Setting Up a Studio With ProControl...

[Marello]

I'm trying to help a friend cost up and plan a smallish post studio. I decided that a ProControl could be the way forward with a G5 and Tools HD but I'm still slightly confused about 5.1 monitoring. The only studio I'm used to has a Yamaha DM2000 and so all the base management/speaker calibration is done on the desk, but how would I do it using this setup?

Thanks!

[TVPostSound]

http://www.martinsound.com/pd_mmu.htm

[mediaguy]

If you want to do it without spending a lot more than you already have then consult the manual on the Procontrol. It details how to use the analog monitor inputs on the Procontrol to adjust the different audio channels. If you want to be able to do surround panning and other effects, I recommend getting the editpack that complements the Procontrol. It also includes a keyboard and track ball which is nice as well.

[Andy Hay]

Not quite as fully featured as the MultiMax, but also a great way to get into 5.1 monitoring + bass management - the Bluesky BMC http://abluesky.com/p_s_gb/p3s3.html

[kcupper]

Marello,

Just a caveat to consider when making the decision to use Pro Control to monitor 5.1:

You can set up in two modes, stereo and surround. In stereo mode, the analog inputs give you
1. Stereo Mix (usually Pro Tools output)
2. Source 1 (CD, DAT, cassette, er....)
3. Source 2
4. Source 3

In this mode you toggle between sources depending on what you want to listen to.

In surround mode, the input sources accept six outputs from the PT interface (we patch them)
1. Stereo Mix = Lf/Rf
2. Source 1 = Ls/Rs
3. Source 2 = C/LFE
4. Source 3 = inactive

In this mode, all the sources are active, instead of toggling you can turn them on and off as you wish.

The caveat:

We calibrated our studio at 85 dB with pink noise. At 70 dB, the individual speaker levels are off by as much as + or - 2 dB from the 85 dB calibration. At lower volumes it's even worse. This is strictly a function of the cheap volume knobs Digi used on these units (million dollar theories, 50 cent parts). In my opinion, this makes Pro Control useless for surround monitoring. I'm willing to bet that this is an issue with most units, and you should definitely check to make sure that you do surround calibrations at all levels you intend to monitor at. Otherwise you will be going nuts trying to figure out what's going on with your mix.

[CD Productions]

I am using the Tascam DS-M7.1 instead of the monitor section of my Procontrol. So far so good.