The iPad mini is slightly larger than TouchMix’s 7-inch screen and the app’s on-screen faders are longer than the mixer’s, though I prefer iPad’s even larger surface for my big hands.
The app and the mixer’s GUI operate independently, so the iPad can act as an extra user interface that shows and controls different functions from those controlled via the screen.
This can be extended to multiple iPads, so that one (or more) could mix monitors, while another might be used for the FOH mix even though TouchMix might be located at the side of the stage. It would even be possible to tile several tablets together to display the entire TouchMix console!
Substitute drummer Derrick Phillips, who plays for Hank Williams, Jr., brought his custom IEMs and it was easy to give him a hardwired in-ear mix that he could control from his iPhone from one of the TouchMix-16’s two stereo auxiliaries by just using a headphone extension cable. The operator can allow or restrict access to functions on a per-device basis, keeping users from adjusting anything but their own mix, allowing the iPhone app to operate as a personal monitor mixer.
For non-Apple users, QSC just released the Android version of the app for tablets and smartphones that requires Android OS 4.4.4 or newer and TouchMix firmware V2.1.4922.
Size Matters
At 12 by 15 inches and 6 pounds, TouchMix-16 is no bigger and slightly lighter than my last Windows laptop. Its cardboard retail box holds TouchMix in a slim 13-inch by 22-inch fabric and hard foam zippered case with a side compartment for its international voltage power supply. Our trip to Europe simply required using an IEC cable with a Schuko plug instead of an Edison.
SKB makes the injection molded 3i1813-7-TMIX waterproof case for TouchMix, with a custom foam insert that accommodates either model by removing a perforated foam insert, plus a cutout for its power supply, holding a standard or mini iPad underneath. Not only does either case meet carry-on restrictions, they even fit overhead in smaller, three-across regional planes.
The latest firmware upgrade, version 2.1, includes options for Mandarin, French, German, Russian and Spanish in addition to English, as well as the ability to assign aux buses to the left and right main outputs to act as sub-groups.
TouchMix-16 is also capable of direct recording all 20 (16 mic plus 2 stereo line) individual channels plus one of its three stereo buses to a 7200 RPM external USB hard drive in 32-bit broadcast wave format, and then play those tracks back for virtual sound check or virtual rehearsal.
If you’re looking for a mixer that can take your band from rehearsal to promotional appearance to support slot to festival stage and perhaps even headlining, TouchMix is the smallest professional solution you can carry with you in the van and on the plane.
Mark Frink is a long-time monitor engineer and professional audio editor and writer. He’s hosting the Live Sound Expo at the 139th AES Convention in New York this October.