Advanced navigation mode additionally enables the user to build Mix Control Association (MCA) groups.
Similar in operation to how VCA (Variable Control Association) groups are defined and work, the big difference is that the MCA groups are specific to a selected bus.
Lock into MCA navigation mode, and the MCA faders control the actions of their governed group only in relation to the current selected bus.
Combine this tool with the hide unassigned channels feature (which, when selected, displays only the channels assigned to a particular mix), and levels of control expand beyond that found on a traditional work surface, enabling users to mix a larger number of inputs within a smaller amount of console real estate.
More To The User
An FX button is also found on the PRO2. It allows the user to select a bus that is routed to an effects device, and the effect is in turn displayed.
This function – like the board’s inclusion of other traditional navigation aids such as the ability to create subgroups, VCAs, and POP groups that let users build their own sequence of input channels to bring up on the control surface for mixing – provide more control. When taken in context with the new advanced navigation features, it brings more of the console directly to the user faster and more intuitively.
All show files are compatible with Midas consoles, therefore allowing a show written on a PRO2 to run seamlessly on a PRO3, PRO6, PRO9, XL8, and vice versa.
Third-party plug-ins cannot yet be run within the console because of non-compatibility with the PR)2’s Linux operating system and latency management issues, but can be adapted for use with the board using an external MacBook or PC.
General PRO 2 features include 56 mic/line inputs with Midas mic preamps, 64 input channels, 32 analog outputs (including a pair of stereo local monitor outputs), two AES 3 outputs, three AES 3 inputs, 27 sample-synchronous, phase-coherent buses, six multi-channel FX engines, up to 28 Klark Teknik DN370 31-band graphic EQs, eight VCA groups, six POP groups, and 192 MCA groups.
Included with their own digital snakes, standard PRO2/PRO2C systems will ship with a control surface and a single 5U DL251 19-inch rack-mount I/O unit. Networked audio and data connect the two components, with the network carrying both control data and open architecture AES 50 digital audio using standard Cat5E or Cat6 cabling and connectors.
Both consoles are network-compatible with all other Midas digital systems and I/O devices. The PRO2 with its DL251 stage box will list under $30,000 (USD), while the PRO2C with its stage box will come in under $23,000 (USD).
They are being shown at the PLASA 2011 show this week in London in September, with an announced ship date of late October.
Gregory A. DeTogne is a writer and editor who has served the pro audio industry for the past 30 years.