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Midi mixers (was Alesis Multimix 8 Line. 1u mixer for looping.



On Tue, Sep 15, 2009 at 10:12 PM, L.Angulo <labaloops@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Have you ever tried syncing it to a drum machine with mobius?id be 
>really curious if it works for you so let me know. Other than that i 
>found it ok though scrolling thorugh those menus is kind of a pain but 
>could be very practical when traveling.

Hi Luis,
I have done a lot of testing with Mainstage, Bidule, Gordius LG,
Looperlative LP1, Mobius and a midi clock pedal in all kind of
configurations (master, slave). I never had a problem with syncing
these but I have only synced delays and loopers, no drum computers.
But what kind of problem do you mean? The Ultralite is just receiving
and forwarding midi info, it's not generating midi clock. I can't
imagine that sending and forwarding midi data can cause serious
problems when syncing external gear unless there's a bug in the
firmware causing delays in the midi transmission.

Regarding the Ultralite menu, you don't need these if you have your
laptop with you: the Cuemix software is the tool to use and. But if
case you want to change a parameter on stage or use the Ultralite
standalone, you can use the menu and knobs if you want to. For
example, I use the main and phones volume knob...if I don't forget I
have one ;-)

> However,for local bar gigs i go hardware and still use my good ol 
>echoplex and little mackie mixer id love to use a rack mixer to save 
>setup time but unfortunately they all miss those features Andy is 
>mentioning...

I agree and I fully understand. I remember I have been searching for a
small mixer to mix a few instruments and loopers but that seems to be
a whole in the market. But since I use software, these problems have
been solved but I got other problems in return. Well, setting up a
software looping rig simply takes more time than a hardware setup and
you have to be an experienced user to get things working. But software
has so many benefits for me that it has been worth the time.

But I like to have the possibility to tweak effects and volumes like I
did when I used a normal mixer. So I've recently added 2 midi
controllers which I use as mixer:
- a korg Nanocontrol for the pre-loopers insert effects in Mainstage
- a Novation Zero control for the LP1 or Mobius

The Nanocontrol has 9 channels with 1 pot meter, 1 fader and 2 buttons
with led's per channel. It has 4 "scenes" or setups so you actually
have 4 x 9 = 36 channels. But I don't use it like that because the
Korg does not restore the status of the on/off status of the led's.
And it has a transport bar: I use the record button for live
recordings. Very powerful but it feels a bit cheap...the USB connector
easily falls out which can cause crashes...oeps. I'm wondering how
long it will last but then you simply buy a new one, it's only 50
euro's.

I use the Novation as an "8-channels" and 4 row matrix mixer. Each
channel has an endless encoder with leds, 1 pot meter, 2 buttons and I
fader. Plus 16 additional buttons, including 8 transport buttons. Each
midi control can be programmed and you can give it a name. You can
store 32 setups (templates) which can be triggered by program changes
(I think). All the names of 1 "matrix row" are displayed on the
display just above the right channel, so you can instantly see what
each control should do in case you forgot...very important for me. I
won't hit reverse anymore if I need half speed ;-)

I have tried to loop with a midi foot controller only but that wasn't
working for me. So I'm now using 3 controllers, with some functions
setup "double". Depending on the situation, I can start a loop with
switch on the Gordius or a button on the Novation. Btw: the Gordius is
great, but would really love to have a flat model because you easily
hit the wrong switch when you're not used to it. Might be ok for
guitar players though, and I think Bill Walker is using a simple stand
to change the angle of the switches.
-- 
Sjaak Overgaauw
http://premonitionfactory.com/
http://livelooping.be/
http://euroloopfest.com/