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ericthegreat « i love rolands quad capture »
Published on 09/25/11 at 22:39The preamps in Roland Quad Capture are indeed VS preamps, clean, quiet and efficient. The first two support Hi-Z instrument direct input, while all eight channels offer individual low-cut filtering, phase inversion, phantom power, and their own compressor/limiter. The quad-Capture supports four discrete mixes (Mix A-D), too -- and these can be running simultaneously, routed to different pairs of outputs. The obvious application for this wiould be in recording, sending different performers mixes that boosted their contributions over others', but I also see a huge advantage here in using an quad-Capture in live sound for a school, small theatre or church environment, being able to vary the mix to different banks of monitors in a house PA system, to better take advantage of the room's resonant qualities.
UTILIZATION
Focusrite and M-Audio both have offerings with eight preamps in the same price range that are worth exploring too. In my own case, need to stay within the V-LINK family made the quad-Capture a foregone conclusion, but the Auto-Sens feature in particular makes it a formidable contender even to those without such a requirement. Furthermore, folks who are considering a second VS-700R, but don't quite need the massive iron and second Fantom it provides, would be well-served to take a look at the quad-Capture as a very cost-effective alternative for V-Studio expansion.
GETTING STARTED
No compatibility issues.
OVERALL OPINION
Overall, I'm kind of amazed, really. At its price, it's a natural choice to pair with a VS-700 or just to run by itself as a project studio IO solution, but its applications in live sound as a control center for a small performance hall should not be overlooked either. This isn't just an IO box -- it's a highly portable, highly versatile virtual soundboard for live sound work, that can also produce amazing captures. One of these, plus a basic laptop with the quad-Capture's software for easier access to all the settings, would be a very cost-effective solution for mobile sound desk work. The ability to run concurrent mixes to different banks of speakers, and to automatically set levels, make it a "magic bullet" when dealing with most live sound concerns.
UTILIZATION
Focusrite and M-Audio both have offerings with eight preamps in the same price range that are worth exploring too. In my own case, need to stay within the V-LINK family made the quad-Capture a foregone conclusion, but the Auto-Sens feature in particular makes it a formidable contender even to those without such a requirement. Furthermore, folks who are considering a second VS-700R, but don't quite need the massive iron and second Fantom it provides, would be well-served to take a look at the quad-Capture as a very cost-effective alternative for V-Studio expansion.
GETTING STARTED
No compatibility issues.
OVERALL OPINION
Overall, I'm kind of amazed, really. At its price, it's a natural choice to pair with a VS-700 or just to run by itself as a project studio IO solution, but its applications in live sound as a control center for a small performance hall should not be overlooked either. This isn't just an IO box -- it's a highly portable, highly versatile virtual soundboard for live sound work, that can also produce amazing captures. One of these, plus a basic laptop with the quad-Capture's software for easier access to all the settings, would be a very cost-effective solution for mobile sound desk work. The ability to run concurrent mixes to different banks of speakers, and to automatically set levels, make it a "magic bullet" when dealing with most live sound concerns.