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Title: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Bennett Prescott on June 16, 2007, 01:17:45 PM
If you ever want to have a manufacturer tell you to PLEASE don't buy their product, offer to do a Road Test of the APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020. I've been forbidden to lay any money out until well after this review is done, which is fine with me since I got to use it without paying for it.

Any regular reader of these forums will be familiar with APB Dynasonics, the relatively new console company from New Jersey manufacturing high quality, great sounding, yet reasonably priced all-analog (so far) mixing consoles. Their first console, the Spectra, has garnered rave reviews across these forums and the entire industry, and is such a great piece of hardware that I bought one myself. So far it's making more money than I am, I get shows just for having it in my shop.

The APB crew has moved on from their success with the Spectra series consoles to build the ProRack series of compact, rackmount FOH and monitor consoles. The ProRack FOH has just recently started shipping, and demand is so great they're having to expand their manufacturing facilities to get over the initial wave without extensive delays. I used one at the ProLight and Sound show in Germany a few months ago, but most recently APB were kind enough to pull one out of production for me to fiddle around with on a real live show. Unfortunately, I only got to keep it for a little over a week, because Chuck (the A in APB) needed it for his booth at the InfoCOMM show in California next week (he'll be showing off all their toys at booth #7944).

The ProRack H1020 offers 12 mono input channels and 4 dual-mono/stereo input channels (20 mic preamps in total). The chassis design features an adjustable connector assembly that freely rotates and be set to three different angles relative to the front panel. Variable frequency high-pass filters are included on all input channels (Mono and Stereo) with a 20Hz to 400Hz sweep range at a 12dB per octave attenuation rate. The ProRack Mono input channels incorporate fixed high and low frequency EQ bands and two mid-sweep EQ bands with one-octave bandwidth. The EQ includes an EQ On switch with LED. The Stereo channels feature fixed high and low frequency EQ bands and a single mid-sweep EQ based on same Spectra circuitry. The ProRack-House (H1020) offers 6 aux send controls; each pair of sends switchable between a pre or post fader source. In the pre-fader position, an additional front panel switch determines if that pre-fader signal is derived pre or post EQ. Aux controls 5 and 6 may be switched to become a stereo pair. All Auxiliary mixes have TRS bus input and insert connectors, and XLR balanced output connectors. On the ProRack-House, the operator can assign the channels to Left-Right, Center and Mono mix buses and to analog subgroups 1-2 and 3-4. Large, internally illuminated Mute and PFL switches are provided along with 6-segment LED metering and high quality 100mm faders; the same type used in the Spectra series consoles. Each of the four main buses has TRS bus input and insert connectors, and XLR balanced outputs. The Left, Right, Center and Mono outputs may be individually switched from their normal output level (+4dBu) to mic level.
(some of that was hacked together from APB's product page, since I'm lazy)

So if you've only got a week in which to really work through a console, where do you take it? Why, to the Starscape Festival, a 16 hour long music event from midafternoon to sunup on the Maryland shore, of course! 5 stages of everything from bands to DJs, one of which had the honor of being mixed entirely off the new ProRack. Some photos:

http://www.campuspa.com/images/june07/index-Thumbnails/136.jpghttp://www.campuspa.com/images/june07/index-Thumbnails/103.jpg
http://www.campuspa.com/images/june07/index-Thumbnails/133.jpghttp://www.campuspa.com/images/june07/index-Thumbnails/117.jpg

I wasn't mixing, as I had 4 stages to hold down in one way or another, so I was running around and production managing. Tom Manchester was my go-to guy for the two smaller "beach" stages, with the Mackie TT24 on the bigger stage and the ProRack on the smaller. Between the two of us we got the tech I was given for the ProRack stage up and running, patched in, and then essentially left him alone for the remainder of the gig.

That stage had bands on and off all day until early the next morning, and with a minimum of equipment (and minimal experience on the mixing guy's part) managed to sound great the entire time. He said he found the ProRack easy to use, and while he started off with some excessive levels really abusing the board, he was well under control within a reasonable period of time and kept the music going. The board sounded great the whole time, as I would have expected based on my previous experiences with it. Any durability concerns should go out the window now as well, as this gig was LONG and FILTHY and REALLY ROUGH on the gear and the techs. It was nice to have gear that I could set and forget and leave some guy I'd never met to babysit, without regret.

As you can see, we didn't use the board in any sort of a factory approved manner:
http://www.campuspa.com/images/june07/index-Thumbnails/104.jpg

And to show you how much dirt and dust there was (and it rained!) take a look at this speaker's grille after the show was over (it started the gig flawlessly clean):
http://www.campuspa.com/images/june07/index-Thumbnails/175.jpg

So to wrap up, I'm pleased as punch with the board. It took a hell of a lot of abuse, sounded fantasic, and was certainly easy to use. Great sounding EQ, lots of routing, and swept high pass on every input round out an already powerful feature set. I'm definitely going to pick one up, and the monitor version when it ships, so that I can have a full featured no-compromise mixing setup even at small shows. If you've been wondering why there were so few options in the mixer world that are both rackmount and sound as good as a pro level console, now there's one more!

If you're at InfoCOMM, stop by the APB booth (#7944) and see what that mixer looks like after I beat the snot out of it. Sorry, Chuck, hope it cleans up OK!
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Chuck Augustowski on June 17, 2007, 01:46:17 PM
Thank your Bennett for your Road Test Review.  This particular unit will be operational at Infocomm should anyone want to give it a listen.  It will also become a Rep Sample in the Southern California area after the show, in the possession of our rep firm Mac West (See our web page for contact information) if you would like to try the unit within this area.

Chuck Augustowski
APB-DynaSonics
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Matt Harris on June 18, 2007, 01:16:19 AM
URRGGHH....now i want one Twisted Evil
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: IsraelRaz on June 18, 2007, 05:44:53 PM
Hi Bennet.
Did you compare the 1020 to the Venice 160 ?
I did, and I can tell you very simply that the Venice sounds warmer and better far away. description of so many features just covers up its weakness in sound quality and lack of mute buttons on all outputs and cheap chinese eq buttons.
 
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Bennett Prescott on June 18, 2007, 07:06:27 PM
Israel,

I have never disguised my feeling that the Venice is a souped up toy, without the feature set or routing flexibility of many solutions its size. I agree it sounds good, but I suspect if you heard a "thin" sound out of the ProRack it was due to an error somewhere else in the signal chain. The last thing I would ever say about the ProRack is that it sounds "thin" in any way... in fact, I find it to be remarkable in its ability to pass clean, solid low frequency signal.

I'm not even going to address your comments regarding cheapness, as I find them unwarranted, but in regards to no output mutes... come on man! You want a desktop mixer or a rackmount mixer? I'll survive without a few output mutes in return for not having to haul out my 48 frame analog while at the same time not feeling like I've taken a step down in fidelity or flexibility.

While it is impossible to design something as small as the ProRack 1020 and satisfy everyone, I think you should take a second look as your primary complaints don't make any sense to me.
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Evan Kirkendall on June 18, 2007, 08:10:38 PM
Hey Bennett...
How's it compare to a mixwiz? Sound/build quality, feature set, ect.



Thanks,
Evan
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Bennett Prescott on June 18, 2007, 08:20:31 PM
Build quality is as good as or superior to the MixWiz, it's certainly well thought out. I'd have no qualms taking it anywhere for anything, as evidenced by the abuse it took on my road test, which apparently included getting dropped at some point.

Sound quality, it's the best sounding compact board I've heard. Feature set, you'd have to go digital to get more out of that form factor, and we all know how I feel about that... I mean, we did start by talking about sound quality!

Obviously, not a one size fits all solution, but for me it's in line with what I'm trying to do.
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Steve Payne on June 18, 2007, 10:53:13 PM
Israel,
 I replied to your opinions on another thread, but I'll reiterate.  I have most definitely compared the sound of the Venice and the 1020.  I own both and use them constantly.  The Venice is a fine sounding console.  The 1020 sounds every bit as good - maybe better.  It is far superior in terms of it's logical layout and professional feature set. This is my opinion and the opinion of about six other guys who make their living on a daily basis twisting knobs and schlepping gear.  I am with Bennett, if you thought this console sounded thin you need to reexamine what other components were involved in your listening test.  Maybe you had all the channel hpf swept all the way to the right?  
Rolling Eyes
I just don't understand your comments.  Dude, this puppy runs with the big dogs.
Title: Hey Bennett!
Post by: Dave Dermont on June 19, 2007, 12:57:49 PM
I was wondering...

How does someone who does not have time to schmooze with Sara on the phone all day and is not Lee Jacobson get a piece of Road Test gear?  Laughing

Nothing big, maybe like a mic cable or something.  Laughing   Laughing

Dave "the not-so-squeeky wheel" Dermont
Title: Re: Hey Bennett!
Post by: Lee Jacobson on June 19, 2007, 04:53:47 PM
Dave,
 

 Are you suggesting that I DON'T spend lots of time on the phone with Sara?? Actually, if you wanna check, Bennett wins, hands down, in the "piece count" over any of us. I will say I got one of the "cooler" road tests to do, with the versarray rig. That said, to date, I've had the Sencore, the TT24, the Face amp, and the versarray. Bennett's list has more stuff....

Lee
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Ales Dravinec 'Alex' on June 19, 2007, 05:18:28 PM
IsraelRaz wrote on Mon, 18 June 2007 22:44

....the Venice sounds warmer and better far away. description of so many features just covers up its weakness in sound quality and lack of mute buttons on all outputs and cheap chinese eq buttons.


From where I stand ProRack doesn't HAVE a sound ! That's its greatest feature.
I like Venice too, but wouldn't dare to post so irresponsible and un-argumented comments like : description of so many features just covers up its weakness

@ cheap chinese eq buttons...who makes those again ?

Alex
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Chuck Augustowski on June 19, 2007, 08:58:09 PM
There is some additional discussion about ProRack-House at:

http://srforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/t/22863/437/

Chuck Augustowski
APB-DynaSonics
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Bennett Prescott on June 20, 2007, 03:20:24 AM
Ales Dravinec 'Alex' wrote on Tue, 19 June 2007 17:18

@ cheap chinese eq buttons...who makes those again?

I was just talking with Chuck about this very thing on the InfoCOMM show floor, and he told me to bother JP about it since he wasn't sure. He did know that all the knobs are Swiss, not Chinese, so go figure. It's an American made product, people!
Title: Re: Hey Bennett!
Post by: Chris Cowley on June 20, 2007, 05:23:20 AM
Dave Dermont wrote on Tue, 19 June 2007 17:57

I was wondering...

How does someone who does not have time to schmooze with Sara on the phone all day and is not Lee Jacobson get a piece of Road Test gear?  Laughing

Nothing big, maybe like a mic cable or something.  Laughing   Laughing

Dave "the not-so-squeeky wheel" Dermont


What about those of us in the UK  Sad
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Aaron McQueen on June 20, 2007, 10:41:39 AM
Quote:

He did know that all the knobs are Swiss, not Chinese, so go figure.


Elma?
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Justice C. Bigler on June 24, 2007, 11:55:57 PM
What is the street price? List is $3,400, so street would be...~$2,800 to $3,000?
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Ales Dravinec 'Alex' on August 02, 2007, 09:45:55 AM
We recently got our ProRack H1020. Strictly speaking it is not a true Road Test gear since we didn't get it just to play with, but we purchased it. Prior to purchase gentlemen from APB dynasonics kindly allowed us to exploit it during certain European pro audio exhibition I wanted to be clear on that at the beginning.

Basic data as channel count and dimensions are to be found in APB's web site.

I'd like to offer my view on its features the way road use dictates their relevance. From now on...flame suit is officially on !!

index.php/fa/10532/0/

My daughter observes, what I'm up to this time while playing with litlite purchased separately for H1020. Built in screwdriver access dimmer trim-pot provides smooth brightness control, just as promised.

'Feel' of the mixers faders and knobs is pleasing and when you listen to the changes in level or EQ while turning pots or sliding faders, it gives you real sense of control. Nothing unexpected happens,..., like sudden level jumps or similar.

I like big illuminated mute buttons as well as PFLs. Especially PFLs...they are positioned where they should be !

Layout and all the controls on the panel is REALLY self explainatory and nothing unexpected happens when you use any of the controls...like MUTE mutes whole strip, AUXes included,... turning gain fully CW (+65dB) does not produce enormous amount of noise in the last 5 degrees of its travel,...,polarity invert does just that and nothing more....heh, funny ? ...not always the case.
Turning PAN fully side ways will boost your signal 3dB, PAD (or LINE) will drop it 26dB...so I can interface all line level equipment directly to XLR input and be safe...how's that again +15dB -26dB = 11dBu... which is great for my pro CD player. I didn't even try to connect CD to the TRS input, which obviously provides addition padding. So, no more TRS to XLR cables for me, thank you.
Back panel : you name it, you got it. ALL important ins AND outs are XLRs. Buss insertion points for cascading multiple units (not necessarily all APB !!). The way I see it, you have 20in 14out mixer with really comprehensive routing capabilities...just what I needed.

To sum it up :

Pros:

#1 Specs don't lie ! (see next posts for proofing)

#2 16 input faders actually mean 16 usable channels...usable as in 'multicore' kind of way...you know what I mean. Now I'll pump this count to 20...easily...because channels 13 through 16, even they being 'stereo' still provide XLS with phantom, good eq, sweepable HPF (!!!!!)and all routing as mono channels provide. Keys, stereo overheads, choir mics, etc. are to be patched to those channels.

#3 Excellent metering 5 LEDs per channel + peak...by the way...this peak REALLY reveals if serious shit is happening...try to set gain to just bellow peak and then slide channel fader over unity....here we go...priceless !! Also 'timing' of the meters are set great...not to fast, not too slow.

#4 Great sound as in ... there's NO sound. Artists provides us with sound, not gear. I can see many of you jumping off your seats reading this statement...I apologize in advance. I think everything lies in interpretation of the word 'sound' itself. I'm sure you'll know, what I meant....huh

#5 sweepable HPFs on all inputs....what's there to say...eq needs are almost halved just by using that...Not to mention 'the amazing kick sound'....rotate LO EQ fully CW and set HPF to...say...60Hz...can't explain it, you should try it....

still under #5 ...I almost forgot...off position on HP filter...there's a difference between flat and almost flat, especially when talking phase...

#6 very silent...again...specs don't lie (-85dBu all channels assigned w/faders down, Master at unity). I tried to push it a step further....All channels assigned, all channel and master faders at unity, ALL gains at +40dB-ish....real show situation...ups, before I forget...ALL inputs opened (didn't feel like terminating 20 inputs with 150 ohm resistors...sorry John)....-60dBu @ 15Khz (-44dBu with all gains fully CW inputs also not terminated)

#7 zero hum ond/or 'pin 1 issues' whatsoever

#8 very small crosstalk

#9 very affordable considering what H1020 has to offer

Cons & wish list:

#1 no LED besides 'phantom' switch...John, I know, there's probably no room for it in the first place...still...I said it

#2 considerable 'pop' at power on and power off. Not a catastrophic one, but there it is.

#3 heh, when you set everything to unity, AUX outputs provide 6dB hotter output than masters or group outputs. This isn't really a downside...setting channel AUX send and master AUX send to 12 o'clock solves the dilemma. It is good to know that when 'silently pre-setting monitors', what signal will you actually send to artists monitor, when the time comes

#4 I want another one...


That's the review part. I'll post some measurements in next two posts as soon as I 'glue' the pics together (only 1 photo per post allowed)

Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Ales Dravinec 'Alex' on August 02, 2007, 09:46:20 AM
index.php/fa/10536/0/
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Ales Dravinec 'Alex' on August 02, 2007, 09:46:38 AM
index.php/fa/10537/0/

... I hope you don't mind posting like that (huge pic)...but that was my only option.

How H1020 performs on high profile show will let you know, when we come back from one.

Ideal gear for beautiful music ... http://www.ceolproductions.com/ ... can't wait

Until then

APB guys : keep on doing an excellent job and... THANK YOU !
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Peter Etheredge on August 02, 2007, 04:03:43 PM
Ales Dravinec 'Alex' wrote on Thu, 02 August 2007 08:45



Cons & wish list:

#2 considerable 'pop' at power on and power off. Not a catastrophic one, but there it is.





Ales you of all people should know that this isn't an issue because proper power up protocol calls for the mixer to be one of the first things turned on and amps/powered speakers the last thing turned on, so having a pop isn't an issue! Power down is the exact opposite making this again a non issue.   Smile
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Ales Dravinec 'Alex' on August 02, 2007, 04:44:46 PM
Peter,

you surely made a valid point. Power up/down sequence should always be as you described it.

But on rear occasion, when power in the venue goes down and back on again (not so rare in certain venues or events) in the middle of the act, I wish for quietest possible transition...

It certainly isn't a deal breaker or anything..

Thank you for making a point
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Peter Etheredge on August 04, 2007, 11:24:12 AM
Ales Dravinec 'Alex' wrote on Thu, 02 August 2007 15:44

Peter,

you surely made a valid point. Power up/down sequence should always be as you described it.

But on rear occasion, when power in the venue goes down and back on again (not so rare in certain venues or events) in the middle of the act, I wish for quietest possible transition...

It certainly isn't a deal breaker or anything..

Thank you for making a point




You know I didn't even think of that but this is very true.

More incentive for venues to actually supply the right kind of power I guess.. HA!   Laughing
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Eric Muller on September 17, 2007, 09:14:54 PM
I have a quick question regarding the "external line input" of this mixer. What is the purpose of this input?

I can't seem to route it anywhere else but the headphones (using the red "ext in" button). I was hoping to use this input for pre-show music and not use up a stereo channel.

Thanks,
Eric
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Chuck Augustowski on September 17, 2007, 09:45:02 PM
The purpose of this input is for monitoring of an external signal.  This input is routed only into the monitor section.  Monitoring a broadcast you are generating is a good example of its use.

It would have been nice if we could have used this as another input that could be routed and controlled feeding the output as you suggested for program music but we simply did not have room for even another single switch or pot anywhere on this mixer (sorry).  Even to get a dimmer on this mixer for the lamp connector required us to use a recessed adjustment requiring a screwdriver to adjust the brightness but we felt that it was better doing this this way than not to give you this feature.  We could not figure out how to come up with the additional space needed to make this input a usable program input that could be controlled and routed.

Consider using the bus inputs into the groups as additional line  inputs into the mixer.  From here they can be routed to any of the main (Left - Right - Center - Mono) outputs and controlled from the smaller group faders. If you used all four of these as inputs, you would have the equivalent of a 24 input mixer.  If you are using these inputs for program music playback between sets, they can also be used as subgroups (as long as you remember to reset the fader levels)once you turn your playback source off.

Chuck Augustowski
APB-DynaSonics

Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Bennett Prescott on October 15, 2007, 03:26:49 PM
I got a ProRack House to play with for Road Test again, and it happened just in time for an act coming through my stage that was carrying consoles. I still needed to run some tracks and announce mic for the other acts on my stage, but there wasn't enough room at FOH for the setup that had been there for the last two weeks, my 48 frame Spectra T and two outboard racks.

So I ran the headliner through my ProRack and had plenty of stereo channels left over for tracks, walk in and out, two DS mics for the drum act, and a mono channel for our announcer. I could still run my subs off a bus, the swept HPF saved my ass on the DS mics and our announcer, and there was plenty of EQ to make everything work well. The console had no problem with levels from the M7CL the headliner brought, so I went to a 19" wide FOH setup and lost essentially no control.

Most importantly, I didn't feel like I was shortchanging the headliner, the "support" act, or myself with the change. The ProRack was a great asset through three days of 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. shows.

index.php/fa/11766/0/
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Bennett Prescott on November 13, 2007, 01:20:35 AM
I'm finally getting around to writing up a demo I did with fellow LABster Jason Dermer last week in New Jersey at the East Brunswick Guitar Center, which is unlike any other Guitar Center I've ever been to. The people there actually know what they're doing, didn't try to sell me anything, and the head of the Pro Audio department (Rick Rivera) has real touring creds. To top it off, when I pulled out the ProRack and started setting it up, one of the sales guys stopped and said "APB Dynasonics? That's the shit!".

The event was a demo for IK Multimedia, a company that makes a lot of cool plugins for emulation of everything from Moog synths to symphonies to bass rigs. They had a presentation with some hired in musicians, including T.M. Stevens of Parliament fame, all of whom were a pleasure to work with and listen to. The room was the back office area of the GC, and held about 100 people (many standing) plus room for the "stage" area. Here's a shot to give you an idea of what I was working with:

http://www.campuspa.com/images/gcprodemo/Images/2.jpg

With all the performers in front of the mains (by only a few feet!) and the room having the acoustics of a warehouse, it was already looking interesting.

I took stereo sources from four computers controlled by the presenters, each of which had an external sound box of some kind, mostly Presonus. The computers took MIDI from four keyboards (two house left and two house right) and a Roland V-Drums kit (far house right) and did the actual playing of the notes. One of the computers also took a line from T.M.'s bass and ran cabinet/mic emulation on it and then mixed that down to me as well. I also had three vocal mics, three wireless headworn mics for the presenters to talk to the audience, and an iPod for walk-in. That brings total channel count to 16, plus I ran a recording mix off the dedicated out supplied for that purpose.

The ProRack made life easy off the bat with its stereo channels, each of which had phantom available to power my JPCs. I ended up doing basically nothing to those channels, but the 6 "vocal" channels took every ounce of control the board had available. It was nice to load up a rackmount board with 16 channels of stuff and have enough free to take care of any surprises that might crop up. The swept high pass on each channel was indispensable, plus the powerful EQ was put to good use. The artists were speaking through GC-supplied Sennheiser e835s, which did fine even though one of the artists spoke softly and was positioned directly in front of one of the mains. Unfortunately, the presenters were using (also GC supplied) cheap Shure wireless with cheap capsules that sounded like crap off the bat and dropped out like nobody's business. The EQ required to get the headworn mics to sound decent wasn't possible because it made them too susceptible to feedback, so the presenters sounded like they were talking through a $2 radio for the whole gig... a shame but it wasn't my wireless and there wasn't enough time to swap it out. As Jason said to me mid-gig: "I'd give anything for another band of swept EQ".

I actually did essentially zero mixing, as I'd come down with a cold over the weekend and my ears were shot. I managed to catch a shot of Jason hard at work (he always mixes from behind the console):

http://www.campuspa.com/images/gcprodemo/Images/14.jpg

Aside from the issues with the wireless and the room being acoustically... interesting (especially at LF) the gig went well. The ProRack was, as I have come to expect it to be, a workhorse with handy features thrown in (or extra outputs, or extra inputs) where you least expect them but most need them. Some of the material played during the demo was simply breathtaking, and of course it was great to hear the performers jam out to the tiny audience. Everyone got very into it and there were nothing but compliments, so I walked out happy.

Here's a few shots from the show that I thought were cool, including one of Jason really working (that's his "if that mic drops out one more time I will end it" face).

http://www.campuspa.com/images/gcprodemo/Thumbnails/21.jpghttp://www.campuspa.com/images/gcprodemo/Thumbnails/16.jpg
http://www.campuspa.com/images/gcprodemo/Thumbnails/7.jpghttp://www.campuspa.com/images/gcprodemo/Thumbnails/18.jpg
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Phil LaDue on November 13, 2007, 01:29:03 AM
Bennett Prescott wrote on Tue, 13 November 2007 01:20

http://www.campuspa.com/images/gcprodemo/Thumbnails/21.jpghttp://www.campuspa.com/images/gcprodemo/Thumbnails/16.jpg
http://www.campuspa.com/images/gcprodemo/Thumbnails/7.jpghttp://www.campuspa.com/images/gcprodemo/Thumbnails/18.jpg

I thought I was going insane for a minute, because I couldn't find any speakers.
My god, those things are small.
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Bennett Prescott on November 13, 2007, 01:38:40 AM
Yep, that's a pair of our new U 61 HH tops and a single ATA 210 HH subwoofer. I was very happy with how it turned out.

http://www.campuspa.com/images/gcprodemo/Thumbnails/8.jpg
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Jim Duyck on November 13, 2007, 10:18:01 AM
uh...nice lake processing for a GC warehouse gig... Shocked
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Jordan Wolf on November 14, 2007, 03:29:18 AM
I can hear the lights buzzing now...I just did some location work for a student film in an aircraft hangar - yay for 3 seconds of decay!
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Jason Dermer on November 14, 2007, 08:56:33 AM
We did not actually use the Lake processor, it was there because I was purchasing it from Bennett. IIRC, it was taken out of the box the "show it off" a bit.

All processing was done in the APB console and EONA boxes, no outboard whatsoever. Bennett and I laughed quite a few times during the evening about the irony of the demo being about losing all of the analog in your signal chain when recording, yet we were playing their electronica through pure analog end to end.

Overall a good day, and yes, it was also fun to blow away the preconceived notions of the average GC customer as to what a rackmount mixer and tiny little powered speakers could do. Smile
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Phil LaDue on November 14, 2007, 12:09:12 PM
Jason Dermer wrote on Wed, 14 November 2007 08:56

We did not actually use the Lake processor, it was there because I was purchasing it from Bennett.

The same one he bought just over a month ago?
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Bennett Prescott on November 14, 2007, 01:26:17 PM
Phil LaDue wrote on Wed, 14 November 2007 12:09

Jason Dermer wrote on Wed, 14 November 2007 08:56

We did not actually use the Lake processor, it was there because I was purchasing it from Bennett.

The same one he bought just over a month ago?

Yep, Jason needed one on short order and I'd gotten it for a good price, so I'm passing it on to him. I'll get another one soon, I'm just not in a hurry and he is.
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Steve Hurt on December 08, 2007, 02:26:43 PM
Is there a way to sign up to Road Test one of the Pro Racks?

I am very interested if there is.

Who would I contact.

PM or e-mail to steve at floodstagestudio.com
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Tim McCulloch on December 08, 2007, 07:09:17 PM
Steve-

The best way is to call Sarah Elliot at  415 387 4009 and chat with her, or Mark Herman.

Have fun, good luck.

Tim Mc
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Chuck Augustowski on December 09, 2007, 12:42:57 PM
I can not speak for doing a "Road Test", but if you or anyone wishes to evaluate a ProRack (or any other APB product), please send me an e-mail at Chucka@apb-dynasonics and I will pass your request to our local reps who can arrange for you to try one of our demo units that are out in the field.

Chuck Augustowski
APB-DynaSonics
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Steve Hurt on December 09, 2007, 01:02:59 PM
e-mail sent!  Thanks for the info!
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020+M1016
Post by: Steve Payne on May 13, 2008, 01:44:03 PM
Just a quick update on our APBs.  We have been using the 1020 constantly  for more than 6 months now and it has been flawless.  We just picked up an M1016 and we have been using it for support acts on larger shows and as a package with the H1020 out front on smaller shows.  A really cool set up that we just started using is shown in the attached pictures.  This allows one engineer to take out a small rig but still offer a very flexible and well controlled monitor situation.  We are really digging these small consoles.  Compact, light weight, feature rich, sound excellent and built like tanks.  Thanks for some great tools, APB!
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Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020+M1016
Post by: Steve Payne on May 13, 2008, 01:45:39 PM
I just bought a midi cable so I could link the cue system next time.

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Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Steve Payne on June 10, 2008, 10:00:06 PM
The ProRacks seem to be making a hit with the press as well with those of us using them daily in the trenches.  

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/newbay/par_200805/index.php? startid=1

http://fohonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=v iew&id=1473&Itemid=39

I find we are leaving our 24 channel console set in the warehouse and taking out the H1020 / M1016 combination anytime we can squeeze into 16 channels.  Everybody who uses these things absolutely loves them.

Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Alex Lindsay on July 22, 2008, 05:55:46 PM
Peter Etheredge wrote on Thu, 02 August 2007 15:03

Ales Dravinec 'Alex' wrote on Thu, 02 August 2007 08:45



Cons & wish list:

#2 considerable 'pop' at power on and power off. Not a catastrophic one, but there it is.





Ales you of all people should know that this isn't an issue because proper power up protocol calls for the mixer to be one of the first things turned on and amps/powered speakers the last thing turned on, so having a pop isn't an issue! Power down is the exact opposite making this again a non issue.   Smile


As yet I haven't seen any APB's over here in the UK, been seen as there has been some reference to the Midas Venice for comparison, and having much time loving my venices, and having to agree with all the criticisms on it's routing limitations, etc, I feel the need to add my two-pennith-worth to the discussion.

On a couple of occasions the power to Venice had been cut, not due to any fault of the mixer. Whilst the system was silent, and nothing was happening. It remained silent throughout powerdown and back up again. On one occasion I had a 30Kw rig connected, wound up on full and not a click could be heard.
Surely this is down to the presence of mute relays?
Would there be a cost consideration on these in the APB, with it's 14 outputs?
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: John Petrucelli on July 24, 2008, 08:21:16 PM
Alex,
On our larger consoles we do have output mute relays that operate during power-up and power-down. The upcoming ProDesk-4 console, which is in the same market class as the Venice, will have these output relays along with an additional, external connector that will allow the operator (or safety system) to mute all 18 outputs with a single contact closure.

Regards,
JP
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Bob Henley on December 14, 2008, 02:14:56 PM
I've had the road test ProRack for a couple of weeks, and now that our show is over, I'll get down and write a review.

In short, I loved using out. It'll be hard to pry it out of my tech's hands tomorrow when I send it off.
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Bob Henley on February 01, 2009, 04:23:04 PM
Well, this is a bit late, but I’ve been really busy in the past couple of months and this is the first time that I’ve got a chance to write this review. I received the Road Test APB Prorack House from Bennett Prescott in late November. I had read good things on these forums about ABP, and I have to say, they’re all right.

Here was my situation: I was the technical director and scenery designer for a play to be performed in our “black box” studio theater. That theater’s sound system is designed for pre-show music and sound cues—it consists of a half-broken Behringer Eurorack, a QSC Model 1200, and a pair of EV SH1502s. Adequate for those purposes, but the play we were performing was set in a radio studio. The director and myself wanted to use the microphones to differentiate between “on air” lines and lines that were simply directed towards other actors. What we had wasn’t up to the task, so I posted a thread in the marketplace and Bennett was kind enough to offer us the Road Test ProRack for a couple of weeks.

My first comment upon receiving the ProRack was the weight.  The Prorack is about the same size as the Eurorack, but significantly heavier. I took that as a good sign, and after opening the package, I realized that this is really a well-built piece of equipment. Everything felt “the way it should”. No cheap crap here- the faceplate, knobs, buttons, and faders were all great.

Me and a couple of my techs set up the board the next day. Of course, I just ignored the manual and went straight into plugging in. We couldn’t get any sound out of the board until we realized that the “line” switch had to be pressed to use the ¼” line inputs. Probably should have read the manual.

We got all the mics wired up and working (despite a shortage of cable- there were shows going on in our main theater that needed that equipment). Because of the odd configuration of the room we ended up needing two “zones” of coverage- Left, Right, and Center. Thanks to the ProRack’s multitude of routing options, we were able to do that and then put an effects speaker on the mono output, giving it a long fader instead of an aux knob.

You might note some odd EQ settings in the pictures. That’s because we were trying to make the mics sound bad- like something out of the 50’s. The ProRack EQs worked great – just as good as those on our Soundcraft MH3 that we have in the main theater. The sweepable HPFs have to be one of my favorite features: it makes life so much easier when trying to control handling and footstep noises.

Pre-Post switches on each pair of AUXs are great and give infinitely more flexibility than having some locked to pre or post. One last comment: unlike some cheap Yamaha boards, it’s possible to put your finger down and sweep across all the mute buttons rather than pressing each individually. Nice in an emergency when you don’t have mute groups.

All in all, a really great mixer. It felt like using the MH3, just in a small version. I could barley pry it from my techs hands when it was time to send it back. We’ll be purchasing one as soon as the Eurorack finally dies (which will probably be sooner rather than later).

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Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Bob Henley on February 01, 2009, 04:24:56 PM
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Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Bob Henley on February 01, 2009, 04:28:35 PM
Here's the set. The room is the radio control room, which we filled up with unused and cool looking sound equipment. We had two EV RE11s, two EV RE10s, a N/D757, an AKG D190E, and two Shure 55SHs out on the set. Not exactly from the time period, but the audience doesn't care.

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Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Jordan Wolf on February 01, 2009, 06:59:58 PM
What show was that?  It looked like 1940's Radio Hour to me.

That one picture looks like it should be in a magazine advertisement for the mixer! Smile

Glad you liked it so much...it further confirms my thoughts about the company and its products.
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Bob Henley on February 02, 2009, 09:33:54 PM
Jordan Wolf wrote on Sun, 01 February 2009 17:59

What show was that?  It looked like 1940's Radio Hour to me.

That one picture looks like it should be in a magazine advertisement for the mixer! Smile

Glad you liked it so much...it further confirms my thoughts about the company and its products.



Thanks!

The show was Loving Lives by Alan Haehnel. It's a comedy about a radio show on the verge of being canceled.

I took the pictures with my Nikon D200, an 18-55mm lens, and my grandfather's flash unit from the 70's. I'm pretty pleased with the results, but I just got an SB-600 flash and am wishing I had that available then.

The pictures are originally 3872x2592, I just scaled them down to 800x536 so they would display right here.
Title: APB-Dynasonics Pro Rack House
Post by: Tom Germain on March 24, 2009, 08:21:25 PM
Recently, thanks to Bennett Prescott, I've been fortunate enough to be able to demo an APB-Dynasonics Pro Rack House mixer.  I've had use of the mixer for about a month and I've just finished testing it out in my home, project studio.  Although the mixer is of course designed for live sound reinforcement, I've found that it really has a wealth of features that makes it a very nice 'front end' to a multitrack recorder.  

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During several sessions of use in my home, it has served as a front end to a 16 I/O MOTU DP6 system, with the direct outs of the Pro Rack House feeding the line level inputs of two HD 896 interfaces.  For playback/monitoring, I used the first two stereo input channels, #13 and #14, to bring back a separate stereo submix from each of the MOTU interfaces.  This arrangement worked out just fine, with 12 mics utilizing channels #1 through #12, to capture a drumkit in my 'live room,' and still four additional preamps available in channels #15 and 16.  The first of these I used in mono for an electric bass, which was patched directly to Ch #15's line in, and the other, I used for a stereo keyboard that happened to have balanced, line level outs.  Finally, I used Auxes 5 and 6 to feed a stereo cue mix.


It's really a wonderful little console, and though I do wish it had some features that a studio-targeted recording console would have, the sound quality really is exceptional.  The preamps always provided a very full, smooth, and yet punchy sound, which I really enjoyed.  One of my goals was to test the usefulness of the board's EQ during tracking drums in particular, and since the board is set up (from the factory) with the direct outs pre-EQ, I decided to send channels #1 through 4 to the 4 mono groups, which have their own set of direct outs.  These channels carried signals from both two kick mics (an AKG C4000b inside, and an SM57 on the attack head), and two snare mics (SM57s on both snare top and bottom).  I toggled the EQ 'on' for channels 1-4 and got nice results doing things like adding a bit more low end to the inside of kick mic - via the fixed low freq band - and also adding both some 'snap' to the kick and presence to the top of the snare via the sweepable hi-mid bands.  I also was able to get rid of some unnecessary low end on both the kick's attack head mic, and the snare's bottom head mic, by using the sweepable hi pass filter... very nice sounding EQ!


One weekend, with my brother visiting, I also had a chance to record both a scratch lead vocal and an electric guitar track for a new song of his.  It's a rough track, but I recorded everything through the APB pres.  (I will provide a link)  By the way, since I positioned the APB Pro Rack House on the desk in front of me in the control room, it was very easy to re-patch whenever I needed to free up a channel or two to record something new.  We micd up my bro's electric guitar cabinet with a Rode NTK tube mic, having also split the signal so I could capture a clean DI track simultaneously, and then afterwards used the same tube mic to track his vocal.  My brother happens to have a very dynamic voice and yet not once did he overload the console's preamp.  I did not have to be overly cautious in setting the preamp gain, I got a healthy level, and the pre still had plenty of headroom.  We just got excellent results without any hassle!


One slight issue for me has been the built in fan that runs constantly whenever the Pro Rack House is on.  Although it's quiet, after a few hours in the control room, it did start to be a bit much.  In my control room (about 10' x 13'), I think this only posed a problem because of the pre-existing noise - that caused by a Mac Pro computer.  Anyway, I decided to send an email/query to APB about the fan and whether it could be disabled, and I received a very quick and helpful response from John Petrucelli of APB.  He let me know that a switch could be added to allow the fan to be manually switched off and on, as needed.  Although he didn't recommend using the console with the fan off all the time, he did suggest that the controlled room temperature of a studio/control room should allow fan-less use of the Pro Rack House without any problems!  That modification, combined with another - setting the console's direct outs to tap signals post-EQ, which is a modification offered at the APB factory - (I think) will make the Pro Rack House a perfect match for small, home and project studios.  

Please feel free to ask questions.  It's been a total pleasure working with this console!
Title: Re: APB-Dynasonics Pro Rack House
Post by: Tom Germain on March 24, 2009, 08:23:12 PM
More Photos...

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Title: Re: APB-Dynasonics Pro Rack House
Post by: Tom Germain on March 24, 2009, 08:25:02 PM
One more...

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Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: David Karol on June 22, 2010, 04:46:47 PM
I got the chance to use the ProRack last week at a local festival.  10 bands played through the ProRack that day.  Our stage had that at FOH, along with 2 ADRaudio U103 on top of 3 ATA 118 subs per side.  Two subs per side were used, one on each side was just lifted the tops a bit.  4 ADRaudio M1225 were used for monitors.  The 4 monitor mixes were mixed from FOH.  

It was a festival type setup, 4 piece drum kit, no more than 2 guitars at a time, 4 vocals, and a few DI's.  

The entire system was incredibly linear.  What went in was exactly what came out.  The ProRack does not have a sound to it.  Along with the ADR speakers, it is extremely transparent.  The EQ on the ProRack, just like APB's other consoles is extremely responsive.  The amount of output from those little ADRaudio boxes is amazing.  Honestly, we would have been fine cutting a 103 from each side.  

The big complaint I've been hearing about the ProRack is the fact that there is no space to label the channels.  I made a little workaround for that though.  I put the artists tape at the lower corner, half hanging off.  I then took another piece of the tape and placed it upside down, half on the first piece, and half on the bottom of the mixer.  That worked for me.

A great feature on the ProRack is the high pass filter.  I haven't seen those very often, or really at all, on rackmount mixers.  Same with the digital rackmounts; my 01v96 doesn't have that without getting rid of an EQ band.  

I like the little group faders on the upper right of the mixer.  I ran the four vocals through each of those, to bypass the compressors for the monitor mix.  

Everyone at APB did a great job fitting so much into the ProRack.  I look forward to using it again.  That, and Jason Dermer isn't actually that big of a douche bag. Laughing Every time I'm working with him, I end up learning something new, and he's really helped with getting my foot in the door in the live sound world.

Thanks Jason!

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Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: David Karol on June 22, 2010, 04:47:29 PM
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Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: David Karol on June 22, 2010, 04:48:31 PM
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Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Jason Dermer on June 23, 2010, 08:46:46 PM
David Karol wrote on Tue, 22 June 2010 16:46

.... and Jason Dermer isn't actually that big of a douche bag. Laughing Every time I'm working with him, I end up learning something new, and he's really helped with getting my foot in the door in the live sound world.

Thanks Jason!




Umm, thanks, I think???
Rolling Eyes
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Mac Kerr on June 23, 2010, 08:58:28 PM
Jason Dermer wrote on Wed, 23 June 2010 20:46

David Karol wrote on Tue, 22 June 2010 16:46

.... and Jason Dermer isn't actually that big of a douche bag. Laughing Every time I'm working with him, I end up learning something new, and he's really helped with getting my foot in the door in the live sound world.

Thanks Jason!




Umm, thanks, I think???
Rolling Eyes


Hey David, that's Mr. Douche bag to you.   Laughing

Mac
Title: Re: APB Dynasonics ProRack H1020
Post by: Jason Dermer on June 23, 2010, 11:29:14 PM
Mac Kerr wrote on Wed, 23 June 2010 20:58



Hey David, that's Mr. Douche bag to you.   Laughing

Mac


If I have to be a douchebag, I'm taking "King Of All He Surveys, Master Over Mere Mortal Mixers, Big Kahuna Douchebag." Squared.