Can someone explain why this would be useful for me? I typically run a cardiod pair and a MS pair. The two are never close to being the same levels, really ever, especially the mid and side channels. Why would I want to control gain on 4 mis-matched channels by just spinning a single knob?
I was happy to see that with the firmware update using the front panel knobs for gain, I can link channels 1/2, and then separately link channels 3/4. ISO (front panel) Knob 1 controls 1/2, and ISO (Front panel) knob 3 controls 3/4. That is exactly how I have used my Tascam DR680. I do not foresee ever linking all 4 together, at least not with my mic combos. I did not think to check if there is an option to link 5/6, I'll have to look at that tonight.
There is a specific linking option for m/s, so you could balance your M/S and control that with ISO 1, and then control your cardioid pair after balancing on ISO 3, so you would have 2 master balance controls instead of 4 separate controls.
Got my mp6 today! quick question regarding linking channels. Do you make sure they are matched and then enable linking or simply link ahead of time and use channel 2 or 4 to balance if they are off a little?
It is a great question that I haven't had the time to figure out the answer to. It appeared to me that if I linked 2 channels, that there became significant differences in my balance between those 2 linked channels which I assumed was somehow based on the settings it was picking up from my pre-sets, but I couldn't be sure why linking appeared to create or change the balance between my 2 mics. It appeared to create a change as soon as I engaged the linking. I was linking 1-2, and linking 3-4, not all 4mics together, as mics 1-2 were Schoeps, and mics 3-4 were Busmans. Both sets appeared to show a disparity between channels as soon as they were linked. Further, I was wondering if knobs 2 and 4 were creating the disparity, as they were at the positions they had been in for gain on channels 2 and 4 before I linked the channels, I did not wind them down or center them. I didn't know if the pan would act like a balance control and therefore offset any difference, or if it would just throw my stereo image off. Because I was recording a live show and choose not to risk it or spend too much brain power trying to figure out what was happening or playing with the settings, I unlinked and used the deck as I had been using it. Then of course after the show I totally forgot to do any testing, so I wonder if others actually have specific answers. I was also thinking I'd ask Sound Devices for clarification, but this too slipped my mind. As you know setting up (in this case 6 mics) for a live show is not the best time to start to do analysis when something seems amiss, it's easier to just fall back on what is working if that is an option. 5 and 6 were linked too, but this is a moot point, because I run through a USB Pre2, and use the gain controls on the preamp as it is just easier than the gain controls on the MixPre for 5 and 6. That kind of renders my linking this channels useless.