pro control analogue section

[Sly]

Hi Jules and everyone.
I am posting this where it really belongs over on Greg's forum aswell, but it's not just a pro tools related question so...

I love my procontrol. I absolutely hate it's analog monitoring section. It's embarrassing.

Do you know of anyone in London who might be able to improve it for me.

Assuming that it couldnt or shouldnt be done, how should I get around it? My requirements are as follows...I am not using surround just now, so I have a single stereo output pair. I want to feed my main monitors, an alternate pair, and a headphone amp...so I need three stereo pairs, with independant level controls, mutes if possible, and a mono option if possible. As I am short of outputs this must come from a single stereo pair. What is on the market? Who could make me something?

I made a passive attenuator based around a dact balanced step attenuator, which I was using pre pro control, just for the main monitors. It is absolutely great. Could I get another couple attenuators from dact and build something myself or is it not that simple?

Thanks everyone

Jack

 

[dave-G]

ProControl is in fact capable of doing what you want--if you go into the utilities section you can set PC into "multimon" mode, which changes the behavior of the "alt" button to function as a mute switch for your second set of monitors (and their "alt 3-4" pot) rather than a toggle. Thus, If you're sending your main stereo outputs to PC's main input, you can be simultaneously sending to headphones via the top knob (5-6), to studio-side monitors with the "alt 3-4" pot and to yourself with the main knob.

However, I don't think the analog section of ProControl is the best sounding thing in the world, and as an alternative you might check out MonitorMax from Martinsound.

-dg

 

[Sly]

Thanks for the reply. I'm sorry I havent made myself clear...I am using the PC as you describe at the moment. It is the sound I dont like rather than the functions.
Jack

 

[dave-G]

Gotcha.

Sounds like building something yourself might be a good idea, but in the world of ready-made stuff, these may lead you somewhere:

[="http://www.martinsound.com/pd_mmo.htm"]MonitorMax[/]

and there's some really nice stuff with a clean, minimalist signal path available through [="http://colemanaudio.com/"]Coleman Audio[/] . Might even build some custom stuff, I don't know.

And there's always the [="http://www.studiotechnologies.com/StudioComm.htm"]StudioComm[/] ... which uses VCA's, FWIW.

-dg

 

[anonymous]

Some guy over on the Digidesign user group (in the ProControl forum) said he built a main monitor pot from the worlds finest "silver" (?) pot bought from a deluxe component supliers.

Anyhow, I could be in the market for such a device!

But where would it go?

On the main monitor out?

How would you interupt the exisitng one?

 

[Sly]

Well I put my attenuator together using a balanced stereo dact attenuator and very short lengths of silver wire and silver solder. The dact attenuator (I keep wanting to say 'pot' but it isnt the same thing) is very good (and very expensive unfortunately about £200gbp) I think the most simplistic way to use it, would be to turn the pc pot up to about 1 or 2 oclock or at some point where the sound is stable, and then connect the attenuator in series to control the level. However, I didnt spend loads of cash on my pro tools system to end up buggering the sound by running it through any part of the pc monitoring section. I have really noticed 2 things since I bought my pro control. 1. The way I mix has fundamentally changed and become far more musical. It's faster too. 2. The sound coming out of my monitors is compromised badly. I know that the end listener wont notice but I DO and it annoys me.
The reason I suggested that you shouldnt modify the section is due to warranty etc. I would rather just bypass it totally I suppose rather than let someone butcher the main unit.
Jack

 

[dave-G]

Another reason not to try and modify the thing is that it's a bunch of SMT stuff with EPROM controlled switching and signal flow. It's a pain in the ass just thinking about it.

-dg

 

[anonymous]

I have had trouble sitting ever since I read that!

 

[Sly]

LOL