Recording - November 2017 - 43

set a good level for that amp that isn't affected by your changing the monitor or
local headphone levels at the Big Knob
Studio+ itself; it effectively separates the
control room from the tracking room
with no fuss.

Last but not least

The eponymous Big Knob controls output level to any of three sets of monitors
(A/B/C), each of which has its own set
of balanced TRS outputs on the rear panel
and its own Trim control so your speakers
can be precisely level-matched at the mix
position. Underneath are illuminated
buttons for Mono, Mute, and Dim (20 dB
level drop, which also kicks in if Talkback
is engaged). Finally, a large 18-step level
meter rounds things out.
If your head's spinning by now, that's
not surprising-this box does a whole
lot. It's designed for pretty much every
routing and interfacing task you can
think of; I spent a lot of time saying, "Well,
what if I wanted to route a signal here
but not there, and what if I wanted this
to be active while that isn't...?" I didn't
come up with any practical scenario
that the Big Knob Studio+ couldn't
handle, once I wrapped my head
around the controls. Overall sound

quality is impeccable and switching is
always pop-free.
There are a couple of relatively esoteric
things the Big Knob Studio+ can't do,
like playing back specific channels on
single speakers, but it handles pretty
much everything else with aplomb. The
only "gotcha" I ran into was activating
USB and analog Sources simultaneously while I had a monitoring loopback
set up in my DAW-the manual warns
against this, and I found out why when
the resulting feedback nearly shredded
my speakers. Don't do what I did, OK?
If your studio requires that you work
with (deep breath here) a DAW, a
mixer, three sets of monitors, two sets of
headphones, the occasional smartphone,
a 2-track player/recorder or two, and
a headphone amp for a two-room
tracking/control setup, the Big Knob
Studio+ gives you everything you'll
need to make sure everyone-you,
your second engineer, and the band-
hears precisely what's needed when it's
needed. This is one slick box.

PRICE: $299.99
MORE FROM: Mackie,
www.mackie.com

The Big Knob Passive

What if your home rig doesn't need cue mixes or talkback or a bunch of different speaker
systems or even a dedicated USB interface?
Maybe you've got a USB-based setup already,
and you're just interested in adding a second set
of speakers to check your mixes. Or maybe you
like to have a bunch of friends over to play electronic or DI instruments in your
home studio, and you'd like to easily switch back and forth between speakers
and a headphone amp so you can rock out by day or jam silently at night.
Maybe someone wants to hear something from their smartphone over your
speakers. Or maybe you're just looking to add handy speaker control to your
system, so you're not fumbling with a too-small knob on an interface.
If any of that sounds right up your alley, you should consider the Big Knob Passive
($69.99). As its name implies, it's a completely passive device, requiring no power
and only attenuating signals rather than boosting them. Its nicely angled chassis,
about the footprint of a CD case, offers a large volume knob, pushbuttons to select
Source A/B and Monitors A/B, and Mono/Mute/Dim. The rear panel has balanced
TRS inputs and outputs for both sets of Sources and Monitors, and Source B can be
overridden by plugging in a smartphone to the minijack input on the back.
This is a delightfully simple box that adds nothing to your sound, and carries out its
functions elegantly. I would have liked to have the minijack for Source B on the front
of the unit for easy connection, but that's a tiny gripe about an otherwise excellent little
gizmo. I predict it'll find its way into lots of rigs, for lots of reasons, and serve them well.

RECORDING November 2017

http://www.mackie.com http://www.royerlabs.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - November 2017