Main issue for me is good routing opportunities. 12 mono channels with direct out and insert, 6(!) aux sends, 5/6 with stereo option and 4 sub groups. Pairing this with a Flock Audio Patch and you are all set. Thanks for posting about this mixer!
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yeah, those routing options are quite normal at least Iām got used to groups, more than 2 auxes, flexibility with channels etcā¦ absolutely free to do what you need at the moment.
SSL will always push you to think what you really need at the moment, use patchbays, limitations, so one can always feel a bit incompleteā¦ So something to considerā¦ Decide if you want to be in super trendy analog heaven or just work with what you need on a quite good level.
Havenāt heard before about Flock Audio. How it exactly works with ProRack?
B6 has a major advantage with the USB integration. Switching from a recording mixer to working with stems from your DAW is a button press away. With Prorack, you have to setup a kind of complex patchbay routing system. But maybe Iām overcomplicating things.
Flock Audio Patch is a digitally controlled analog patchbay matrix which makes it easy to re-patch and stack outboard gear without cables. It is mention in a video posted earlier in this thread.
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Yeah itās a big advantageā¦ Really easy to process something already recorded thru EQ or COMP or other external gear (for example effect processor on auxes or some 500 series dynamics on the channel insertā¦ or Iāve heard inserts are not accessible when getting audio from computer on B6? anywaysā¦ ) and so - record it all back immediately. Probably good for āmixdownā basic things, doing most inside the box of course and just mix the final āgroupsā to stereo channels, some things like a bass and kick on mono channelsā¦ enhance it all a bitā¦ analog summingā¦ I still think itās nice!
I theoretically can mix at the moment with Allen Heath and some little but nice outboard (like some Eventides, Lexicons, UREI dynamics, tons of interesting pedalsā¦ ), but I havenāt made any analog mix since last 10 years I guess. Why? TOO DIFFICOULT TO RECONNECT ALLā¦ easier to do same thing in DAW, plugins are fineā¦ thatās always an answerā¦ But if it would be 1 button press away from start mixing, I would definitely do it more and moreā¦ I still remember āthe artā of mixdown, when you almost āplayā with your mix live and find some unexpectedly great sound by accident, and animate all a bit with handsā¦ itās cool.
Also very easy for recording jams, like 1 drum machine with 2 - 3 ind outs, mono bassline, stereo sampler, another stereo synth + some effectsā¦ not a lot but I donāt use more during jams anyways.
With the ProRack for example such a setup would cost me getting another 8 channels of RME AD/DA, have all the ins/outs on patchbay, 30 cables, and each time I want to record a jam - I have to reconnect all the ins and outs for proper connection (take something from ind outs and something from 4 groups to the ārightā inputs on interface ). It is some work, and as soon as we are all lazy, such a simplification with SSL could encourage to work and record more often. And get better music at the end.
I can see many nice usages of Bix Sis and probably it will enhance the workflow and bring the way of working music / sound to the next level. Thatās what I still expect and thatās what makes it very appealing.
So this Hybrid thing is very clever and nice as far as I understoodā¦ Not just the quality of sound but the quality of the workflow. To have the same amount of features with ProRack, one has to spent much more time and $ and maybe still not be in the same placeā¦
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Admittedly havenāt read through the entire thread, but is anyone using B6 as a front end for any of the new Akaiās (MPC/FORCE)?
Curious about RT latency when playing back midi tracks and simultaneously tracking audio.
Unfortunately right now it doesnāt seem to work. Connects fine but thereās pops and crackles in the audio. Unfortunately all too common with the MPC and interfacesā¦seems like the Tascam 12 works well tho.
Ah, disappointing but not surprised. It is class compliant for OS X but driver required for Win.
Wouldnāt hold my breathe at this point.
yeah this is really the magic sauce with the B6 and probably the thing that @Mistercharlie most wants to touch on in his review. so many mixers are actually made for clubs or general purpose use, and trying to use them in a home studio for both tracking and mixing requires re-configuring the desk when you want to switch between one and the other. instead of just pressing a button. my understanding is that consumer level/home studio-focused mixers used to be built this way, so that you had two inputs to each channel, and a button press swapped between them. but not for the last 20 years or so. there are exceptions, like the Toft mixers, and the SSL X Desk (and Iām sure more). but this puts all that in one box with your audio interface, plus adds the mix tools youāre most likely to use and enjoy having in hardware.
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Yes, was fairly common in the 90ās. That feature was called āinlineā. Tascam m2600ās had it.
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which is why it makes sense that Tascam was one of the first to do a proper home studio mixer with this same switching feature the B6 has, in their Model series. slightly different in that Tascam built in a recorder too (because theyāre Tascam) and itās aimed at a different market/price point.
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The B6 sounds really fantastic. I sold a few things to get it and couldnāt be happier. Iāve been running a lot of ambient synth sessions through it and itās bringing new life back into the sounds. Looking forward to recording tracks/sessions into ableton/logic and then mixing and summing in the console.
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B6 is a great all-in-one for many applications. The problem that I canāt get around is separate outs from a drum machine, it eats up all inputs on the mixer.
Thatās why Iām going with ProRack House and Flock Audio Patch. In combination with two regular patchbays it provides exceptional routing options. Both for tracking and mixing from Ableton. Only have to bother with cables when changing from tracking to mixing, but thatās a one minute job. Itās a more convoluted setup but with the benefits of 12 mono, 4 stereo/dual mono channels and easy stackable signal processing for all outputs.
With that said, the B6 looks like a well-thought-out and complete system for the modern producer/mixer.
I realize this is not even close to what your asking but I thought Iād chime in. The OG SiX and MPC Live are perfect together with six outs on the live into that lovely goodness the six provides.
Well, I got the replacement mixer from SSL yesterday and hooked it all up andā¦ same issue. Maybe it is a little better, but I canāt really tell. So I just plugged the better power supply back in and hopefully it wonāt be an issue in actual use. It is good to be making music again, ugh.
I did notice the L and R channels are more balanced with the pan pots at their detent positions with this one, so I will count that as a win for me and my OCD I guess 
If I hear anything more from SSL I will update here.
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My Big SiX has been lost in transit for about two weeks but should hopefully be arriving today. Has anyone hooked theirs up to an iPad DAW like Cubasis? Crossed my mind today that this could be a pretty powerful tracking setup to get away from my laptop.
Thanks for the update HBIII! I hope SSL comes up with the new firmware to solve the DC issue: when sampling in a DAW, if the DC is non-zero, you canāt lock to the zero crossing when slicing ā¦ and drums
are often not symmetric, so removing DC in the audio editor does not set the beginning and end to zero. And, I did not find a āvertical shiftā function in the DAW either.
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I used it with a
AUM on an iPad: works great!
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Hi @Sanbruno - Iām totally new to iPad music making world and have been trying to get the Big SiX working with both AUM and Cubasis over the last few hours with no luck. Specifically looking at AUM, I can see my audio signal coming in, but Iām unable to route it back to the B6 when selected ext outputs 15 / 16 (and enabling on the B6 - Iāve got it working with my laptop so I think I understand the setup on the actual mixer). Any guidance since you were able to get it working? Is there a way to tell the iPad which Big SiX channels to route all audio to or something? Thanks!
Really loving my B6, this will be the first time Iāve used a console as a centrepiece, so I have lots of learning to do. Thankfully Iāve not had any of the PSU noise issues.
One question I have is, finding an eloquent way of using the B6 with a ERM Multiclock? I have to sacrifice one SA channel to run the sync track, which is not great. Anyone have a better solution? Would be possible to buy another cheap interface and assign the Multiclock sync to channel 17?
I experienced the same DC problem. The DC doesnāt impact the sound from what I could hear, but it does cause problems elsewhere as you point out. I really hope they get it fixed. T