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by Roger Nichols
This review had to be turned in so fast that as you read this, I am probably
still typing the end.
Quantum leaps in technology seem to be occurring at an ever increasing pace.
As a result, yesterday's $500,000 piece of technology can now sit on your
desk at a cost of a few thousand dollars. This brings me to the subject
at hand, the big brother to the Yamaha ProMix 01, the Yamaha 02R.
A year ago I was invited to Yamaha in Buena Park California to see the prototype
of the 02R and, along with a few other engineers and producers, was asked
to offer suggestions on the operational features of the 02R. Three days
ago I went into Emerald Studios in Nashville to actually mix a record on
the first production version of the Yamaha 02R. In a box that would fit
in the back seat of your (my) car was a console that performs rings around
any other eight bus board on the market.
Since the 02R is a digital console with digital inputs and digital outputs.
I compared the signal going into the console with the signal that came out
of the console. They were identical. I mean IDENTICAL! If you digitally
reversed the phase of the output and mixed it with the input, you end up
with absolutely nothing. That means the input and output are exactly the
same. You can't get any better than that.
The console I used was fitted for digital interface to Tascam DA-88 machines.
I did not have the analog I/O cards, so I could only test the analog output
to the stereo bus. My monitor speakers were the Meyer HD-1 self powered
monitors. The performance of the 20 bit D/A converters on the stereo bus
was more than just acceptable. The audio quality did improve slightly when
I connected the digital output to my Apogee 20 bit D/A converter. I would
compare sound quality of the analog output to most high end DAT machines.
The analog output from the 02R did sound better than the analog output from
the DA-88 converters.
Each of the 40 inputs, reverb returns, and stereo bus, has a four band parametric
EQ, limiter, compressor, expander, duck and gate. Each band of the EQ is
full range, 20Hz to 20kHz. The EQ was very musical and reminded me of the
EQ in the Harrison series 12 analog console. The 02R is more than $300,000
cheaper.
There are 8 aux sends. The first six appear as analog outputs and returns
on the rear panel. There are two built-in effects units that are assigned
to aux busses 7 and 8. They are both mono in and stereo out. They sound
pretty good, but are no replacement for the Yamaha SPX-990, Lexicon 480,
T.C. Electronics M-5000, or other high end effects. I would compare them
to the Yamaha REV-7. They are a good starting point and work well for ruff
mixes or song demo work. If you have additional external effects connected
to aux busses 1 thru 6, then the built-in effects can be welcome additions
for the many occasions when "you just need one more effect".
Everything in the console, except the line trims, is controlled by the internal
computer. Every EQ setting, Dynamics setting, digital signal routing, aux
send level, effects return, pan and channel mute is memorized by the computer
just like "Total Recall" on a Neve VR or SSL console. Every setting
can be automatically reset to what is stored in memory like a Euphonics,
SSL 9000, Tactile Technology, or Harrison Series 10 &12 console (There
are a few other big digital consoles with "Total Reset", but you
get the point).
As I have pointed out in the past, if every aspect of the console can be
recalled and reset, then you don't need as large a console. On a normal
console, if you have two or more instruments on a single track of the tape,
then you would usually make it appear on more than one module. Set one module
for the trumpet, set another for the harmonica, and the third for the scat
vocal in the fade. If every aspect of each input could be automated, then
set the parameters for the trumpet, store them in memory, set everything
for the harmonica, store it, set everything for the scat vocal and store
that too. At the proper times during the mix, just recall the new settings.
Everything changes instantly with no zipper noise or other unwanted artifacts.
The 02R has 64 memory locations for "snapshots" of the entire
console. You could set the board for the verse, store it in snapshot memory,
set your mix for the chorus, store it in another snapshot memory location,
and then just recall them at the proper moments.
You can "Pair" faders together. When you pair two faders together,
whatever you do to one fader will also be done to its pair partner. This
saves redundant setting of EQ and echo sends when you want the same thing
to happen to both channels.
The memory location where the snapshots are stored is called the Scene Memory.
The Scene Memory is one of the many "Libraries" where parameters
are stored. When you recall effects for the onboard effects processors,
they come from preset memory locations in the "Effects Library".
You can modify effects parameters and store them in empty memory locations.
There are also library pages for EQ and Dynamics. If you are new to engineering,
you can recall preset EQ to brighten the vocal or recall a preset for the
proper kick drum compression. After you have recalled a preset, you can
modify it and store it in a user memory location.
OK, we talked about the snapshot memory, but there are plenty of consoles
with snapshot memory, so what is the big deal about the 02R? Well, real
time SMPTE based automation with moving faders is the big deal. The 02R
will let you ride vocals in real time, pan an instrument from side to side
and back again, change reverb send levels during a solo, even change EQ
for a vocal line that doesn't quite match the rest of the song.
The faders are not touch sensitive, so you must press the fader select button
in order to disengage the motor that moves the fader. The fader can then
be in either absolute or relative mode. In absolute, any previous changes
that were made to the fader will be replaced by the new fader position.
If relative mode is selected, then the fader becomes an offset trim to the
moves previously written. This means that after you have ridden a vocal
track, for instance, you can select relative mode, select the fader, and
trim the moves as they go by. If "Auto Return" mode is active,
when the fader is de-selected, the fader returns to its previous value.
You can also set how fast or slow the fader returns.
During an automation pass you can also recall any snapshot memory and it
will be included at that point in the automated mix. This means that you
can set your snapshot levels for a chorus and automatically recall them
at the start of each chorus and recall the original snapshot at the end
of each chorus to get back where you sterted. After that pass, you can use
relative mode to touch up any ragged transitions.
You can select which console functions to include in the real time automation
passes. For instance, you can leave EQ automation off which will allow you
to change EQ during the automated mix without the changes being recorded
as part of the mix. This EQ change can then be stored in the Scene Memory
if you want to use the new EQ for your mix.
Off-line editing capability is limited in the initial release.You can remove
events from the automation sequence so that all of the fader moves, mutes
or EQ changes are erased. You can set a start and end time code for this
operation. You can also enter Scene Changes off-line and define the time
code where the scene will change. Yamaha mentioned adding additional features
in a future software upgrade. One of the additions will be a feature similar
to the "Safety Net" feature of Flying Faders which protects all
areas of the tune except an area between two time code spots. This will
allow you to change levels and trim fader moves in one area of a song without
effecting any other part of the song.
At the present time you must play the mix to the end of the song if you
have made any changes to the fader level that you want to keep to the end
of the song. If you stop the tape the fader levels will return to the previously
stored setting. Yamaha is considering adding a trim feature that will let
you trim a fader level up or down incrementally that would effect the entire
song. This would work like the real time trim feature in Flying Faders.
With feature you can ride everything and then sit back and trim the overall
level of a fader while the mix is running. When you keep the trim setting,
it writes the trim to the entire song. This is my normal mix mode and the
biggest reason I prefer Flying Faders. On the SSL you can trim fader moves,
but it is an off-line change, meaning that you must stop the mix, type in
the change, and then start the mix playing again to determine whether or
not you like the changes. I am not sure whether this feature will make it
into the initial release or will be relegated to the next software upgrade.
I almost forgot about Grouping faders. There are four Group Busses. This
means that you can have four separate sets of faders grouped together. If
you move one of the faders, all others in the group will move. There is
no Group Master for the group.
The 02R comes with 512 Kilobytes of memory. This memory is divided between
snapshot memory and automix memory. You can add an additional 2 Megabytes
of memory if you desire, but I think that for all but the most demanding
mixes, the standard memory should be enough. You can also dump all internal
settings via MIDI System Exclusive dump to any MIDI storage device to make
room for more mixes.
I am told that there will be Macintosh software that will enable you to
run many 02Rs from a single Mac. It is also possible to control many 02Rs
from one screen through MIDI. Each console would store it's own automation
data, but starting a mix, updating mixes, playing back mixes, and whatever
else you want to be commonly controlled is easy to do.
Many (no limit) 02Rs can be cascaded together digitally to build a larger
system. In the cascade process you can attenuate the level of the incoming
console if you wish. You can also decide which Aux busses you want to cascade
or keep separate.
If you don't like toggling between screens to see what is going on, there
is a View page on the display that will show you every parameter of a selected
channel. You can see EQ, Dynamics, Aux send levels and fader levels all
at the same time.
There is a dedicated area of the console for EQ and Pan so that you can
adjust these values the way you are used to with an old style manual console,
(Like how I am already moving my old console toward the obsolete pile?)
by just reaching out and grabbing a knob. You don't have to cursor or mouse
around to change EQ settings. The current settings for the EQ you are changing
are displayed numerically on the LED display next to the EQ knobs, and graphically
on the screen display so you can actually see what the curve looks like
that you are dialing in. I find that I prefer the graphic display because
it more closely represents the visualization I have in my head of what should
be done to the sound. Instead of thinking "Maybe 1.5dB at around 342
Hz with a Q of 3.2," I can think "How about some of this kind
of stuff, maybe a little of this, move it around to here, make this hole
a little deeper here..." The Dynamics display also shows you the shape
of the curve as you change parameters with live metering right on the display
at the same time.
Remember, the 02R is an 8 buss board. That means that any of the input channels
can be routed to any of the eight busses, as well as a direct out for inputs
9-16. This means that you can record separate instruments to 16 tracks at
once. The eight busses are sent to all of the input interfaces in eight
track chunks, so if you assign something to track one, it shows up on 1,
9, 17, and 25. The track that the signal goes to depends on which one you
put into record.
There are so many features and menu pages that if I go much further this
will have to be a two part review. Yamaha will be showing the 02R at the
New York AES show in October, but the actual ship date is as yet unannounced.
It could be as early as November if we are all lucky. The first shipment
is already sold out to dealers, some of whom ordered 50 consoles.
The console will come with one I/O card which will give you connections
to eight tape machine tracks. You will also have 16 analog inputs built
into the back panel. There are three additional slots in the rear panel
for other I/O interfaces. If all four are filled, then you can have 32 tape
machine tracks on line at once. The configuration I played with was 32 tracks
of Tascam DA-88. There are interface cards for analog I/O, ADAT, TDIF-1,
and AES. I successfully used the Otari DCF-24 format converter box to connect
the Tascam interface cards in the 02R to a Sony 48 track digital machine.
One of the tapes that I brought to mix on the 02R was a Michael Franks tune
that Walter Becker and I did about five years ago. We mixed it at SoundWorks
West in Hollywood. The tape machine was a Sony 3348 48 track digital machine.
The mixing console was a Neve 72 input VR-P, Total Recall, Flying Faders
analog console. I brought a DAT of the final album mix so I could try to
match things up as closely as I could. It was very hard to do. The mix on
the 02R sounded much cleaner and tighter than the mix from the analog console,
so I gave up. I had to settle for something better.
The second tape that I brought was one of the Steely Dan tunes from the
live recordings. The recording was done on the Sony 3348, but this time
the mixes were done on the AT&T Digital processor. The final mix was
printed onto the 48 track, so it was easy to compare my new mix to the master
mix. The drums were just as tight, the instruments were just as clear, the
mix was just as clean. If the master mix sounds a little better, it's just
because I spent two days on it riding every horn note and grabbing for each
guitar lick.
Oh, yeah, and the price of this puppy is going to be under $10,000. I am
definitely going to get one for my home demo studio. Walter is thinking
about getting three of them or his 48 track studio in Hawaii. I think the
very next thing on my agenda is to decide what kind of boat to buy and which
airplane I want. That's what I'm going to do with all the money I'm saving.