Recording - June 2015 - 14

B Y PA U L V N U K J R .

St. Paul-based Great River Electronics is
well known for its line of microphone preamps, equalizers, and most recently 500
Series compressors (review forthcoming).
The cornerstone of the Great River line is
the ME-1NV microphone preamp, a modern take on the classic Neve 1073 preamp. The ME-1NV was one of the first
models in the 1073 resurgence over a
decade ago.

Great River MixMaster 20

This comprehensive analog mixer and DAW front end offers a truly impressive feature set
Back in our October 2011 issue I
reviewed the MP-500V, a 500 Series version of the ME-1NV, along with the company's Harrison 32 500 Series EQ. The
latter has been in use on every mix I have
done since, usually on lead vocals and
bass guitar.
This month we will be looking at Great
River's most ambitious and impressive
piece yet, the MixMaster 20. While you
could describe it as a 20-channel summing box, it's actually a full-fledged analog line input console, neatly packed into
a 3-space 19" rack mount enclosure.
The MixMaster 20 provides:
~ 20 channels of passive audio summing
with transformer-based makeup gain
amplification
~ Full level and panning capabilities on
every channel
~ 4 microphone preamps
~ Flexible busing/effects routing
~ Insert capabilities
~ Talkback with built-in mic
~ Speaker switching and monitor control
~ Large full scale VU metering
~ DB 25 connectivity
~ Mix recall via USB
Yep, sounds like a real live console to
me! Time for a closer look, starting on the
rear panel.
Getting connected
Before jumping into layout and functions, let's look at what's involved in getting the MixMaster 20 hooked up to your
other studio gear. With the exception of
the four microphone preamps, all other
connections on the unit are via seven
rear-mounted DB-25 connectors.
This means that to use the MixMaster 20,
you will need to consider and purchase
seven DB-25 snakes, with the appropriate
14

RECORDING June 2015

breakout cables on the other end, depending on your needs. Personally I would
strongly recommend a DB-25 equipped
patch bay, such as those offered by Redco
or my personal favorite, the AudioLot
Mixbay (audiolot.com). For a full list of each
input and output on the DB-25 connectors,
you can download the manual from the
Great River site. That way, you can make an
informed decision on your cabling needs.
As mentioned above, the rear of the
unit has four female XLR input jacks for
the microphone preamps. It's finished out
with a USB jack for computer recall and
a TRS footswitch jack for use with the talkback mic. Power is provided by a large
custom-built external power supply that
connects through a multipin cable.
Design, looks and build
Moving around to the front panel, the
MixMaster 20 is finished with a fine-grain
powder coat in a classy midnight blue.
The build is simply exceptional! Every
knob, button, backlit button, encoder,
and fader boasts some of the finest quality I have seen on an audio processor. This
truly is large-console craftsmanship.
Looking thorough the vented grating on
the top of the unit, you can also see company founder and chief designer Dan
Kennedy's meticulous design and layout
skills. No space is wasted and yet everything is neat, clean and organized.
In addition to the internal circuit
boards, cables, and wiring, the unit gets
its large format console sound from 16
transformers. Each of the microphone preamps features its own input and output
transformer. The remaining eight transformers are used in the summing, fader,
and gain stages of the unit, all with an
impressive +30 dB headroom!

The preamps
The signal path of the MixMaster 20
starts with the four microphone preamps.
These are both transformer and op amp
based, and are a different design than
Great River's ME-1V. According to Dan
Kennedy, "The pres are half similar. The
output stage of each is basically an NV
output, while the mic/line in stage is similar to a Trident 80B."
Each pre offers individual controls for mic
or line level gain via two red knobs. Four buttons below include mic/line input selection,
polarity flip, and phantom power. The fourth
button, labeled Patch, engages a channel
insert so you can patch in a compressor or
outboard EQ for tracking or mixdown.
Each of these channels offers control of
output level-akin to a console's channel
fader-and panning, via two white knobs.
These are followed by two blue knobs for
Aux sends, with four selection buttons below
them. The first knob can be set to Send 1
and/or 2, while the second knob handles
Sends 3 and 4. Note that there are no Aux
returns on the MixMaster 20; you will need
to use regular channels as effects returns.
The last controls on these channels are
a pair of grey LED-equipped buttons
marked Solo and To Mix. Solo is selfexplanatory, but note that all soloing on
the MixMaster 20 is destructive and
heard in the main and monitor outs. The
To Mix button places the mic/input channel into the summing bus. This function
offers latency-free monitoring during
tracking and allows these channels to be
used for DAW summing and mixing.
Talk talk, sum sum
The centrally located talkback mic is a
built-in electret condenser with a volume
knob. It's armed by a backlit momentary

http://www.audiolot.com

Recording - June 2015

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