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[Michael {Bink} Knowles]

I know that some Yamaha CL5 rigs are installed and out touring, but does anybody know whether the CL3 is in production? I'm thinking of picking one up for my own gigs.

-Bink

[John Roberts {JR}]

The Bink is back in town...... 

JR

PS: Did you get those arrows out of your back OK?

[Michael {Bink} Knowles]

The Bink is back in town...... 

JR

PS: Did you get those arrows out of your back OK?

Haha... The slings, yes. The arrows, we'll see.

-Bink

[Riley Casey]

Bink, do you have some hands on time with the CL5 boards such that you're ready to plunk down some cash on one?  I see lots of reviews and adverts but very little real world feedback.  Seems like they are not making the inroads into the market that their predecessors made.  You're seeing something different I gather.

I know that some Yamaha CL5 rigs are installed and out touring, but does anybody know whether the CL3 is in production? I'm thinking of picking one up for my own gigs.

-Bink

[Michael {Bink} Knowles]

Bink, do you have some hands on time with the CL5 boards such that you're ready to plunk down some cash on one?

No, I'm just aware that there are CL5 rigs out in the world, a few of them. I have never worked on a CL5 system or seen a CL3 rig. If they have problems I want to know about it.

-Bink

[TonyWilliams]

I am currently installing a CL1 and CL3 in a new install, so yes I guess.

[Justice C. Bigler]

We have a CL5 and two RIO3224 boxes. It's been a long night for me, but I will post more tomorrow, but for the most part I am happy with it for a number of reasons. I have not heard anything about CL3 availability or anyone in the US with any hands on time on them.

[Guthrie Saunders]

They do exist in the wild.

[Nitin Sidhu]

a couple of gigs on CL5. Great board. Anyone with the knowhow of the M7/LS9 will find it a breeze.
The construction felt the best of any console I have used.
And the SPX effects always bring a smile to my face. The bundled Neves are great too!

Some functionality on the board I worked on was still not implemented, eg. Preview scene mode. but it was an older firmware.

For me BIG disappointment that they did not go with the M7 form factor, and went to layers instead. The CL5 with all faders could have made it for me my preferred console. Now it don't matter.

Regards,
Sidhu

[Frederik Rosenkjær]

For me BIG disappointment that they did not go with the M7 form factor, and went to layers instead. The CL5 with all faders could have made it for me my preferred console. Now it don't matter.

And make it a huge bulky thing that requires several people to move and lift up and down every single time? I'm very glad they didn't.

Apart from this, to the OP as others have mentioned: Yes, the CL3 is in production.

[kristianjohnsen]

I know that some Yamaha CL5 rigs are installed and out touring, but does anybody know whether the CL3 is in production? I'm thinking of picking one up for my own gigs.

-Bink

I seem to recall someone on soundforums.net posting about installing two CL3s and offering to share any experiences they had.

[Brian Ingwell]

I know that some Yamaha CL5 rigs are installed and out touring, but does anybody know whether the CL3 is in production? I'm thinking of picking one up for my own gigs.

-Bink

Bink,

We purchased a CL3 and two Rio 3224 racks towards the end of last year to add to our rental inventory.  Our main use for the board is corporate work.  The reasons we went with the CL3 were (in no particular order):

Dante connectivity: no more 56 pair to FOH and with our Lab Gruppen PLM racks, we can keep everything digital, console to speakers.

Ability to use the Dugan MY card: a necessity for the shows we do, and much cheaper than an external Dugan setup.

Size and weight factor:  The CL3 is hardly bigger than an LS9, but with a large feature set.  24 faders is perfect for us, as we will put 16 channels of wireless on faders 1-16 and everything else on DCA's (podium, VOG, walk-up, playback) and have everything available on the top layer.

Yamaha reliability:  I'm sure others will argue this point, but of the three other Yamaha digital desks we have, in 7 years we haven't had a single problem (aside from replacing faders, standard maintenance).

I agree with Riley that the CL series seems to not be gaining traction as fast as some of the other Yamaha digital offerings, and I think this is two fold:  the cost of entry on these desks is higher and there are more offerings at the lower end (Pro 2, Digico) these days.  My thought, however, was that when they finally come out with a PM5D replacement, odds are good they will be utilizing the Rio boxes with it, and if so, we already have a chunk of investment cost taken out of that upgrade path.

And for corporate work, for the most part I really don't have to worry about rider friendly-ness.  We mix a majority of the corporate work we do.  For music shows, we have an SC48 and an M7 in the stable, and those are accepted by 90% of the acts we deal with.

OK, a couple things I don't like about the CL series:

Yamaha is still very unflexible on their routing options.  On our SC48, I can insert a graphic EQ, external analog insert and 4 plug ins all on the same group if I want to.  On the Yamaha, I can pick one.  That makes no sense to me.  I know there are workarounds, but say I want to have a graphic and an external DFR11 on a lav subgroup.  To do that , I have to take the group out back into another channel - PITA.  The new premium rack is awesome, but let me use those items with something else if I want.  Give us some more routing options, Yamaha.

I know the gain compensation thing was discussed to death when the console first came out, and I understand how it works and can make use of it if I need to.  My one complaint is a lack of metering options.  If I turn gain compensation on and am working off the digital trim, I want my channel strip meters to be able to show what I'm doing on the digital trim.  Right now, the only option is analog gain.  Go ahead and give me an indicator on the screen if my analog gain is clipping, but let me see what my digital gain is doing on the strip without having to call up the little gain sub-screen.

Overall, I really like the CL series for what we are using ours for.

Hope that helps.

Brian

[Michael Jaspers]

...I have never worked on a CL5 system or seen a CL3 rig. If they have problems I want to know about it.

-Bink

We have two CL5s and are using four RIO32** boxes, in a redundant network with gain compensation, each with the additional PW800 PS.  We have had the consoles since the original ship date.  We're using the consoles in a HOW environment.

We have had ONE issue: The first Sunday after we installed the consoles, the broadcast console froze (still was passing audio) and we had to restart the console to regain control.  That issue was fixed by a firmware update the next week. Since that time, I've been vigilant to keep the network on the latest firmware.

If you are using multiple CL consoles in a network(doesn't sound like you will right away), there are a couple things that you have to do to keep the system problem free. 
1. Turn the system 'on' in the right order
2. Make sure the console master IDs are set correctly

Likes:
1. Ease of setup/Yamaha Familiarity
2. Recording up to 64 channels of audio on a network cable(we do it w/a Mac Mini and a Lacie Thunderbolt HD)
3. Custom Fader Pages (Not a fan of the one fader:one input "M7" idea)
4. UDK (knob and key) expansion
5. Integrated GPI port
6. Simultaneous StageMix and CL Editor use
7. 8 Stereo FX, "Premium Rack" with dynamic EQ and "studio rack" gear
8. Fader color grouping, scribble strips, mute groups with defined output level attenuation, 16 DCAs, more buses, etc.
9. Input Delay

Minor Dislikes/Wishes:
1. Weird patching if using more dante "boxes"(Have to patch an input to a dante "channel" and then that dante input to the desired channel) Output patching is also weird; have to touch on the dante device in the "rack," then press on the "output" tab.  Seems like all this could be streamlined.
2. No SMPTE timecode input
3. No .wav record option on the USB drive(.mp3 only)
4. No "output fader" groupings yet
5. No simultaneous iPad users(we run monitors from FOH, so it'd be nice for our A2 to adjust wedges with the FOH guy walks the room, etc.)

Best of luck.

[Scott Helmke]

1. Weird patching if using more dante "boxes"(Have to patch an input to a dante "channel" and then that dante input to the desired channel) Output patching is also weird; have to touch on the dante device in the "rack," then press on the "output" tab.  Seems like all this could be streamlined.

In general once you get into multiple boxes you're going to have to step away from the easy automatic patching, that's not Yamaha's fault but simply a basic fact of digitally networked audio.

Latest firmware (1.51) puts the Dante stuff and Rio patching on its own button on the home screen now.  Also the Preview button now works!

[Michael {Bink} Knowles]

We purchased a CL3 and two Rio 3224 racks towards the end of last year to add to our rental inventory.  Our main use for the board is corporate work.

Thank you, Brian, for taking the time to write out your experiences with the system. That was really helpful to me. 

-Bink

[Vince Steed]

And make it a huge bulky thing that requires several people to move and lift up and down every single time? I'm very glad they didn't.

Apart from this, to the OP as others have mentioned: Yes, the CL3 is in production.

I'm with you completely!  I'm quite happy with layers. With the custom layers buttons in each section, it's easy to have what you need in front of you at any time.

We've owned two CL5 since mid December and are trilled with the sound quality, functions, and features.  The latest firmware update really improved the RIO/Dante setup with great visual feedback on routing.

I'm ready to add to our inventory and plan ordering a CL1 on Monday.  As a dealer the pricing between the CL5 and CL3 wasn't significant enough to keep me from just going with the CL5.

[ProSoundWeb Community]