Strange fader behavior

EAIP

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Model 12
Hello forum,
I just bought a model 12 mixer.

It seems to be really nice and all, but the faders are behaving very strangely (both channels and busses):
- Below the 30 mark: Silence
- Between 20 and 30: Clearly stepped and drastic level change
- Above 20: Smooth level change as you move the fader
In practice, this means that almost 2 cm of the fader is unusable and smooth fades to silence on channels and busses are impossible.

I was wondering if anyone could reproduce this on their Model 12.
Maybe it's by design as it's a digital mixer, but it seems odd and could be a deal breaker for me.
I have used many digital mixers and have never had this problem.
Thanks in advance!

All the best,
Erik
 
Apparently part of the faders length is silent, but if you raise enough your monitor or headphones level you'll hear the signal is still there.
Tascam decided to adopt a steep logarithmic curve for their faders, leaving roughly the upper half of the run for subtle level balance when mixing down.
I am used to Mackie faders which have smooth-like-silk attenuation curve and are lovely for long fade in / fade out... well, I can't translate smooth transitions on the Model 12 board the way I like so I understand if it upsets you. It bothers me too but it is what it is, short faders and huge dynamic range.
Oh, unless you got a lemon (I don't think so but one never knows).
 
Thanks for the reply, here is an example scenario:

- Live input: Full line level from synth (raw oscillator)
- Gain control: Unity gain (0 dB, signal at the -12 db guide line on level display)
- Channel fader: Unity gain (0 dB)

Main fader behaviour:
<30: Dead silence (no matter how hard I push the gain, channel or monitor levels)
30-20: Stepped level change (starting from silence at about 30)
>20: Smooth level change

Can you reproduce this behaviour on your Model 12 unit?
It would be interesting to know if you have any sound at all below the 30 mark.
Perhaps complete silence below 30 is the expected behaviour.
Thanks!
 
Numbers along the fader slit are deciBels, or the relative level re. 0 dB or Unity.
At -30 dB the attenuation is noticeable but not so dramatic you can't hear the signal, it roughly corresponds to the lowest line in the LED Meter so you have a visual reference. As I said in my previous post the lower part of faders run manages a considerable dynamic range: when you go past the 30 label, can you still hear something if you raise your monitor level? This is important, it's the difference between expected behaviour and defect.
Faders are short, and not particularly smooth, so you have to train yourself making smaller and smaller movements the more you approach to the bottom of fader run.
My Model 12 works as expected, but again, it's hard to make smooth transition in the lowest part of the fader run where 1 mm means 5 dB to 10 dB jump in level. Don't be shy with monitor level, if you can't hear the signal pump up the volume to check if it is there.
Hope my choice of words is meaningful to you.

Later note: try using a little fader spray, sometimes they may require some help to work as expected.
 
Thank you for your time and effort, and yes, what you say makes sense to me.

From what you describe I suspect that I might have a bad unit.
I cannot hear anything below -30dB, it is as if the sound suddenly comes on when you pass -30dB from below. This is more like the behaviour you would expect at the very bottom of the fader (even though stepped due to the logarithmic scale).

Just so I understand correctly: Are you able to hear sound below -30 (although very weak, of course), for example at the -40 mark when monitoring really loud?

Thanks!
 
Last edited:
Are you able to hear sound below -30 (although very weak, of course), for example at the -40 mark when monitoring really loud?
Confirm, at -40 it is still audible. The unit I had previously (current is my third) had a steeper transition, when fading out slowly the sound usually disappeared abruptly.
Slight variations from one unit to another is acceptable, if you are uncomfortable with how it behaves I would ask for a replacement or refund.
 
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I may end up going the Mackie route, but I want to give this desk a chance first. A little worrying though that the differences from one unit to another seem to be noticeable, albeit small. Makes me wonder how it will hold up in the long run. I'll contact Thomann and ask for a replacement, I still have the 30 days to cancel the purchase if necessary.
Thanks for your help!
 
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Last note
• The Model 12 can act as a Control Surface (DAW Control mode), thus level controls are encoded in a digital format in order to transfer their physical position to the destination application.
• For some obscure reason Tascam decided to use the simpler 7-bit encoding, i.e. map a controller position to 0-127 discrete values range. Basic MIDI protocol standard at work: they could have opted for a better 14-bit encoding (as most modern gear use for MIDI continuous controllers) and have a much better controller resolution but they didn't.
• What does it mean? It means that most of the bits are used to map the -30 dB to 10 dB volume scale, leaving almost a pair of discrete values to represent the -30 to -infinite scale. In other words the volume jump is real and by design.

I won't go in further detail on this specific subject.
 

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