Digital Mixer suggestion for use with Kona 2

[Tim Langston]

I bought the Tascam DM24. Seems a bit over kill, took some time to get to know the board…..alot of menus to wade through.

Tim

Tim Langston
Cryin’ Out Loud Productions
Fort Wayne, IN
http://www.colproductions.com

[Bob Zelin]

A digital mixer is complete overkill, and unnecessary for your application, as most digital audio signals are handled as embedded audio in the SDI stream these days (for both SDI and HD SDI, for both Panasonic and Sony VTR’s). Actually, if you have the popular Panasonic AJ-HD1200 HD VTR, it does not even offer AES outputs. You will use your mixer for monitoring and routing to analog sources like Beta VTR’s, VHS machines, etc.

If you feel that you REALLY NEED a digital mixer because you want to manually fade the AES audio signal from a VTR into the Kona 2, boards like the Tascam and the more popular Yamaha series (like the 01V, 03D, and 02R) are MUCH more suited than the Graham Patten product, which is an audio switcher that was designed to be an audio follow device for linear edit systems from Grass Valley, Abekas, and Sony. The Graham Patten or Zaxcom audio boards (Sony makes some too) are the WRONG CHOICE for this application. Other manufacturers of small inexpensive digital audio mixers in addition to Yamaha and Tascam, are Mackie and Behringer.

But in the long run, a little Mackie, Soundcraft or Behringer analog audio mixer, so you can simply monitor the outputs, while your actual audio is sent directly via the embedded audio stream, is all you really need, and is what most people are currently doing.

Bob Zelin

[Walter Biscardi]

[Bob Zelin] “A digital mixer is complete overkill, and unnecessary for your application,”

I’ll second that for an NLE suite. Unless you’re doubling up as a sound design facility, all you really need is just a simple analog mixer, such as the Mackie 1202 for sound monitoring. All of my audio goes digital embedded directly to my Kona 2 and any analog sources I may need goes through my Flying Cow A/D to the K2.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Creative Genius, Biscardi Creative Media
https://www.biscardicreative.com

Now in Production, “The Rough Cut,” https://www.theroughcutmovie.com

Now editing “Good Eats” in HD for the Food Network

“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters

[Marco Solorio]

Hey there Kevin,

Well, I don’t know about others, but as for me, I too use a Tascam DM-24 digital mixer, love it and wouldn’t have it any other way. My career first started in the recording industry about 15 years ago, so I’m an audio snob at heart. Saving digital snapshots and settings is the biggest benefit. But even more, each channel has its own dynamics (again, with memory recall), which analog mixers do not have unless you insert outboard gear. Then again, 90% of video editors don’t use dynamics on VOs and such anyway, so I guess it’s moot.

I really do have a lot of audio I/O in the main edit suite, so the digital mixer can also act as a dynamic digital router as well (again, with memory recall). IOW, you can assign any input to any channel, to any output. Digital mixers can be so extensive that if you’re new to them, the learning curve can be high, but in the end, very worth it and very powerful.

And besides, if nothing else, the clients are very impressed when the flying faders start moving around. 😉

Get one. You know you want it.

Marco Solorio  |  OneRiver Media

[Kevin Christopher]

Others are disagreeing, but I picked up a Tascam TD-M1000 off of ebay when I moved to the original Kona Card. The mixer takes in analog, AES, and SPDIF. It was the perfect intermediate for monitoring, and use with my beta SP. The mixer was only $300 and worth every penny.

Kevin