The MOTHER of all LINE MIXERS // Roland M-480 Rackmount Line Mixer
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 10. 09. 2024
- Alright so after months of searching for a rackmount mixer for my studio desk, months of scouring the internet for details and recommendations, I finally pulled the trigger on the Roland M-480. This thing is an absolute behemoth. Definitely NOT the right choice for someone who's shy on space... or is it?!
For 6U of rack space this thing is actually pretty damn efficient. It's got 48 independent 1/4" mono inputs which is as far as I know, the most amount of inputs ever put into a rack mixer. It's got an [A] and a [B] mix- you can use either one by itself to create a subgroup of channels to send to one of your two stereo master outputs (Master or Sub) OR select both [A] & [B] for a stereo input for that particular track. 24 stereo inputs is crazy- I don't even have the room to fit all that gear although I'm sure I will one day. Room to grow!
At $350, this thing was a steal. I'm able to send all of my drum machines, samplers, sound modules, and synthesizers through it to capture the 'mixer sound' as well as having the convenience of not having to plug things in every time. I do have a patch bay too but I must admit, even patching things got a bit tiresome after a while.
It's got four FX sends, two AUX sends, returns, two master outs, and even a stereo input on the front of the unit. It's also got a CUE which is wild for a mixer. It really does seem like this thing was made with performance in mind, for electronic musicians. It's an older mixer from the 90's I believe and was Roland's flagship rack mixer that sold originally for ~$3,000. I love the vintage atheistic. The colors and layout just scream 90's.
I believe these things are pretty rare these days, however I do see them pop up on Reverb and eBay every now and then. And as always, there's usually one or two sitting available for way more than they should be selling for (looking at you //ARMENS lol).
Do you use a line mixer in your studio? How do you use it? I've been considering using it for summing during mastering... maybe an idea for another video đ€ Let me know in the comments!
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Yup, for all of us affected with the synth disease, the in line Roland mixer M-240r/480r are the epitome of back office gear, I wish Roland would do a re issue
I love this mixer. I have one on each side of my studio.
Good to see some appreciation for what is a very nice, clean sounding mixer. Overdriving synths and drums into can give some good results, too. As you point out, nearly perfect for a synth-based studio, just wish it add inserts to patch in eqs and comps.
100%, and thank you. The headphone output gave me a spook because it's quite dirty compared to the input and output of the mixer which is very clean. A dirty monitor is fine considering all that it does. Nothing is perfect right?
Inserts would have been nice for sure, but I get the feeling at the time, this was designed to be a "performance mixer" for people using lots of different synths and drum machines... hence the 4 Aux outs and 2 FX outs or whatever it's got lol
It's weird for sure but I love it.
Would have loved to hear how it imprints its flavor on synths alone. Kind of hard to judge a random drum sample. But thanks for the upload and the detailed video! Definitely an option to have!
I just picked up a very good condition M-16E. I love it. I have a bunch of both analog and digital synth and drums and it's perfect for that. And it has an EQ! Hard to find something similar in feel vibe and features.
I looked at these before I got mine and it was very tempting! Having the EQ is super nice and the faders as well. Ultimately I needed more channels but I'm honestly surprised companies aren't making mixers like these anymore. They're insanely useful and now that studios are mostly in people's houses now, it makes way more sense to have them rack mounted.
I had this mixer. Biggest mistake gearwise trading it for an Alesis Studio 32. Each channel had 4 auxes, I could route anything to anywhere. I paid $350 for it in 2001
On the high end side there is Speck brand...but not the same priceđ„Č
Yeah I looked at the Speck- really nice, but yeah not $250 ;)
Scott, Great video and review. Honestly, I think you won an auction I was watching. I didn't fully commit to it, and it slipped by. Mostly due to me already running an M-240 in my setup. (funny) Which feeds an 18i20, and routes very similar gear. It would've been a "future proofing" purchase, as I'm a gear hoarder as well. Glad to see it went to another great creative space. I can FULLY testify, about the (Gift & Curse) of eBAY notifications. As it has been essential to acquiring rare gear as quickly as possible. (Side Note:) I see you will be feeding your S2400 into it as well (#264). Keep up the great work. Peace...Netm8kr
Haha damn, I sniped it! That's awesome. Yeah man it's a great mixer. Sounds really warm and punchy and the amounts of inputs is insane. I'm actually going to be upgrading my interface to have more I/O and am thinking about trying the M-480 out as a summing mixer. I'd STILL have room for all the S2400 inputs! Thanks for the reply dude, I'm glad you're enjoying the videos. Cheers!
Hello@@ScottBrio , I've been looking for one of those for the longest. I ended up getting an m16E. I was wondering If you were able to get your mixer to go out to separate channels via your daw or did you do it one at a time. I was thinking of getting myself a 16-channel interface, so I could possibly do that with the channel inserts. I'm trying to route the channels into my uad interface to use plug-ins then back to mixer and then back to the interface through the master on the mixer lol. still Sounds a little crazy, but would be nice to have. If you have any workaround I would really appreciate it or if you figured it out with the I/O. Please and thank you
Awesome. I have an M-120 and two M-160s. I would love to pick up a 480
They're fantastic mixers- so retro. I wish they still made them!
Roland rack mixers are great and very flexible but personally for me their lack of EQ was a deal breaker. Instead nothing can beat my combo of Mackie LM-3204 & LM-3204E Expander unit for their size, utilities and number of channels. With the addition of Tascam X-48MKII they are the heart of my studio setup.
Yes, ultimately I decided that I had zero need for onboard EQ as I do all of that in Ableton, but I can see why many people would need it. That sounds like a great setup you've got. Nothing at that price point overdrives like a Mackie!
@@ScottBrio I had once Roland M240R and I was surprised that they actually had kind of almost modular connections that you could daisy chain several of them together. It had 24 channels but with so many stereo returns you could practically use it as 32 channel mixer and still have two stereo effect links available. The only reason I had to sell it was indeed the lack of EQ that I needed. It took me a while to find any alternatives!
Seems like what you actually need is patchbay. Maybe additional AD inputs?
I actually have a patchbay and really only record one stereo input at a time. What I really needed was the 48 inputs which is more than enough with room to grow!
M-16E passive or active đ€???
Not sure what you mean?
Hmu if youâd ever sell it! Iâm in sf as well!!!
Thatâs what she saaaaaaid! đ€Łđ€Łđ€Ł
How quiet?
It's actually DEAD quiet. Not a sign of hiss on the master even with it and the channel faders cranked. No crackles or pops. Pretty surprising however it was Roland's flagship mixer, so I guess it's not that surprising. FWIW my Mackie Big Knob and Yamaha MG10U both have a bit of noisefloor when at 100%.