Time to go

[Bruce Graham]

Hey Phil and Joe;

Yes Phil, I remember where I was when I heard my first Beatle song, and "Pretty Women, by Roy Orbison. I'm that old!!!

I really like the Personus but man it was going to be a big jump.

I very glad to get a working beast Joe!

Age is a state of mind with a body that needs a little TLC from time-to-time!

Cheers guys
Bruce

[Y-my-R]

Welcome "back" Bruce Good to see you sticking around!

FWIW, there's a PreSonus StudioLive III 32SC mixer (the 19" width 32-channel mixer) at the rehearsal room I play at (well, before the pandemic), along with a AVB Stagebox (16-To/8-From via a single network cable). It's an amazing piece of gear, with crazy routing options - especially with that AVB network stagebox!

I spent some time with it, but not enough to fully understand it. It's got a really simple option to use the faders for up to 16 (I think) independent Headphone/Cue Mixes (V-Pot cue mixes aren't the same, IMO), though. I don't have in-ears, but the drummer does and loves it! And of course there are loads of effects built in... at least they sound great through the PA in the rehearsal room...

Overall, the purpose of that PreSonus mixer in the rehearsal room is more of a "live scenario", though. I'm not usually there for much longer than we practice, so I can't quite tell how well it would integrate in a studio environment. It has some features that sound promising for that, but I haven't tried them, so I don't know first hand.

Anyway... sorry about the ramble about a mixer from another brand. But "what are the alternatives" questions came up lately, and Bruce mentioned a mixer-type I have played with a bit, so I hope that was OK.

Back on topic - great to have you back, Bruce!

[Bruce Graham]

Hey Y-my-R;

I have been watching the Presonus line of consoles, you're right about the model, connected to Presonuc, Studio One software and it seems to functions as one would expect for Recording/Mixing rigs.

Never really had my hands on one. I own a Presonus StudioLive AI 16 channel and 24 channel. Not used for recording other than Direct Outs to my HDR. Mixing came later. Like you said great routing options.

I like the consoles but also looked at Behringer, Midas, Soundcraft, Yamaha but the StudioLive III 32SC caught my attention.

When I was working I used different Neve consoles, SSL, 4000 and 6000. WardBeck, SoundCraft, Midas, JCI, Sony. Mostly Broadcasting, but lots of recording (for TV), as well. The d8b is the most fun I have had on a console in a long time. My favorite analog boards where the SSL 4000G and the Yamaha PM4000 (I guess it had to have 4000 in it).

I saw a picture that I think you posted of you, I think, playing g guitar in a way out control room. Can't find it but would like to see it again. Any idea where you planted it?

I really like this forum and the people in it. Haven't seen another quite like it.

Even though my leaving was short, it does feel good to be back.

Cheers
Bruce

[Y-my-R]

That’s an impressive list of mixers you worked with, Bruce! I never even had a chance to sit down at a real SSL, Neve or other high-end console myself. And my Softube Console 1 with the SSL4000E emulation doesn’t count… haha!

I always just used the stuff I owned, or had to use at my (office) job. I still have:

3 x D8B (one for parts, but it still works, safe for a couple sticky faders)
1 x analog 24 channel Mackie 8-Bus w/ Meterbridge
1 x Alesis Studio 32 (compact inline mixer with direct channel outs… that’s what we used in the rehearsal room, until we got that PreSonus mixer - but it isn’t mine, the Alesis is)
1 x Behringer Xenyx 502 (got it free… I use it as a Mic Pre in front of a Sonos ZP90, so I hear the front door when I’m in the studio. Kind of like a overly complicated baby monitor).
1 x Fostex Model 2050 Rack Line Mixer (part of a trade - not really using it)
1 x Numark DM-1050 DJ Mixer (got it free… not really using it)

I used to own:
1 x D&R Series 2000 (vintage analog split/inline mixer - my first “real” mixer)
1 x Alesis X2 (similar to an analog Mackie 8-Bus. Beautiful layout… never-ending crackling problems due to faulty “Gorilla Ground” grounding concept)
1 x Behringer MX8000 (big mistake - I always referred to it as “the noise generator”. What a piece of garbage! I also popped a pre-amp once, just from playing slap bass on a direct connection to the board)
1 x Yamaha 01V (my first digital mixer - very intuitive layout… but the faders would always push back when MIDI automation was on. A dealbreaker for me)

Mixers I used regularly at my office job:
1 x Yamaha Promix 01 (OK in concept, but it’s 48 kHz only. I mostly do 44.1 kHz, so this was a pain to deal with)
1 x Roland VM7100 (an absolute NIGHTMARE to use - especially the routing. I’d sit and stare at the thing for 40 minutes, just to try to patch the S/PDIF input to a channel somewhere)
1 x Roland VM3100 (bizarre mixer/audio-interface combination that doesn’t do anything without the “R-Bus” card in the computer. Besides, Roland has the worst workflows ever. Everything is weird and backwards)

I might have forgotten one or two I used to work on… but as you see, it’s all budget stuff, and I never got to play with any of the “real” things that all of these are aspiring to, in one way or another. So, I’m kinda jealous of anyone who got to work with “the real deal”.

My D8B obsession was more of a coincidence than something I planned. I was bothered with my Mackie Control Universal and Extenders that I used to control my DAW, because I missed “real LED meters” so much. I was about to buy a Mackie HUI (just to get LED Metering - it has that), when I remembered that years before, I read something about someone trying to get the D8B to emulate a Mackie Control w/ Extenders via Software or something. I decided to check if someone eventually got that to work… and found this Forum and the ProBox, so I knew this was a viable route!

That used HUI was supposed to be $200. I found two broken D8Bs (Error 43) as a package on Craigslist for $200 as well (…or that’s what I negotiated the guy down to, since we both didn’t know at the time if this is even repairable. He basically just wanted them gone), so I went with the D8Bs. I really only bought them to use one of them as a DAW controller with a ProBox… but then went overboard and wanted to get everything working on both of them.

And that’s when I started asking questions in this forum, learning a thing or two about these boards, and then starting to give feedback, too, based on my learnings.

I came to appreciate the D8B a lot! I’m sure there’s more powerful and more flexible options out there nowadays - especially if money is not an issue. But I really like the D8B’s concept… and I learned to fix computers not long before the D8B came out… so, I feel quite at home with computers of that time, and when having to mess with the innards of the rack unit.

In short, I may not be as excited about the D8B as some people on here, since I didn’t even reaaaaally need a mixer when I bought it. But it’s a very useful piece of gear, that I use in all kinds of unorthodox ways… just hardly ever to “mix” on it. I use it more like a Swiss Army Knife for audio routing

…and now you know the reeeeaaaal story

The thread with the pic of me playing guitar in front of my setup is here:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2306

There’s just a green blanket hanging from the ceiling behind the mixers, though. I don’t really have that stuff set up on the Bridge of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D, hahaha

Sorry if I annoyed anyone with this long off-topic post… I just figured, it’s not a “time to go” thread anymore, anyway. So, anything posted here is technically off-topic, so I can be off topic, too

…and I guess by now everyone knows that my typing can sometimes (or often) get out of control.

Anyway - good that you’re back, Bruce! To many years of trouble-free D8B’ing

[Bruce Graham]

And here I was things you bought the Bridge from the USS Enterprise! Looks great in the photo!

Nice collection of guitars!

Boys and are toys!

Very glad to still flying a d8b. Just fun!

Cheers
Bruce

[arjepsen]

Hey - great that you haven't completely given up yet
Good luck on the new desk.

[doktor1360]

Wow...

Been a good while since I've logged on here, and then the 1st thing on return I see is Bruce leaving the building. Sad day for the community, me too personally...

Much respect Bruce, and the best of it in all your personal and professional endeavors!

\m/