Control Surfaces
On the network there are I/O boxes, most of which are modular. The ''best'' of which is the
XL8 mic splitter, two digitally controlled mic amps, a third fixed gain and available at the front transformer isolated, and two analog splits (one per digitally controlled pre) on the back, plus extensive metering plus a PFL system on the front for troubleshooting. This piece of hardware is why the XL8 sports its quarter million dollar price tag, it comes with four of them, plus five
configurable 24 channel I/O units for whatever. The Pro 3 is the cheapest because it comes with
this fixed I/O package and no fiber snake option, although it can talk to any of the I/O boxes including the Pro 6's
modular standard stage box.
Audio to and from those units is
routed through
DSP brains for processing. The only difference between the Pro series consoles is how many DSP cards they have available (which basically determines how many channels of audio they can process), their I/O package, and the Pro 3 doesn't ship with a fiber snake option. Any Pro series console can be upgraded or downgraded into any other Pro series console at any time in short order. Numbers floated indicated about a $20,000 leap from the Pro 3 to the Pro 6, and another $10,000 or so to the Pro 9 which can mix some 88 channels in a very convenient footprint. The XL8 of course comes loaded for bear and can always process everything, plus I'm pretty sure it was hitting on me.
The Pro series control surface itself is very nicely built. It was designed from the start to allow two engineers to work on the surface at the same time, with two separate channel detail strips with head amp options, EQ, dynamics, etc. All the knobs are actually analog pots that have their settings interpolated by an A/D to determine actual position, which basically means that the surface feels very smooth and solid and control changes translate very well to ''what I was trying to do''. The second control strip and right hand bank of four faders can be ''uncoupled'' and run completely independently, or linked to page with the rest of the console. This is a killer feature for me and really showed me that Midas has their sights in the right place with these desks.
Another great touch is that almost every control has only one purpose. The EQ knobs are always EQ knobs, 16 aux masters can be available all at the same time, and 8 aux sends at a time can be banked through quickly. There is also a very comprehensive A & B PFL/Listen system, plus a powerful automation system that I actually found comprehensible. The board has incredibly good metering, nice big input meters plus separate comp and gate meters for every channel on the surface. Either of the two screens can also be set up to meter every in and out on the desk.
By far the best feature on the surface is the way the console handles POP and VCA groups. First of all, 10 VCAs is a luxury I am seldom afforded. However, after assigning channels to a VCA (which is intuitive), pressing the backlit LCD button above the VCA causes those channels to ''pop'' up on the surface faders. The 6 POP groups can be used to do the same thing without assigning to a particular VCA. Instead of navigating by banks on the console you navigate by user assigned group of channels, which are also identified by color and text label. This is a much better way than most digital consoles are doing this, in my view, and really takes the desk from ''hmm'' to ''yes please'' for me. Additionally, certain POP groups can be made to appear only on the ''Group B'' bank of 4 faders, a great way to keep track of money channels without interrupting something else you may be doing.
While this course was about the Pro series desks,
Big Mo Pro lent their XL8 so we could experience the entire lineup. While the XL8 back end can handle more I/O processing than any Pro series desk, the surface itself is completely familiar once you know how to mix on its little brothers. The same thing, but more of it... more buttons for controls that are on the screen on a Pro series surface. More mixes available. Three banks of 8 faders each with their own detail strip to allow even more to happen at once. More POP groups and VCAs. More monitoring. If you can afford the extra control it is step up, but there is little you can do on an XL8 that you couldn't accomplish nearly as well on a Pro 6 or Pro 9.
All in all a very impressive lineup. The entire series of Midas digital desks are going on my ''would love to see on nearly any show'' list, which is extremely sparse when it comes to digital desks. I hope to have a Pro series out to play with later this year and I will let you know how I feel about it once I've run some actual bands through the thing, but I have little doubt I will be anything but pleased. I'd even be happy to use a Pro series at monitors, which is saying a LOT for me since I am usually very unhappy to give up control in the hot seat. Of course, it helps a lot that I can control the inboard graphics on any of the desks with a
KT DN9331 Helix Rapide, which answers my complaints about the majority of digital desks at monitor beach.
