X32 Discussion

[Donald P Leaman]

re: X32 Discussion

Just did a quick demo with a student band. Recorded everything with the X32, mixed and mastered in StudioOneV2. I used the Mackie Control emulation for automation and fader rides within S1.
I'm quite pleased with the result...at least audiowise. Still some editing to do, but the X32 works really nice in the studio.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/21028604/DemoRecording_X32.mp3

Christian

Wonderful work, Christian - in fact, your use-case nearly mirrors how I use my desk (had it for <24 hours now!). I record live music, and mix in S1V2. I was wondering, are you using a Mac or PC to do your editing? The reason I ask is, I'm having some problems with using the MIDI over USB, in that the banks don't switch "cleanly", and the labels are broken - some channels work, some don't. Have you seen this? I was considering using the 5-pin DIN connector to carry the MIDI traffic, to see if the implementation of MIDI-over-USB might need a bit of work on the X32. I just disconnected my MCU Pro and MCU Ext, which worked fine.

Thanks, in advance for any ideas/feedback....

 

[Christian Boche]

re: X32 Discussion

Wonderful work, Christian - in fact, your use-case nearly mirrors how I use my desk (had it for <24 hours now!). I record live music, and mix in S1V2. I was wondering, are you using a Mac or PC to do your editing? The reason I ask is, I'm having some problems with using the MIDI over USB, in that the banks don't switch "cleanly", and the labels are broken - some channels work, some don't. Have you seen this? I was considering using the 5-pin DIN connector to carry the MIDI traffic, to see if the implementation of MIDI-over-USB might need a bit of work on the X32. I just disconnected my MCU Pro and MCU Ext, which worked fine.

Thanks, in advance for any ideas/feedback....

Thanks
I just bought a MacBook Pro, but I use PCs in my studio. Got two in the studios and one at home. So it easier to "carry&load" projects between them. I used the Midi-over-Firewire (build in the X32 recording card) and selected in S1 the Mackie Control unit. Worked right out of the box. I had more trouble, to install my Presonus faderpot, that I normally use for automation rides. BTW: I'm not sure, but I think the build in 5-pin Midi in/out is not working buy now. But I can't check that, the desk is still in the studio. Right now I'm preparing a massiv BBQ session in my garden Did you install the latest firmware on your desk (V1.05) ?
Christian

 

[Donald P Leaman]

re: X32 Discussion

Thanks
I just bought a MacBook Pro, but I use PCs in my studio. Got two in the studios and one at home. So it easier to "carry&load" projects between them. I used the Midi-over-Firewire (build in the X32 recording card) and selected in S1 the Mackie Control unit. Worked right out of the box. I had more trouble, to install my Presonus faderpot, that I normally use for automation rides. BTW: I'm not sure, but I think the build in 5-pin Midi in/out is not working buy now. But I can't check that, the desk is still in the studio. Right now I'm preparing a massiv BBQ session in my garden Did you install the latest firmware on your desk (V1.05) ?
Christian

Thanks for the response, Christian - I hope you're enjoying your BBQ and not too distracted by the thread

So, I have the X32 connected to my computer via USB (to test the 32/32 audio and latency) - here's what I've found:

If I use MIDI-over-USB on the console, the audio I/O is brilliant. A bit more latency, but that's completely expected, given the nature of USB. But, when I try to carry the MIDI (remote) traffic over the same USB (even with no audio, or a reduced set of streams), I have problems switching banks, etc.

If I plug in my Saffire 6 USB, and direct the 5-pin DIN MIDI from the X32, through the Saffire Interface, then configure S1 to use the Saffire for the Mackie Ctrl connection (instead of the X_UF MIDI), everything works perfectly.

I haven't connected my Macbook Pro to the system yet to test MIDI-over-FiWi, but will test both the MIDI-over-FiWi and the MIDI-over-USB on that machine, to try and isolate it as a systemic problem with the X32, versus just an issue with my desktop OSX machine.

And yes, the 2nd boot of the X32 was to install 1.05 - installed and updated without issue.

I'll update the thread with my testing results.

Enjoy the feast!

Don

 

[Per Søvik]

re: X32 Discussion

Christian, what kind of Firewire interface are you using? Is an old 1394 sufficient or should I order a newer 1394b/800 right away?

Receiving my X32 on monday, and itching to start experimenting ~~:smile:

 

[Joshua Bessom]

re: X32 Discussion

After a few days with my X32, I'm incredibly impressed. Didn't even know about the midi over firewire thing until just now! Works fantastic.
Also successfully tried a little trick to get full XControl ability on my iPad - screen sharing. I use iTeleport on the iPad to control XControl on my Mac. Latency is not too bad, totally usable in fact. I use "touchscreen mode" in iTeleport.

 

[Donald P Leaman]

re: X32 Discussion

I'll update the thread with my testing results.
Don

So, I've plugged the X32 into my Macbook Pro in 2 different configurations - I'll describe the results for each below:

o FiWi cable - enabled the FiWi port on the X32, and configured Studio One V2 with 32 "dummy" tracks, just to test the remote DAW control. Everything works fine - banks switch with no delay, and I can switch between the multiple in/out configurations on the X32, with mirrored results on the Mac. This is using MIDI-over-FiWi.

o USB cable - enabled the USB port on the X32, and got the SAME results as when I was using USB on my desktop Mac - the audio interface shows up and is operational in all in/out configurations, but the MIDI bits appear to be hosed. Sometimes I get a channel label on 3 or 4 channels, but the others are blank, and I'm unable to bank between groups of 8. I suspect there may be something amiss with the MIDI-over-USB implementation in the X32. I can use my Focusrite Saffire 6 USB as a 'middle-man' device, and run 5-pin DIN cables to/from it and the X32, and everything works as advertised.

With regards to bandwidth requirements, a quick calculation for passing 64 simultaneous channels of audio is ~73.7Mbps (48K * 24 bits * 64 channels). Even at 30% of the theoretical 480Mb/sec maximum (which is reasonable to expect on a good USB interface), that's 144Mb/sec, so we're half of that. It's do-able, but I'm not wild about the overhead involved in moving that much data over USB - FiWi is a far better option. Not to mention significantly higher latency with USB.

Just my $.02

Don

 

[Donald P Leaman]

re: X32 Discussion

With regards to bandwidth requirements, a quick calculation for passing 64 simultaneous channels of audio is ~73.7Mbps (48K * 24 bits * 64 channels). Even at 30% of the theoretical 480Mb/sec maximum (which is reasonable to expect on a good USB interface), that's 144Mb/sec, so we're half of that. It's do-able, but I'm not wild about the overhead involved in moving that much data over USB - FiWi is a far better option. Not to mention significantly higher latency with USB.

Just my $.02

Don

Oops! This was pasted into the wrong forum, wrong thread - too many windows

 

[John Chiara]

re: X32 Discussion

After a few days with my X32, I'm incredibly impressed. Didn't even know about the midi over firewire thing until just now! Works fantastic.
Also successfully tried a little trick to get full XControl ability on my iPad - screen sharing. I use iTeleport on the iPad to control XControl on my Mac. Latency is not too bad, totally usable in fact. I use "touchscreen mode" in iTeleport.

View attachment 4531

Can you explain this process exactly. Sounds awesome!
Thanks!

 

[Mike Gibson]

re: X32 Discussion

Think I'm going to cancel my order with Studiospares as they have moved there receipt date to December and move to Thomann. For Studiospares, not ordering against committed Customer orders is one sure way to lose business particularly with such a poor 'in-stock' date. I'm sure Thomann with ship in September as per their current 'in stock' date. This was my first order from Studiospares and included a few thousand pounds worth of other things as well. Oh well, their loss. It's sad I have to go to a German company because the UK company is so inconsistent and unreliable. I'll not be going back to them again for any thing.

They have been pretty unhelpful on the phone and seem to know nothing about their own ordering or supply chain from suppliers.

 

[Juergen Riemann]

re: X32 Discussion

Got my X32 last week and I have to say this console is amazing. Just took me a couple of hours to get familiar with it.
Did a show last night and got praise for great sound as I used my ipad to mix the sound while walkimng around in the audience. Lots of fun and people couldnt believe how i could mix remotely via ipad.
Worked flawlessly. I am now selling my LS9 as the X32 is much better. This X32 is a real monster!!!

 

[brian kozicki]

re: X32 Discussion

Bought my X32 today, spent an hour with it, and it performed flawlessly at my show tonight. Loved it!

Just a few questions for those of you more familiar with the console.

1. Is there any way to EQ FX return channels?

2. What exactly is "recall safe" when saving a scene and when would I use it? (I am still sort of a digital desk "noob" so sorry for the nooby question)

3. When I plugged in my X32 to my Macbook Pro via firewire, I was able to see and record all 32 channels but audio was not coming back out of the DAW into the desk. Is this a simple routing thing that I have to set up if I want to use, say some Waves Renaissance plugins on my channels and route them back to the desk?

Also, for the Behringer guys reading this thread, I'm sure it's probably been mentioned but the addition of a de-esser would be lovely.

 

[Dave Demaggio]

re: X32 Discussion

Got a behringer x32 a week ago and have to say it simply blows me away.
I have done live sound for over 20 years with digico, midas, soundcraft, yamaha consoles and this mixer is on par with those expensive mixers. the midas pres in the x32 are really nice sounding, no noise and very clean and the sound of the mixer reminds me of the midas heritage consoles i loved to work with in the 80's. it is obvious midas was helping behringer with the design.
Build quality is solid, chassis is made out of steel and the motor faders feel expensive. is this a new behringer company?

how is this possible for this price???

 

[Christian Boche]

re: X32 Discussion

Bought my X32 today, spent an hour with it, and it performed flawlessly at my show tonight. Loved it!

Just a few questions for those of you more familiar with the console.

1. Is there any way to EQ FX return channels?

2. What exactly is "recall safe" when saving a scene and when would I use it? (I am still sort of a digital desk "noob" so sorry for the nooby question)

3. When I plugged in my X32 to my Macbook Pro via firewire, I was able to see and record all 32 channels but audio was not coming back out of the DAW into the desk. Is this a simple routing thing that I have to set up if I want to use, say some Waves Renaissance plugins on my channels and route them back to the desk?

Also, for the Behringer guys reading this thread, I'm sure it's probably been mentioned but the addition of a de-esser would be lovely.[/

Hi Brian,
you could route your fx returns to a subgroup, compress and eq them there and route this subgroup to a DCA group, so you got instant Mute and Volume control over your FX. Other way would be to reouted the fx channels to unused micpre channels (1-32). You can use recall safe f.e. for dedicated channels, that you don't want to be changed, when recalling a different mixing scene. Say you are mixing a festival with different bands. Each band has its own mixing scene but you also got one moderator/announcer for the whole festival. Just set his microphone channel to recall safe, so when recalling a different band scene, the announcer mic stays like it was in the scene before. Nice feature. In your daw you have to set up 32 returns (1-32) and route them the 32 channel return to the X32. Then go over to the X32 routing section and select card input 1-32. Now your daw inputs replace the local inputs. Concerning plugin use...I told the R&D that we need a digital card insert mode. So that you reroute your DAW channel into channel 1-32 without the need to switch to "card in 1-32" in the routing section. This will come with an firmware update, I was told. By now, when using plugins, I route this channels to the AUX in channels. Works as a workaround. BTW: You don't want to use the Waves Renaissance stuff for live, because the plugin it self causes additional latency. Check the Waves website, they have a chart, where you can see, which plugin caused what latency. There are lots of plugins, that work in real time...just choose the right one

Christian

 

[Christian Boche]

re: X32 Discussion

Christian, what kind of Firewire interface are you using? Is an old 1394 sufficient or should I order a newer 1394b/800 right away?

Receiving my X32 on monday, and itching to start experimenting ~~:smile:

Hi Per,

Mac Book Pro with an FiWi 400 to 800 cable works rock solid with 64 samples under core audio. Than I checked my old Asus A6ja Laptop (Duo Centrino) with the build in firewire port. Works with 92 samples. Then I hooked up my two SAC 19" U PCs (Intel Core2Duo E8400 CPU and XP Pro 32bit), both with an old Exsys Firewire 400 card (T.I. Chipset!) pci card. Both worked stable down to 48 samples - freaking awesome! Just make sure, you got an T.I. chipset on your firewire card and you should be good to go. Maybe tweak your windows for real time audio for better performance.
Christian

 

[Christian Boche]

re: X32 Discussion

After a few days with my X32, I'm incredibly impressed. Didn't even know about the midi over firewire thing until just now! Works fantastic.
Also successfully tried a little trick to get full XControl ability on my iPad - screen sharing. I use iTeleport on the iPad to control XControl on my Mac. Latency is not too bad, totally usable in fact. I use "touchscreen mode" in iTeleport.

View attachment 4531

NICE! Maybe it is time for me to get an iPad.

 

[Per Søvik]

re: X32 Discussion

I use "touchscreen mode" in iTeleport.

Do you need an active internet connection and connect via gmail to use it, or does it support a direct connection in a closed network?

It looks like a good solution for me, since I can also use it to start playback, run showcontrol etc.

 

[brian kozicki]

re: X32 Discussion

Thank you kindly for the answers Christian. So I would set inputs in the DAW to 1-32 and make them the same output, correct? Then in the routing in the X32 you just choose Card in 1-8 Card in 8-16, etc. The plugin I wanted to use was Rbass on kick drum and it has no latency, so we look good there. Excellent.

Also Per, you can use iTeleport on a closed network without an internet connection. I use it for controlling the media centers in my house

 

[Kevin Hunter]

re: X32 Discussion

If anyone in Europe is looking for a x32 it appears that keymusic is advertising them as being in stock in 3 locations !!

http://www.keymusic.com/en/product/Behringer-X32

Kev

 

[Loren Aguey]

re: X32 Discussion

Sorry for off topic, but I would like to ask the forum, because I'm curious about this "Preamp-Thing".
I was quite surprised, when reading in this and other US sound/recording forums, that lot's of people seems to be convinced or concerned,
that the micpre preamp design has such a big influence to the overall sound. This topic is actually hardly ever addressed in German pro audio forums, that's why I'm asking.
Anyway, my very own personal opinion is, that the impact of micpres is generally overated.

How to build a propper micpre is common knowledge since the golden 50s. Sure, there are different designs and they do sound different.
But the differences are so subtle to me, that I never would think about it for a second during a live show.

What I belief: The PA system, mircophones, the artist and room acoustic - these things have a hundered times more impact on the general sound of a show, than the build in micpres in a desk.
Even the quality of the artist catering has more impact in my eyes!
Like I said, my very own opinion.8)~~

Basically I don't care at all, what preamps are build in the X32. I did some X32 measurements with a friend of mine, and these Preamps are close to that what's physically feasible.

Maximum out is +21dBu, maximum Input (before analog clipping) is +23dBu, minimal THD, straight frequenzy response and lot's of headroom (72dB)-->



To me the X32 Preamps are definite not to blame, when the show sucks soundwise.

What do you think?
Christian

I agree with you 100% and frankly I grow tired of so much preamp talk, not just in this thread but in general.

 

[Ashirvad Zaiantchick]

Send on faders on custom keys

Hi Christian,

I am a monitor engineer and been loving using the X32! It's a truly wonderful board.
My question: is it possible to assign the send on faders function for a specific mix to the custom keys?
This is a very useful feature for me that I got used to rely on Yamaha, Digico and other boards.
Thanks,

Ashirvad