As soon as it was launched, the original Folio became a popular choice for low-cost but good quality stereo mixing; now Soundcraft have addressed the needs of multitrack users with the Folio 4. Derek Johnson checks it out.

Soundcraft made quite an impact with their original Folio mixer; it was their first foray into really low-cost mixing and its styling, portability, facilities and price made it instantly popular. Folio 4 is based on the same concepts (and undoubtedly much of the same circuitry) as the original, but has evolved to include more channels and full four-bus subgrouping in addition to the stereo out. Once again, it looks as though Soundcraft are targeting the market opened up by the likes of Mackie, and it seems that the Folio 4 is deliberately going up against the Mackie 1604 by offering a few more facilities (and true subgrouping) at a price which is not too much higher.

Folio 4 has the same slim-line cross-section as its smaller brother with all the connections (other than the headphone socket) located on the rear panel. Viewed from the one end, the console has a kind of hockey stick profile. Power comes from a small external PSU (which has a locking connector), and a nice touch is that the 48v phantom power is individually switchable for each mic input.

The console layout comprises 12 mono mic/line input channels plus four further stereo channels, the latter being line input only. Four sets of stereo returns are included and there's also provision to connect a stereo mastering deck. In addition to conventional stereo routing, there are four output groups which may be used as subgroups or as a means of routing signals to a multitrack recorder — with a little imagination, and surprisingly few compromises, the Folio 4 could be used as the basis of a 4- or 8-track recording system with enough inputs left over to handle a few synth modules and effects playing back MIDI sequenced music synchronised to tape.

THE LAYOUT

All 12 mono channels are fairly conventional, but even so, they sport rather more facilities than you might expect on a mixer of this price. For example, following the obligatory input gain control is a three-band EQ (which includes a swept mid covering 250Hz to 6kHz), a switchable 100Hz shelving High Pass Filter (useful for live situations, where it helps to reduce stage rumble or mic popping) and an EQ bypass switch — this is actually an EQ engage switch, since in its off (up) position, the EQ is off. Surprisingly, there are five auxiliary send controls feeding eight aux buses, which seems more than generous for a compact desk such as this, although there are compromises. Aux sends 1 and 2 are dedicated pre-fade for use as foldback or cue sends, while 3 is switchable between pre- and post-fader. Unusually, this is accomplished from a master global switch rather than being individually switchable per channel. Aux send 4 is fixed post-fade for use as an effects send; the last control is a stereo, post-fade, post-pan send that can be switched to feed Aux buses 5 and 6 or 7 and 8.

Each channel has an On button, though there's no accompanying status LED, and next to the fader are the routing buttons for sending the channel's signal to the stereo mix or one of the two sets of sub-groups (1/2 or 3/4). Any channel can only be routed to either the Mix bus, sub-group 1 and 2 or sub-group 3 and 4 at any one time. This may seem a little restrictive, but there aren't many applications that desperately need simultaneous routing to two sets of buses, and for multitrack use, this layout helps to ensure that a signal isn't accidentally fed back upon itself. Finishing off the channel facilities are a Peak warning LED — if it flashes, you're within 4dB of clipping the channel — and a Pre Fade Listen button.

Connection-wise, the channel mic inputs feature balanced XLRs, and line inputs are on balanced jacks. A further stereo jack is used as an insert point, which comes pre EQ but after the High Pass Filter. It's possible to use the channel insert point sends to provide direct outputs for recording, but because the insert is wired before the EQ circuitry, only the input Gain control and HP filter will be operative when working this way.

The four stereo channels have no mic inputs, peak LEDs or insert points and have a simplified, two-band shelving EQ; the aux send system and routing arrangement is identical, with the stereo channels also be routable to the sub groups, as well as to the main stereo output.

MASTER

The Folio 4's master section is fairly basic, but still provides a decent amount of flexibility. Each of the six aux sends (four mono and two stereo) has its own master level control, aux masters 1-4 having AFL (After Fade Listen) buttons. The stereo sends have no AFL buttons, but Aux 7/8 has a Mono button which sums the output to mono for use on those occasions where a mono send is preferable (but why no mono switch on 5/6 as well?).

There are four sets of stereo aux returns, which may also be used as general-purpose stereo line inputs if required. Each pair of returns can be routed to the mix bus, or to a pair of subgroups. Directly below are the four Group faders, arranged as two pairs. Each pair is equipped with a stereo Aux Send control switchable to stereo send buses 5/6 or 7/8 and a stereo routing button. This is useful for subgrouping, either when mixing from multitrack or in PA applications.

The final section of the mixer is taken up by the main Mix fader, two sets of LED bargraph meters and the monitoring controls. There's also a 1 kHz oscillator, useful for calibration or signal tracing.

Monitoring may be switched between mix or two-track return, and when the Stereo Listen button is down, five further buttons select the source as being Aux 5/6, Aux 7/8, stereo returns PFL, groups 1/2 or groups 3/4. The signal flow is actually incorporated into the front panel graphics at this point, which makes it easier to know what is going where and why. A further Mix button allows the two-track tape machine to be routed to the stereo outputs of the Folio 4 (useful for backing or atmosphere tapes in a live situation), but a warning is given in the manual that inappropriate use of this switch could lead to feedback if you're feeding signals into the same tape machine at the same time, as would probably be the case when recording!

There's a master Monitor level control just above the headphone socket. If phones are plugged in, the Monitor outputs are muted, which could be seen as a bit of a limitation, as many engineers like to listen to their mix over the speakers while the musician being recorded uses the headphone output at the same time. The master fader controls the level of the main stereo output, but a balance control is included to help you balance up the left and right signals if a level mismatch has occurred somewhere along the line.

On the connections front, all the Aux Sends and the Group buss outputs are on pseudo-balanced (actually ground compensated, unbalanced circuitry) jacks with the Mix left and right outputs being on balanced XLRs. The aux returns and two-track connections are unbalanced. Insert points are provided for all group outputs, as well as the main Mix output, which is a good move.

One last nice touch is that underneath the mixer is an access panel for a multicore connection, which is great if you expect to move the mixer around a lot, since you would only have to unplug one connection to the mixer rather than loads of jack plugs. This option should be available from various sources in the near future — watch Shape of Things to Come!

IMPRESSIONS

The Folio 4 has been very well thought out, especially given its chosen target market. It has switchable phantom powered mic inputs on all 12 mono input channels, which makes it ideal for the live sound market (or for traditional recordists who need to mic up drum kits), and the addition of four Groups makes it flexible enough to easily handle multitrack work up to 8-track. For example, the Groups could be used to route up to four sets of signals at a time to tape while the remaining channels (routed to Mix) could be used for off-tape monitoring. The inclusion of four stereo channels makes sense for those working with MIDI instruments, and Folio 4's four stereo aux returns ensure that effects can be patched in without having to use up valuable input channels — a weak point on the original Folio. In fact, the Folio 4 offers a grand total of 28 inputs at mixdown, if you count the four stereo returns as basic line inputs. The inclusion of insert points on all mono channels, groups and mix outputs means that there's no problem connecting processors like gates, compressors or enhancers.

By way of overall styling, the Folio 4 has a surprisingly spacious, uncluttered feel. The knobs and faders are conveniently colour-coded, which serves to divide the controls into logical, easily identifiable sections. The only problem with the knobs (on the review model) is that they have a tendency to wobble, and not only this, but the caps actually come off rather easily. I also found the faders a little odd: they feel fine, but if you move more than one at the same time, they don't seem very well matched for feel and don't all move at the same rate. Another problem regards the rather stylish jack connectors at the rear: while they look good, the sockets have caps that can come away with your connector when you unplug it. I don't recall any of these problems with the original Folio, and consultation with Soundcraft happily reveals that my machine was an early version, and that these problems are now resolved.

These few points aside, the build quality and appearance of the Folio 4 are very much in keeping with its audio performance, which is actually rather good. The EQ is surprisingly powerful for a desk in this price range, requiring only subtle moves to make dramatic changes to the incoming signal — it remains at all times musical.

The input channels in general have a transparent, open feel about them. While a total of eight auxiliary send buses does seem to be luxurious, I found their implementation to be a little restricting — simply adding post/pre switches to aux 1 and 2, and possibly 4 (just like aux 3) would have solved this problem from a recording point of view.

The Soundcraft name still carries quite a lot of weight in mixing circles, and the Folio 4 does nothing to tarnish the company's image; despite being built to a price, it's a nicely engineered console that manages to look and feel good. If your budget for a mixer is floating around the £1000 mark, and you require ease of use, real sub-grouping, inserts where they're needed, a clean signal path and musical EQ, then your choice is limited to a handful of possibilities. Having said that, you might save yourself some trouble if you make the Folio 4 one of the first calls on your list.

Further Information

Folio 4 £1174 inc VAT.

Soundcraft Electronics Ltd, (Contact Details).