check out the maselec console!!

you need to check out the meselec console, it rocks the sum and difference features are like nothing i've ever come across, you can twist the worst mix in the world into a cracker...

and the disk cutting section is in a class of it's own...

we bought 3 as soon as we heard it.....

check it out.....http://www.maselec.com/

hope that helps

streaky..

(sorry just read the last bit and i guess this is what you'd call a prism??)

Re: check out the maselec console!!

emaster wrote: you need to check out the meselec console, it rocks the sum and difference features are like nothing i've ever come across, you can twist the worst mix in the world into a cracker...

Yes I ment the Maselec console.

Thanks for you post but:
1. Nothing can turn the worst mix into a good master!
2. I already have S/M in my Z-sys and weiss
3. I have an ongoing talk with Leif Mases at the moment. I don't think he's units is so "invisible" as some peoble say. Actually the MEA-2 EQ disapointed me in regard to this.
4. I'm totally into the passive analog transfer console! with the best manual switches around.

But keep the postings comming...

Best Regards,

I'm going to check out the new Legacy console by Rupert Neve. I'll let you know what I think after the AES show.

My original desk was built by Mark Levinson. It had some interesting features. The two things I liked the most was a hard switch for EQ only, EQ-Comp, Comp-EQ, and Comp only. It allowed me to play around more effectively without fiddling with a patchbay. The second, send/return gain/attenuation. It consisted of an amplifier at 0/6/12 db gain and a seperate attenuator in half db steps to -20. depending on what the music needed, I could dial up the same gain/attenuation from the different amp settings and listen to the net effect of running the amps hot or cold.

I'll add to this later, my client arrived.

mgw

Thanks Mark,
I think i will include that! a switch for 1:EQ 2:EQ-Comp 3:Comp-EQ and 4:Comp.

8-)

Ammitsboel wrote: Thanks Mark,
I think i will include that! a switch for 1:EQ 2:EQ-Comp 3:Comp-EQ and 4:Comp.

8-)

It was a big-ass knob! All hard wired. And a rotary master fader. I can't fade without one.

markwilder wrote: [quote=Ammitsboel]Thanks Mark,
I think i will include that! a switch for 1:EQ 2:EQ-Comp 3:Comp-EQ and 4:Comp.

8-)

It was a big-ass knob! All hard wired. And a rotary master fader. I can't fade without one.

Yeah! I bet it was... I'm seriusly considering to get my knobs custom made so they are big enough!
Mine is going to be nothing else than big rotary swithces(shallco like types) with BIG knobs!!

Something I've seen, but will not partake in is a master fader that instead of starting at zero and going to minus whatever, is let's say +6/-20 db for active dynamic riding.

mgw

?
I'm not sure that i follow you Mark...

This would be a rotary fader (big knob) that you can ride by hand to enhance dynamic movement in a piece of music. So, you have everything just the way you want it, now you can take a pass and at those special moments, let's say chorus' for example, you can ride up the gain to give the song that extra something. Maybe a db hit at the top so it comes in with a bang, then ride it down, maybe ride it back up for some key lyrical moments, etc...

mgw

He he...

I can see it for me:

Recorded by mr. X
Mixed by mr. X
Digital edit by mr. X
Active dynamic riding by mr. X
Mastered by mr. X

...and the CD sounds hmm.... can't really put a finger on it... maybe i have an unstable net power supply for my tube amps??

I felt I could build in dynamics in different ways other than this way. I like my master faders starting at zero and going to - infinite. I try to do all my fades analog and this was just not going to work for me at all.

mgw

So you never fade inside the DAW?
Do you always convert when getting digital formats?

I'm a little audiophile when it comes to this, if i can avoid a pot or an attenuator i will do it.
This is also why i'm building a passive transfer console, i hate to put more gain stages in my chain if i can avoid it.

I almost never fade in a workstation. Mostly, I hate the way fades feel in my workstation. Not only is it the tempo (feel), I hear the color of the audio change. With a hand fade I can caress the ending just the way I like it. I'll often do 3, 4, 5 passes of just the ending to get the perfect fade, then do a butt splice to piece it together. This also leads to more musical segues. Also, there are times I'll use HDCD, and with HDCD, if you modify the bit (fades, gain, etc..) you lose the HDCD flag.

Most of the time, I will not go to black between bands. That feeling of absolute zero between songs is too dramatic for me as a listener. After my fades I'll leave 5-10 seconds of analog silence, so when I'm pacing the CD, I'll have just the slightest hint of noise floor.

I basically agree with you on the minimalist thing, but what I've found is that, for me, a gain stage before (send) and after (return) my inserts allows me to hit my gear with just the right amount of level (send), then get the level just right for conversion (return). These levels never seem to be the same for me. On the Levinson desk, my amps were on switches so if I wanted I could cleanly bypass them. My tweekest clients have never been offended by the gain my old desk. They have been more offended by the sound of my workstation. (this goes back to the Doug Sax discussion). And since we're talking about gain, I'd rather reprint at a different level then do a gain move in the computer.

Mark Wilder

I'm a patchbay kind of guy myself. As much as I would like the convienence of of some of the switching capabilities, I prefer to run it through as little as possible. On the otherhand, I like the flexibility in the monitoring side. Patchbay's are much cheaper than great switching too, that is also a concern for me. Hmmm, a new weiss box or some fancy switching.... I'll take the weiss. I do all of my fades inside the DAW, I like to leave it at the last possible moment. I hate nothing more than having to run something again because they want to change the fade.

Lately I've been looking for a used weiss 102 system with the controller. It's an old unit but I still think it's great, if for nothing more than the contoller.

The best as i see it is to do the direkt connect the units, select the units you are going to use and then direkt connect them instead of using a patchbay.

I have a patchbay at the moment, a real expensive one with silver connectors and silver cables(not cheap ass silver cables).
But i often feel that it could be better with some very good switches instead as they will only replace the very good connectors and i will then have shorter cable lengths(better to work with and also soundwise).

My box of switches doesn't cost as much as a weiss unit?!? and they are the best switches around.

Mark, what kind of DAW do you have?
I'm not notishing the things you do when fading in 32bit float.
I will try soon to make an analog fade to see what happens... but the problem as i see it is when you get digital material that doesn't need a conversion.

Best Regards

Mark, since you not have the Mark Levinson any more, what do you have now? and does it work fine?

A. I use a Sonic System. To be replaced by a Sequoia in a couple of weeks. No matter, I'll still fade analog. It's a feel thing. It's a big rotary, and pacing a fade is infinitely easier, for me, by hand.

It's rare that I process digitally. My analog chain is very sweet and becomes a positive asset for almost every project. When I do go digi, it's a combination of Weiss and Harmonia Mundi (the 102).

B. The Levinson (Cello) finally died a couple of years ago. It's a long story, and I will not bother here, but currently I'm using GML Modules (from the modular rack-mountable mixer) which were a step up sonically. I'm about to take delivery on an SPL stereo desk (Nov. I think).

mgw

he he, so you are moving to PC too!
A bit of advice, have patience...

I like to fade last like Michael and I'm satisfied with Sequoia's fades at the moment... maybe I reconsider somewhere down the road, but not now.

You sound like you are a superb analog knob fading guy...?
What converters do you use?

In my rack I have a Meitner (w/SBM Direct), AD 122, HDCD, and a GML. Floating, we have a wide array from Genex, Panasonic, Prism, and dcs.

You should go to the site. Click on the icon that looks like a reel of tape (Mastering). You can find my room under my name or M3. Not the greatest photo's though.

Mark

I just bought the new apogee rosetta 200. I wanted some new flavor of converters and plus I really wanted a good hardware SRC. After I give it a run through, i'll let everyone here know what I think of it.

Update: We received the SPL console. I've done a few sessions with it and some A/B'ing with the GML modules, and I'm quite impressed. It should see a complete install by year's end with new cabling (lot's of listening here) and such. There is a purtty picture of it at:

new">http://www.spl-usa.com/indices/mastering_E.htmlnew

Also, the Sequoia is very hip. Audio is fun again!!!