[Peter Baird]

The short version:

The Midas M32 console seems to come standard with a Klark-Teknik DN32 USB card. When configured in the console, the card can provide pre-fade direct outputs for each of the 32 input channels. When connected to my 2008 MacBook Pro running 10.8.5 and Pro Tools 11.3 the Playback Engine DN32-USB becomes available to Pro Tools allowing recording of all 32 input channels via USB 2.0.

I find this awesome.

The longer version:

A friend asked me to record tracks for a showcase he was producing in Hollywood over the weekend. I have a small system I use for jobs like this with an RME Fireface and a rack with 24 preamps in it. By combining the preamps on the Fireface and the externals, I can record 26 mic inputs. He said 26 inputs would be fine, I was a little unsure. I got there, talked to the engineer who was running the audio side, and found out that sure enough the input count had now reached 31. I didn't want to throw inputs away, so I foomfered around on the web researching the Midas M32 they were using for FOH trying to figure out if there was a way around this. The monitor guy heard what I was doing and said, "Yeah, there's a USB out on the back panel you can get all 32 channels from." I said I thought that was a stereo-only thing, and he said, no, the USB port on the front panel was stereo only. So I hooked up my elderly MacBook Pro to the rear USB port and started Pro Tools. Imagine my amazement when under Playback Engine an option for DN32-USB showed up. I built a new session, populated the tracks, record-enabled all of them, and shazam, there it all was.

The only thing we don't have is a set of audience tracks, but I can fake that together from stuff I have. Just before the show I thought about building an Aggregate interface to add a few audience mics, but with 32 inputs from the stage happily in record I decided not to mess with it. The tracks sound fine, no complaints at all about the quality of the Midas preamps.

Peter