Help needed from Yamaha 01V96 owners

[bstaley]

My recording setup currently consists of the Digi002 Rack, PreSonus Digimax, Focusrite ISA 110. My live setup for running sound consists of a Mackie 1604VLZ along with lots of outboard gear (compressors, gates, effects). I am considering upgrading to the Yamaha 01V96 in order to have higher quality, eliminate some outboard gear, have a control surface for ProTools, and be able to record live. It would also be nice to have more than 16 channels for live use.

From the reading I've been doing, it seems I can connect my Digimax right to the 01V96 via lightpipe and now I've got 20 channels (mic pres). Is this correct? If I needed even more channels could I buy a Behringer ADA8000, and the ADAT expansion card for the Yamaha and now have 28 channels? Do the Yammies compressors and gates work on the channels brought in through lightpipe or just the 12 built in channels?

If I wanted to do a live recording of a show, what would be the best way to connect to my 002R? If I go out of the Yamaha's lightpipe into the 002R then I've got 8 channels. How do I get more channels out of the Yamaha and into the 002R? I will need the Omni outs for my monitor mixes. Could I get the ADAT expension card and send a second lightpipe signal into a Behringer ADA8000 and send the line outs into my 002R's analog inputs? That would get me to 16 tracks of live recording which would be fine.

I see there is a card for the Yamaha that has 16 channels of Firewire I/O called a my16mLan. Could I somehow get this into ProTools? I am also considering Mackie's new Onyx mixer because it has an option to take the 16 channels into a PC through Firewire. As long as I can get wave files into my computer I can import them into ProTools.

A bonus of getting the Yamaha is being able to use it as a control surface for PT LE. I'm used to using a mouse because I've been doing it that way for so long now, but it would be nice to have real faders again. Is the integration with PT LE pretty easy to do this?

I'm torn between getting the Mackie Onyx or saving a little longer and getting the Yamaha. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[bstaley]

Ok, I just called the local store I used to work at, and because I used to work there they will sell me a brand new 01V96 for $1669 which is a steal. I'm close to pulling the trigger. Could anybody help answer some of my questions so I make sure I'm not buying something that won't do what i want/need. Thanks guys!

[Lowfreq]

From the reading I've been doing, it seems I can connect my Digimax right to the 01V96 via lightpipe and now I've got 20 channels (mic pres). Is this correct? If I needed even more channels could I buy a Behringer ADA8000, and the ADAT expansion card for the Yamaha and now have 28 channels? Do the Yammies compressors and gates work on the channels brought in through lightpipe or just the 12 built in channels?

Yes, using the built in ADAT port and buying a YDAI card will get you that many input channels. And don't forget the pair of stereo line inputs for use with out board mic pres. They can treated as as 4 discrete inputs as well. Dynamics are available on ALL channels. Even busses, auxes/omins/, f/x, and master faders. EQ also. But some channels are only 2 band parametric. The vast majority are 4 band parametric.

If I wanted to do a live recording of a show, what would be the best way to connect to my 002R? If I go out of the Yamaha's lightpipe into the 002R then I've got 8 channels. How do I get more channels out of the Yamaha and into the 002R? I will need the Omni outs for my monitor mixes. Could I get the ADAT expension card and send a second lightpipe signal into a Behringer ADA8000 and send the line outs into my 002R's analog inputs? That would get me to 16 tracks of live recording which would be fine.

Yes. You also have 4 'Omni outs' (assigable line outs) for busses, auxes (for monitoring, etc.), to use as well. This may or may not help you. The SPDIF coax I/O can only mirror the stereo buss I believe. I haven't had a need to do this.

I see there is a card for the Yamaha that has 16 channels of Firewire I/O called a my16mLan. Could I somehow get this into ProTools? I am also considering Mackie's new Onyx mixer because it has an option to take the 16 channels into a PC through Firewire. As long as I can get wave files into my computer I can import them into ProTools.

In to Pro Tools directly? No. In to you COMPUTER directly? Absolutely. Using a different DAW you can record tracks and try flying the wav.'s in to Pro Tools later. Remeber PT only likes to chat with it's own hardware.

A bonus of getting the Yamaha is being able to use it as a control surface for PT LE. I'm used to using a mouse because I've been doing it that way for so long now, but it would be nice to have real faders again. Is the integration with PT LE pretty easy to do this?

Much better usefulness than the original O1V, that's for sure!. Much easier to set up too. But it's not a dedicated controller either. So complete control of F/X plug in parameters, for instance, don't exist in the O1V96.

I'm torn between getting the Mackie Onyx or saving a little longer and getting the Yamaha. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

As a long time Yamaha endoser/freak it's an obvious choice...for me. I have owned many Mackies, too. The Onyx board sounds terrible compared to the Yamaha. But sound quality is subjective. I do know that I have had fewer glitches or issues with Yamaha gear than from any gear maker. In fact the only issues I had was when my AW4416 refused to back up the data to a drive. Scary but I had plenty of work arounds and Yamaha offered a factory upgrade for 200 bucks or repair for 50 bucks (it was out of it's warranty period when the issue occured). My O1V's never gave me trouble. I used a pair of them for live club, small and medium out door gigs for 5 years and they always worked. Even when soaked with a pithcer of Budwieser (it was not turned on at the time), I tore it apart , dried it out the best I could, and fired it up. It worked flawlessly. No, I don't work for Yamaha, I just use what works for me. Good luck with your choice.

[bstaley]

That was very informative. Thank you!

Could you elaborate a little on how I would go about doing the live recording with the Firewire card? Does Yamaha have software that will let me record the wave files or is there something else? I currently own Vegas 4, which is a multitrack editor that I might be able to use. I wonder if the firewire inputs would show up in Vegas.

I've been mixing on my 1604 VLZ for many years. Will I really notice a difference audibly going to the Yamaha? I am always upgrading my PA system and starting to get more offers for bigger shows. I think the Yamaha would be a little more rider friendly than the Mackie too.

Thanks.

[Lowfreq]

Could you elaborate a little on how I would go about doing the live recording with the Firewire card? Does Yamaha have software that will let me record the wave files or is there something else? I currently own Vegas 4, which is a multitrack editor that I might be able to use. I wonder if the firewire inputs would show up in Vegas.

Well I am not sure an mLan PC card exists or a I/O box with mLan support exists. Yet, that is. MLan is a network protocol between hardware and not recording interface, per se. Running ADAT I/O's is a better bet for now. And no, the Yamaha's Studio Manager software that comes with the '96 is not recording software. It only controls the console. But very well, I might add.

I've been mixing on my 1604 VLZ for many years. Will I really notice a difference audibly going to the Yamaha? I am always upgrading my PA system and starting to get more offers for bigger shows. I think the Yamaha would be a little more rider friendly than the Mackie too.

I have logged many hours on a 1604 and 1604VLZ mixers and have nothing but love for analog mixers but I find digital mixers add so much flexibilty. It's nice to save snap shots or scene of different venues or bands to recall at a moments notice. Having the ability save compressor & EQ settings has really cut down on set up time. There is a bit of a learning curve though. It's not as difficult as it may seem though. I suggest reading the manuals first but even if you don't the lay out is pretty logical. Want to EQ channel 4? Select the channel button (SEL) of channel 4 and press either the EQ button on the upper left grid or just hit one of the EQ buttons on the right of the main display and your in EQ mode for that channel. Want to back to monitoring levels on the input channels? Hit the 'Home' button on the mid left fader control buttons. Once you get the lay of the land you can operate ANY digital Yamaha mixer. Routing is simple but can get very complex due to it's flexibility. But routing is the number one feature, besides great sound, I need (especially for live work) for in a mixer.

Lastly, will you hear a sound differance between the '96 and the 1604? Absolutely. In all fairness the 1604VLZ Mic pre's and circuit design hasn't changed all that much from the original 1604. Comparatively, the '96 sounds much 'better' than the original O1V. And the original was no slouch either. Let your ears guide you.

[bstaley]

Well, I appreciate the answering of my questions and the advice. I purchased it tonight and I'm about to take it out of the box. Could be a late night tonight...

Thanks for the help guys.