Yamaha LS9

[AV Doug]

Hi Guys,

 

Just looking to buy a Yamaha LS9 32ch . Have used it a few times before but I am wanting for some advice from people who use it constantly or have moved away from it for whatever reason...

 

Any pro's / con's and thoughts on the console would be greatly appreciated.

[dan slv-tech]

Hi

 

use it on a almost daily basis, love it, easy to use, use it wirelessly with no issues either!

 

slightly annoying that you cannot access certain things via the editor (pc) that you can on the desk but otherwise tis a cracking little desk.

Never died on me, always does as I ask, dynamics can be a bit funny, but once you get to know how to use them they work well.

A little annoying is the lack of touch screen, but all things at a cost I guess.

 

any specific questions?

 

dan

[AV Doug]

Thanks Dan,

 

Its more just general useability and reliability that I'm looking to get info on...The times I have used it its been solid as a rock but I'm trying to get a feel for more long term usage. Out of interest what kind of jobs do you do with it?

 

What we do is mostly corporate stuff, awards ceremonies etc with after dinner entertainment / bands.

 

Is there anything else that you have come into contact with that you have found easier or better to use of a similar elk?

 

Cheers

[dan slv-tech]

doing mainly band/ corporate jobs in and around london.

 

have done JLS, Lee Ryan and the likes, never had a bad job using it.

I have mine expanded upto 56 channels, using external Preamps.

have toured with it also, very reliable, assuming its correctly flightcased.

 

dan

 

A concurrent post has been automatically merged from this point on.

 

other desks out there to look at in a similar price bracket

 

Digico SD9 (awaiting a demo, digital multicore)

M400 Roland (I personally didnt like this desk, though flexible, and using digital multicore)

[Doug Siddons]

Would suggest you have a look at the Allen and Heath Tseries at the same time. straightforward to use, loads of DSP, extremely flexible, and the whole thing can be controlled by wireless laptop. Only drawback is the desk and stagebox operate as one unit, can't use the surface on its own but can use stagebox with a laptop

[Bobbsy]

When it came out, this would have been a no-brainer. The LS9 was in a class of it's own and is certainly an industry workhorse with a good reputation for reliability.

 

I've used them a lot, never had a problem and enjoy mixing on them.

 

Nowadays, I'd probably have a look at the other options that have already been suggested--but none of those others have been around long enough to have a track record (though all the companies making them are ones I think well of).

 

One other consideration: you don't say if the LS9 would be for your own use or to be hired out, but there's a huge user base of people with LS9 experience out there. None of the other alternatives can claim that, so, if this is a consideration then bear that in mind.

 

Bob

[Guiding_Light]

Its more just general useability and reliability that I'm looking to get info on...

Ours survived a pint of pineapple juice being poured into it!

[chelgrian]

Hi Guys,

 

Just looking to buy a Yamaha LS9 32ch :P . Have used it a few times before but I am wanting for some advice from people who use it constantly or have moved away from it for whatever reason...

 

Any pro's / con's and thoughts on the console would be greatly appreciated.

 

The biggest con is that if you've ever used an M7CL or better then going back to using an LS-9 is absolutely foul..you mean I have to use buttons rather than just touching the screen? On the other hand the LS-9 32 actually has 64 channels of DSP with suitable cards installed so in some cases is actually more capable than an M7CL-48.

[AV Doug]

One other consideration: you don't say if the LS9 would be for your own use or to be hired out, but there's a huge user base of people with LS9 experience out there.

 

Yes the desk would be for us to use but it would also be in our hire stock so can be dry hired as well.

 

A concurrent post has been automatically merged from this point on.

 

Ours survived a pint of pineapple juice being poured into it! :P

 

Reliabilty is personified here!

[congoblues]

If I may chuck my 2p in, I am the tech manager for a school theatre and have come from a mostly LX and SM background so sound is not my strongest point but we have had an LS9-16 for a week now and so far very happy with it.

 

I did plenty of research and took a lot of advice from far more qualified people than I before spending such a large amount of money. The only slight pain was having to get a few new cables made up to make up for the lack of Jack inputs.

 

I've found it pretty easy to get familiar with and have taken a few students through some of the basics who already seem pretty comfortable with it (including a very excited 11 year old!). I'm sure some of the complexities will be trickier but so far so good here!

[TAG1960]

I use the LS9 for mainly corporate work, and find it a dream to use. It has very comprehensive eq, and 4 31 band eqs built in to drop on your tie mics or leccys. The routing is very comprehensive too, and the ability to set up multiple mixes makes this corporate dream Seperate mixes for Back stage Monitors, Foldback or Live TX. The biggest advantage is the on channel dynamics. Having a gate and compressor on every input lets you acheive a very accurate mix. I frequently gate to 50% all my Q&A Mics and set a soft knee compressor to compensate for any bad mic technique.

You get a lot of desk for your money, however trying to do bigger shows where you need to navigate quicker, or need more flexibiliy eg DCA.s then the LS9 is a bit limited, but for an all round corporate desk its a winner!

[TimmyP1955]

My complaints with the LS9 are minor, and could most all be fixed with a firmware upgrade (should Yamaha decide to so bless us). The old trouble I have is making sure I have the right thing selected before I go fiddling about - but that's not the console's fault.

 

We do plays, rock bands, talking heads, whatever. I have two starting scenes, depending on the type of show. They are available here: http://www.padrick.net/LiveSound/YamahaLS9ConsoleFile.htm

[dan slv-tech]

Does anyone know how to do this?

 

I want to mute the channels from the L+R outputs whilst being able to do a monitor line check on the auxes.

at the moment I just pull down the faders.

 

On my old ML4000 I could select jumpers inside which aloud me to select where the mute button took place in the chain.

 

Currently when you press channel on on an LS9 all the auxes and L+R mute

 

any ideas?

 

dan

[TomHoward]

Take the L+R / mix feed out? That'd do it on a channel by channel basis, for doing the whole desk at once you'd want another workaround.

[Shez]

for doing the whole desk at once you'd want another workaround.

Pulling down the master fader is my usual approach there...