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Werno

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  1. The reverb/delay effects can be chosen and adjusted from the board, while eqs, hi-pass filters, compressors, and limiters' adjustments are only accessible within the app but are stored in recallable setups- which can be saved/recalled directly in the unit, or stored and recalled from the app. The dozen (or more?) setups that can be recalled directly from the unit can be stepped through with a footswitch, or you can choose to use the footswitch to mute effects for stage patter. A short tap on the 'mute' button has the same Efx muting effect, a longer press mutes everything and makes every light on the unit flash. In the photo I posted above the yellow 'main' button is lit, meaning that the sliders and the green-light-ringed knob are controlling the main mix. Just above that lit button are 2 other pairs of buttons- push one of the upper pair and the sliders and knob will act as sends and output respectively for an effect engine, push either of the two right above the lit one and you're setting levels for one of the aux buses. The green light ring will change to reflect the output level of the currently active bus- Efx 1 or 2, Aux 1 or 2, or main. Not a motorized fader, but it immediately shows the output level of the selected bus as you switch between them. A yellow light at the top of each slider lights when its position isn't aligned with the level of its channel for the currently selected bus; said slider has no effect until you move it to/thru the current value, at which point the light goes out and it takes control of the level. The tiny little illuminated display also shows a graphic display of the slider's position in relation to the current value as soon as you move a slider, so there's guidance as to which direction and how far you have to move it before it has an effect. Again, not a motorized fader but it gives you guidance and gets to be intuitive pretty fast. Re relying on an app, I have an 'old' phone my daughter outgrew that runs the app, so I'm using it as a 'dedicated' remote control; as long as I don't update the OS, drop it down a stairwell or plop it into a toilet it's likely to be usable for the foreseeable future. Didn't mean to rewrite the manual, but FWIW that's how it works.
  2. As a Flow8 owner I'm not sure why folks are in such a hurry to diss a unit that checks off every OP requirement. I paid $300 for my Flow 8 and here's what I got: It has a tiny footprint, actual sliders, 4 xlrs (two of which are (allegedly) higher-spec w/phantom power, the other two on combo jacks also seem fine to me) each with their own slider, 4 TRS inputs as 2 stereo pairs, one of each pair lo-z, each pair on a slider; 2 built-in effects engines; automatic gain setting for all 8 inputs, 2 independent stereo linkable TRS monitor outs, stereo bluetooth input with its own level knob, a 10-out/4-in 'compliant' (phone or tablet compatible) USB interface, and a tiny display w/adjustment knob for many setttings in case you can't or prefer not to use the bluetooth-linked app. That's before you turn on the app, whereby you gain control of high-pass filters, panning, and compression on all inputs, likewise 4-band or full parametric eq everywhere, limiters on outputs, pre/post switching on the aux outs... A complete setup can be stored and recalled, either on the mixer or in the app, and recall can be category-limited if you just want to grab a portion of a stored setup. It's a lot for $300. I mostly use mine for rehearsals and to independently control volume on my monitor mix, and I have mixed a friend's acoustic quartet through mine with good results. The bluetooth app worked great as I sat in the audience, sipped wine and tweaked. The USB power connector is not the most robust possible, but it'll work with any number of USB chargers and portable batteries. I have other external power supplies I've used for decades that are at least as worrisome as potential points of failure, usually being careful is enough
  3. Just stumbled upon this thread and felt obligated to reassure you that yes, there's someone else out there/here checking out atmos remixes. I'm heavily invested in 5.1 and have had a setup for a decade or two, but since many artists I've been collecting in 5.1 on DVD-audio, SACD, Blu-ray, and downloaded files have started including Atmos mixes on Blu-rays, I wanted to hear them- while spending as little as possible. I bought Onkyo's cheapest receiver that supports 5.1.2 Atmos and augmented my B&W 5.0 speakers and Velodyne sub with a couple of Sony angled speakers that allegedly bounce the 'height' channels off my ceiling. It does add something to the 5.1 experience, how much varies with the particular mix. I agree that in general bass, and other elements, have an extra sense of solidity, precision of placement and scale in a well-done Atmos mix. The Atmos spec alleges 'scalability', i.e. is supposed to direct sound 'objects' via whatever number and arrangment of speakers is available to recreate the virtual space of the mix. I'm not sorry I made a small investment to get a sense of what I was missing, but the outlay to take it to the next level isn't small. FWIW, AFAIK, etc. you're not hearing actual official 'Atmos' when playing an Atmos mix through a 7.1, or 5.1 system, what you're getting in the absence of Atmos processing is the 'base' mix without any elements directed to height- kind of like if you were playing a 5.1 mix through a stereo setup configured to downmix to the available speakers. I took a few of my better Atmos Blu-rays to an audio shop with a nice 9.2.4 Atmos room, with multiple speakers in the ceiling as Dolby intended, and the experience was pretty impressive. I popped in the recent Steven Wilson remix of 'Moondance' and was wowed. My little B&W 5.1 + Sony bounce-it-off-the-ceiling setup is a faint approximation of the real deal, but I still enjoy it, and since I also enjoy being married I have no immediate plans to tear holes in the living room ceiling to install overhead speakers. When you say you're listening to the Atmos mixes on your Blu-ray surround discs, I'm curious if you're talking music-only or movies/video- what mixes do you happen to have? Musicwise there aren't that many on Blu-ray that I'm aware of, maybe a dozen or so of Steven Wilson recent remixes, a couple of Beatles, Band, & Zappa box sets, a standalone DSotM, Peter Gabriel's i/o, Loreena McKennit's 'The Visit', Van Morrison's 'Moondance', and whatever very-limited run special SuperDeluxeEditions projects that have been offered here: https://www.thesdeshop.com/collections/spatial-audio?page=3 My 'best of' the SDE discs that I've acquired would be the Tears for Fears 'Tipping Point', the Eno 'Forever...', and in terms of Atmos mix (but not my fave musically) the Duran Duran 'Danse Macabre' via Bob Clearmountain. Steven Wilson's new Atmos mix of King Crimson's 'Lark's Tongues' is great, though pricey, and still available unlike the others I cited. A24 is releasing the recent restored version of Stop Making Sense with Atmos on both Blu-ray and 4k Blu-ray; the $50+ price tag for the 1k Blu-ray is a bit steep, but I'll probably succumb eventally. https://shop.a24films.com/products/stop-making-sense-collectors-edition?variant=40138572431409 Movies and series disc sets tend to reserve Atmos mixes for the 4k discs, but there are some 'normal' Blu-rays with Atmos mixes including 'Everything Everywhere etc', the recent Dune, LaLa Land... but they're few and far between, and not easy to search for on Amazon or elsewhere. Blu-ray.com is your friend for doublechecking disc specs. If you like Classical works mostly for strings, with the occasioinal jazz trio or folk group, the 2L label excels at pushing the envelope both specwise (192kHz sample rate where possible) and spatially with Atmos and Auros mixes. I also recommend a Blu-ray Atmos disc of Gabrielli works for choir with 'the Kings' sackbuts and coronets' recorded with The Kings' College Choir in Cambridge -it's a great Atmos demo, and it includes a 5.1 mix both on the blu-ray and a hybrid multichannel SACD/CD. Guess that's enough of a brain data dump. Perhaps TMI. Long story short- you're not alone.
  4. The just-released OS update for the PC4 lets you export standard midi files.
  5. Not sure where I got this idea, maybe a PC3 program, but I think it stands for 'Austin City Limits'- is there a Wurli in their backline that's somehow iconic? Or not.
  6. Love her music, it's hitting me hard how large her absence in the world feels. This article gives a great overview of Carla's output from 1976, a couple years before I first saw her band at the Bottom Line in NYC, through the mid-80s. Includes links to vids of many great works and performances, and links to articles on other eras/aspects of her work. https://musicaficionado.blog/2017/10/24/carla-bleys-band-1976-1984/?fbclid=IwAR0vIORLZrgqADpgZpUKbFZ5FjDCHzYE--jMqDFLNweQREbvjyr9-1IXUG0
  7. This was part of my first hands-on synth experience, in college in the mid-70's. An 'artist in residence' (Dave Moulton, who later advertised a 'golden ears' producing course in the pages of Keyboard) brought an EML-101 along with that Electrocomp analog sequencer and a crown 4-track deck plus some other outboard gear for a January term... experience? No class or credit was involved, but I was all in. The 101 had a pitch pot, IIRC, and a minimoog-ish default routing that one could patch around to some extent. I overdubbed 3 tracks of synth over a meandering improv on an RMI piano that ended up being played in Quad in the school's planetarium. Cutting edge for 1974, sorta. Didn't see another EML-101 for 40 years or so until I visited 'EMEAPP' outside Philadelphia a couple years back; it's an 'electronic music education' non-profit whose collection is completely bonkers. Here's a photo I took of one of their keyboard-focused rooms, the EML stuff is in the middle (blue faceplate on the EML-101, EML-400 behind it).
  8. The micro USB power jack isn’t ideal, but does mean the unit can be powered by a USB battery pack. There are 8 analog inputs and 4 returns via USB, which I believe can be used to bring software instruments running on a phone, tablet, or laptop into the mixer- six stereo pairs in all, but as you say short of the OP’s required 10. All four outputs have a one-knob limiter available in the app, so it might be suitable for driving in-ear monitors, although I have neither tried it myself nor seen any reviewer try it for that application.
  9. Not sure if this fits the OPs needs, but for those who Behringer, I picked up a Flow8 a few months back to use at rehearsals and have been extremely impressed. It has: * Two mic inputs with 48v phantom power; * Two mic/line neutrik inputs with no 48v phantom; * Two pairs of 1/4” TRS line inputs; * Bluetooth link for music playback into the system * Two individually configurable or stereo linkable monitor outputs * Two XLR balanced line-level outputs * one-knob limiters on main and monitor outputs, controlled via app * App also adds bluetooth remote control of eqs, faders, routing, saving scenes, more. * Two effects engines, one for reverbs and the other for delays (with a little overlap) * USB output for multitrack recording- all 8 input channels plus stereo mix, 4 channels return from computer. At practice I park it on my Kurzweil SP-6 and put myself, the vocalist and sax player through it, adding effects to the mics and sending the results through a pair of powered speakers to simulate entertainment occurring. I mixed some friends’ 4-piece acoustic gig with it, all were impressed. Lots of videos on YouTube if anyone’s interested, SW was selling them for $300 when I got mine.
  10. Since the OP is looking for 8 inputs/4 stereo pairs and everyone's already talking Midas and Behringer, here's a Behringer mixer I bought a couple months ago that's been working for me, the Flow 8. Small enough to sit atop my SP6, works as a 10-in 4-out USB interface, stores shapshots, bluetooth-controllable via phone app. Not rack-mountable, but there's an 'optional mic stand adapter'. $300 from Sweetwater. Here's the bullet list: 60mm channel fader and master knob with LED ring Free FLOW app for Bluetooth remote control from iOS/Android cell phones or tablets EZ-Gain feature analyzes signals in your application and automatically adjusts gain for optimal headroom Two Midas mic preamps with 48 V phantom power and programmable gain Two additional mic/line inputs on combined XLR/TRS jacks Two pairs of balanced stereo line inputs, each with a Hi-Z jack for direct guitar/bass connection All channels with 4-band EQ and compressor, 2 FX and 2 monitor sends, while monitor and main buses feature 9-band EQ and limiter Two independent studio-quality effects engines, each with 16 presets including reverb, delay and modulation effects, Built-in 10 x 2-channel USB computer audio interface with 48 kHz / 24-bit resolution. Bluetooth audio streaming for adding click or backing tracks to your performance or playing music during a break Balanced main outputs on gold-plated XLR and balanced monitor outputs on 1/4" jack plug FLOW app with assisted setup, unlimited mixer snapshots and intuitive, customizable stage view Buttons for FX adjustment, FX mute and tap tempo Footswitch input for controlling FX mute/tap tempo or preset up/down functions Ultra-quiet digital mixer with large headroom Optional mic stand adapter allows the mixer to be placed within easy reach of your gig Dimensions (W x D x H): 229 x 172 x 48 mm Weight: 1.4 kg It's been out for a couple years so there are many videos on YouTube, here's an online review: https://www.gear4music.com/blog/behringer-flow-8-review/
  11. A couple more big Flow 8 selling points I didn’t mention- works as a class-compliant 10-out 4-in USB audio interface. So it can send all 8 inputs plus stereo mix to your laptop or iOs device, and return 4 channels to the mixer. Besides having an app to run the mixer via bluetooth, there’s a stereo bluetooth audio input with its own volume knob, which can be connected to the same or a second bluetooth device. Then there’s the bad news/good news of the power connection, which is a not terribly secure micro-usb plug that, OTOH, means you can run it off any adequately speced usb outboard battery. Commercial over.
  12. I picked up a Behringer Flow 8 mixer to do pretty much what the OP wants, plus a lot more. It sits comfortably atop my SP6 and gives me XLR stereo outs to send to FOH or powered speakers, plus it has 2 TRS stereo-linkable aux outs with their own volume control. When I say 'plus a lot more', I'm not kidding. It has 4 xlr inputs, 2 of which can have phantom power while the other 2 have combi jacks, plus there are 4 TRS inputs in 2 stereo pairs, 2 fx engines, and a 4-band eq+ lopass filter+ one-knob compressor on every input. Each of the TRS pairs has a lo-z option for plugging in a bass or electric guitar. You can save and reload scenes, and a footswitch jack can be set to either step through snapshots or mute the effects for making stage announcements. There's an android and/or an ios app to control it via bluetooth- the only way to access some of the features. I recently used this to mix a 4-piece acoustic group in a middling sized room and it sounded excellent, and the app was solid. I was originally looking for a small mixer with effects to replace a bare-bones Samson I've been using at practices for years, then I saw the Flow 8 and the bang-for-buck sucked me in. Flow 8 mixer intro I got it for $300 from Sweetwater, so the price has gone up since this year-old video was posted. Everything else has been as described.
  13. Here's my R&R cart with their (moderatly PIA) shelf installed. There's just enough room to slide my Kurz PC3 in its soft case and an X-stand underneath, leaving the shelf free to hold a couple of Alto powered speakers and a couple of bags containing cables, music, small mixer. music, etc. Not as top heavy as you'd think, and usually bungee-free unless I'm crossing open ground. The shelf takes 5-10 minutes to attach & take off on its own, so there's a tradeoff as to whether it'd be quicker to just make 2 trips for a short haul.
  14. A blogger who goes by 'The Music Afficianado' on Facebook posted this tribute to WS yesterday, hope the FB link works for everyone: https://www.facebook.com/musicaficionadoblog/posts/pfbid02caCRUL4hNtX9hrrLbZVsJyKxFDGcWS3GseHZNYy8dUj22zo3PBqXpvLBUq3cUeWfl
  15. To get the obvious out of the way, I'd go with the piano intro to Firth of Fifth. Most folks seem to like the hypnotic RMI cascades in Carpet Crawlers, not sure that counts as a Tony Banks 'moment'. Mad Man Moon is a tasty piano-based journey, a good example of his harmonic/compositional chops back in the prog days but moving still farther from the 'moment' idea. Hmmm, what do non-keyboard players like? Ouch, I think I just had an epiphany on why I'm not making a living in music.
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