There is certainly a lot to be said for buying studio equipment from as few suppliers as possible. Not only are the problems of getting replacement parts reduced, with fewer manufacturers to badger, but there is likely to be far less difficulty with compatibility between items. Unfortunately though, there are very few companies around who manufacture both mixers and tape machines, let alone ranges of ancillary gear. Notable exceptions include Teac with their Tascam Series of desks and machines; ITA with a range of mixers and the 805/6 tape machines based on the well-known Revox A77 transport; in the more expensive league MCI with their 110 Series machines and JH-400 consoles (with or without fader automation, but that's another story); plus the manufacturer of this month's equipment, Allen & Heath/Brenell. Allen & Heath have been making mixers for many years now, and with the acquisition a couple of years ago of Brenell Engineering, they added a second string to their corporate bow.

Being well aware of the sort of problems faced by prospective studio owners when it comes to finding out which equipment is compatible with what — and how many first-time buyers, or even those moving on from 4-track for that matter, are on such good terms with a dBm or kHz that all the sales jargon doesn't just go in one ear and out the other — the company has kindly put together a special studio package. The real bonus though is that the customer saves money on the deal. Let me show you how. The Package comprises a 16-input/8-output Modular II mixer (normal UK price £2580) plus power supply (£70), a Mini-8 8-track on 1in tape machine (£3710), remote control unit (£200), varispeed unit (£150) and a Mini-Limiter (£85). But instead of paying a total of just over £6750 for the whole studio package, it can be yours for only £6200; a not inconsiderable saving.

To find out for myself just how good a deal the package is, AHB let me borrow one for a while. Because of limitations in space, my report will have to be divided into two parts. This month I intend to look in detail at the Modular II mixer, while part two in next month's issue will be devoted to the Mini-8 and how the two operate together.

Modular II Mixer

Because of its modular construction, the Modular II mixer is available in a variety of configurations, ranging from 12-input/4-output to 24-input/8-output formats. Since, as we shall see later, each output module has dual monitor sections, a desk with eight outputs is already set up for 16-track monitoring. A useful feature if you need to expand eventually to 16-track working and don't want to replace your mixer. AHB can also supply extra input and output modules, plus blank panels if you want to buy a small format board with space left for expansion at a later date. The desk I borrowed as part of the studio package was of the very popular 16/8 configuration and incorporated, not surprisingly, 16 input modules, eight output modules, a central 'control and monitoring' module, and a small patch bay. As mentioned earlier, this size is ideal for both 8-track and 16-track facilities, because full 16-track monitoring is available during recording and overdubbing. And since you would seldom — if ever — need to record on all 16 tracks at once, only having eight output groups offers few drawbacks.

Apart from the possibility of adding extra channels, modular design has several other advantages, not least of which is the ability to swap faulty input or output modules around. After all, very rarely are all the available channels needed at the same time, so a duff module or one that is displaying an annoying intermittent fault shouldn't entirely stop the proceedings.

From the photograph, it can be seen that the eight VU meters are mounted above the mixer in a rectangular box affair. This is hinged along its rear to give access to the far end of the modules, where the input and output connectors are located. Each input module has a conventional 3-pin female XLR socket for microphone input (with or without 12 or 48V phantom powering), plus an unbalanced jack socket for line input (from a tape machine, for example). Moving towards the front of the input module, there is a fine gain control, which affects only the microphone input and has a 50dB range, and three switches offering 20dB and 12dB attenuation on the mic and line inputs respectively, a 120Hz low-cut filter and mic/line selection. Thus a fairly wide range of microphone types and levels can be accommodated. I would like to have seen, however, a front-panel control for adjusting the sensitivity of the line-level input. Even though presets are provided inside each module for setting the overall line sensitivity to match the replay level of the particular tape machine being used, varying line-level outputs from, for example, active DI boxes or special effects units could prove a problem.

Equalisation is pretty extensive: high-frequency cut and boost of 16dB at 10kHz; low-frequency cut and boost of 16dB at 100Hz; plus a very useful parametric mid-frequency control offering 14dB cut and boost at a single frequency continuously variable between 1.8kHz and 7.5kHz. Such wide ranges of adjustment, combined with the ability to slot the mid-range exactly where you need it, means that adjustment of equalisation to give the desired effect is simplicity itself. The ranges may seem rather wide, but you never know when you really need to toughen up a thin voice or cut an overpowering bass line. And just because its there doesn't mean you've got to use it all the time.

Each channel is equipped with a single post-eq/pre-fader cue/foldback send, the overall level of which is controlled by a master potentiometer on the 'control' module. Two echo sends are available, post-eq and fader, linked to master controls also situated on the control module. I understand that the forthcoming AHB Modular III desks based on the Mod II are to be fitted with switches that select echo send pre- or post-fader, so that all three busses can be used for cue/foldback or echo. A useful facility if you ever find yourself needing that many — more likely in PA than studio applications — and have enough time to keep track of them all.

Channel routing is handled by a set of four pushbuttons labelled 1 & 2, 3 & 4, 5 & 6 and 7 & 8, plus pan between the odd and even output busses. Thus it is impossible to pan an input between, for example, busses two and four, but as long as you plan out your track sheet beforehand there should be no problems. Below the routing buttons is a latching pre-fader solo pushbutton and finally the conductive plastic channel fader. Being of a short-travel variety the faders need some care in operation, since it is very easy to overcompensate if, like me, you are more used to the longer, standard travel faders.

The output module is rather simpler in construction than the inputs. Under the meter bridge is mounted a male 3-pin XLR connector for the unbalanced group output (rather unusual since a conventional jack would have been both easier and cheaper) plus two unbalanced jack sockets for the 'monitor' and 'auxiliary monitor' inputs. Since each module only has one output, parallel feeds will need to be established to supply, for instance, the multitrack as well as a stereo mastering tape machine. There should be no real problem though, because the module's output impedance is sufficiently low to allow several moderately-high impedance tape machine inputs to be connected across it without causing a drop in level.

Below these connectors are cue send, pan control and fader for the 'auxiliary monitor' input, and similar facilities for the conventional monitor section. Between the two sections are push buttons labelled 'sync' and 'monitor reverse', whose functions will be described later. And finally there is the output group fader which, like the input faders, is a short-travel unit.

Not surprisingly, by far the most complicated monitoring module is that controlling the various functions and modes of the mixer. The 'control and communications' module may not be very big — it is about as wide as three input modules — but it is certainly crammed solid with knobs and buttons. At the rear beneath the meter bridge are located the inputs and outputs. These comprise a large IEC-type 3-pin socket for connection to the separate 24V power supply unit (but which also allows the mixer to be powered from dry cells or accumulators for mobile applications); plus jack sockets for echo send 1, echo send 2, cue send, studio talkback, stereo echo return, stereo monitor output and stereo tape machine return (for monitoring the final mixdown off-tape).

Down the left-hand side of the module are the master controls for echo send busses 1 and 2 — a useful feature, but even more handy if you could route the send busses to, for example, one of the group VU meters to check the actual level being fed to an external reverb or echo unit — plus the cue/foldback send master and 'blend' control. The master control regulates the overall level of the cue send buss, while the 'blend' pans between the cue derived from the input modules and that from the monitor channels. This facility is extremely useful, because it allows you to set up two completely separate cue mixes during recording and overdubs and swap from one to the other without having to re-adjust a large number of controls. Below the echo and cue master controls are a series of four pushbuttons and a level control for assigning the stereo echo return to pairs of output busses. A rather restricting system, I would have thought, because you cannot route the echo return to a single group, or even pan between the selected pair. Also provided is an echo return solo button and a cue send control that allows a mono mix of the stereo echo return to be routed on to the cue buss. In this way musicians can be provided with 'wet' foldback, that is they can hear what the balance will sound like when and if echo is applied during mixdown, without actually having to commit it to tape during a recording or overdub.

The right-hand side of the module houses two controls for setting the frequency (700Hz to 7kHz) and level of the built-in test and line-up oscillator, the output of which appears on a jack in the patch pay and needs to be connected to the relevant input channel. Below are a series of pushbuttons for selecting the monitor mode, including 'line-in/line-out' (the function of which will be explained later); off-tape from the mastering machine; 'stereo' or the output from groups 1 and 2 during mixdown; plus 'monitor mix', cue send, solo, mono and mute. Overall monitor level is set by a single stereo control, and an 'echo return to monitor' potentiometer enables 'wet' monitoring in a similar fashion to 'wet' foldback. A built-in microphone, level control and bank of pushbuttons route talkback to the cue buss, 'slate' (group 1 output) or the studio. To prevent howlround the monitor output is muted during operation of the talkback pushbuttons.

The patchbay to the extreme right of the mixer is composed of three rows of miniature jack sockets. The top row of 16 sockets provides a break facility within each input module at a point after the mic/line switch and before the equalisation section. Thus the amplified microphone or line input can be connected to an external signal processing unit — the Allen and Heath Mini Limiter, for example, although any equipment operating at "operating at line level" level can be accommodated — and returned to the same point in the signal path. In a similar fashion the second row of eight sockets provides outputs from a point just after the group fader, but before the XLR output socket, metering and monitor section. Outputs and returns are carried on the same two-pole jack socket. Signals from the mixer are connected between the tip and earth, while those returning to the mixer go to the ring and earth. I found these miniature jacks and sockets to be rather flimsy, with connections not always being 100% reliable. AHB tell me, however, that ¼in sockets are available as an optional extra for about £100. Since these larger connectors are much more robust and reliable, it would seem to be well worth considering them a necessity rather than an option.

To summarise then, microphone or line inputs are connected to the relevant input channels, equalised, assigned to cue and echo send busses, and routed to group outputs. The level of the group outputs is monitored on the relevant VU meters and fed to the control room monitoring system by means of the lower bank of monitor faders, which pan between left and right stereo output. At the same time the group outputs are connected to the 8- or 16-track tape machine — obviously with the larger size machine tracks 9 through 16 would need to be paralleled with groups 1 to 8. During mixdown of the previously-recorded tracks, the tape machine outputs are connected to the line inputs and routed and panned between output groups 1 and 2.

Which is all very conventional and straightforward. It is during overdubbing, however, that most of the controls whose function has yet to be fully explained really come into their own. Remember the 'monitor' and 'auxiliary monitor' input sockets on the rear of each output module? To these are connected a parallel feed of the tape machine outputs. If the desk is being used with an 8-track, only the eight monitor inputs would be needed, while 16-track working would necessitate connection of tracks 9 to 16 to the auxiliary monitor sockets. Now by pressing the single 'line-in/line-out' pushbutton on the control module, inputs to the lower bank of monitor faders are swapped from the relevant group output to the monitor input sockets. The 'synch' pushbuttons on each output module override this function and allow the output of an individual group to be monitored in the normal way. And the 'monitor reverse' pushbutton? These, as their name suggests, simply swap over the inputs of the upper and lower banks of monitor faders, so that the 'sync' override facility is available on tracks 9-16 during 16-track overdub sessions. (Obviously only eight of the 16 tracks can be swapped in this way, but this restriction shouldn't be too tiresome.)

Thus a control-room mix can be established between previously-recorded tracks and the new instrument or vocal tracks can be overdubbed. Since each monitor channel is provided with a separate cue send control, musicians' fold-back of new and old material can be set up as needed. All in all a very neat arrangement and one that can be mastered in no time at all. Obviously it's a compromise using a 16/8 mixer with a 16-track tape machine, but if that's all you can run to at the moment, the Modular II's comprehensive monitoring facilities will let you cope quite adequately.

One odd thing I did come across, however, was the fact that the input from the tracks being monitored during overdubs appears on the VU meters. It is rather confusing to see meters moving without channels being routed to them. Looking at the mixer's circuit diagram it is obvious that another switch would be needed to overcome this peculiarity, and AHB have obviously thought it not worthwhile.

A few general comments now on the cosmetic appearance of the mixer and some overall feeling about its general operation. Colour scheme is a mid-grey for the modules and a black crackle finish on the meter bridge and patchbay. End panels are of a dark teak-coloured wood. The grey paint is rather reflective and can cause glare if your lighting isn't arranged carefully. The VU meters are not numbered, which I found somewhat confusing, but some dry transfer lettering (or a trusty old wax pencil) should cure that. The same comments apply to the input and output modules, which can easily be identified with a number or letter. Working with the Mini-8 machine I found it most convenient to connect the tape machine output to the line inputs on channels 9 through 16. In that way, mixdown necessitated much less leaning across the mixer's input and monitor sections, because all controls were grouped more centrally. One very useful feature was colour coding of the various pushbuttons. Although only three different colours are used (black, white and red) they help to break up the long rows of buttons, and made identification of the correct one all that bit easier.

Next month I'll be looking at the rest of the package: the Mini-8 8-track and accessories and the Mini-Limiter. Plus how they perform together as a team.

Complete package as described: £6200 (see text)

Mel Lambert is a freelance technical writer.