AUDIO, an old acquaintance of the world audio community who passed from decades of sales and import to production. To close the circle on vintage and Tony Larking valves, one of the house's first products was a pre-eq. outboard built by re-boxing NEVE modules recovered from old retired consoles. Everything fits. Speaking of tubes, let's say that there are different ways to have fun with thermionic tubes (Fig.1). You can design and build "old-fashioned" equipment with just tubes, capacitors and resistors joined together with sterling copper wire (remember old guitar or bass amps?) Without even a printed circuit board. Or it is possible to build modern integrated circuit devices and insert an optimized tube gain stage in the most appropriate place to offer the least tube sensation possible. In addition, something can be designed in a hybrid way that uses both galaxies to achieve a balance between advantages and disadvantages that leans more in favor of modernity, without indulging in it too much. These are all possible paths, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. And where is the M-3 mixer? In the middle, where the valve is used only in the preamp circuit and on the master outputs. The TL Audio was primarily thought of as eight strip-channels. In fact, the sound that comes out of the “direct - outs” of the channels competes for silence and sound quality with the best “outboards” on the market. In a professional recording studio it can become the analogue heart of the shot, connecting it with a whip to the eight A / D inputs of the digital recorder or recording card and can positively condition the signal of any sound source. In this way, only the responsibility of the mix-down is given to the digital desks, thus exploiting the great capacity for managing, automating and storing cold, but very comfortable digital mixers.
TL A. M-3 up close
The sheet metal is about three millimeters thick and is coated on the surface with a coat of blue paint (Fig.2) where the various white segments, border lines, symbols and numerical values stand out wonderfully. On the channel section, looking downwards, you will find: the "gain" control with "range" from +16 to + 60 dB, the selector for microphone or line signals (very useful for managing and accepting in a clean way without the minimum of distortion at the input the various signals coming from the different electronic instruments optimized in input from the rotary potentiometer of the input gain mentioned above), the switch for "phase revers" which is used to invert the phase of the input signal rotating it 180 degrees (this is useful when working with more than one microphone while recording). A trick to check if there is a phase error in a multi-microphone recording is to listen to the program in mono. In this way, if the master level drops significantly, there are serious phase problems.
Conversely, if the signal remains similar to stereo or even higher, it means that the signals have good phase coherence, thus also providing excellent mono compatibility. In this era full of highly sophisticated stereo and multichannel (surround) listening, unfortunately there is still a vast monophonic diffusion present in almost all the television networks of our nation, not to mention the radio ones. The high pass filter (12 dB per octave) at 90 Hz is ideal for removing harmful low frequencies from the input signal and is useful for proper management of the proximity effect of directional microphones and in particular those with condenser during voice recording. The filter becomes an authentic "anti rumble" (onomatopoeic English term) in all those shots where the source to be recorded such as guitar, violin and various wind and percussive instruments express their timbre character well above 90 Hz; remembering that all condenser and non-condenser microphones, cheap or expensive, have a complete frequency response beyond their linearity. The filter is however “bypassable”, for immediate comparison, using the “switch” to activate or deactivate the EQ section. Activation is monitored by a small adjacent green LED; also in this case the comparison between equalized and flat signal is useful.
The Channel Strip
The equalizer is made up of four bands from bottom to top where they are located: the rotary potentiometer that adjusts the low shelving frequencies to 15Hz from + - 80 dB, a semi-parametric "peacking" on the medium-low, another on the medium-high and finally a "shelving" filter on the highs positioned at 12 Khz (Fig.6). What is an EQ or, better said, a filter useful for I leave to your imagination, also because there would not be enough space in this test to talk about it, but we will simply limit ourselves, for this time, to describing the tonal characteristics. Each channel is also equipped with 2 “aux sends”. The first is selectable via "switch" in pre or post "channel", while the second is fixed only in post channel mode. The pre channel solution is preferable when managing a monitoring line because it provides complete volume independence. It can also be used creatively together with a dsp. Example: lowering the channel fader and keeping the aux pre output on the same channel open will only get the processed signal which can be useful in a particular arrangement or as a special effect. Immediately after the aux send we find the pan control, a potentiometer that has the task of positioning the source in the stereo panorama, at a certain point, optionally from one extreme side to the other. It is clear that a correct management of this function, together with the right filtering and volume of a signal, can greatly contribute to the success of the final mix, even in a highly articulated sound program. The Tubetracker has a mute switch button with its red LED that lights up whenever the mute is active and a very useful switch to activate the PFL function (“pre fade listen”). Also in this case, when the button is pressed, the relative red LED lights up on the selected channel. The function can be used to monitor listening through headphones to check the presence of a signal even with the fader down or to check the input level using the generous analog metering on the master section. The channel fader has a 100mm excursion providing +10 dB of gain at the maximum position. Perhaps it will be needless to say that beyond the input signal and how it can be handled, the amount of signal to be sent to the stereo master is the work of only this very important component. 'maximum height of the fader, precisely on the right, two LEDs, one yellow and the other red, respectively the “drive” and the “peack level”. The led of the drive lights up gradually every time the input level increases above +6 dBu up to +16 dBu giving the sound a typical tube character, harmonically enriching and therefore heating the signal to be sent to the digital recorders. The “peak” led lights up to warn us that the signal is about to distort; it starts to light up when it touches the + 21 dBu threshold. If we choose to take the signal from the "direct out" we have another 5 dB of "headroom" available. Having completed the description of the channel, let's move on to that of the master section.
Master Section
The master section is made up of fabulous vintage-style analog coil-shaped circular metering (Fig.5). They can monitor: the stereo output signal, the “PFL” present in various sections of the mixer (when activated) and the “2 T return” signal when selected on the monitor section. Under the two “meters” there is a pair of “led peaks” which operate on the stereo signal and turn on when we reach the + 21 Dbu threshold with a tolerance of + 5 Db of headroom. Equidistant between these two LEDs there is the “power LED” which indicates that the mixer is switched on. Immediately below is a “digital metering” plus two controls, one for selecting the type of quantization in bits and the other for selecting the sampling frequency. We remind you that the A / D conversion card is optional, but the manufacturer wanted to provide the mixer with the hardware to manage and control this conversion. The “phantom power” once activated is active simultaneously on all eight channels, as there is not an individual switch on each channel. The “aux sends” masters are complete with the pfl control button with relative led. The two “aux returns” together with the balance potentiometer are always correlated by the pfl switch and led. The monitor section consists of two rotary potentiometers, one that manages the volume to be addressed to a pair of monitors and the other the “balance level” pfl. Also in the monitor section there is also the switch "2 T return”Very useful when you want to hear the return from a stereo master, such as a dat or CD recorder, etc. Looking to the right we discover the headphone output; the signal of this output is managed by the potentiometers of the master monitor section. Finally, we find a single 100mm fader that controls the output volume of the stereo mixer. Certainly, with a single fader we cannot decide the level differences of the right and left channel of the master output downstream of the signals; however, on a possible “fade in” or “fade out”, maximum accuracy and precision is obtained with the single fader. I show you with the image the generous rear panel with the relative signal input and output connectors, switches for calibration, etc (Fig.6).
TL A. under press
After this long description, let's move on to the practical test of this promising mixer. Once I connected the PSU to the desk I plugged the power cable into the mains. A beautiful amber light illuminates the two meters of the porthole-shaped master section. The first test was very easy to do because I connected the outputs of a discrete CD player to the line inputs of the first two channels of the mixer, selecting the appropriate switch. I monitored the input signal with the “pfl” optimizing it to “0” dB through the rotary input gain potentiometer. Then I pushed the left and right pan controls to the extreme for standard stereo listening. I positioned the master towards three quarters of its travel and with the channel faders still down I checked for any obvious crosstalk problems. Absolutely not, very quiet. I switched to listening to some quite old Fabio Concato songs like: “Guido piano”, “Rosalina” and “Sexy tango”. The recording quality on this CD is really dated, just good enough and not remastered. However, I must say with pleasant surprise that the mixer managed to deliver a very pleasant overall sound, providing an impressive stereo opening. I want to clarify that the equalizer was not involved throughout the test. Awesome!
Male and female voice
For this test I brought a fantastic Neumann U87ai (Fig.7), a microphone that certainly needs no introduction. By asking the singer to provide various dynamic pressures, I optimized the input gain by occasionally flashing the yellow led of the drive explained above. For this test I took the signal from the channel's "direct out" directly from the AD converters of the sound card RME Fireface 800. Still without activating the equalizer, I noticed that the preamp stage is really silent; you just listen to the sound, with good headroom, returning fidelity both to the character of the microphone, which is always warm and sensitive, and to the tone of the voice in general. The action of the valve is really discreet, never intrusive, everything you can expect from an excellent channel strip on the market. In this case I felt the need to activate the HP filter (high pass) and to open the high shelving by about two dB, also because the shooting cabin is not very reflective; the U87 itself is already warm and finally the male voice in question is expressed in the range of a baritone register, making good use of its resonators. What matters in any case is the result and thanks to the various possibilities that this mixer offers it does not take long to achieve it by conditioning it in a positive way. The song that the singer performed is in English, like the manual of our mixer. Doing all the “routing” operations for the calibration of the levels, we immediately say that even in this case there was not a minimum of harshness or musical dirt: the signal was always detailed, full-bodied and transparent. In this case it was not necessary to intervene with the equalizer except for the "low cut" filter. Also good this test.
Acoustic guitar
For this type of recording I used a bi-microphone technique with two AKG 414 ULS, positioned in a standard way, one to the right and the other to the left of the instrument. Immediately I noticed a wonderful stereo opening with no shadow areas. The overall sound of the guitar was rich and detailed providing good transient speed in rhythmic and arpeggios playing. Consequently, I felt the need to activate not only the HP filter, but also the EQ section by operating: -2 dB on the low shelving section, -2 dB on the medium-low around 400 Hz and again -2dB on the medium-high, around the 2 HKz. The feeling with this bench is that there is more need to remove than to add. Not bad!
Electric bass live:
For this test I used two types of electric basses, one with passive circuitry and the other with active one. The passive one was rightly connected to an active DI box, to interface it correctly to the microphone input of the channel, while the active one was connected directly to the line input of the channel. In both cases the substantial difference between these two instruments emerged and as far as listening is concerned, it was only necessary to raise the channel fader to achieve a professional level result. Another time it was better to remove than to add, intervening with the equalization section without activating the low cut filter.
Live Jazz Trio
For this type of rehearsal I occupied four channels for the drums, one channel for the double bass and two microphones for the baby grand piano. I will not dwell on the explanation of the type of adjustment set, also because everything is related to the type of microphone used, the instrument, the instrumentalist and last but not least, the place hosting the performance. I will definitely tell you about what happened. The mixer immediately impressed all musicians on an aesthetic level. But now let's move on to the most important thing: the proof. Let's say immediately that the mixer managed to reproduce a very high level sound without detracting from the skill of the main performers. On the drums it responded smoothly and quickly across the high pressure and frequency range typical of this instrument. From the roundness of the body and the thump of the toms, to the phase coherence of the snare drum and the silkiness of the cymbals, it has always maintained a clean sound with excellent headroom. As for the double bass I got the same positive result, soft and round bass with the mid-highs produced by the strings on the fast and defined neck. It is almost necessary to describe the type of miking used for the piano, for the simple fact that it is determined for the purposes of listening. I used two fairly popular narrow diaphragm microphones in an XY (coincident stereo) configuration. I tilted them at 45 degrees on the strings by placing the rod in the center of the piano. In this situation the goal was to capture the direct sound as much as possible, trying to limit the “cross-talk” (infiltrations) produced by the other instruments. The sound in the recording was what I set out to achieve and this may explain the great management possibilities that this mixer offers.
Use of DSPs
Another test that I wanted to do was the management of the DSP with the aux sends controls. In the post setting I connected two processors, a Lexicon PCM 91 (Fig.8) and a TC M5000. I started some dry tracks from the digital multi-track with vocals, guitar and string quartet. Optimizing the ratio between the input and the aux returns with the Fx machines, I noticed a great silence. On the Lexicon I used the “Concert Hall” preset while on the TC a “Chorus”. Reverb was distributed throughout the ensemble, while some chorus was put on the guitar and quartet. The sensation received was that of being in the presence of an important listening with great class and nobility and returning a true three-dimensionality with reverb tails of excellent sound texture. There is nothing to say. Stupendous!
Conclusions
I would have liked to have also been able to test the conversion quality of the optional digital digital card, but unfortunately it was not possible. Anyway, I found a couple of moles. One is the absence of sub masters with the relative channel assignments, very useful when you want to group, for example, several vocals, a small string section or a drums. I would have liked to insert two good compression channels on the insert of the sub masters to even out the too loose dynamics. The second drawback is the absence of the double fader in the master L - R section. It is true that in the case of a single master fader you can have more accuracy on the fades, but this can still be solved with the help of a fader coupler. , if there were two. I think that for such an important hardware, any user must always have full freedom of choice and be able to take advantage of all the possibilities offered by the equipment available, especially when they are of a professional level, starting with their price.
Certainly this is a mixer of excellent workmanship and quality and let's say that the cost is proportional to its caliber. Surely it is not for all budgets, but considering the math we can say that, if for business needs I needed eight mic pre-amps and as many equalizers of the same quality that this mixer offers, what would have been my expense? Rhetorical question because I already know the answer, that is, more than double. The only advantage of having eight separate outboards is that they are separate. If I only need two channels for a remote today, I will only carry one or two units with me with no other bulk. But how much would eight separate outboards of this quality have cost us? Certainly more than double. So do your evaluations.
This is a not very versatile mixer, mainly designed to connect it from channel direct outs directly to the tracks of any digital multi-track, to become an "upgrade" in any studio, to be used alongside digital consoles or to be used as a mixing console for small but important productions completing it perhaps with some excellent DSP and dynamics processors fortunately not present in the bench. Another more than positive aspect is the tactile experience with its components. The faders and rotary knobs go like butter with wonderful friction and always offer a generous and uniform excursion on all points of the stroke, without noticing, even concentrating to the maximum, differences between them. I had to change my mind about this product. The hybrid design of this instrument meant that the output signal was very balanced and with a nice warm and homogeneous sound, without giving a too predominant character to the sound, which will allow it to be used for various types of production.
Antonio Campeglia
There are some brands that are loved and others that are not. Writing an objective article about the latter category is very difficult. I recently designed a small semi-professional recording studio, and the client asked me to pair his RME Fireface 800 audio interface with eight good-quality channel strips, but with preamps that had a slight coloration to compensate for the excellent linearity of the RME preamps and converters. The budget was very low, around €3,000-€4000, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't find a solution other than buying a standard analog console, like a Mackie. Eventually, I went to a dear friend's studio and was able to try out the Tubetracker M-3 tube mixer from TL Audio, known for its well-known Ivory and Blue series.
Valve heart:
In every recording studio, from the professional one to the project one, the mixer (or mixing console or desk) is the point where everything converges, the heart of every activity. Here the signals from the microphones or sound generators arrive, they are sorted towards the tracks of the recorder, sent to external processors to be filmed more beautiful and mysterious and finally mixed and amalgamated with each other to create increasingly engaging and intended sounds. to a small master who can be played outside. Surely for the type of versatility (little) and the only eight channels available, we certainly cannot consider the TL AUDIO M-3 the very center of our studio, unless we deal with minimalist productions such as guitar, vocals and some percussive color. In this case this mixer is placed for beauty and quality in the Olympus of world audio, a real gem. Valve fever is contagious, no doubt about it. Even before the big names in the world of audio, that is the small manufacturers companies had already started with the production of numerous more or less "vintage-oriented" tube devices. Of course, if it is true that large industry manages to offer products at prices that are impossible for those who make use of the same economy of scale (purchase of raw materials in huge quantities), it is also true that the " small fishes, more slender and flexible in setting up (or changing) their work on an artisanal scale. If there is one thing that lends itself well to production in companies of little more than family size, it is tube technology; the valve allows the development of circuits that are as simple as they are effective from the sound point of view and this explains the reason for the proliferation of valve devices in the industrial economy. This premise serves to frame the production of the British house TL A., acronym behind which it lies TONY LARKING AUDIO, an old acquaintance of the world audio community who passed from decades of sales and import to production. To close the circle on vintage and Tony Larking valves, one of the house's first products was a pre-eq. outboard built by re-boxing NEVE modules recovered from old retired consoles. Everything fits. Speaking of tubes, let's say that there are different ways to have fun with thermionic tubes (Fig.1). You can design and build "old-fashioned" equipment with just tubes, capacitors and resistors joined together with sterling copper wire (remember old guitar or bass amps?) Without even a printed circuit board. Or it is possible to build modern integrated circuit devices and insert an optimized tube gain stage in the most appropriate place to offer the least tube sensation possible. In addition, something can be designed in a hybrid way that uses both galaxies to achieve a balance between advantages and disadvantages that leans more in favor of modernity, without indulging in it too much. These are all possible paths, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. And where is the M-3 mixer? In the middle, where the valve is used only in the preamp circuit and on the master outputs. The TL Audio was primarily thought of as eight strip-channels. In fact, the sound that comes out of the “direct - outs” of the channels competes for silence and sound quality with the best “outboards” on the market. In a professional recording studio it can become the analogue heart of the shot, connecting it with a whip to the eight A / D inputs of the digital recorder or recording card and can positively condition the signal of any sound source. In this way, only the responsibility of the mix-down is given to the digital desks, thus exploiting the great capacity for managing, automating and storing cold, but very comfortable digital mixers.
TL A. M-3 up close:
The sheet metal is about three millimeters thick and is coated on the surface with a coat of blue paint (Fig.2) where the various white segments, border lines, symbols and numerical values stand out wonderfully. On the channel section, looking downwards, you will find: the "gain" control with "range" from +16 to + 60 dB, the selector for microphone or line signals (very useful for managing and accepting in a clean way without the minimum of distortion at the input the various signals coming from the different electronic instruments optimized in input from the rotary potentiometer of the input gain mentioned above), the switch for "phase revers" which is used to invert the phase of the input signal rotating it 180 degrees (this is useful when working with more than one microphone while recording). A trick to check if there is a phase error in a multi-microphone recording is to listen to the program in mono. In this way, if the master level drops significantly, there are serious phase problems.
Conversely, if the signal remains similar to stereo or even higher, it means that the signals have good phase coherence, thus also providing excellent mono compatibility. In this era full of highly sophisticated stereo and multichannel (surround) listening, unfortunately there is still a vast monophonic diffusion present in almost all the television networks of our nation, not to mention the radio ones. The high pass filter (12 dB per octave) at 90 Hz is ideal for removing harmful low frequencies from the input signal and is useful for proper management of the proximity effect of directional microphones and in particular those with condenser during voice recording. The filter becomes an authentic "anti rumble" (onomatopoeic English term) in all those shots where the source to be recorded such as guitar, violin and various wind and percussive instruments express their timbre character well above 90 Hz; remembering that all condenser and non-condenser microphones, cheap or expensive, have a complete frequency response beyond their linearity. The filter is however “bypassable”, for immediate comparison, using the “switch” to activate or deactivate the EQ section. Activation is monitored by a small adjacent green LED; also in this case the comparison between equalized and flat signal is useful.
The Channel Strip:
The equalizer is made up of four bands from bottom to top where they are located: the rotary potentiometer that adjusts the low shelving frequencies to 15Hz from + - 80 dB, a semi-parametric "peacking" on the medium-low, another on the medium-high and finally a "shelving" filter on the highs positioned at 12 Khz (Fig.6). What is an EQ or, better said, a filter useful for I leave to your imagination, also because there would not be enough space in this test to talk about it, but we will simply limit ourselves, for this time, to describing the tonal characteristics. Each channel is also equipped with 2 “aux sends”. The first is selectable via "switch" in pre or post "channel", while the second is fixed only in post channel mode. The pre channel solution is preferable when managing a monitoring line because it provides complete volume independence. It can also be used creatively together with a dsp. Example: lowering the channel fader and keeping the aux pre output on the same channel open will only get the processed signal which can be useful in a particular arrangement or as a special effect. Immediately after the aux send we find the pan control, a potentiometer that has the task of positioning the source in the stereo panorama, at a certain point, optionally from one extreme side to the other. It is clear that a correct management of this function, together with the right filtering and volume of a signal, can greatly contribute to the success of the final mix, even in a highly articulated sound program. The Tubetracker has a mute switch button with its red LED that lights up whenever the mute is active and a very useful switch to activate the PFL function (“pre fade listen”). Also in this case, when the button is pressed, the relative red LED lights up on the selected channel. The function can be used to monitor listening through headphones to check the presence of a signal even with the fader down or to check the input level using the generous analog metering on the master section. The channel fader has a 100mm excursion providing +10 dB of gain at the maximum position. Perhaps it will be needless to say that beyond the input signal and how it can be handled, the amount of signal to be sent to the stereo master is the work of only this very important component. 'maximum height of the fader, precisely on the right, two LEDs, one yellow and the other red, respectively the “drive” and the “peack level”. The led of the drive lights up gradually every time the input level increases above +6 dBu up to +16 dBu giving the sound a typical tube character, harmonically enriching and therefore heating the signal to be sent to the digital recorders. The “peak” led lights up to warn us that the signal is about to distort; it starts to light up when it touches the + 21 dBu threshold. If we choose to take the signal from the "direct out" we have another 5 dB of "headroom" available. Having completed the description of the channel, let's move on to that of the master section.
Master Section:
The master section is made up of fabulous vintage-style analog coil-shaped circular metering (Fig.5). They can monitor: the stereo output signal, the “PFL” present in various sections of the mixer (when activated) and the “2 T return” signal when selected on the monitor section. Under the two “meters” there is a pair of “led peaks” which operate on the stereo signal and turn on when we reach the + 21 Dbu threshold with a tolerance of + 5 Db of headroom. Equidistant between these two LEDs there is the “power LED” which indicates that the mixer is switched on. Immediately below is a “digital metering” plus two controls, one for selecting the type of quantization in bits and the other for selecting the sampling frequency. We remind you that the A / D conversion card is optional, but the manufacturer wanted to provide the mixer with the hardware to manage and control this conversion. The “phantom power” once activated is active simultaneously on all eight channels, as there is not an individual switch on each channel. The “aux sends” masters are complete with the pfl control button with relative led. The two “aux returns” together with the balance potentiometer are always correlated by the pfl switch and led. The monitor section consists of two rotary potentiometers, one that manages the volume to be addressed to a pair of monitors and the other the “balance level” pfl. Also in the monitor section there is also the switch "2 T return”Very useful when you want to hear the return from a stereo master, such as a dat or CD recorder, etc. Looking to the right we discover the headphone output; the signal of this output is managed by the potentiometers of the master monitor section. Finally, we find a single 100mm fader that controls the output volume of the stereo mixer. Certainly, with a single fader we cannot decide the level differences of the right and left channel of the master output downstream of the signals; however, on a possible “fade in” or “fade out”, maximum accuracy and precision is obtained with the single fader. I show you with the image the generous rear panel with the relative signal input and output connectors, switches for calibration, etc (Fig.6).
TL A. under pressure:
After this long description, let's move on to the practical test of this promising mixer. Once I connected the PSU to the desk I plugged the power cable into the mains. A beautiful amber light illuminates the two meters of the porthole-shaped master section. The first test was very easy to do because I connected the outputs of a discrete CD player to the line inputs of the first two channels of the mixer, selecting the appropriate switch. I monitored the input signal with the “pfl” optimizing it to “0” dB through the rotary input gain potentiometer. Then I pushed the left and right pan controls to the extreme for standard stereo listening. I positioned the master towards three quarters of its travel and with the channel faders still down I checked for any obvious crosstalk problems. Absolutely not, very quiet. I switched to listening to some quite old Fabio Concato songs like: “Guido piano”, “Rosalina” and “Sexy tango”. The recording quality on this CD is really dated, just good enough and not remastered. However, I must say with pleasant surprise that the mixer managed to deliver a very pleasant overall sound, providing an impressive stereo opening. I want to clarify that the equalizer was not involved throughout the test. Awesome!
Male and female voice:
For this test I brought a fantastic Neumann U87ai (Fig.7), a microphone that certainly needs no introduction. By asking the singer to provide various dynamic pressures, I optimized the input gain by occasionally flashing the yellow led of the drive explained above. For this test I took the signal from the channel's "direct out" directly from the AD converters of the sound card RME Fireface 800. Still without activating the equalizer, I noticed that the preamp stage is really silent; you just listen to the sound, with good headroom, returning fidelity both to the character of the microphone, which is always warm and sensitive, and to the tone of the voice in general. The action of the valve is really discreet, never intrusive, everything you can expect from an excellent channel strip on the market. In this case I felt the need to activate the HP filter (high pass) and to open the high shelving by about two dB, also because the shooting cabin is not very reflective; the U87 itself is already warm and finally the male voice in question is expressed in the range of a baritone register, making good use of its resonators. What matters in any case is the result and thanks to the various possibilities that this mixer offers it does not take long to achieve it by conditioning it in a positive way. The song that the singer performed is in English, like the manual of our mixer. Doing all the “routing” operations for the calibration of the levels, we immediately say that even in this case there was not a minimum of harshness or musical dirt: the signal was always detailed, full-bodied and transparent. In this case it was not necessary to intervene with the equalizer except for the "low cut" filter. Also good this test.
Acoustic guitar:
For this type of recording I used a bi-microphone technique with two AKG 414 ULS, positioned in a standard way, one to the right and the other to the left of the instrument. Immediately I noticed a wonderful stereo opening with no shadow areas. The overall sound of the guitar was rich and detailed providing good transient speed in rhythmic and arpeggios playing. Consequently, I felt the need to activate not only the HP filter, but also the EQ section by operating: -2 dB on the low shelving section, -2 dB on the medium-low around 400 Hz and again -2dB on the medium-high, around the 2 HKz. The feeling with this bench is that there is more need to remove than to add. Not bad!
Electric bass live:
For this test I used two types of electric basses, one with passive circuitry and the other with active one. The passive one was rightly connected to an active DI box, to interface it correctly to the microphone input of the channel, while the active one was connected directly to the line input of the channel. In both cases the substantial difference between these two instruments emerged and as far as listening is concerned, it was only necessary to raise the channel fader to achieve a professional level result. Another time it was better to remove than to add, intervening with the equalization section without activating the low cut filter.
Live Jazz Trio:
For this type of rehearsal I occupied four channels for the drums, one channel for the double bass and two microphones for the baby grand piano. I will not dwell on the explanation of the type of adjustment set, also because everything is related to the type of microphone used, the instrument, the instrumentalist and last but not least, the place hosting the performance. I will definitely tell you about what happened. The mixer immediately impressed all musicians on an aesthetic level. But now let's move on to the most important thing: the proof. Let's say immediately that the mixer managed to reproduce a very high level sound without detracting from the skill of the main performers. On the drums it responded smoothly and quickly across the high pressure and frequency range typical of this instrument. From the roundness of the body and the thump of the toms, to the phase coherence of the snare drum and the silkiness of the cymbals, it has always maintained a clean sound with excellent headroom. As for the double bass I got the same positive result, soft and round bass with the mid-highs produced by the strings on the fast and defined neck. It is almost necessary to describe the type of miking used for the piano, for the simple fact that it is determined for the purposes of listening. I used two fairly popular narrow diaphragm microphones in an XY (coincident stereo) configuration. I tilted them at 45 degrees on the strings by placing the rod in the center of the piano. In this situation the goal was to capture the direct sound as much as possible, trying to limit the “cross-talk” (infiltrations) produced by the other instruments. The sound in the recording was what I set out to achieve and this may explain the great management possibilities that this mixer offers.
Using DSPs:
Another test that I wanted to do was the management of the DSP with the aux sends controls. In the post setting I connected two processors, a Lexicon PCM 91 (Fig.8) and a TC M5000. I started some dry tracks from the digital multi-track with vocals, guitar and string quartet. Optimizing the ratio between the input and the aux returns with the Fx machines, I noticed a great silence. On the Lexicon I used the “Concert Hall” preset while on the TC a “Chorus”. Reverb was distributed throughout the ensemble, while some chorus was put on the guitar and quartet. The sensation received was that of being in the presence of an important listening with great class and nobility and returning a true three-dimensionality with reverb tails of excellent sound texture. There is nothing to say. Stupendous!
Conclusions:
I would have liked to test the conversion quality of the optional digital-to-digital card, but unfortunately it wasn't possible. However, I did encounter a couple of drawbacks. One is the lack of sub-masters with their associated channel assignments, which are very useful when grouping together, for example, multiple backing vocals, a small string section, or a drum kit. I would have liked to see two good compression channels on the sub-master insert to smooth out uneven dynamics. The second drawback is the lack of a dual fader in the L-R master section. It's true that a single master fader can provide more accurate fades, but this can be solved with the help of a fader coupler, if two were available. I think that for such an important piece of hardware, any user should always have complete freedom of choice and be able to exploit all the possibilities offered by the available equipment, especially when they are professional-grade, starting with their price. This is certainly a mixer of excellent workmanship and quality, and let's just say that the cost is proportionate to its caliber. It's certainly not within everyone's budget, but doing the math, we can say that if for work I needed eight mic preamps and as many equalizers of the same quality as this mixer, how much would I have spent? A rhetorical question because I already know the answer: more than double. The only advantage of having eight separate outboards is precisely the fact that they are separate. If today I only need two channels for an external recording, I'll carry just one or two units with me without taking up any extra space. But how much would eight separate outboards of this quality have cost us? Definitely more than double. So make your own assessments. This isn't a particularly versatile mixer, designed primarily to be connected from the channel direct outs directly to the tracks of any digital multitrack mixer. It can be used as an upgrade in any studio, paired with digital consoles or as a mixing console for small but important productions, perhaps complemented by excellent DSPs and dynamics processors that fortunately aren't included in the console. Another very positive aspect is the tactile experience with its components. The faders and rotary knobs are smooth, featuring wonderful friction and always offering generous and uniform travel at all points of travel, without perceiving any differences between them, even when concentrating hard. I had to change my mind about this product. The hybrid design of this instrument has ensured that the output signal is very balanced and has a lovely warm and homogeneous sound, without giving the sound an overly dominant character, which will allow it to be used for a variety of production types.
There are some brands that are loved and others that are not. Writing an objective article about the latter category is very difficult. I recently designed a small semi-professional recording studio, and the client asked me to pair his RME Fireface 800 audio interface with eight good-quality channel strips, but with preamps that had a slight coloration to compensate for the excellent linearity of the RME preamps and converters. The budget was very low, around €3,000-€4000, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't find a solution other than buying a standard analog console, like a Mackie. Eventually, I went to a dear friend's studio and was able to try out the Tubetracker M-3 tube mixer from TL Audio, known for its well-known Ivory and Blue series.
Valve heart:
In every recording studio, from the professional one to the project one, the mixer (or mixing console or desk) is the point where everything converges, the heart of every activity. Here the signals from the microphones or sound generators arrive, they are sorted towards the tracks of the recorder, sent to external processors to be filmed more beautiful and mysterious and finally mixed and amalgamated with each other to create increasingly engaging and intended sounds. to a small master who can be played outside. Surely for the type of versatility (little) and the only eight channels available, we certainly cannot consider the TL AUDIO M-3 the very center of our studio, unless we deal with minimalist productions such as guitar, vocals and some percussive color. In this case this mixer is placed for beauty and quality in the Olympus of world audio, a real gem. Valve fever is contagious, no doubt about it. Even before the big names in the world of audio, that is the small manufacturers companies had already started with the production of numerous more or less "vintage-oriented" tube devices. Of course, if it is true that large industry manages to offer products at prices that are impossible for those who make use of the same economy of scale (purchase of raw materials in huge quantities), it is also true that the " small fishes, more slender and flexible in setting up (or changing) their work on an artisanal scale. If there is one thing that lends itself well to production in companies of little more than family size, it is tube technology; the valve allows the development of circuits that are as simple as they are effective from the sound point of view and this explains the reason for the proliferation of valve devices in the industrial economy. This premise serves to frame the production of the British house TL A., acronym behind which it lies TONY LARKING AUDIO, an old acquaintance of the world audio community who passed from decades of sales and import to production. To close the circle on vintage and Tony Larking valves, one of the house's first products was a pre-eq. outboard built by re-boxing NEVE modules recovered from old retired consoles. Everything fits. Speaking of tubes, let's say that there are different ways to have fun with thermionic tubes (Fig.1). You can design and build "old-fashioned" equipment with just tubes, capacitors and resistors joined together with sterling copper wire (remember old guitar or bass amps?) Without even a printed circuit board. Or it is possible to build modern integrated circuit devices and insert an optimized tube gain stage in the most appropriate place to offer the least tube sensation possible. In addition, something can be designed in a hybrid way that uses both galaxies to achieve a balance between advantages and disadvantages that leans more in favor of modernity, without indulging in it too much. These are all possible paths, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. And where is the M-3 mixer? In the middle, where the valve is used only in the preamp circuit and on the master outputs. The TL Audio was primarily thought of as eight strip-channels. In fact, the sound that comes out of the “direct - outs” of the channels competes for silence and sound quality with the best “outboards” on the market. In a professional recording studio it can become the analogue heart of the shot, connecting it with a whip to the eight A / D inputs of the digital recorder or recording card and can positively condition the signal of any sound source. In this way, only the responsibility of the mix-down is given to the digital desks, thus exploiting the great capacity for managing, automating and storing cold, but very comfortable digital mixers.
TL A. M-3 up close:
The sheet metal is about three millimeters thick and is coated on the surface with a coat of blue paint (Fig.2) where the various white segments, border lines, symbols and numerical values stand out wonderfully. On the channel section, looking downwards, you will find: the "gain" control with "range" from +16 to + 60 dB, the selector for microphone or line signals (very useful for managing and accepting in a clean way without the minimum of distortion at the input the various signals coming from the different electronic instruments optimized in input from the rotary potentiometer of the input gain mentioned above), the switch for "phase revers" which is used to invert the phase of the input signal rotating it 180 degrees (this is useful when working with more than one microphone while recording). A trick to check if there is a phase error in a multi-microphone recording is to listen to the program in mono. In this way, if the master level drops significantly, there are serious phase problems.
Conversely, if the signal remains similar to stereo or even higher, it means that the signals have good phase coherence, thus also providing excellent mono compatibility. In this era full of highly sophisticated stereo and multichannel (surround) listening, unfortunately there is still a vast monophonic diffusion present in almost all the television networks of our nation, not to mention the radio ones. The high pass filter (12 dB per octave) at 90 Hz is ideal for removing harmful low frequencies from the input signal and is useful for proper management of the proximity effect of directional microphones and in particular those with condenser during voice recording. The filter becomes an authentic "anti rumble" (onomatopoeic English term) in all those shots where the source to be recorded such as guitar, violin and various wind and percussive instruments express their timbre character well above 90 Hz; remembering that all condenser and non-condenser microphones, cheap or expensive, have a complete frequency response beyond their linearity. The filter is however “bypassable”, for immediate comparison, using the “switch” to activate or deactivate the EQ section. Activation is monitored by a small adjacent green LED; also in this case the comparison between equalized and flat signal is useful.
The Channel Strip:
The equalizer is made up of four bands from bottom to top where they are located: the rotary potentiometer that adjusts the low shelving frequencies to 15Hz from + - 80 dB, a semi-parametric "peacking" on the medium-low, another on the medium-high and finally a "shelving" filter on the highs positioned at 12 Khz (Fig.6). What is an EQ or, better said, a filter useful for I leave to your imagination, also because there would not be enough space in this test to talk about it, but we will simply limit ourselves, for this time, to describing the tonal characteristics. Each channel is also equipped with 2 “aux sends”. The first is selectable via "switch" in pre or post "channel", while the second is fixed only in post channel mode. The pre channel solution is preferable when managing a monitoring line because it provides complete volume independence. It can also be used creatively together with a dsp. Example: lowering the channel fader and keeping the aux pre output on the same channel open will only get the processed signal which can be useful in a particular arrangement or as a special effect. Immediately after the aux send we find the pan control, a potentiometer that has the task of positioning the source in the stereo panorama, at a certain point, optionally from one extreme side to the other. It is clear that a correct management of this function, together with the right filtering and volume of a signal, can greatly contribute to the success of the final mix, even in a highly articulated sound program. The Tubetracker has a mute switch button with its red LED that lights up whenever the mute is active and a very useful switch to activate the PFL function (“pre fade listen”). Also in this case, when the button is pressed, the relative red LED lights up on the selected channel. The function can be used to monitor listening through headphones to check the presence of a signal even with the fader down or to check the input level using the generous analog metering on the master section. The channel fader has a 100mm excursion providing +10 dB of gain at the maximum position. Perhaps it will be needless to say that beyond the input signal and how it can be handled, the amount of signal to be sent to the stereo master is the work of only this very important component. 'maximum height of the fader, precisely on the right, two LEDs, one yellow and the other red, respectively the “drive” and the “peack level”. The led of the drive lights up gradually every time the input level increases above +6 dBu up to +16 dBu giving the sound a typical tube character, harmonically enriching and therefore heating the signal to be sent to the digital recorders. The “peak” led lights up to warn us that the signal is about to distort; it starts to light up when it touches the + 21 dBu threshold. If we choose to take the signal from the "direct out" we have another 5 dB of "headroom" available. Having completed the description of the channel, let's move on to that of the master section.
Master Section:
The master section is made up of fabulous vintage-style analog coil-shaped circular metering (Fig.5). They can monitor: the stereo output signal, the “PFL” present in various sections of the mixer (when activated) and the “2 T return” signal when selected on the monitor section. Under the two “meters” there is a pair of “led peaks” which operate on the stereo signal and turn on when we reach the + 21 Dbu threshold with a tolerance of + 5 Db of headroom. Equidistant between these two LEDs there is the “power LED” which indicates that the mixer is switched on. Immediately below is a “digital metering” plus two controls, one for selecting the type of quantization in bits and the other for selecting the sampling frequency. We remind you that the A / D conversion card is optional, but the manufacturer wanted to provide the mixer with the hardware to manage and control this conversion. The “phantom power” once activated is active simultaneously on all eight channels, as there is not an individual switch on each channel. The “aux sends” masters are complete with the pfl control button with relative led. The two “aux returns” together with the balance potentiometer are always correlated by the pfl switch and led. The monitor section consists of two rotary potentiometers, one that manages the volume to be addressed to a pair of monitors and the other the “balance level” pfl. Also in the monitor section there is also the switch "2 T return”Very useful when you want to hear the return from a stereo master, such as a dat or CD recorder, etc. Looking to the right we discover the headphone output; the signal of this output is managed by the potentiometers of the master monitor section. Finally, we find a single 100mm fader that controls the output volume of the stereo mixer. Certainly, with a single fader we cannot decide the level differences of the right and left channel of the master output downstream of the signals; however, on a possible “fade in” or “fade out”, maximum accuracy and precision is obtained with the single fader. I show you with the image the generous rear panel with the relative signal input and output connectors, switches for calibration, etc (Fig.6).
TL A. under pressure:
After this long description, let's move on to the practical test of this promising mixer. Once I connected the PSU to the desk I plugged the power cable into the mains. A beautiful amber light illuminates the two meters of the porthole-shaped master section. The first test was very easy to do because I connected the outputs of a discrete CD player to the line inputs of the first two channels of the mixer, selecting the appropriate switch. I monitored the input signal with the “pfl” optimizing it to “0” dB through the rotary input gain potentiometer. Then I pushed the left and right pan controls to the extreme for standard stereo listening. I positioned the master towards three quarters of its travel and with the channel faders still down I checked for any obvious crosstalk problems. Absolutely not, very quiet. I switched to listening to some quite old Fabio Concato songs like: “Guido piano”, “Rosalina” and “Sexy tango”. The recording quality on this CD is really dated, just good enough and not remastered. However, I must say with pleasant surprise that the mixer managed to deliver a very pleasant overall sound, providing an impressive stereo opening. I want to clarify that the equalizer was not involved throughout the test. Awesome!
Male and female voice:
For this test I brought a fantastic Neumann U87ai (Fig.7), a microphone that certainly needs no introduction. By asking the singer to provide various dynamic pressures, I optimized the input gain by occasionally flashing the yellow led of the drive explained above. For this test I took the signal from the channel's "direct out" directly from the AD converters of the sound card RME Fireface 800. Still without activating the equalizer, I noticed that the preamp stage is really silent; you just listen to the sound, with good headroom, returning fidelity both to the character of the microphone, which is always warm and sensitive, and to the tone of the voice in general. The action of the valve is really discreet, never intrusive, everything you can expect from an excellent channel strip on the market. In this case I felt the need to activate the HP filter (high pass) and to open the high shelving by about two dB, also because the shooting cabin is not very reflective; the U87 itself is already warm and finally the male voice in question is expressed in the range of a baritone register, making good use of its resonators. What matters in any case is the result and thanks to the various possibilities that this mixer offers it does not take long to achieve it by conditioning it in a positive way. The song that the singer performed is in English, like the manual of our mixer. Doing all the “routing” operations for the calibration of the levels, we immediately say that even in this case there was not a minimum of harshness or musical dirt: the signal was always detailed, full-bodied and transparent. In this case it was not necessary to intervene with the equalizer except for the "low cut" filter. Also good this test.
Acoustic guitar:
For this type of recording I used a bi-microphone technique with two AKG 414 ULS, positioned in a standard way, one to the right and the other to the left of the instrument. Immediately I noticed a wonderful stereo opening with no shadow areas. The overall sound of the guitar was rich and detailed providing good transient speed in rhythmic and arpeggios playing. Consequently, I felt the need to activate not only the HP filter, but also the EQ section by operating: -2 dB on the low shelving section, -2 dB on the medium-low around 400 Hz and again -2dB on the medium-high, around the 2 HKz. The feeling with this bench is that there is more need to remove than to add. Not bad!
Electric bass live:
For this test I used two types of electric basses, one with passive circuitry and the other with active one. The passive one was rightly connected to an active DI box, to interface it correctly to the microphone input of the channel, while the active one was connected directly to the line input of the channel. In both cases the substantial difference between these two instruments emerged and as far as listening is concerned, it was only necessary to raise the channel fader to achieve a professional level result. Another time it was better to remove than to add, intervening with the equalization section without activating the low cut filter.
Live Jazz Trio:
For this type of rehearsal I occupied four channels for the drums, one channel for the double bass and two microphones for the baby grand piano. I will not dwell on the explanation of the type of adjustment set, also because everything is related to the type of microphone used, the instrument, the instrumentalist and last but not least, the place hosting the performance. I will definitely tell you about what happened. The mixer immediately impressed all musicians on an aesthetic level. But now let's move on to the most important thing: the proof. Let's say immediately that the mixer managed to reproduce a very high level sound without detracting from the skill of the main performers. On the drums it responded smoothly and quickly across the high pressure and frequency range typical of this instrument. From the roundness of the body and the thump of the toms, to the phase coherence of the snare drum and the silkiness of the cymbals, it has always maintained a clean sound with excellent headroom. As for the double bass I got the same positive result, soft and round bass with the mid-highs produced by the strings on the fast and defined neck. It is almost necessary to describe the type of miking used for the piano, for the simple fact that it is determined for the purposes of listening. I used two fairly popular narrow diaphragm microphones in an XY (coincident stereo) configuration. I tilted them at 45 degrees on the strings by placing the rod in the center of the piano. In this situation the goal was to capture the direct sound as much as possible, trying to limit the “cross-talk” (infiltrations) produced by the other instruments. The sound in the recording was what I set out to achieve and this may explain the great management possibilities that this mixer offers.
Using DSPs:
Another test that I wanted to do was the management of the DSP with the aux sends controls. In the post setting I connected two processors, a Lexicon PCM 91 (Fig.8) and a TC M5000. I started some dry tracks from the digital multi-track with vocals, guitar and string quartet. Optimizing the ratio between the input and the aux returns with the Fx machines, I noticed a great silence. On the Lexicon I used the “Concert Hall” preset while on the TC a “Chorus”. Reverb was distributed throughout the ensemble, while some chorus was put on the guitar and quartet. The sensation received was that of being in the presence of an important listening with great class and nobility and returning a true three-dimensionality with reverb tails of excellent sound texture. There is nothing to say. Stupendous!
Conclusions:
I would have liked to test the conversion quality of the optional digital-to-digital card, but unfortunately it wasn't possible. However, I did encounter a couple of drawbacks. One is the lack of sub-masters with their associated channel assignments, which are very useful when grouping together, for example, multiple backing vocals, a small string section, or a drum kit. I would have liked to see two good compression channels on the sub-master insert to smooth out uneven dynamics. The second drawback is the lack of a dual fader in the L-R master section. It's true that a single master fader can provide more accurate fades, but this can be solved with the help of a fader coupler, if two were available. I think that for such an important piece of hardware, any user should always have complete freedom of choice and be able to exploit all the possibilities offered by the available equipment, especially when they are professional-grade, starting with their price. This is certainly a mixer of excellent workmanship and quality, and let's just say that the cost is proportionate to its caliber. It's certainly not within everyone's budget, but doing the math, we can say that if for work I needed eight mic preamps and as many equalizers of the same quality as this mixer, how much would I have spent? A rhetorical question because I already know the answer: more than double. The only advantage of having eight separate outboards is precisely the fact that they are separate. If today I only need two channels for an external recording, I'll carry just one or two units with me without taking up any extra space. But how much would eight separate outboards of this quality have cost us? Definitely more than double. So make your own assessments. This isn't a particularly versatile mixer, designed primarily to be connected from the channel direct outs directly to the tracks of any digital multitrack mixer. It can be used as an upgrade in any studio, paired with digital consoles or as a mixing console for small but important productions, perhaps complemented by excellent DSPs and dynamics processors that fortunately aren't included in the console. Another very positive aspect is the tactile experience with its components. The faders and rotary knobs are smooth, featuring wonderful friction and always offering generous and uniform travel at all points of travel, without perceiving any differences between them, even when concentrating hard. I had to change my mind about this product. The hybrid design of this instrument has ensured that the output signal is very balanced and has a lovely warm and homogeneous sound, without giving the sound an overly dominant character, which will allow it to be used for a variety of production types.
There are some brands that are loved and others that are not. Writing an objective article about the latter category is very difficult. I recently designed a small semi-professional recording studio, and the client asked me to pair his RME Fireface 800 audio interface with eight good-quality channel strips, but with preamps that had a slight coloration to compensate for the excellent linearity of the RME preamps and converters. The budget was very low, around €3,000-€4000, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't find a solution other than buying a standard analog console, like a Mackie. Eventually, I went to a dear friend's studio and was able to try out the Tubetracker M-3 tube mixer from TL Audio, known for its well-known Ivory and Blue series.
Valve heart:
In every recording studio, from the professional one to the project one, the mixer (or mixing console or desk) is the point where everything converges, the heart of every activity. Here the signals from the microphones or sound generators arrive, they are sorted towards the tracks of the recorder, sent to external processors to be filmed more beautiful and mysterious and finally mixed and amalgamated with each other to create increasingly engaging and intended sounds. to a small master who can be played outside. Surely for the type of versatility (little) and the only eight channels available, we certainly cannot consider the TL AUDIO M-3 the very center of our studio, unless we deal with minimalist productions such as guitar, vocals and some percussive color. In this case this mixer is placed for beauty and quality in the Olympus of world audio, a real gem. Valve fever is contagious, no doubt about it. Even before the big names in the world of audio, that is the small manufacturers companies had already started with the production of numerous more or less "vintage-oriented" tube devices. Of course, if it is true that large industry manages to offer products at prices that are impossible for those who make use of the same economy of scale (purchase of raw materials in huge quantities), it is also true that the " small fishes, more slender and flexible in setting up (or changing) their work on an artisanal scale. If there is one thing that lends itself well to production in companies of little more than family size, it is tube technology; the valve allows the development of circuits that are as simple as they are effective from the sound point of view and this explains the reason for the proliferation of valve devices in the industrial economy. This premise serves to frame the production of the British house TL A., acronym behind which it lies TONY LARKING AUDIO, an old acquaintance of the world audio community who passed from decades of sales and import to production. To close the circle on vintage and Tony Larking valves, one of the house's first products was a pre-eq. outboard built by re-boxing NEVE modules recovered from old retired consoles. Everything fits. Speaking of tubes, let's say that there are different ways to have fun with thermionic tubes (Fig.1). You can design and build "old-fashioned" equipment with just tubes, capacitors and resistors joined together with sterling copper wire (remember old guitar or bass amps?) Without even a printed circuit board. Or it is possible to build modern integrated circuit devices and insert an optimized tube gain stage in the most appropriate place to offer the least tube sensation possible. In addition, something can be designed in a hybrid way that uses both galaxies to achieve a balance between advantages and disadvantages that leans more in favor of modernity, without indulging in it too much. These are all possible paths, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. And where is the M-3 mixer? In the middle, where the valve is used only in the preamp circuit and on the master outputs. The TL Audio was primarily thought of as eight strip-channels. In fact, the sound that comes out of the “direct - outs” of the channels competes for silence and sound quality with the best “outboards” on the market. In a professional recording studio it can become the analogue heart of the shot, connecting it with a whip to the eight A / D inputs of the digital recorder or recording card and can positively condition the signal of any sound source. In this way, only the responsibility of the mix-down is given to the digital desks, thus exploiting the great capacity for managing, automating and storing cold, but very comfortable digital mixers.
TL A. M-3 up close:
The sheet metal is about three millimeters thick and is coated on the surface with a coat of blue paint (Fig.2) where the various white segments, border lines, symbols and numerical values stand out wonderfully. On the channel section, looking downwards, you will find: the "gain" control with "range" from +16 to + 60 dB, the selector for microphone or line signals (very useful for managing and accepting in a clean way without the minimum of distortion at the input the various signals coming from the different electronic instruments optimized in input from the rotary potentiometer of the input gain mentioned above), the switch for "phase revers" which is used to invert the phase of the input signal rotating it 180 degrees (this is useful when working with more than one microphone while recording). A trick to check if there is a phase error in a multi-microphone recording is to listen to the program in mono. In this way, if the master level drops significantly, there are serious phase problems.
Conversely, if the signal remains similar to stereo or even higher, it means that the signals have good phase coherence, thus also providing excellent mono compatibility. In this era full of highly sophisticated stereo and multichannel (surround) listening, unfortunately there is still a vast monophonic diffusion present in almost all the television networks of our nation, not to mention the radio ones. The high pass filter (12 dB per octave) at 90 Hz is ideal for removing harmful low frequencies from the input signal and is useful for proper management of the proximity effect of directional microphones and in particular those with condenser during voice recording. The filter becomes an authentic "anti rumble" (onomatopoeic English term) in all those shots where the source to be recorded such as guitar, violin and various wind and percussive instruments express their timbre character well above 90 Hz; remembering that all condenser and non-condenser microphones, cheap or expensive, have a complete frequency response beyond their linearity. The filter is however “bypassable”, for immediate comparison, using the “switch” to activate or deactivate the EQ section. Activation is monitored by a small adjacent green LED; also in this case the comparison between equalized and flat signal is useful.
The Channel Strip:
The equalizer is made up of four bands from bottom to top where they are located: the rotary potentiometer that adjusts the low shelving frequencies to 15Hz from + - 80 dB, a semi-parametric "peacking" on the medium-low, another on the medium-high and finally a "shelving" filter on the highs positioned at 12 Khz (Fig.6). What is an EQ or, better said, a filter useful for I leave to your imagination, also because there would not be enough space in this test to talk about it, but we will simply limit ourselves, for this time, to describing the tonal characteristics. Each channel is also equipped with 2 “aux sends”. The first is selectable via "switch" in pre or post "channel", while the second is fixed only in post channel mode. The pre channel solution is preferable when managing a monitoring line because it provides complete volume independence. It can also be used creatively together with a dsp. Example: lowering the channel fader and keeping the aux pre output on the same channel open will only get the processed signal which can be useful in a particular arrangement or as a special effect. Immediately after the aux send we find the pan control, a potentiometer that has the task of positioning the source in the stereo panorama, at a certain point, optionally from one extreme side to the other. It is clear that a correct management of this function, together with the right filtering and volume of a signal, can greatly contribute to the success of the final mix, even in a highly articulated sound program. The Tubetracker has a mute switch button with its red LED that lights up whenever the mute is active and a very useful switch to activate the PFL function (“pre fade listen”). Also in this case, when the button is pressed, the relative red LED lights up on the selected channel. The function can be used to monitor listening through headphones to check the presence of a signal even with the fader down or to check the input level using the generous analog metering on the master section. The channel fader has a 100mm excursion providing +10 dB of gain at the maximum position. Perhaps it will be needless to say that beyond the input signal and how it can be handled, the amount of signal to be sent to the stereo master is the work of only this very important component. 'maximum height of the fader, precisely on the right, two LEDs, one yellow and the other red, respectively the “drive” and the “peack level”. The led of the drive lights up gradually every time the input level increases above +6 dBu up to +16 dBu giving the sound a typical tube character, harmonically enriching and therefore heating the signal to be sent to the digital recorders. The “peak” led lights up to warn us that the signal is about to distort; it starts to light up when it touches the + 21 dBu threshold. If we choose to take the signal from the "direct out" we have another 5 dB of "headroom" available. Having completed the description of the channel, let's move on to that of the master section.
Master Section:
The master section is made up of fabulous vintage-style analog coil-shaped circular metering (Fig.5). They can monitor: the stereo output signal, the “PFL” present in various sections of the mixer (when activated) and the “2 T return” signal when selected on the monitor section. Under the two “meters” there is a pair of “led peaks” which operate on the stereo signal and turn on when we reach the + 21 Dbu threshold with a tolerance of + 5 Db of headroom. Equidistant between these two LEDs there is the “power LED” which indicates that the mixer is switched on. Immediately below is a “digital metering” plus two controls, one for selecting the type of quantization in bits and the other for selecting the sampling frequency. We remind you that the A / D conversion card is optional, but the manufacturer wanted to provide the mixer with the hardware to manage and control this conversion. The “phantom power” once activated is active simultaneously on all eight channels, as there is not an individual switch on each channel. The “aux sends” masters are complete with the pfl control button with relative led. The two “aux returns” together with the balance potentiometer are always correlated by the pfl switch and led. The monitor section consists of two rotary potentiometers, one that manages the volume to be addressed to a pair of monitors and the other the “balance level” pfl. Also in the monitor section there is also the switch "2 T return”Very useful when you want to hear the return from a stereo master, such as a dat or CD recorder, etc. Looking to the right we discover the headphone output; the signal of this output is managed by the potentiometers of the master monitor section. Finally, we find a single 100mm fader that controls the output volume of the stereo mixer. Certainly, with a single fader we cannot decide the level differences of the right and left channel of the master output downstream of the signals; however, on a possible “fade in” or “fade out”, maximum accuracy and precision is obtained with the single fader. I show you with the image the generous rear panel with the relative signal input and output connectors, switches for calibration, etc (Fig.6).
TL A. under pressure:
After this long description, let's move on to the practical test of this promising mixer. Once I connected the PSU to the desk I plugged the power cable into the mains. A beautiful amber light illuminates the two meters of the porthole-shaped master section. The first test was very easy to do because I connected the outputs of a discrete CD player to the line inputs of the first two channels of the mixer, selecting the appropriate switch. I monitored the input signal with the “pfl” optimizing it to “0” dB through the rotary input gain potentiometer. Then I pushed the left and right pan controls to the extreme for standard stereo listening. I positioned the master towards three quarters of its travel and with the channel faders still down I checked for any obvious crosstalk problems. Absolutely not, very quiet. I switched to listening to some quite old Fabio Concato songs like: “Guido piano”, “Rosalina” and “Sexy tango”. The recording quality on this CD is really dated, just good enough and not remastered. However, I must say with pleasant surprise that the mixer managed to deliver a very pleasant overall sound, providing an impressive stereo opening. I want to clarify that the equalizer was not involved throughout the test. Awesome!
Male and female voice:
For this test I brought a fantastic Neumann U87ai (Fig.7), a microphone that certainly needs no introduction. By asking the singer to provide various dynamic pressures, I optimized the input gain by occasionally flashing the yellow led of the drive explained above. For this test I took the signal from the channel's "direct out" directly from the AD converters of the sound card RME Fireface 800. Still without activating the equalizer, I noticed that the preamp stage is really silent; you just listen to the sound, with good headroom, returning fidelity both to the character of the microphone, which is always warm and sensitive, and to the tone of the voice in general. The action of the valve is really discreet, never intrusive, everything you can expect from an excellent channel strip on the market. In this case I felt the need to activate the HP filter (high pass) and to open the high shelving by about two dB, also because the shooting cabin is not very reflective; the U87 itself is already warm and finally the male voice in question is expressed in the range of a baritone register, making good use of its resonators. What matters in any case is the result and thanks to the various possibilities that this mixer offers it does not take long to achieve it by conditioning it in a positive way. The song that the singer performed is in English, like the manual of our mixer. Doing all the “routing” operations for the calibration of the levels, we immediately say that even in this case there was not a minimum of harshness or musical dirt: the signal was always detailed, full-bodied and transparent. In this case it was not necessary to intervene with the equalizer except for the "low cut" filter. Also good this test.
Acoustic guitar:
For this type of recording I used a bi-microphone technique with two AKG 414 ULS, positioned in a standard way, one to the right and the other to the left of the instrument. Immediately I noticed a wonderful stereo opening with no shadow areas. The overall sound of the guitar was rich and detailed providing good transient speed in rhythmic and arpeggios playing. Consequently, I felt the need to activate not only the HP filter, but also the EQ section by operating: -2 dB on the low shelving section, -2 dB on the medium-low around 400 Hz and again -2dB on the medium-high, around the 2 HKz. The feeling with this bench is that there is more need to remove than to add. Not bad!
Electric bass live:
For this test I used two types of electric basses, one with passive circuitry and the other with active one. The passive one was rightly connected to an active DI box, to interface it correctly to the microphone input of the channel, while the active one was connected directly to the line input of the channel. In both cases the substantial difference between these two instruments emerged and as far as listening is concerned, it was only necessary to raise the channel fader to achieve a professional level result. Another time it was better to remove than to add, intervening with the equalization section without activating the low cut filter.
Live Jazz Trio:
For this type of rehearsal I occupied four channels for the drums, one channel for the double bass and two microphones for the baby grand piano. I will not dwell on the explanation of the type of adjustment set, also because everything is related to the type of microphone used, the instrument, the instrumentalist and last but not least, the place hosting the performance. I will definitely tell you about what happened. The mixer immediately impressed all musicians on an aesthetic level. But now let's move on to the most important thing: the proof. Let's say immediately that the mixer managed to reproduce a very high level sound without detracting from the skill of the main performers. On the drums it responded smoothly and quickly across the high pressure and frequency range typical of this instrument. From the roundness of the body and the thump of the toms, to the phase coherence of the snare drum and the silkiness of the cymbals, it has always maintained a clean sound with excellent headroom. As for the double bass I got the same positive result, soft and round bass with the mid-highs produced by the strings on the fast and defined neck. It is almost necessary to describe the type of miking used for the piano, for the simple fact that it is determined for the purposes of listening. I used two fairly popular narrow diaphragm microphones in an XY (coincident stereo) configuration. I tilted them at 45 degrees on the strings by placing the rod in the center of the piano. In this situation the goal was to capture the direct sound as much as possible, trying to limit the “cross-talk” (infiltrations) produced by the other instruments. The sound in the recording was what I set out to achieve and this may explain the great management possibilities that this mixer offers.
Using DSPs:
Another test that I wanted to do was the management of the DSP with the aux sends controls. In the post setting I connected two processors, a Lexicon PCM 91 (Fig.8) and a TC M5000. I started some dry tracks from the digital multi-track with vocals, guitar and string quartet. Optimizing the ratio between the input and the aux returns with the Fx machines, I noticed a great silence. On the Lexicon I used the “Concert Hall” preset while on the TC a “Chorus”. Reverb was distributed throughout the ensemble, while some chorus was put on the guitar and quartet. The sensation received was that of being in the presence of an important listening with great class and nobility and returning a true three-dimensionality with reverb tails of excellent sound texture. There is nothing to say. Stupendous!
Conclusions:
I would have liked to test the conversion quality of the optional digital-to-digital card, but unfortunately it wasn't possible. However, I did encounter a couple of drawbacks. One is the lack of sub-masters with their associated channel assignments, which are very useful when grouping together, for example, multiple backing vocals, a small string section, or a drum kit. I would have liked to see two good compression channels on the sub-master insert to smooth out uneven dynamics. The second drawback is the lack of a dual fader in the L-R master section. It's true that a single master fader can provide more accurate fades, but this can be solved with the help of a fader coupler, if two were available. I think that for such an important piece of hardware, any user should always have complete freedom of choice and be able to exploit all the possibilities offered by the available equipment, especially when they are professional-grade, starting with their price. This is certainly a mixer of excellent workmanship and quality, and let's just say that the cost is proportionate to its caliber. It's certainly not within everyone's budget, but doing the math, we can say that if for work I needed eight mic preamps and as many equalizers of the same quality as this mixer, how much would I have spent? A rhetorical question because I already know the answer: more than double. The only advantage of having eight separate outboards is precisely the fact that they are separate. If today I only need two channels for an external recording, I'll carry just one or two units with me without taking up any extra space. But how much would eight separate outboards of this quality have cost us? Definitely more than double. So make your own assessments. This isn't a particularly versatile mixer, designed primarily to be connected from the channel direct outs directly to the tracks of any digital multitrack mixer. It can be used as an upgrade in any studio, paired with digital consoles or as a mixing console for small but important productions, perhaps complemented by excellent DSPs and dynamics processors that fortunately aren't included in the console. Another very positive aspect is the tactile experience with its components. The faders and rotary knobs are smooth, featuring wonderful friction and always offering generous and uniform travel at all points of travel, without perceiving any differences between them, even when concentrating hard. I had to change my mind about this product. The hybrid design of this instrument has ensured that the output signal is very balanced and has a lovely warm and homogeneous sound, without giving the sound an overly dominant character, which will allow it to be used for a variety of production types.
There are some brands that are loved and others that are not. Writing an objective article about the latter category is very difficult. I recently designed a small semi-professional recording studio, and the client asked me to pair his RME Fireface 800 audio interface with eight good-quality channel strips, but with preamps that had a slight coloration to compensate for the excellent linearity of the RME preamps and converters. The budget was very low, around €3,000-€4000, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't find a solution other than buying a standard analog console, like a Mackie. Eventually, I went to a dear friend's studio and was able to try out the Tubetracker M-3 tube mixer from TL Audio, known for its well-known Ivory and Blue series.
Valve heart:
In every recording studio, from the professional one to the project one, the mixer (or mixing console or desk) is the point where everything converges, the heart of every activity. Here the signals from the microphones or sound generators arrive, they are sorted towards the tracks of the recorder, sent to external processors to be filmed more beautiful and mysterious and finally mixed and amalgamated with each other to create increasingly engaging and intended sounds. to a small master who can be played outside. Surely for the type of versatility (little) and the only eight channels available, we certainly cannot consider the TL AUDIO M-3 the very center of our studio, unless we deal with minimalist productions such as guitar, vocals and some percussive color. In this case this mixer is placed for beauty and quality in the Olympus of world audio, a real gem. Valve fever is contagious, no doubt about it. Even before the big names in the world of audio, that is the small manufacturers companies had already started with the production of numerous more or less "vintage-oriented" tube devices. Of course, if it is true that large industry manages to offer products at prices that are impossible for those who make use of the same economy of scale (purchase of raw materials in huge quantities), it is also true that the " small fishes, more slender and flexible in setting up (or changing) their work on an artisanal scale. If there is one thing that lends itself well to production in companies of little more than family size, it is tube technology; the valve allows the development of circuits that are as simple as they are effective from the sound point of view and this explains the reason for the proliferation of valve devices in the industrial economy. This premise serves to frame the production of the British house TL A., acronym behind which it lies TONY LARKING AUDIO, an old acquaintance of the world audio community who passed from decades of sales and import to production. To close the circle on vintage and Tony Larking valves, one of the house's first products was a pre-eq. outboard built by re-boxing NEVE modules recovered from old retired consoles. Everything fits. Speaking of tubes, let's say that there are different ways to have fun with thermionic tubes (Fig.1). You can design and build "old-fashioned" equipment with just tubes, capacitors and resistors joined together with sterling copper wire (remember old guitar or bass amps?) Without even a printed circuit board. Or it is possible to build modern integrated circuit devices and insert an optimized tube gain stage in the most appropriate place to offer the least tube sensation possible. In addition, something can be designed in a hybrid way that uses both galaxies to achieve a balance between advantages and disadvantages that leans more in favor of modernity, without indulging in it too much. These are all possible paths, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. And where is the M-3 mixer? In the middle, where the valve is used only in the preamp circuit and on the master outputs. The TL Audio was primarily thought of as eight strip-channels. In fact, the sound that comes out of the “direct - outs” of the channels competes for silence and sound quality with the best “outboards” on the market. In a professional recording studio it can become the analogue heart of the shot, connecting it with a whip to the eight A / D inputs of the digital recorder or recording card and can positively condition the signal of any sound source. In this way, only the responsibility of the mix-down is given to the digital desks, thus exploiting the great capacity for managing, automating and storing cold, but very comfortable digital mixers.
TL A. M-3 up close:
The sheet metal is about three millimeters thick and is coated on the surface with a coat of blue paint (Fig.2) where the various white segments, border lines, symbols and numerical values stand out wonderfully. On the channel section, looking downwards, you will find: the "gain" control with "range" from +16 to + 60 dB, the selector for microphone or line signals (very useful for managing and accepting in a clean way without the minimum of distortion at the input the various signals coming from the different electronic instruments optimized in input from the rotary potentiometer of the input gain mentioned above), the switch for "phase revers" which is used to invert the phase of the input signal rotating it 180 degrees (this is useful when working with more than one microphone while recording). A trick to check if there is a phase error in a multi-microphone recording is to listen to the program in mono. In this way, if the master level drops significantly, there are serious phase problems.
Conversely, if the signal remains similar to stereo or even higher, it means that the signals have good phase coherence, thus also providing excellent mono compatibility. In this era full of highly sophisticated stereo and multichannel (surround) listening, unfortunately there is still a vast monophonic diffusion present in almost all the television networks of our nation, not to mention the radio ones. The high pass filter (12 dB per octave) at 90 Hz is ideal for removing harmful low frequencies from the input signal and is useful for proper management of the proximity effect of directional microphones and in particular those with condenser during voice recording. The filter becomes an authentic "anti rumble" (onomatopoeic English term) in all those shots where the source to be recorded such as guitar, violin and various wind and percussive instruments express their timbre character well above 90 Hz; remembering that all condenser and non-condenser microphones, cheap or expensive, have a complete frequency response beyond their linearity. The filter is however “bypassable”, for immediate comparison, using the “switch” to activate or deactivate the EQ section. Activation is monitored by a small adjacent green LED; also in this case the comparison between equalized and flat signal is useful.
The Channel Strip:
The equalizer is made up of four bands from bottom to top where they are located: the rotary potentiometer that adjusts the low shelving frequencies to 15Hz from + - 80 dB, a semi-parametric "peacking" on the medium-low, another on the medium-high and finally a "shelving" filter on the highs positioned at 12 Khz (Fig.6). What is an EQ or, better said, a filter useful for I leave to your imagination, also because there would not be enough space in this test to talk about it, but we will simply limit ourselves, for this time, to describing the tonal characteristics. Each channel is also equipped with 2 “aux sends”. The first is selectable via "switch" in pre or post "channel", while the second is fixed only in post channel mode. The pre channel solution is preferable when managing a monitoring line because it provides complete volume independence. It can also be used creatively together with a dsp. Example: lowering the channel fader and keeping the aux pre output on the same channel open will only get the processed signal which can be useful in a particular arrangement or as a special effect. Immediately after the aux send we find the pan control, a potentiometer that has the task of positioning the source in the stereo panorama, at a certain point, optionally from one extreme side to the other. It is clear that a correct management of this function, together with the right filtering and volume of a signal, can greatly contribute to the success of the final mix, even in a highly articulated sound program. The Tubetracker has a mute switch button with its red LED that lights up whenever the mute is active and a very useful switch to activate the PFL function (“pre fade listen”). Also in this case, when the button is pressed, the relative red LED lights up on the selected channel. The function can be used to monitor listening through headphones to check the presence of a signal even with the fader down or to check the input level using the generous analog metering on the master section. The channel fader has a 100mm excursion providing +10 dB of gain at the maximum position. Perhaps it will be needless to say that beyond the input signal and how it can be handled, the amount of signal to be sent to the stereo master is the work of only this very important component. 'maximum height of the fader, precisely on the right, two LEDs, one yellow and the other red, respectively the “drive” and the “peack level”. The led of the drive lights up gradually every time the input level increases above +6 dBu up to +16 dBu giving the sound a typical tube character, harmonically enriching and therefore heating the signal to be sent to the digital recorders. The “peak” led lights up to warn us that the signal is about to distort; it starts to light up when it touches the + 21 dBu threshold. If we choose to take the signal from the "direct out" we have another 5 dB of "headroom" available. Having completed the description of the channel, let's move on to that of the master section.
Master Section:
The master section is made up of fabulous vintage-style analog coil-shaped circular metering (Fig.5). They can monitor: the stereo output signal, the “PFL” present in various sections of the mixer (when activated) and the “2 T return” signal when selected on the monitor section. Under the two “meters” there is a pair of “led peaks” which operate on the stereo signal and turn on when we reach the + 21 Dbu threshold with a tolerance of + 5 Db of headroom. Equidistant between these two LEDs there is the “power LED” which indicates that the mixer is switched on. Immediately below is a “digital metering” plus two controls, one for selecting the type of quantization in bits and the other for selecting the sampling frequency. We remind you that the A / D conversion card is optional, but the manufacturer wanted to provide the mixer with the hardware to manage and control this conversion. The “phantom power” once activated is active simultaneously on all eight channels, as there is not an individual switch on each channel. The “aux sends” masters are complete with the pfl control button with relative led. The two “aux returns” together with the balance potentiometer are always correlated by the pfl switch and led. The monitor section consists of two rotary potentiometers, one that manages the volume to be addressed to a pair of monitors and the other the “balance level” pfl. Also in the monitor section there is also the switch "2 T return”Very useful when you want to hear the return from a stereo master, such as a dat or CD recorder, etc. Looking to the right we discover the headphone output; the signal of this output is managed by the potentiometers of the master monitor section. Finally, we find a single 100mm fader that controls the output volume of the stereo mixer. Certainly, with a single fader we cannot decide the level differences of the right and left channel of the master output downstream of the signals; however, on a possible “fade in” or “fade out”, maximum accuracy and precision is obtained with the single fader. I show you with the image the generous rear panel with the relative signal input and output connectors, switches for calibration, etc (Fig.6).
TL A. under pressure:
After this long description, let's move on to the practical test of this promising mixer. Once I connected the PSU to the desk I plugged the power cable into the mains. A beautiful amber light illuminates the two meters of the porthole-shaped master section. The first test was very easy to do because I connected the outputs of a discrete CD player to the line inputs of the first two channels of the mixer, selecting the appropriate switch. I monitored the input signal with the “pfl” optimizing it to “0” dB through the rotary input gain potentiometer. Then I pushed the left and right pan controls to the extreme for standard stereo listening. I positioned the master towards three quarters of its travel and with the channel faders still down I checked for any obvious crosstalk problems. Absolutely not, very quiet. I switched to listening to some quite old Fabio Concato songs like: “Guido piano”, “Rosalina” and “Sexy tango”. The recording quality on this CD is really dated, just good enough and not remastered. However, I must say with pleasant surprise that the mixer managed to deliver a very pleasant overall sound, providing an impressive stereo opening. I want to clarify that the equalizer was not involved throughout the test. Awesome!
Male and female voice:
For this test I brought a fantastic Neumann U87ai (Fig.7), a microphone that certainly needs no introduction. By asking the singer to provide various dynamic pressures, I optimized the input gain by occasionally flashing the yellow led of the drive explained above. For this test I took the signal from the channel's "direct out" directly from the AD converters of the sound card RME Fireface 800. Still without activating the equalizer, I noticed that the preamp stage is really silent; you just listen to the sound, with good headroom, returning fidelity both to the character of the microphone, which is always warm and sensitive, and to the tone of the voice in general. The action of the valve is really discreet, never intrusive, everything you can expect from an excellent channel strip on the market. In this case I felt the need to activate the HP filter (high pass) and to open the high shelving by about two dB, also because the shooting cabin is not very reflective; the U87 itself is already warm and finally the male voice in question is expressed in the range of a baritone register, making good use of its resonators. What matters in any case is the result and thanks to the various possibilities that this mixer offers it does not take long to achieve it by conditioning it in a positive way. The song that the singer performed is in English, like the manual of our mixer. Doing all the “routing” operations for the calibration of the levels, we immediately say that even in this case there was not a minimum of harshness or musical dirt: the signal was always detailed, full-bodied and transparent. In this case it was not necessary to intervene with the equalizer except for the "low cut" filter. Also good this test.
Acoustic guitar:
For this type of recording I used a bi-microphone technique with two AKG 414 ULS, positioned in a standard way, one to the right and the other to the left of the instrument. Immediately I noticed a wonderful stereo opening with no shadow areas. The overall sound of the guitar was rich and detailed providing good transient speed in rhythmic and arpeggios playing. Consequently, I felt the need to activate not only the HP filter, but also the EQ section by operating: -2 dB on the low shelving section, -2 dB on the medium-low around 400 Hz and again -2dB on the medium-high, around the 2 HKz. The feeling with this bench is that there is more need to remove than to add. Not bad!
Electric bass live:
For this test I used two types of electric basses, one with passive circuitry and the other with active one. The passive one was rightly connected to an active DI box, to interface it correctly to the microphone input of the channel, while the active one was connected directly to the line input of the channel. In both cases the substantial difference between these two instruments emerged and as far as listening is concerned, it was only necessary to raise the channel fader to achieve a professional level result. Another time it was better to remove than to add, intervening with the equalization section without activating the low cut filter.
Live Jazz Trio:
For this type of rehearsal I occupied four channels for the drums, one channel for the double bass and two microphones for the baby grand piano. I will not dwell on the explanation of the type of adjustment set, also because everything is related to the type of microphone used, the instrument, the instrumentalist and last but not least, the place hosting the performance. I will definitely tell you about what happened. The mixer immediately impressed all musicians on an aesthetic level. But now let's move on to the most important thing: the proof. Let's say immediately that the mixer managed to reproduce a very high level sound without detracting from the skill of the main performers. On the drums it responded smoothly and quickly across the high pressure and frequency range typical of this instrument. From the roundness of the body and the thump of the toms, to the phase coherence of the snare drum and the silkiness of the cymbals, it has always maintained a clean sound with excellent headroom. As for the double bass I got the same positive result, soft and round bass with the mid-highs produced by the strings on the fast and defined neck. It is almost necessary to describe the type of miking used for the piano, for the simple fact that it is determined for the purposes of listening. I used two fairly popular narrow diaphragm microphones in an XY (coincident stereo) configuration. I tilted them at 45 degrees on the strings by placing the rod in the center of the piano. In this situation the goal was to capture the direct sound as much as possible, trying to limit the “cross-talk” (infiltrations) produced by the other instruments. The sound in the recording was what I set out to achieve and this may explain the great management possibilities that this mixer offers.
Using DSPs:
Another test that I wanted to do was the management of the DSP with the aux sends controls. In the post setting I connected two processors, a Lexicon PCM 91 (Fig.8) and a TC M5000. I started some dry tracks from the digital multi-track with vocals, guitar and string quartet. Optimizing the ratio between the input and the aux returns with the Fx machines, I noticed a great silence. On the Lexicon I used the “Concert Hall” preset while on the TC a “Chorus”. Reverb was distributed throughout the ensemble, while some chorus was put on the guitar and quartet. The sensation received was that of being in the presence of an important listening with great class and nobility and returning a true three-dimensionality with reverb tails of excellent sound texture. There is nothing to say. Stupendous!
Conclusions:
I would have liked to test the conversion quality of the optional digital-to-digital card, but unfortunately it wasn't possible. However, I did encounter a couple of drawbacks. One is the lack of sub-masters with their associated channel assignments, which are very useful when grouping together, for example, multiple backing vocals, a small string section, or a drum kit. I would have liked to see two good compression channels on the sub-master insert to smooth out uneven dynamics. The second drawback is the lack of a dual fader in the L-R master section. It's true that a single master fader can provide more accurate fades, but this can be solved with the help of a fader coupler, if two were available. I think that for such an important piece of hardware, any user should always have complete freedom of choice and be able to exploit all the possibilities offered by the available equipment, especially when they are professional-grade, starting with their price. This is certainly a mixer of excellent workmanship and quality, and let's just say that the cost is proportionate to its caliber. It's certainly not within everyone's budget, but doing the math, we can say that if for work I needed eight mic preamps and as many equalizers of the same quality as this mixer, how much would I have spent? A rhetorical question because I already know the answer: more than double. The only advantage of having eight separate outboards is precisely the fact that they are separate. If today I only need two channels for an external recording, I'll carry just one or two units with me without taking up any extra space. But how much would eight separate outboards of this quality have cost us? Definitely more than double. So make your own assessments. This isn't a particularly versatile mixer, designed primarily to be connected from the channel direct outs directly to the tracks of any digital multitrack mixer. It can be used as an upgrade in any studio, paired with digital consoles or as a mixing console for small but important productions, perhaps complemented by excellent DSPs and dynamics processors that fortunately aren't included in the console. Another very positive aspect is the tactile experience with its components. The faders and rotary knobs are smooth, featuring wonderful friction and always offering generous and uniform travel at all points of travel, without perceiving any differences between them, even when concentrating hard. I had to change my mind about this product. The hybrid design of this instrument has ensured that the output signal is very balanced and has a lovely warm and homogeneous sound, without giving the sound an overly dominant character, which will allow it to be used for a variety of production types.
