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MusicEducationResources.Org providing solutions for BTEC first and National music and music technology programmes at NQF levels 2 and 3. |
Allen & Heath ZED R16 Firewire - typical price £1950.00
'16 Channel firewire recording mixer'
(Reviewed by John Verity)
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Call me old fashioned but when I took the ZED R16 out of its packing I got this lovely warm feeling... Faders and pots, comprehensive eq you can touch, alternative monitor outputs, talkback, no screens to navigate - creative heaven! Like many professionals and educators working with DAW systems I have taken to using a hybrid system which doesn't include a traditional mixing console in recent years. It didn't take long to remember, as I began to work with the ZED R16, how much I miss the feel and sound of a true analogue mixer. In the case of the ZED R16, when working on a project everything is in the right place and you soon forget about the technicalities and concentrate on the music - surely that's what we're meant to do? 
WHAT'S IN THE BOX? The ZED R16 has everything you could expect from a traditional studio console - and more: Channel strip - low noise pre amps, comprehensive eq which has two swept mid sections, shelving top and bottom plus a high pass filter, 4 auxiliaries - 2 pre/ 2 post fade, pan, mute, pfl, comprehensive routing, signal level indicator and finally the fader. There are 16 mic inputs plus a pair of stereo inputs which have simple LF and HF eq. Outputs - including 2 separate studio monitor outputs, 2 sets of control room monitor outs and 2 sets of 2 track outs with inserts, and headphones. Returns - for 4 auxiliaries, plus 2 sets of 2 tracks and a digital in. The Master section - also includes a talkback mic with comprehensive routing. Digital connections - Firewire, MIDI and ADAT interfaces talk directly to your computer. MIDI control - Transport control for your DAW, plus fader, rotary, and switch control all from the ZED R16 Software - Every ZED R16 comes with drivers, and Sonar LE DAW from Cakewalk included. 
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IN USE Just a few minutes after installing the drivers into my laptop and connecting up the computer and ZED R16, I was ready configure my DAW of choice - Steinberg's Nuendo. This was simply a case of choosing the ZED asio driver in setup, and activating the newly available inputs and outputs in the software. I was then able to plug a selection of microphones into the ZED R16, send them directly from each channel to individual tracks in Nuendo and record as usual. I recorded 8 microphones simultaneously to separate tracks with no problems, then with a click of a button next to each fader on the ZED R16 I was able to control level and pan of the recorded tracks whilst listening back to the recording - it's that simple... Space here dictates that my review is quite basic but with a little more time I could have configured the transport controls on the ZED R16 to control the DAW, connected the studio headphone and talkback directly from the desk and wired up alternative monitor speaker systems to be selected directly from the ZED R16 - and much more... It really is an effective all-in-one package which greatly enhances the use of a DAW with excellent analogue equalisation, a useful hardware interface which limits the need for a mouse, and gives the user hands-on control when recording and mixing. 
TO SUMMARISE... Allen & Heath have been building mixers for many years, and have come up with a great package here which is ideally suited to use in education. Many of the components used are identical to those used in Allen & Heath's larger studio consoles, and similar construction methods are utilised - individual circuit boards/ pots fixed to the front panel securely with a metal nut for strength and reliability. These mixers will surely stand up to the day-day-rigours of use in schools and colleges, they sound excellent, are intuitive to use and give each learner the tools to come up with truly professional results. For me though, the great attraction is the ZED R16's ability to combine traditional and modern. Analogue eq and high quality pre-amps combined with the facility to control a modern DAW system make this a total no-brainer where a system is required which allows the learner to work hands-on in the way they would in a professional studio. Highly recommended for all Music Technology based units at level 2 (First Certificate and Diploma) and level 3 (National Award/ Certificate/ Diploma).
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