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Sound Reinforcement - Forums for Live Sound Professionals - Your Displayed Name Must Be Your Real Full Name To Post In The Live Sound Forums => LAB: The Classic Live Audio Board => Topic started by: Robert Walker on June 21, 2015, 01:30:04 PM

Title: Allen & Heath GLD-112
Post by: Robert Walker on June 21, 2015, 01:30:04 PM
I'm curious about where this board sits in the world of digital consoles.

Is it considered at the peak of the prosumer consoles or is it considered at the bottom of the pro-end consoles?

I'm looking to move up from the Midas M32 that I currently own and want to move into a higher quality of desk.  The GLD 112 seems like a step up.  But it also seems like a half step down from the Midas Pro 1.

However, I'm not really fond of the Pro 1's design, but love the "Midas Sound".  The Pro 2 is over my budget.

I run sound for local/regional bands, so I'm not concerned with rider friendliness.  They choose me, not my gear.  The bands expect me to provide excellent sound for them and trust the gear that I've selected.  I'm going to a new desk to further MY skills and be able to offer even better sound.

Any input from those who've used all of three of these desks (M32, Pro1 and GLD), I'd love to hear your input.

Thanks.

Robert

Title: Re: Allen & Heath GLD-112
Post by: g'bye, Dick Rees on June 21, 2015, 01:36:42 PM
From a business point of view, stick with what you have until it simply won't work for you.  Such moves as you're considering are often sideways rather than up...and with the rate of new product release you should save your money, bide your time and wait for that "aha" moment.
Title: Re: Allen & Heath GLD-112
Post by: Caleb Dueck on June 21, 2015, 02:44:47 PM
To us, the M32 is an X32 with a shiny wrapper.  The GLD is a strong step up, and pretty close to a Pro1. 

A GLD is great;if you really want a Midas, get a Pro2c. 
Title: Re: Allen & Heath GLD-112
Post by: Samuel Rees on June 21, 2015, 06:58:24 PM
I don't know what you call its 'class,' I don't think that's too important to me. What I can say is that it has some greater specs, and some additional cost when fully configured. More inputs to mix (44 mono + 2 stereo), more busses with more flexibility (up to 20 mono busses + 8 dedicated FX busses in monitor mode for example), more configurable work surface, dedicated GEQs for every out that don't share DSP the 8 dedicated FX units, and a bigger, touch sensitive screen.
Title: Re: Allen & Heath GLD-112
Post by: bharat bhushan on June 22, 2015, 12:36:50 AM
I previously owned x32 and now purchased Gld112 .

It has more features like having graphic eq on each send , 8 effect racks ,dedicated buttons for copy, paste and reset any input or output,Cat5 snake , touchscreen , better sounding preamps make it a good purchase.
only i miss is vga output to add a monitor.

Support from company is great, i had hardware issues in my gld surface and they fixed in small time , Again had an issue and they replaced it.

I would suggest you to see the requirement of ur clients ,, if you don't have any RIDER issue , then you must step ahead.
Title: Re: Allen & Heath GLD-112
Post by: Rob Spence on June 25, 2015, 06:06:29 PM
What is wrong with your M32? Certainly less than a year old so not out of date?

Everyone raved about the Midas sound.
.???

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Title: Re: Allen & Heath GLD-112
Post by: Robert Walker on June 25, 2015, 08:05:27 PM
What is wrong with your M32? Certainly less than a year old so not out of date?

Everyone raved about the Midas sound.
.???



Well, it's not the REAL Midas sound.  You can only get that when you use a REAL Midas I/O box.

I find the board to be a bit "cheesey".  The display is somewhat small and often difficult for these old eyes to read.  The faders, although better than the X32, still feel like they are from a toy.

And the interface with Waves is abysmal.  Way too much latency since it doesn't have a dedicated Soundgrid card.

And since it is only a year old, I can still sell it and recoup much of my money on it.
Title: Re: Allen & Heath GLD-112
Post by: Rob Spence on June 25, 2015, 11:25:49 PM

Well, it's not the REAL Midas sound.  You can only get that when you use a REAL Midas I/O box.

I find the board to be a bit "cheesey".  The display is somewhat small and often difficult for these old eyes to read.  The faders, although better than the X32, still feel like they are from a toy.

And the interface with Waves is abysmal.  Way too much latency since it doesn't have a dedicated Soundgrid card.

And since it is only a year old, I can still sell it and recoup much of my money on it.

Well, I have a GLD80 and love it. I find the 20 faders to be plenty with the huge flexibility in configuration.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Title: Re: Allen & Heath GLD-112
Post by: Robert Piascik on June 27, 2015, 10:30:25 AM
From a business point of view, stick with what you have until it simply won't work for you.  Such moves as you're considering are often sideways rather than up...and with the rate of new product release you should save your money, bide your time and wait for that "aha" moment.

I agree with Dick here, I don't see the GLD as much of a step up (if any) so why spend for (close to) a lateral movement. Something newer and a clear step up is surely right around the corner. These are exciting times for pro audio at this level but you have to be careful to not jump until you make a clear step up. It doesn't sound like you have any pressing need for this move.

Title: Re: Allen & Heath GLD-112
Post by: Samuel Rees on June 27, 2015, 11:08:39 AM

I agree with Dick here, I don't see the GLD as much of a step up (if any) so why spend for (close to) a lateral movement. Something newer and a clear step up is surely right around the corner. These are exciting times for pro audio at this level but you have to be careful to not jump until you make a clear step up. It doesn't sound like you have any pressing need for this move.

I agree, one should make these moves based on real business needs. I don't know the complete picture of what those are for you - but if you are running out of inputs, FX processors, and GEQs for your clients 7 days a week, I could see a GLD starting to look good.

OP - Are those things happening to you?
Title: Re: Allen & Heath GLD-112
Post by: Robert Walker on June 27, 2015, 11:57:08 AM
OP - Are those things happening to you?

The need is not because of lack of inputs.  I just don't like the quality of the M32 and want a board that provides better sound to my clients and a better user experience for me.  I can certainly sell it today and get most of my money back on it.  So that's not a business decision.

And what you guys are saying, is that the GLD series is pretty much a lateral move, which was my fear and why I asked the question.  I've not used one live.  Just been able to handle it at trade shows.

Thank you all for you opinions.
Title: Re: Allen & Heath GLD-112
Post by: Caleb Dueck on June 27, 2015, 12:02:49 PM
I disagree about the GLD being a lateral move from the X32/M32.  In my opinion, it's a solid step up.  If 32ch are enough, and you don't need the ME-1 mixers, then even though it's better it's not enough better in this case to spend money on. 
Title: Re: Allen & Heath GLD-112
Post by: Samuel Rees on June 27, 2015, 12:03:52 PM
I prefer mixing on a GLD over an M32 for sure, if you want a better experience. The bigger touchscreen interface and freely assignable fader layers, as well as more dedicated encoders for EQ and etc, make it much more like a DiGiCo or other high end desk to me than an M32 or etc. The channel processing include vintage emulations on every channel in addition to several compressor modes, leaving lots of room for creativity on all channels you just don't get on the M32. The case will be smaller than an M32 case for sure, which was a big deal for me. If you're looking for a better experience, the GLD definitely is more on par with the Pro1 and SD11 than the M32 IMHO.
Title: Re: Allen & Heath GLD-112
Post by: eytan gidron on July 06, 2015, 12:53:48 AM
Speaking of Digico, have you looked at the new S21? It should be out soon.
Title: Re: Allen & Heath GLD-112
Post by: Robert Walker on July 06, 2015, 01:08:26 PM
Speaking of Digico, have you looked at the new S21? It should be out soon.

I saw it a Infocomm a couple of weeks ago.  While I expected it to be the bomb, I was quite disappointed in it.  It just didn't live up to the hype of the video announcements that I saw.  I guess they set the bar so high with the videos, that not even a gold plated desk could have met my expectations.

I'm sure it's a great board that I just need to spend more time with.

Title: Re: Allen & Heath GLD-112
Post by: Samuel Rees on July 06, 2015, 01:13:37 PM

I saw it a Infocomm a couple of weeks ago.  While I expected it to be the bomb, I was quite disappointed in it.  It just didn't live up to the hype of the video announcements that I saw.  I guess they set the bar so high with the videos, that not even a gold plated desk could have met my expectations.

I'm sure it's a great board that I just need to spend more time with.

Can you describe your disappointment in more detail? Feel free to PM me as well.
Title: Re: Allen & Heath GLD-112
Post by: Robert Walker on July 06, 2015, 01:41:58 PM
Can you describe your disappointment in more detail? Feel free to PM me as well.

I didn't like the software.  I found myself unable to walk up and do some of the simplest of tasks with it (although I'm sure with a 10 minute tutorial I'd be just fine).  I didn't like the feel.  I thought the faders felt very cheap and plasiticy.  I liked the large dual screens, but felt that their resolution wasn't as crisp as it should have been.  I love the overall look of the desk, though.

And of course, what we all judge by, the sound, was not something that I could determine just by looking at the desk.  That is reserved for another day.
Title: Re: Allen & Heath GLD-112
Post by: BradLyons on July 08, 2015, 06:37:04 AM
I'm curious about where this board sits in the world of digital consoles.

Is it considered at the peak of the prosumer consoles or is it considered at the bottom of the pro-end consoles?

I'm looking to move up from the Midas M32 that I currently own and want to move into a higher quality of desk.  The GLD 112 seems like a step up.  But it also seems like a half step down from the Midas Pro 1.

However, I'm not really fond of the Pro 1's design, but love the "Midas Sound".  The Pro 2 is over my budget.

I run sound for local/regional bands, so I'm not concerned with rider friendliness.  They choose me, not my gear.  The bands expect me to provide excellent sound for them and trust the gear that I've selected.  I'm going to a new desk to further MY skills and be able to offer even better sound.

Any input from those who've used all of three of these desks (M32, Pro1 and GLD), I'd love to hear your input.

Thanks.

Robert

The GLD series of consoles are quite under-rated, actually.  That's not to say they are better or worse than what you have or are looking into.  For you it might be a big step up, it might be a sideways move, or it might not be the best move in the end.  There are many questions to be asked to determine that.  However I'll say this---I deal with LARGE-scale design/build installations and systems upgrades as well, for all kinds of facilities, user-bases, and budgets.  Some projects are in the millions of dollars, others are well---nowhere near that.  I seek to find the best solution for the needs of that space/user so that the recommendation made is the best one.  My point is, it's best to get your needs on the table, what you want, what you're not getting out of your system now, and what you expect to achieve.

Okay to get down to the nuts and bolts.... I've installed a fair amount of GLD80 and GLD112 consoles and I must say they are amazing consoles for what they do and their price point.  The pre's are excellent, the EQ's are very musical, the compressors and limiters are quite transparent, and the board definitely does NOT have a digital sound.  Now, the console itself feels a little "cheap" compared to say a higher-end iLive series console but it's a solidly built product that performs as advertised.  The fact that you can add (1) 24x12 and (2) 8x4 digtial snakes, either at FOH or on the stage, is great.  Personally I do prefer the GLD112 for the extra fader count but the GLD80 is certainly more compact.  Is this the solution for you?  Couldn't tell you, would need to know a great deal more information.  But I can and will say this---I've not put a GLD series console into the hands of any of my clients and them not love the console. Even one of my former colleagues couldn't get into it (didn't like the layout) until I sat him down to demo the console, he agreed it's a pretty amazing board.