Recording - October 2011 - 40

Radial Workhorse And Modules

LED and an on/off/mute switch. The mixer’s master section has three stereo outs, each with its own level control: main, monitor, and headphones. The mixer section’s backside features another D-sub connector for the summing mixer’s 8 input channels. The main output section (with isolated Jensen transformers) has balanced 1/4" TRS and XLR stereo outputs and a pair of 1/4" TRS insert points. The monitor output section, identical to the main out section, has no inserts. The duplicate headphone outs are of a high-output design, and they offer a handy mono summing switch for checking phase and such. Rack niceties At this point you may be wondering, “I thought this was a 500-Series rack and there has been little to no talk about how it handles said modules.” Simply put, you put the modules in the rack and they work, and thanks to yet another of the Workhorse’s unique features, it literally is that simple: The Workhorse comes with a handy internal tray with small guide rails that helps to line up the modules properly with the rear sockets. For anyone who has fussed with seating a module in an enclosure before, this is another welcome feature. The tray is set up to fit single modules in the first 6 slots and a double in the last two—that last slot was where I installed the Great River mic preamp reviewed elsewhere in this issue. If this configuration

does not work for you, that’s OK as the tray is removable. In use I filled and tested the Workhorse with modules from Great River, Chandler Limited, Millennia Media, and of course Radial, and it was a solid performer with them all. The only word of caution I can offer is to make sure when you are setting up and wiring your rack that you only have the Feed switches activated when and if you need them. I could not understand why one of the mic pres was so noisy, until I crawled behind my desk to discover that the Feed switch from the module in front of it was on, and its input volume was cranked all the way up! It’s strange to think of a 500-Series rack as having a learning curve, but this one kind of does... not so much in how it works, but more in how you want it to work for you. Do you want a summing mixer, a tracking rack of 8 mic pres, a pair of channel strips with a pre, eq and comp? Luckily Radial provides a healthy selection of setup suggestions, both online and in the manual (www.radialeng.com/pdfs/wh-usersguide.pdf), to help you conceptualize and map out what will work best for you. All of my own 500-Series modules (so far!) are equalizers, so I really have no need for the internal bussing, but with the right modules this unit can become a tracking mixer, complete with a latencyfree cue mix from your DAW.

I spent some time testing out the summing mixer, and it exceeded my expectations. I am not a person who buys into the whole summing mixer fanaticism on the internet as a “better-or-worse-than” scenario—I’m more of the “slightly different” scenario persuasion—but I will say that the Jensen transformers on the outputs give the unit a nice subtle personality that I quite liked. You will need to watch your DAW’s output levels, as it is very easy to overdrive the inputs with hot digital-zero signals. This unit sounded the sweetest when my average signals were around –12 dB, occasionally peaking at –6 dB. Now on the other hand, like a good analog device, you can drive the inputs for some analog saturation and distortion if you want, but I liked it better with more openness and headroom. Lastly, even though it looks and functions like a basic line mixer thanks to its gain and pan pots, their layout makes them a tad cramped for actual active mixing. Conclusions The Workhorse is a huge step forward in the 500-Series world, and from its build quality to its feature set and its open-ended architecture, it is currently unrivaled for supremacy. Simply put, even if you take the summing mixer away (and you can—see below), no other 500Series rack even comes close. Of course all innovation comes with a cost, and with the Workhorse that cost is $1399 street. Compared to API’s own 10-slot 500V which streets for $800 it’s a pretty steep difference. Now if all you want is a 500-Series rack, the good news is Radial does offer the Workhorse without the mixer, also for around $800, so for the same money the decision comes down to build quality and feature set vs. possible number of modules. The mixer can be purchased and installed separately as an add-on at a later date. Looked at from the other end, the Workhorse is a Jensen-equipped summing mixer that also happens to be a 500-Series rack. As such, when compared to most other summing boxes, it’s a flat-out bargain!

RECORDING OCTOBER 2011

http://www.radialeng.com/pdfs/wh-usersguide.pdf http://www.radialeng.com/pdfs/wh-usersguide.pdf

Recording - October 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - October 2011