Most musicians nowadays are gearheads. Caught between hype and hope, they continue the hunt for that elusive piece of equipment that, manufacturers insist, will make their sound cooler and their demo tapes irresistible. While no piece of gear will ever win the creatively challenged million-dollar record deals, Yamaha's ProMix 01 is one of the most useful music tools since four-track analog recorders. If you've got the ideas and roughly 2,000 bucks, no other mixer will get your music to disk or tape - or to the house PA system - with so much value and convenience.
First, value. This 16-channel machine (plus an additional stereo input) comes with three stereo-dynamics processors for applications like compressing, gating, limiting, and ducking. Musicians will delight to find there are also two internal stereo multieffects processors for a variety of delightful reverbs, echoes, pitch shifting, and chorusing effects. Having internal effects and gates means that your audio data stays in the digital realm, and that patching is a breeze.
Second, convenience. The ProMix has motorized faders that allow for automated mixing. You can store your fader positions and effects settings into "mix scenes," making mixing simpler and more precise. Anyone who's ever tried to do a complicated mix with just two hands can now put them together and clap enthusiastically; automated mixing used to be a feature found only on consoles many times the ProMix's price.
Want more, gear nut? Get this. Fully parametric 3-band equalizer Phantom power. Four auxiliary sends; two for internal use, two for external. A digital two-track out. Full MIDI control.
So, no gripes, right? Not so fast. The headphone jack is in a truly asinine, hard-to-reach place. The unit stank up my home studio for a couple of weeks with a foul, synthetic smell. And the rack ears for the machine are optional and difficult to find.
Still, this is a sweet deal. With prices dropping for hard-disk-based recording systems and modular, digital eight-tracks, the gap between home recording and the professional studio - once the size of the Grand Canyon - will soon be measured in mere inches.
Yamaha ProMix 01: US$1,999. Yamaha Pro Audio: +1 (714) 522 9011.
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