Bobbsy Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 This is one I haven't really thought about before.... I'm going to be designing and opping the sound for a show at the local theatre later this year, using the Pro 6 digital mixing desk I posted about before. Previously, all my shows have been done on Yamaha desks so I've been able to do my programming in advance on Studio Manager and just load all my input and output patches, internal routings, recall safe etc etc. from a PC or memory stick when I get to the theatre. However, that won't happen this time. I'm not sure if the Midas offline editor is even there yet (it's promised but I haven't been into the theatre for a bit) but, even when it's available, it'll be Mac only software and I'm not about to buy a new computer for the money this show is paying. On top of this, my programming time once we get into the theatre will be adequate but not excessive. My thoughts are that, with the multiplicity of good digital desks out now, this will become more of an issue in the future. I'm wondering if anyone has given any thoughts to "programming sheets" for digital desks, giving you a format more or less matching the set up screens on the console, letting you plan all your patches, routing, VCAs, Population Groups, etc in advance? Do people think that it would be worth X hours of work with the manual to build myself some forms to use? Or does everyone just scribble in an old notebook like I'm doing now? Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Owen Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 Oooh, good question. Most of my guys use a variation of an Excel spreadsheet. A few columns named, Mics, Mutes, VCAs etc and then multiple rows for scene names... I shall have a scout round and see what old examples I can find... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Ross Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 When I still used analogue desks I toyed with the idea of making an application that could store cue sheets. So for each channel you would have a user definable selection of controls and you could store values for a number of channels i.e. channel 1 High EQ +5 Aux send 1 -8 etc. Maybe something like that along with some routing info would be useful? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hounsome Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 bobbsy the Midas ofline edit is mac only so if you have a mac and download it. have fun with the pro6 I was not happy with it but I was a touring eng. and did wak into a gig after only having 4 hrs of training. c Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamchristuffin Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 ....but, even when it's available, it'll be Mac only software and I'm not about to buy a new computer for the money this show is paying. the Midas ofline edit is mac only so if you have a mac and download it. You really should read before posting...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt-onstage Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 bobbsy the Midas ofline edit is mac only so if you have a mac and download it. have fun with the pro6 I was not happy with it but I was a touring eng. and did wak into a gig after only having 4 hrs of training. c why were you not happy with the pro6? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob_Beech Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 Is there a PC version on it's way. I am not wanting to turn this into a Mac vs PC debate by any means, and I know I'm drifting slightly off topic. But., the fact remains, that most of the manufacturers of loudspeakers and amplifiers have software for control and monitoring that is either for both platforms or for PC only. Surely having software like this for Mac Only is going to cause problems. I'm a mac fan, but most of the software I use in the industry isn't available for Mac, and I don't like the idea of booting up windows on a mac, it just seems silly. But then having software that is MAC ONLY makes things more difficult still. Say your loudspeaker system and amplifier network, and your radio mic system is all run on software that is PC only. And lots of BIG manufacturers still only support PC, then you have your desks offline editor etc that is MAC only. Perhaps I've missed something and it's not as awkward as it seems. Just to reiterate. It's not about which platform is better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbsy Posted June 12, 2009 Author Share Posted June 12, 2009 It seems a funny choice to me as well...to the best of my knowledge there's no PC version in the works (even the Mac version is just Beta software) but why they've gone this route I have no idea. Perhaps somebody more "in" with the MIdas head office can offer an explanation--I just freelance at a place that has the Pro6. I won't argue the Mac vs PC debate either but, because of other software I use (notably Adobe Audition) which is PC only, it's not feasible for me to move entirely to Mac--and I certainly don't do enough jobs requiring me to programme the Pro6 (often I just op pre-designed shows) to justify spending Mac money just for that purpose. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shez Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 Pet hate for today: (yes I know it's the wrong thread...) people confusing the hardware with the operating system. I believe the above posts should refer to windows compatibility rather than PC compatibility. As it happens, yamaha's studio manager software runs perfectly on my linux PC. Although it's early days, there's at least one project out there for running mac software under linux (on PC hardware) too. Sorry for the slight derailment </pedant> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter F Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 It seems a funny choice to me as well...to the best of my knowledge there's no PC version in the works (even the Mac version is just Beta software) but why they've gone this route I have no idea. Perhaps somebody more "in" with the MIdas head office can offer an explanation--I just freelance at a place that has the Pro6. I have read that it is because the XL8 / Pro6 platform is Linux based and that creating Mac software from the Linux starting point is easier. I do know that the Midas digital consoles are based on Linux. I don't know if the 2nd part is true. Cheers, Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killyp Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 If the Midas desks are based on Linux, then that would make sense. OS X is very similar to Linux in a lot of ways. RE running PC software on a Mac, I use Parallels. Other than CPU intensive/graphically intensive apps such as Audition, it runs fantastically and is completely transparent - you don't need to see the Windows desktop at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.