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 Focusrite Platinum Mixmaster At a Glance  
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arrowReleased: 2000  arrowVersion: 0.00
arrowRated: Not Reviewedarrow Add review:  (0)
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Fat Elvis writes:
Focusrite's attempt at an all-in-one stereo mastering processor is an analogue machine with real knobs rather than more common type of digital unit like the TC Electronic Finalizer. It features an expander, spectral (frequency-conscious) compressor, 3 band EQ, stereo width enhancer and a brick wall limiter. Each process has it's own on/off switch and there is also a master bypass switch for instant comparisons of the whole processed sound against the unprocessed.

Good Points
This is a very user-friendly machine, you just grab a knob and instantly change something, no trawling through endless menus, and the sound quality seems to be excellent.The spectral compressor is probably the best point. The sound is split into three frequency bands that can be compressed separately with the gain reduction for each band being shown on a separate 10 segment LED ladder so you can see how heavily each band is being compressed next to its neighbour.The HF and LF bands both have trim controls so you can turn their compression up or down relative to the midrange, it's unbelievably quick and sounds great.The crossover point between the LF and the Mid can also be changed from 200Hz to 100Hz for a different type of bottom end that sounds real punchy. All the other processes work fine, especially the EQ which has shelving HF and LF bands with a switchable choice of frequencies that are great for sweetening the sound. The mid has up to 10dB of boost or cut in one of two switchable bands (100Hz to 1kHz, 1kHz to 10kHz) and is good for sorting out any midrange problems. The limiter does its job and stops the output from getting too hot, what more can you say about that? No preset memories or any of that digital stuff but each track is different anyway so just grab the knobs and go.
Bad Points
Not necessarily bad if you use it properly, but the stereo width enhancer sounds pretty awful at extreme settings - so don't use it at extreme settings, duh. And why do we have to pay extra for a digital output?
 

 Focusrite Platinum Mixmaster Specifications:

Digital IOs:
optional output only
Analog IOs:
Balanced XLR's (+4dBu), Balanced jacks (-10dBV)
Other IOs:
DI jack input, post processing, pre limiter
EQ:
3 band
Dynamics:
Expander, spectral compressor, stereo width enhancer, limiter

 Platinum Mixmaster Links


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