Life In The Fast Lane
The Midas PRO2 has a dedicated output section with Select, Mute, Solo, and a meter for each bus and matrix. Think of it like a meter bridge on steroids.
My ideal console would have something similar, because it enables some really efficient workflow features. Selecting a bus flips the input faders to Sends On Fader mode, the output faders flip to the GEQ filters if one is inserted, and if the bus feeds an FX algorithm, the FX rack appears on screen. I can certainly appreciate how this might be confusing for someone new to the platform, but once you get used to it, it’s blisteringly fast.
“Collapsed flip” is another brilliant feature – when enabled, selecting an output bus still flips the input faders to Sends On Fader mode but only displays the inputs that are contributing to the selected bus. So if it’s a simple vocal–guitar mix, I’ll only see two faders instead of having to scroll or bank through all the inputs to find the two I care about. Basically it’s a dedicated, dynamic spill set for each mix bus.
The process of adding an insert effect to a channel always seems like a bit of an ordeal, requiring a flurry of steps and button presses to get up and running, so my ideal console simplifies this. And can I please daisy-chain multiple insert effects? I’d like to create a studio-style vocal chain without bringing in an external plugin platform.
I Can See Clearly Now
People are always surprised to learn that I don’t like touch screens. The explanation I usually offer is a joke – “my hand isn’t transparent” – but it’s also sort of true. Really, though, I want a physical fader or knob under my fingers. Call me old-fashioned. I want a full channel strip with dedicated controls for each function, not assignable encoders or “soft knobs.” Put them on the right side of the screen – I’m right-handed – and make them touch-sensitive so the corresponding detail view will automatically open onscreen when I adjust something.
I want to like touch screens, I really do, but they force me to look at the screen instead of the artist. I can adjust physical controls without looking. Sorry, touch screens, I think you’re lovely and all, but it’s just not going to work out. It’s not you, it’s me.
Odds & Ends
• When I mix for theater, I do a lot of polarity inversions to control interaction between headworn mics. This changes scene to scene, so I’d like a dedicated automation parameter to recall polarity without changing the state of the other preamp parameters.
• When a GEQ is flipped to the faders, let me zero out a band by pressing that fader’s “on” switch. I cut my digital teeth on Yamaha’s LS9, which sports this handy feature.
• When I stereo-pair two adjacent input channels, my (Behringer) X32 automatically hard pans them left and right. How considerate. This is something I’ve forgotten to do more than once.
• Crossover filters or mains and matrix buses let me leave my system processor rack at home for smaller rigs.
• All physical outputs should be patchable, not pre-assigned to a certain bus. Half of my buses don’t leave the desk when I’m mixing FOH, so I don’t need outputs for them. But maybe I want them for physical effects inserts or driving distributed PA systems. Give me dedicated delay in polarity per output (not just per bus) so I can align delay loudspeakers and drive basic sub arrays without external processing.
• Asking for a Talent fader would be going too far, right?
I’ll Buy If I Want To
This all may seem like a silly exercise. Fun, sure, but there’s a value here – if you’re buying a console for yourself of specifying one for a client, having an idea of what you’re looking for and what features are important [to you] will streamline and simplify the process. Is weight a factor? How about number of faders? Does it need to fit in your trunk? Do you prefer a certain workflow?
Outline your wish-list before going shopping. It saves time and headaches. Oh, and if any manufacturer out there decides to build a desk like the one I’ve described here, sign me up for one.