AVE Ezymix1? What on earth is this thing?

[MusicMeister]

I'm sorry, but I think everyone missed something.

He has a Mac - G3.

That was the model processor before the G4.

Which was the model processor before the G5...

Which was the model before they started putting in Intel processors.

IOW, That's rather old - and unless Cross LE 1.1 is compatible with the non-Intel processors he's stuck a bit.

He'll either need an intel based Mac or a windows box to get the software to work properly. And it's likely why the software won't install/open.

[Hyram]

MM's right, my studio Mac is waaaay below minimum requirements, and resembles its owner a lot - old but still hale & healthy, clings to traditional values like a barnacle (still using Mac OS 8.6), and absolutely refuses to stop working

Thanks for the help lads, I'll have to get that Mini back off my mate. It's got a Tiger in its tank so that should be enough to get Cross with it :p

[MusicMeister]

The mini will do the job nicely.

[Hyram]

Well lads, things took a turn for the weird, then a turn for the worse.

While I awaited the return of the Mini, being the inquisitive sod that I am I took a screwdriver to this Exymix thing to see if I could tighten up the big wheels. After a bit of experimenting, I found just the right thickness of self adhesive window seal foam that fit lightly between the strobe-ring on the disc and the inner frame. No longer a free spinning slab, it now glides easily with a fingertip but stops when I let go. I also solved the push-button resonating shock problem this cheap piece o' crap has by affixing just-the-right-thickness squares of some acoustic foam between the button-bearing part of the PCB and the base. No more "DOK! DOK!", now a somewhat more subdued "dk!" noise instead, and the whole case doesn't shake either.

I had me a geezer at the chips in it, and I could pick most of them, but there was one on the main output I couldn't place, an HD85525. Google didn't find much about what the chip was, but it popped up as a spare-part on some German DJ-equipment site, steinigke,de. A bit of the ol' variation-on-a-theme and the next result turned out to be a ten-page circuit diagram from the same site which proclaimed it to be the "service manual" for one Omnitronic TCM-3 DJ interface with sound ... but get this, the circuit PDF had this lovely big "GEMINI HID" label on each page!

I wonder what Gemni DJ think about that!

Anyway, another muso mate happened to pop by for a social chit-chat yesterday, and he saw the AVE on the bench and got all curious, then mentioned he had a Dell laptop (a little Core2Duo job about two years old, running XP) in the car we could use to experiment with. Well, between the two of us, and despite the clear lack of instructions all 'round, we got it to light up and Cross LE recognised it from the git-go.

Two things eventually stood out like ravers at a goth night:
1) Despite being advertised as having "separate main and headphone outputs" the box only has a single stereo output available and visible to the computer. So, Cross off the idea of having a separate feed for the cans.
2) The controller lag was shocking! The wheels were useless, and every action took a good half a second or more to be reflected in the Cross software.

I'm afraid I'm going to have to call this whole experiment a dismal failure and tell the mini-munchkins Granda appreciated the thought thanks very much but its not really what you thought it was.

Bill & I agreed that selling -- no, donating -- this black disaster to someone else would be bad karma, so it's landed in the junk-box where it'll be scavenged for parts at some stage. Considering AVE have been unresponsive bastards to earlier enquiries, no point putting up with the cuss by trying to get a refund.

Call me an old fuddy-duddy, but I always knew hanging onto the Technics and the Numark desk was a damn good idea.

[daniel clark]

Gotta smile at your endeverous yes holding on to the technicks and Numark would not have been a bad idea ,,,dont let one bad experience sour the new techonology ,,will post some link that might be interstering ,,,
http://www.mixvibes.com/content/product ... trol-pro-2
a much better version and controller with sc ,,top of the line/price range ,
http://www.mixvibes.com/content/shops
retailers to see if you can put your hands on one to get the better experience
viewtopic.php?f=259&t=26519
something to think about ,,if you are still getting the mac mini back ,a chance to still play with the software
your grandchildern tried to give you back the gift of music and making it ,,obviously at one point you had the fever/passion,, dont disapoint then ,,, GREY hair can still get down ,,and you dont need your grandchildren to be let down /disapointed ,,
looking foward to seeing you on the fourm ,,,

[Hyram]

Thanks Daniel, but I've had thirty years of "digital sounds better rah rah" and I ain't convinced yet

That said, if I do ever decide to dabble at the digital DJ schtick again, the hardware will be Korg or A&H, partly because they're designed by sound professionals and not made in a corner toilet in Shenzhen, but mostly because they're FireWire. USB is for mice & printers, son, 'n people who think they can get reliable audio over USB have slipped a cog somewhere :p

[daniel clark]

can't disuade you,,,get out there and listen for your self ,,still have 6 to 10 milk crates of vinal back at home where i grew up,,even if they were in mint condition the still will be record noise ,,,,i know you realise the difference in sound between vinal and the next step was magnetic tape weather in reel to reel or 8 track or later cassette ,,had tape noise ,,and the newer techonolgy of cds,,no vinal rumble /needle noise ,no tape hiss,,so take it a step futher to putting the music into #'s and decoding it back to sound ,, ,,thats all the digital age is about ,,so in essence you have the ability to get songs and music as near perfect as the musician made it ,,and can all be stored in some thing as small as a zip drive or mp3 player
blinders are for race horses ,,war horses wore none ,,to be able too see everthing

[Hannes]

http://reviews.cnet.com/computer-printe ... 21_106101_

there are firewire-printers too...

[daniel clark]

wow four selections and three of them cost as much as my new 2007 chysler 300 ,,(which i am still making payments on)
how about info on fire wire DJ controllers and software

[Support@MixVibes]

The latency was surely related to the soundcard (not asio).