Soundcraft Signature 12 MTK (multitrack usb mixer)

The Lounge Other Gear
#1

This seems interesting, especially for the price.
Same converters as their high end digital consoles.

12 more A/D inputs for your MM & MD to join AR & A4 Overbridged in your DAW.

“12-ch Mixer with 8 x Ghost Mic Preamps, 2 x Aux Busses, 3-band British EQs, Lexicon Effects, dbx Limiters, Switchable Hi-Z Inputs, and USB Playback and Recording”

The kicker is its $399. I’m thinking this is what I need to record a live techno set at a show, then give it a good polished mix down afterward for a live album release.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Sig12MT

Sig12MT_large.jpg750×734 238 KB

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Soundcraft Signature 12 MTK
On the fence about getting a Soundcraft Signature 12 MTK
Good mixer for recording synths at a reasonable price?
#2

I think you just get the stereo mix from the USB though, no? You can’t multi-track them. Unless i read wrong.

#3

It says:

High-Performance 12-input small format analogue mixer with onboard effects and multi-track USB recording and playback

#4

Reading a bit further, there seems to be different models, the ones labeled MTK can multitrack, while the rest can not.

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#5

The Signature 22 MTK is kind of the mixing desk I’ve been waiting for.

Now if they just would give out some manual or at least the dimensions of those things …

#6

Well, if you actually can multi track into your DAW with these, then the 12 would be perfect!

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#7

Seems no hardware inserts are possible though? You have to route the audio to your DAW via USB, where you can apply FX, and then route it back again.

i.e. no hardware fx send loops per channel?

#8

Looks like a great alternative to the Mackie Onyx mixers.
the MTK - Multi Track USB - makes the difference.

#9

Looks interesting. However, somehow I don’t like FX sections on mixers. I prefer to put that money in the quality of the i/o 's instead.

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#10

I see your point, noxical, but if you also want to use it Live, for example in a small band situation, especially with a singer, you´re probably happy for a little reverb in the box.

andajazz

#11

Sweetwater site says:
[ul]
[li]14-in/12-out USB connectivity for playback and recording (24-bit/48kHz)[/li]
[li]Aux Sends 3 x Pre/Post[/li]
[li]Busses/Groups - 2 Aux Busses, 1 Aux/FX Bus, 2 Mono/1 Stereo Subgroup(s)
[/li]

[/ul]
Hmm… I’m getting to the stage where I want to start integrating IOS FX and synths with my Octatrack, as well as the Eventide H9. Might also want to integrate the Nord Modular G2X which is yet another awesome audio processor.

I currently have a Mackie 802VLZ3, which is a fine little mixer, but only 1 Aux Bus, currently occupied by the Octatrack so it can sample/process anything plugged into any of the mixer inputs. Right now I can integrate the H9 by connecting it to the OT’s Cue Outs - which would use up one Thru Machine, but I can live with that - and the H9 outputs back into the OT’s CD inputs. But that leaves me no room for running other external FX in parallel with the H9.

I should probably ask the Sweetwater rep if “virtual aux sends” are possible that don’t use up the 2 available Aux Sends (the 3rd is a send just to the internal FX unit of the mixer) - so I could send to the iPad for processing via one of those 14 USB audio inputs.

#12

Deja Vu- just saw your post on Facebook!

#13

Yeah, posted there right after I posted here, lol. I’ll just post here until somebody indicates interest on FB too.
Mark at Sweetwater answered my question:

Thanks for writing.
The USB send on this board is going to send the individual inputs out the USB to the computer. When you are returning a signal from the computer to the board, you will need to select the USB return on that channel, which will override any other input to that channel.
If you run the signal back on a different input, you can route the audio to the computer as if it were an auxiliary, but you will not have access to all 12 inputs on the back of the board.

Mark

My question:

Can you use the USB inputs and outputs as “virtual aux busses”? For example, say I run Audiobus on iPad with two pipelines, and thus two inputs. I plug a guitar into physical input 1 of the mixer and a synth into physical input 2. Can I send the guitar through Audiobus pipeline 1, synth through Audiobus pipeline 2, and receive Audiobus outputs back into the mixer?

#14

Is there any indication you can even send audio to an iPad through USB with this mixer?
Is it even class compliant?

#15

Followup email exchange:

My email:

Thanks for the response.

Just to clarify - for the given scenario, I could return Audiobus pipeline 1 stereo output back from the iPad to channels 3 and 4, and the Pipeline 2 stereo output back to channels 5 and 6… and still have the two physical Aux Sends available for two hardware effects units?

Mark’s response:

Unless they have done something completely illogical with this board, you can.

Mark

Mark Bruhn
Senior Sales Engineer

Now you know as much as I do. No mention of class compliance but a look at the Soundcraft product page does not show any USB driver downloads.

Anyway, one thing I do know is this particular store has an excellent return policy. If it totally fails to work with iPad I can return it no problem. This is based on buying a $600 DPA mic from them, finding it a failure for my situation (micing viola with loud rock band), sending it back, getting my refund fast.

#16

I’m just pretty surprised there is no mention anywhere (other than the response from the sales guy) of iPad compatibility.
There isn’t even a manual or quick start guide available for download, so I don’t much weight on whatever they’ve made available to download.

Seems like iPad compatibility is something they would at least mention somewhere in their description…

#17

One problem I’ve noticed shopping online for USB mixers is if I include “iPad” in the search string I get results of nothing but those mixers designed to dock an iPad so that you have to use the iPad itself to control faders - like this one:

https://ipadmusiced.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/dl1608-w-ipad.jpg

DO NOT WANT (me, anyway)

Maybe Soundcraft doesn’t mention iPad because they’re concerned that if they do, edumacated Amurrican customers like me might think it’s one of those mixers too.

Anyway, I’ll probably get one. If it sucks, I’ll cry here and you can say I told you so, and I’ll get my refund from the store in 7 days or less.

#18

Well, hope it works out.
Let us know- any idea when they are going to start shipping?

#19

Here is an example of a USB mixer that does not mention iPad/IOS at all yet a reviewer says it works with his iPad:

You may have seen D. Warman mention it on the FB group.

#20

A soundcraft rep on gearslutz said it is core audio driver-less.

I expect it to play with iPad.
Going to get the 22 MTK for studio and regional live pa gigs.
22 solid A/D for $799 is too hard to pass up. Plus the 4 band eq, 5 aux sends and Dbx limiters. No brainer!