Yamaha M7CL Digital Mixing Console
I guess you could say I’ve been a user of Yamaha digital consoles from the very beginning. In 1994, newly married, I tested out Yamaha’s groundbreaking ProMix 01. My wife couldn’t see what all the fuss was about, but I knew that Yamaha was ushering in a new era of flexibility, sound quality and value. I bought that mixer, and followed it later with Yamaha O2R and O1V digital mixers (and yes, I’m still married).
Yamaha’s digital console offerings have grown larger and more capable over the years, and the new M7CL continues this trend. The M7CL is a serious power tool aimed at medium to large churches, performance venues and live sound companies. The M7CL is available in 32- and 48-channel versions ($19,995 and $24,995 respectively), sports loads of outputs and expansion capabilities, and has a feature set worthy of the most demanding productions or shows.
Serious Power
It’s easy to get hung up on input channel count, but the amount of output busses a console offers is nearly as important. The M7CL is well-endowed in this department, offering 16 send-style busses (which you can link in pairs) as well as eight matrix mixes. These 24 outputs can be assigned to any of the console’s 16 Omni Out jacks, as well as to an I/O card loaded in one of the M7CL’s three expansion slots.
Yamaha sprinkled a ton of DSP (digital signal processing) power throughout the M7CL. Each input offers an attenuator, high-pass filter, four-band EQ, two dynamics sections, multiple insert points and direct output patch points; outputs are decked out nearly as well. Worthy of note is the M7CL’s digitally controlled input trim system, which makes full recall of mixer configuration a reality. Gone are the days of recalling a scene only to find that changes to the analog trim knobs has ransacked your mix.
All this DSP power is in addition to the console’s effects, a virtual rack with eight slots. Each of the first four slots can hold a mono 31-band graphic EQ or a dual-mono 15-band EQ. The latter four can hold EQs as well, but are really meant for the diverse library of reverbs, delays, modulation effects, amp simulators, pitch shifters, multiband dynamics and combo effects the M7CL offers. Like a real effects rack, the M7CL allows you to patch the effect inputs and outputs almost anywhere, including standard send busses and individual channel inserts.
A comprehensive scene library system stores a generous 300 user scenes. Scenes are very easy to store, edit and recall, and the console gives you control over exactly what parameters or channels each scene affects. You can also protect individual channels globally — even specifi c aspects of specific channels — from scene recalls. Finally, a full-featured fade system allows you to set transition time between scenes down to the individual fader level.
The M7CL has a flexible direct output scheme which, coupled with output expansion slots, make the console effective for live recording. But the M7CL is not designed for studio recording applications. It won’t do 96 kHz recordings (its sampling rate tops out at 48 kHz), and it has no onboard automation system. For automation, you can control mix parameters by MIDI.
Knobs on Strike
At first glance, the small number of knobs on the surface of the M7CL might make you think Yamaha ran into problems with the knob union. Not so — Yamaha designers stuck with their proven approach that makes a relatively small number of knobs handle chores for all of the various channels. All the knobs show up in the “Centralogic” area of the console, and new M7CL users will quickly discover that this is where the real action is.
When selected, inputs, mixes, matrices and groups all travel in groups of eight to take over the center area of the M7CL. Select channel 17, for example, and it and seven friends show up on the center faders. Now you can focus your attention on the M7CL’s screen and knobs to dial in these channels. You can also select banks of faders with the navigation keys located just to the right of the Centralogic faders.
At the top of the M7CL’s Centralogic section are knobs for such channel functions as mix/matrix levels, dynamics, head amp (input trim), high-pass filter and EQ. Above each Centralogic fader is a multi-function knob that controls a single parameter as shown on the screen. All knobs respond to a push as well as a twist.
Speaking of touch, the M7CL’s touch panel display stands out as one of its greatest assets. It’s bright, colorful, and easy to see in varied lighting conditions. Like the Centralogic controls, the M7CL’s display is constantly changing to suit the task at hand. It can show broad overviews with multiple channels and parameters, or, with a touch, it can give you a detailed look at a specific channel or processor. EQ curves, routing assignments, meters, gain reduction, fader and mute groups — all are shown in lavish color and detail.
One of my favorite features of the M7CL’s display is its pop-up window. Twist a knob, and a single parameter window appears atop the display for adjustment, and disappears when you’re done. It’s also nice that you can name almost every channel in the M7CL, and assign graphical icons to most. In short, the M7CL’s display is more than just a visual feast — it’s the heart of the console’s interface. With so much at stake, it’s a good thing the M7CL’s display is so well-conceived and executed.
Impressions
From my first moments with the original ProMix 01, I’ve been impressed with the clarity and transparency of Yamaha digital consoles. The M7CL continues the proud legacy, delivering a sound that’s both full and detailed. The console’s EQ is musical responsive, its dynamics sections sound very good, and the on-board effects are consistently high-quality. Yamaha added thicker, denser “REV-X” reverbs to the mix, and they’re a definite improvement over the standard algorithms. Another generous addition is a pair of multi-band dynamics programs. These have three fully configurable bands, look-ahead delay, and a ceiling parameter for brick-wall limiting. To fill the meters for stereo broadcast or recording, or just to get that “radio sound” on your mix, these are the ticket.
I’ve already alluded to the intuitive nature of the M7CL’s user interface. For all its complexity, the console is quite easy to navigate. One might expect menus buried seven layers deep, but this is not the case. Yamaha has done an admirable job of keeping a very flat interface on the M7CL, with most desired functions accessible within one or two touches of the screen. I only wish the board’s help file was stored internally, instead of being reloaded each time from an attached USB flash drive.
Of interest to churches is the M7CL’s user rights system. With it, functions can be locked out for certain users, and personal settings instantly recalled. You can configure a user to have access to faders and on/off switches, for example, but not to patching or effects. This limits the amount of chaos a novice user can create, while granting greater access to more experienced users. The implications for most churches, where users span a broad range of knowledge and abilities, are immense.
Going to Church
With better than 12 years to hone their craft, the new M7CL proves that Yamaha is the leading digital console manufacturer for good reason. The refinement and elegance of the M7CL make it an absolute joy to use in any venue.
The obvious next question is, “will the M7CL work in a church setting?” The answer, I believe, is a resounding, “yes”. The console’s intuitive user interface, informative and friendly display, and well-conceived user rights system are a direct hit for the church market. That said, the M7CL is enough of a departure from a traditional analog mixer that training is still a crucial element. There will be some users that take quickly to the digital mindset, others will take years to lose their deer-in-the-headlights look when using the M7CL.
We live in a real world with real budgetary constraints, so value is always a consideration. At $20,000 or $25,000, the M7CL will likely be considered only by mid- to large-size churches. Even to them, it may sound expensive at first. But when you consider the amount of “outboard” equipment packed into the M7CL—88 or 120 channels of dynamics, four graphic EQs, four effects processors, 24 output delays, massive patch bay—it’s a bonafide bargain. Never mind the fact that the console appears rugged and solidly built, sounds and looks great, and has a small footprint.
To be frank, I’ve had a hard time recommending digital consoles to churches in the past. All too often the combination of convoluted interfaces and inexperienced users becomes a recipe for disaster. The M7CL has me changing my tune. Its simplified user interface and configurable access rights are looking like a recipe for success.
