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georgethetech · Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2012 10:28 pm Post subject: Ultimate VO studio mixer?

I've been drooling over this ever since I saw it at NAB 2 years ago. From the folks who bring you the $300 mic boom...
http://yellowtec.com/index.php?id=intellimix-lp
(spot the typo on their site, they are German, give em a break)

I love the compact control surface and brain that lives in a rack hidden away. Talk about a clean signal path, and clean install!

Good luck finding one in the US, though...
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Bailey · Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2012 11:11 pm Post subject:

That Smart Card sounds like a cool idea.
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Diane Maggipinto · Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2012 6:54 am Post subject:

maybe they could couple it and ship together with studiobricks Smile

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heyguido · Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2012 7:12 am Post subject:

Not to threadjack, but this caught my attention the other day. Similar in concept, and getting some pretty good reviews. The guys at Rain Computers had some really nice things to say about the preamps and converters, too....

http://www.propellerheads.se/products/balance/index.cfm?fuseaction=get_article&article=features

Some reviews are even comparing it favorably to the RME Babyface. If that's true, it could be a winner for VO. And it seems to play nicely with multiple DAWs. Only thing it seems to lack is transport controls, but there's always the mouse.
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georgethetech · Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2012 8:06 pm Post subject:

Threadjack accepted!

That YellowTec Intellimix I found is ONLY a mixer, not an audio interface, and an expensive one at that. But for those who want the latest and greatest...

The one thing that makes "Balance" stand out to me is:
Mac OS class compliant (no driver on Mac OS)

That's what I don't like about Apogee, Focusrite, Avid, and the rest with proprietary drivers and control panels. All of this unit's functions are REAL BUTTONS on the unit, not soft buttons. Not sure their software has any hooks that would lure me away from TwistedWave, but would be interesting to give it a try. And hey, they are in Calabasas, perhaps they'd send me one to review! I drive through there time to time, I should knock on their door.
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If it sounds good, it is good.
George Whittam
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TheProAudioSuite.com Co-host
TriBooth.com Co-founder

heyguido · Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 1:12 am Post subject:

If you do manage to get your hands on a tester, I'd love to hear about it. As a current Reason / Record user, I'm especially curious about the quality of the preamps and converters. Reviews are good, but they've not disclosed who supplied the internals. But, you're right.... Core Audio support out of the box is a great selling point.... And I love the design / layout.
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heyguido · Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2012 11:18 am Post subject:

Update.....

I've ordered the Balance. Should be here over the holidays. I'll let you know what I think once I've had a chance to play with it....
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sb4vox · Joined: 17 Nov 2012 Posts: 18 Location: Mid Atlantic

Don, please do share your thoughts on the Balance. I've been intrigued by it also.

Steve

Monk · Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 8:55 am Post subject:

Amy Taylor is using the Henry Six Mix,

and aside from it not having phantom power, it was a cool unit, pretty flexible

http://www.henryeng.com/sixmix.html
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heyguido · Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 2:22 pm Post subject:

Steve.... Initial impressions from a quick living room setup direct to laptop are good. Preamps are clean and quiet.... and just a hint of warmth, which is good. The Clipsafe function is really cool.... saves overmodulated sections of a recording almost effortlessly. Nice feature. Lots of inputs, so you're not constantly unplugging and replugging your gear.... Just select and go, so switching back and forth between your go-to mics and gear is easy. Build quality is good.... and it's sexy, too.

Haven't had a chance to get it into my chain yet. Will report back in a week or so with more, and maybe an audio sample for the crowd.

As a Reason/Record user, the integration with the software was a key selling point. For those with Macs, the Core Audio support means no drivers, and it apparently plays well with Logic, Cubase, Ableton, and others.
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georgethetech · Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 9:42 pm Post subject:

the stuff from Henry is really hiatus the NAMM lity broadcast equipment. I've had my eye on the 6 mix for quite a long time. I'll have to check with Amy Taylor for her impressions on the unit. Curious to know if she's using the internal preamp.seems like a very expensive unit very simple functions, but if it's completely reliable and sounds awesome it could be worth would it cost which is near 1000 dollars.

that's really great news about the balance. I think that's going to jump to the top of my list for high quality basic interfaces for recording studios that don't require more than two mic preamp.seems. it's still quite a bit cheaper than the sound devices USB pre 2, which I would consider to be the closest competitor.

will just have to see what I find at the Namm show the end of this month
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If it sounds good, it is good.
George Whittam
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TheProAudioSuite.com Co-host
TriBooth.com Co-founder

heyguido · Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2013 8:33 am Post subject:

George.... From what I hear, the Propellerheads are pretty liberal with review units. Since you've got the podcast, you probably shouldn't have too much trouble getting one in for a look-see.... and their US distributor is Line6.

One caveat for those who would use Balance without the included Reason software.... The ClipSafe feature works only in Reason. It records a second, padded track that can be used to heal overmodulated audio. It's quick and easy to use, since the software identifies clipped audio and replaces it with one click. It's seamless and transparent, but it's a feature of the software, not the Balance. There's a button on the Balance to arm the feature, but it won't work in other DAWs. Certainly not a dealbreaker, but worth noting.

My early impressions are that it's good kit, and the pre's and converters sound as good as some pricier options I was considering. You can find significant discounts ($400) from suggested retail (just short of $600), and on the secondary market, even cheaper. I got mine for less than $300 on ePay.
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