Soundcraft Notepad 8FX

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carloratm
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Oct 09, 2018 11:32 am

Soundcraft Notepad 8FX

Post by carloratm »

Hi all,

I am considering this device:

https://www.thomann.de/it/soundcraft_notepad_8fx.htm

Has anyone any experience with that on Linux?
Do you think it is working well as a sound card with jack?

Best,
Carlo
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flappix
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Re: Soundcraft Notepad 8FX

Post by flappix »

I don't know this specific device but from my experience with mixer devices similar to this one I would say they are not the best choice for recording. Most of them are quite noisy and you can just record OR playback but not both simultaneously.

If your focus is on the mixer functionality then go for it but if your focus is on recording a audio interface would be better.
zebra
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Nov 10, 2018 8:37 pm

Re: Soundcraft Notepad 8FX

Post by zebra »

hello, this is my first post here. i'm a linux audio software developer and musician, came to this question while searching for more info on possible linux drivers for this device.

i have a soundcraft notepad-8fx and find it an overall excellent product:

- it has the same crisp, transparent preamp sound as larger professional Soundcraft mixers,
- a nice 3-band EQ on the first two channels,
- and overall a much lower noise floor than other micro-mixers in the budget range. (mackie mix-8, i'm looking at you.)
- the built-in effects are quite limited, but better than nothing,
- and it works very well as a 2-channel USB audio interface. yes, this feature is class-compliant and works fine on linux without the need for drivers.
- finally i find the low-profile form factor very convenient for efficient packing with other gear and pedals.


however, there is one huge drawback for linux which you should know about: by default, the USB interface captures the entire master mix. for windows and macOS, there is a configuration utility to change this, allowing to capture any pair of input or output busses. unfortunately (and is is the real stinger) this setting isn't persistent - you must re-configure it on every power-up.

someday i hope to find the time to hack the USB protocol for configuration, and then it really will be a near-perfect utility mixer for live audio processing in a portable linux-based performance rig. as it is, it is great if you only want to capture the master mix.

purely on a sound-quality basis, i find the allen&heath "zed-fx" line to be just a bit superior (with fantastic-sounding built-in effects), but they are substantially pricier and more inconveniently shaped for a smaller channel count.

oh, i should also mention that like many british mixers, the outputs of both the soundcraft and the A&H are balanced XLR, and these tiny ones lack 1/4" options, which can be inconvenient.

hope it helps!

-eb
udaemon
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon May 20, 2019 8:53 am

Re: Soundcraft Notepad 8FX

Post by udaemon »

zebra wrote: however, there is one huge drawback for linux which you should know about: by default, the USB interface captures the entire master mix. for windows and macOS, there is a configuration utility to change this, allowing to capture any pair of input or output busses. unfortunately (and is is the real stinger) this setting isn't persistent - you must re-configure it on every power-up.

someday i hope to find the time to hack the USB protocol for configuration, and then it really will be a near-perfect utility mixer for live audio processing in a portable linux-based performance rig. as it is, it is great if you only want to capture the master mix.
hello,

@zebra: have you had the time to find out more about how to make it happen to choose the usb audio signals for the notepad 12fx within linux?
I would really like to get this working, since I recently switched to linux and will stay.

to others being concerned with that issue, too, maybe we could try to make it work together?
get in touch, please!

best wishes
Allthumbs
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Joined: Sat Feb 27, 2021 9:22 pm

Re: Soundcraft Notepad 8FX

Post by Allthumbs »

Seconded! I have just bought a Notepad -12fx and cannot get a peep out of the USB connection; the phone connection produces a signal in Audacity but the Left channel is significantly lower than the right. It can be corrected by splitting the stereo signal and boosting the weak signal, producing a very nice crisp sound wave. However,this requires the Soundcraft pots of Channel 1 to be turned up to max and the master output too, which can’t be right :-( Any suggestions welcomed. Thanks.
Allthumbs
Established Member
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Feb 27, 2021 9:22 pm

Re: Soundcraft Notepad 8FX

Post by Allthumbs »

Well it seems that the error messages I began to get recently regarding USB ports were at play here and since resolving those issues I can now use the 12FX and get a nice stereo signal in Audacity :-) Haven’t worked out how to use the USB connection yet tho it does show up in Audacity as a mic option but nothing is captured during record. Onward and upward through the fog! :-)
Allthumbs
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Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Feb 27, 2021 9:22 pm

Re: Soundcraft Notepad 8FX

Post by Allthumbs »

Allthumbs wrote: Sat Feb 27, 2021 9:32 pm Seconded! I have just bought a Notepad -12fx and cannot get a peep out of the USB connection; the phono connection produces a signal in Audacity but the Left channel is significantly lower than the right. It can be corrected by splitting the stereo signal and boosting the weak signal, producing a very nice crisp sound wave. However,this requires the Soundcraft pots of Channel 1 to be turned up to max and the master output too, which can’t be right :-( Any suggestions welcomed. Thanks.
udaemon
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon May 20, 2019 8:53 am

Re: Soundcraft Notepad 8FX

Post by udaemon »

zebra wrote: Sat Nov 10, 2018 8:51 pm someday i hope to find the time to hack the USB protocol for configuration, and then it really will be a near-perfect utility mixer for live audio processing in a portable linux-based performance rig. as it is, it is great if you only want to capture the master mix.
if somebody is stumbling over this thread in search of a way to set the usb-routing under linux please have a look at this nice project, works perfectly:
https://github.com/lack/soundcraft-utils

take care!
zebra
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Nov 10, 2018 8:37 pm

Re: Soundcraft Notepad 8FX

Post by zebra »

hello @udaemon

how strange and serendipitous - i connected this mixer to linux for the first time in a couple years, searched the web for updates on this issue, and found this solution, having forgotten that i even posted about it earlier. (so "stumbled" is certainly correct)

the project is even in PyPi (https://pypi.org/project/soundcraft-utils/), so a simple

Code: Select all

sudo pip install soundcraft-utils
was sufficient to get it going for me, and it's working great.

kudos to the dev, and thanks to you for pointing it out!
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