This is my dream mixer. It sounds quiet and neutral when I want it to be but full of musical character if I choose to push it hard. It has the most extensive routing features in its class. It took two years for Paul Wolff to design. Up until then, Paul had sold his modular Fix Console under his Fix Audio Designs brand; previous to that, he designed mixers and gear for Tonelux and API, two companies that he also previously owned. While I was planning my move to Nashville, I looked at contemporary consoles from API, SSL, Neve, Audient, Trident, Rupert Neve Designs, and Fix – after decades of relying on a Sony DMX-R100 digital mixer [Tape Op #25] as the centerpiece of my Boston studio. I was reluctant to give up the Sony's exemplary routing capabilities and the sound of its front end, which – by original design – distorts like an analog desk when pushed hard. Therefore, I was certain that I wanted an analog desk that offered flexible routing along with the ability to dial in sonic richness as desired. Zero maintenance was also important to me. The Fix Console was so close to being my ideal choice. It was built with many failproof strategies, including multi-wiper potentiometers for redundant signal conductivity, as well as switches operating sealed relays. Routing-wise, every channel strip had balanced I/O taps at strategic points within its signal flow. Meanwhile, the bucketed frame was designed to take advantage of all those I/O points by providing countless ways of interconnecting the console's modules, external recording devices, and other outboard gear through DB25 connectors, ribbon cables, bussing matrices, and patchbays. Importantly, the console could sound pristine and neutral, or you could turn things up to impart an "x factor" to a mix. And even better – x, y, and z factors, so to speak, were available with different tone cards on the three main summing busses. Unfortunately, the Fix’s routing capabilities, although extensive, were not 100 percent task-based. Therefore, progressing through recording, overdubbing, and mixing scenarios required too much repatching, all while trying to avoid feedback loops due to all the subtleties and complications of console, DAW, and outboard integration.
I bought the Fix Console anyway, but instead of taking delivery, Paul and I started to discuss modifications to the signal flow of the Fix 802 Channel Strip, with the goal of supporting every modern hybrid workflow using any DAW or tape machine, regardless of latency within pre-, post-, or blended monitoring schemes. The successful result is the 802a Input Channel Strip of what is now the rebranded Wolff Audio Console ST. Because the Console ST is modular, you can order a prebuilt "catalog" configuration, or you can choose a custom layout of buckets, channel strips, and modules. Thankfully, there's a configurator on the Wolff website, which I encourage you to visit to learn about the component modules and how they integrate. My desk includes three buckets holding 24 802a channels. Above are 24 508 Bus Assign Modules and below are 100 mm linear faders. I also have a penthouse with three additional buckets of 24 500 Series slots, which hold eight Wolff Audio FREQ 4-band EQs [Tape Op #168] and various modules from other manufacturers. In the master section, I have an 802m Stereo Master, three pairs of summing bus cards, a Wolff Monitor ST, eight 508m Bus Masters, a bank of eight Master VU meters, and four faders for the summing and grand master busses. In addition, my frame has producer wings on each end for standard 19-inch rack gear, including my Audio Accessories patchbays and Wolff Audio ProPatch 128R [#169]. The wings also feature 19-inch rack spaces below and behind the console, providing me with a total of 100 RU spaces! So far, this description doesn't stray far from what a typical large-format mixing desk includes. To understand why the Console ST is truly unique in its functionality, we need to discuss typical console designs and then dive into the features of the 802a channel strip.