Fostex LR16

In a nutshell, or XLR shell if you prefer, the Fostex LR16 is a live sound mixer. But not only is it a mixer, it can record the entire show too — individual tracks and the stereo PA mix. OK, that’s not a new concept is it? We have been able to do that for years. But what is new is that the LR16 makes it easy. Very, very easy indeed. If you have ever recorded a gig on multi-track you will know that it is a significant undertaking, not something you would fancy doing every night unless you knew there was a guaranteed pay day for doing so. But the LR16 makes it child’s play to record every gig. All you have to do is hit the record button. And it is this simplicity that is totally new. Being able to record every gig you perform will, as I shall explain, change the way you run your entire operation as a band. And by the way, you will never want to record under studio conditions ever again. I’ll tell you why later, but for now let’s look at the LR16 itself...

The mixer looks refreshingly analogue, which is amazing because everything is controlled digitally. The ‘control unit’ (that’s the mixer bit) links to the ‘main unit’ (the recorder) through a standard Cat 5 Ethernet cable, which can be up to 50 metres long if you wish. So, since no one has invented a method of sending multi-channel analogue audio along an Ethernet cable as yet, clearly to make the control unit look and feel like an analogue mixer is something of an achievement — no, a triumph! There was a time while I was testing the unit that I felt sure that the mixer actually was analogue — I thought perhaps the main unit was sending and receiving digital audio and it was converted to analogue inside the control unit. But no, the manual clearly states that it is a “digital mixer with intuitive analogue-like operation”, so I will choose to take Fostex at their word.

Channels 1 to 8 each have an insert point (on the main unit). The number of potential users who would require more is probably infinitesimal, but if you like to compress the vocals, and you usually put the vocals next to the group area on the mixer, then you will have to plan differently. Not a problem.

Next we have a Source button that selects between the input signal and the recorded track, in effect being a record/overdub/mix button for each channel.

The EQ section is as analogue-looking as everything else. There are the conventional three bands with swept mid. There is no EQ bypass button because a digital mixer wouldn’t need it for any reason of quality. The gain controls have detents at their mid point.

Auxiliary outputs for live sound are necessary in both pre-fader (for monitors) and post-fader (for effects) configurations. In the past, it was always considered the ‘gold standard’ of auxes to have a pre/post switch for each individual send. But this was costly so manufacturers of lower-ticket consoles developed various methods of simplification. Fostex’s nifty solution is to have one aux permanently pre-fader, one permanently post-fader, and one switchable. As a compromise between flexibility, cost and being able to squeeze everything onto the panel, I feel that this is highly acceptable. And there is an additional aux send, this time to the internal effects. So no additional equipment is necessary to add the sheen (or fog!) of reverb to your on-stage mix.

You know what pan controls and mute buttons are so I’ll just mention them. You know what a fader is too, and you probably expect the faders on digital mixing consoles to be motorised. Well, think again... this mixer looks and feels analogue, and you will be pushing the faders all by yourself. Alongside the fader are the routing buttons for the main stereo output, groups 1-2 and 3-4, and finally a PFL (pre-fader listen) solo button.

Regarding buttons next to the fader, in non-automated consoles I always feel that this section is best kept free of obstruction so that the engineer can make level marks, either on a strip of masking tape, or with a wax pencil. However, it is clear that there just isn’t the space available. I would accept the compromise here, and for many it wouldn’t be an issue.

Above the main output faders is a section for controlling the internal effects. Selecting an effect is dead easy — there is a pair of up/down buttons (how 1980s!) and a ladder of LED indicators showing which of the effects is selected. You can choose among Hall 1, Hall 2, Stadium (you wish), Room, Plate 1, Plate 2, Vocal 1-3 (combinations of reverb and delay), Mono Delay, Pan Delay and Short Delay. Quite enough in a unit of this type, and they are all very pleasant and usable. The effect can be sent to the main outputs, groups and auxes, all controllable in level. Simple and good. Here you will also find the master aux level controls, the master effect send control and the monitor level control with monitor source selection buttons.

Further up is a pair of LED bar-graph meters for the main output, the headphone output with level control, and a Sub input, to which you would connect your iPod for pre-show and interval music. Those people at Fostex don’t miss a trick!

And that covers the control unit. Really simple, really straightforward, really analogue (not). But there is something else. Something you don’t normally find on a mixer...

A record button, a stop button and a play button. OK, you do find them on top-of-the-range SSL consoles, and on workstation controllers. But on a small analogue console (like this pretends to be) — almost never. In fact probably never, unless you know of an exception.

Well, suppose you have got the unit set up, all the mics and instruments plugged in and levels set pre-show. Someone in the band says, “OK let’s record [insert name of song]: one, two, three, four...”

That gives you precisely three seconds to start recording. But that’s OK. You have one second to realise what’s going on, one second to push the record button, and one second to bask in the wonderful glow of working with equipment that just, well, works. Also during this one second you can consider how much crap we have gotten used to with computers, with their file systems, menus, mice and their all-too-common desire to say no.

With the Fostex LR16, you just press the button and the unit creates a new project file for you and starts recording.

But I am dreaming just a little. You do have to put the tracks you want to record on into record-ready mode. That will take up to 17 button presses. I would have thought that, since there is no risk of overwriting anything, pressing the record button on the control unit would automatically put all tracks into record. Why not? The only downside might be some wasted space on the hard disk for tracks that don’t have anything connected. Come on Fostex! We need this in the next revision of the software!

Looking around the back of the main unit we find 16 combination mic/line input sockets that accept both XLR and jack connectors, eight channel insert points, four group outputs, three aux sends and an effects send, and the main stereo outputs, which are duplicated on XLRs and phonos. Among a couple more details is a footswitch socket. What would you need that for? Computers tend not to have foot switch sockets so if you’re new to hardware recorders you might ponder for a while. Well, just let me say that you’ll be using it for self-operated punch in. That was a nifty concept too when it was first thought of.

So let’s move on to actual recording. Recording is a simple matter of setting gains, setting record readies and pressing the record button. Really, that is all that is necessary. All of the individual tracks are recorded from a point in the channel before the equalizer and fader, so apart from the trim control, nothing you do on the control unit will affect the recording. This is as it should be. You can mix how you like while the recording stays pristine. You can record the stereo mix, too. The mix you record is identical to the PA mix, including the output faders. The boffins at Fostex must have thought long and hard about whether to take the stereo mix for recording from before or after the output faders. If it were from before, then any changes in overall level wouldn’t be included in the recording. On the other hand, an inexperienced operator could have the channel faders all very high, and pull down the output faders to compensate. If the recording were taken from before the output faders, it would be distorted. My feeling is that I would prefer the signal to be taken from before the faders, but with maybe 6 or 12dB of headroom applied. The thing is, though, that when you mix for an audience, there are so many compensations you have to make, such as lowering the level of the guitars to compensate for what they are putting out from the backline, that when you listen to the recorded mix it will all be wrong anyway. The recorded stereo mix will only be really successful when there is no backline involved, or when the venue (and PA system) is so large that the backline hardly makes any difference. This is not a criticism, just an assessment of the realities of live recording.

Regarding the quality of the preamps, although no EIN (equivalent input noise) specification is given, I don’t think a subjective comparison would go amiss. I compared the noise level with the preamp in a Digidesign M-Box 2 Pro, which I think is a reasonable standard to aim for, and I couldn’t be confident that I could hear much of a difference. Regarding any other quality including frequency response and distortion, the Fostex stood up absolutely. My fears about digital gain control, therefore, for most practical purposes, seemed to be unfounded. There is some zipper noise when adjusting the control, as one might expect, but this is reasonably low in level.

However, on further investigation I found that there is a slight click at just under the halfway point of the gain control. It happens on all the channels. You can hear the electronic background noise level increase up to that point, then the click, then the noise immediately decreases, then increases again as it normally would. This means that above the click, the noise level is perfectly adequate and at least subjectively in line with other reasonably priced preamps, as I found in my comparison test. Below the click, however, the preamp is noisier than you would normally expect a preamp to be. As an operator, you will notice this. I can’t see that any of your live audience would. Regarding the quality of the recording, this is not something that would even come close to preventing me from using the unit. The small amount of noise present at certain positions of the gain control is far less than other sources of noise on stage and I feel that it would make little or no audible difference in the end product.

Back to the real world, let’s suppose you have recorded your live concert. Your next task will be to mix it. Well, this is straightforward too. Just set the Source Select button on each channel to ‘TRK’ and you will be mixing your recording. This can easily be bounced back to the stereo tracks of the main unit. One odd point is that you can’t simply play back the mix after you have made it, which is of course exactly what you would want to do. Instead you have to go to the Memory Play function of the main unit, where you can access it. I would find this irritating, especially if my mix involved fader moves, which are naturally manual on this unit.

But of course there may be another stage in between recording and mixing. Or did every member of the band play all the right notes, all in the right order? That stage will be overdubbing.

To perform overdubbing, the track that you want to record, or re-record, should be put in Record Ready on the main unit, and the Source Select button on the control unit for that track set to input. All the other Source Select buttons should be set to ‘TRK’. You can now record onto that track while monitoring all of the other instruments. But what if there was only one note out of place? You wouldn’t want to re-record the whole track, would you? Well, you can set everything up as for overdubbing, but this time you don’t press record. Instead you wait until the bum note is about to be heard, then press the record button while holding down play, re-record the offending note in time with the music, then press stop when the section to be replaced ends. Or you can use a footswitch. Punch-in recording is not destructive and you can retrieve the previous version if necessary.

I suspect that this modest-looking unit is not only a capable live sound mixer, but it also has the power to unleash a new wave in recording. A wave that is truly based on the art of the performing musician rather than being constructed using studio tricks. And, of course, you will be able to sell your recordings at your gigs, thus completing the circle. In short, the Fostex LR16 is an excellent product and it is highly recommended.

By the way, I may have been hinting that the mixer might actually be analogue rather than digital. It is digital — there is a tiny bit of zipper noise audible when you move the controls, which gives the game away. This occurs because the parameters change in small steps, rather than being continuously variable as they would be in a true analogue mixer. However, the level of the zipper noise, although it is there, is tiny — I had to concentrate hard on headphones to hear it, and then use a sound source that would help show it up. Trust me, compared to all the amazingly good features of this unit, it won’t be relevant to anything you do. In fact, of all the products I have come across, I have never seen anything digital with such an amazing analogue feel. Well done Fostex!  0