Big Knob provides some of the much needed pro-console recording features, previously missing in the desktop audio studio.

If your studio is a desktop setup, you’ve probably yearned for some of the convenient control room features commonly found on a dedicated professional recording console. Well, your prayers may have been answered because Mackie’s brand new studio command system provides a signal routing and monitoring solution especially designed for DAW based studios. Humorously entitled the Big Knob, it provides four separate stereo input sources, monitoring via three different pairs of speakers, a separate headphone mix, a studio output for the performer, a built-in talkback mic and headphone cueing. So with features like this, is Mackie’s Big Knob about to make life easier for the desktop recording engineer?

Space saver

For a unit with such an impressive array of features, Big Knob takes up a surprisingly small amount of desktop space. However, if you’ve a lot of gear to connect to it, you’ll end up with something like a rat’s nest of cables spewing from the rear panel onto your desktop. We found it more convenient to place the unit on a small table, to the left of the main working area.

Apart from two RCA inputs, for turntables, all the rear panel inputs and outputs are 1/4” TRS connections. Most have either a trim control or a level switch for -10 dB and +4 dB operation.
Once set up, Big Knob proved itself an absolute Godsend and using it can only be described as ‘easy-peasy’. The front panel controls are grouped into five clearly defined areas with a large volume knob placed conveniently in the centre.

Depending on your studio setup, you can monitor up to four stereo sources - the DAW mix, two 2-track mastering machines and a turntable. Of course, you can also use these inputs for anything else you might need to hear such as CD players, guitars or keyboards.

Checking your mixes on different speakers is always a good idea and Big Knob provides you with facilities to switch between three monitoring systems. You could for example, connect both a pair of active speakers and a powered subwoofer. Because you can select more than one source at a time, you could then switch the subwoofer in or out, for comparison. On Big Knob though, clean A/B switching requires you to press two buttons simultaneously (a manoeuvre at which recording engineers of the past were very adept).

Studio performers usually require a different mix to the engineer. Although you can set up a customised mix for them on most DAWs, actually getting it to their headphones can sometimes prove difficult. Providing your DAW has at least four stereo outs, the problem’s easily solved with Big Knob by routing the main stereo mix to one set of inputs and the headphone mix to a second set. The mix is then routed to the performer using the Phones/Studio Out controls.

Walkie talkie

Just like a pro console Big Knob has a built in talkback mic. Not only that, with the aid of a foot or hand switch (extra purchase) you can move around your studio and still communicate with the musicians.
Another useful pro touch - you can route the talkback signal to the 2 - track and DAW outputs and record an announcement of the ‘take’ number, at the beginning of a recording.

Also found on the front panel are two, very loud, headphone outs. So powerful are they that Mackie saw fit to include a warning in the manual, just incase you forget to turn the individual level controls down, before putting them on.

All-in-all, Big Knob is a well thought out and clever bit of kit. In fact, for anybody working with a Digital Audio Workstation who needs the extra controls associated with a conventional console it’s an absolute ‘must have’. And whether you’ve been working with a DAW from day one or maybe downsized from a pro desk, we think you’ll love it.

Useful Feature

Stereo RCA inputs, on Big Knob’s rear panel, can be fed by the outputs of a turntable. They include a built-in preamp that provides the equalisation and gain required to convert a phono-level signal to a line-level signal. This is useful for playing and archiving vinyl records.

Product Details

Big Knob - Studio Command System
Manufacturer - Mackie
Price - £325
www.mackie.com

Key Features

Big, convenient volume knob
Switch between 3 studio monitors sets
Built-in talkback mic
Monitor 4 stereo sources
Dual Headphone outputs with volume controls
Phono preamp for turntable connection

Pros

Perfect for computer based systems
High-end sound quality
Robust construction
Compact and easy to use

Cons

Cables on your desktop
Talk back footswitch not incl.

Verdict

Simple but clever desktop unit with all the essential control room routing facilities commonly found on a recording console

Copyright 2006 Keith Gemmell

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