I Got My Dream Console : Zahl AM1

Buy my new album "The Mavis EP"
oora.bandcamp.com/album/the-m...
This channel is supported by my Patreons, become a member here : / ooramusic
Support the page by buying through these affiliate link :
EU
My Favorite Things : thmn.to/thocf/iqfskolosq
Elektron Analog Rytm : tinyurl.com/yevvwtwu
US
Elektron Analog Rytm MK2 : tinyurl.com/5af24pn4
Elektron Syntakt : tinyurl.com/48f4abxx
Roland SP404 Mk2 : tinyurl.com/274w8p8m
Meris/Chase Bliss CXM1978 : tinyurl.com/x39pjd4m
Teenage Engineering OP1-Field : tinyurl.com/3hzxaea4
After years dreaming of a large format console, I finally got a great deal and pulled a trigger on what I think is the best one for electronic music, the Zahl AM1.
Created by Michael Zahl and Mark Ernestus, the Am1 is a no compromise board for music production, it offers plenty of routing and has an amazing EQ.
In this video I will give you a preview of my new baby, I will expand on all the details later.
I will also point out some things that I did not think about when I bought it, stuff you need to consider if you are in the market for a mixer like this one.
Enjoy!
00:00 Intro jam
01:48 Introduction
03:22 Overview
13:20 Consideration when buying a console
#zahl #zaehl #am1 #musicproduction

[@HowardShillingford-pe7em]

What ever it takes to get the job done! It's a sweet looking console. He is happy and that's what matters. A happy engineer will produce great music. Whatever your music tastes. Remember, Led Zeppelin 2. I believe it was mixed on a eight channel mixing board with one pan pot. Happy and qualified engineers can ROCK any console. ☮️

[@kevinbatchelor9566]

I love to see you following your dreams and making the moves you want in your life. Congrats.

[@OoraMusic]

thanks!

[@orchidsvoid]

This piece of gear is something special ❤ Congratulations on getting this puppy!

[@santiagogutierrez2017]

Congratulations brother!

[@OoraMusic]

Thank you so much 😀

[@EZBOT_]

OMG your studio is amazing!

[@noelbreitenbach8673]

You deserve it man! Love your ambient electric style I hope this helps you create more beautiful music

[@OoraMusic]

Much appreciated!

[@N_g_y]

Congrats Federico - Splendid setup and *MUCH more importantly* you make great music with what you have. Keep the great work

[@OoraMusic]

Thanks a lot!

[@ZenMountain]

Wow man. This is indeed a next level console. It's been on my list for a long time... Great, congratulations!!!

[@OoraMusic]

THanks!

[@vortexalerand9949]

Super happy for you! that's really awesome man

[@OoraMusic]

Thanks a ton!

[@franzbraeuer4536]

Congratulations! What a beauty ❤

[@OoraMusic]

It really is!

[@bzprod]

Amazing, congrats on the wonderful addition!! I saw Nils Frahm with this a while back and I've been waiting for some good demos. Really looking forward to seeing those if you decide to share. Cheers!

[@OoraMusic]

More demos will come

[@5kMagic]

Love it! I know exactly how you feel. Very happy for you ❤

[@OoraMusic]

Thank you!!

[@Emillionbuxify]

Congrats!

[@OoraMusic]

thanks!

[@andreasdamberg359]

Congrats!!!!! ❤

[@OoraMusic]

thanks!

[@n97223]

Awesome! Congrats! I noticed you "playing" the mixer console on Instagram and was wondering what you were doing! Thanks for the explanation and hope to see more of your ideas for using this console! Peace! Bill

[@tristancaver4836]

Yeah, this is totally next level. Kudos!

[@OoraMusic]

thanks!

[@henryhicut]

Congrats to this beauty! Thanks for sharing

[@uweschnitzler9551]

Wow, i am so happy for you!!

[@OoraMusic]

thanks :)

[@HenriDeCarvalho]

Big update and Happy for you !

[@OoraMusic]

thanks!

[@brenoaragon]

Super sick! Parabéns!

[@VintageSynthesizerSolutions]

What an incredible piece of kit! Working with a console can be daunting, but once you have it ironed out, nothing in the box can compare!

[@OoraMusic]

I agree!

[@michaelsorhaindo5167]

My guy! You're rocking that console like you've had it your whole life!

[@OoraMusic]

I love it!

[@aintnopicnic3662]

Man - you're crazy. Going all-in! Love it. Wish you the best, you deserve it.

[@OoraMusic]

don't tell my wife tho!!

[@Eriser]

WoW congratulations

[@OoraMusic]

Thank you

[@joshbassett]

Congratulations, that is an incredible tool. I had a 24 channel desk in my studio that I used for a couple of years, but recently went back to mixing in the box. I definitely miss the hands on experience that a large console gives you. You are also restricted to working on one project at a time, which is a nice constraint to have.

[@OoraMusic]

That is true! each workflow has its benefit I guess!

[@HeadDress]

hell yeah, man - congrats 👏

[@OoraMusic]

thanks!

[@kuanjian]

Very cool! I'm excited for you...

[@OoraMusic]

Thank you!!

[@avefuqua]

Omg ❤ you‘re really a G. Such an expensive Console. You inspire me a lot. A Modular Desk for 80k _ the mind is the limit…

[@Monopete_official]

Wow ! Amazing ! That is my dream mixer too ! So cool to see that you got it ! My wifey unfortunately don't allow me to get it, but maybe I can get a Dynasonics H1020 (my second choice). Looking forward how you put it to work ! Enjoy ! I can see the happiness !

[@OoraMusic]

the dynastic is great. check the app too!

[@Kevvywevvy]

Your intro is so smooth & silky and Deep.. lush.. you deserve this btw....it's the Daddy...Enjoy 😉

[@OoraMusic]

thanks Kevin!

[@edmc2]

Awesomeness

[@gwsound]

Oh it is my mixer dream as well, congrats as you said it is a great mixer.

[@OoraMusic]

thanks!

[@FakthorX]

Apogee symphony 32x32 is also a nice option.. more expensive than the orion though.. lynx makes a 32x32 as well but its said that it gets warm when you load the channels..

[@pdmcrew80]

Congratulations, its dream console for sure, can´t wait to see you play with those modular channels . I´m in the process of building my studio and the AM1 was one of the possibilities, but the lack of Mic pres is a deal breaker. Looking at the Hum Audio Devices N Trophy, i think thats the one.

[@OoraMusic]

yeah if you need pre than you should look elsewhere for sure!

[@gimmenames9039]

You can connect any outboard pre you need and mix flavours. Or talk to Michael Zähl and have him design pre's for you. The latter will be more expensive for sure :D The AM1 is unique and no other desk offers what it does.

[@based_circuit]

Oh dude, you got the console from one of the guys of Pan Pot? That's too cool. Really adds an interesting history to it!

[@OoraMusic]

Yes , they are my studio neighbors :)

[@offworldnetwork]

Shweet! 🤩

[@LiamKillen]

Woah Oora's going big.

[@OoraMusic]

maybe tooooo much

[@7willymak]

I have always wondered this, but this just made me have to ask. We’re you one of the first employees at facebook or something? Did you have business success earlier in your life? Im not asking this from a bad place at all. I love seeing someone in a place where they can dive headfirst into their passion like you have. Its incredibly inspiring. The fact that you share all of this stuff with us is just icing on the cake.

[@OoraMusic]

Well, is not just a passion, but also a job. I used to be a photographer, then a retoucher. I am no rich by any means, don't have daddy or a sugar mom/dad. Just living low key and save money :)

[@CHONKERBOT]

When you have your millennials' soymochachino and avocado toast, @OoraMusic is sipping sine waves straight from the oscillator :|

[@CHONKERBOT]

​@@OoraMusic living lowpass

[@madebymccoy]

I can feel the cable pain. I’ve just bought a Teenage Engineering TX-6 mixer and now I have to buy slimline cables. 😅

[@OoraMusic]

ahahah CABLES ARE HELL

[@yumienmichelcorria7372]

Great thing👌

[@OoraMusic]

thanks!

[@joshuahelmeke]

The opening track totally reminds me of early Plastic Man. Especially Sheet One.

[@OoraMusic]

hero of mine!

[@repeatle]

Congratulations! My dream console too but I will never be able to afford it, unfortunately :( Read everything about it and watched tons of videos. But it will always be out of my price range.

[@Gagarinprojectofficial]

how did you managed all the in / outs before ? did you went directly into soundcard ableton and made mix in the box ?

[@JB-xz6dt]

Guys, the best mixer for electronic music are the Allen & Heath Mixwizards. They have 6 aux sends and 16 actual channels, none of that stereo bullshit. I use mine to process a few synths, a sampler/sequencer and a Pulsar 23. I run individual outs of my drum machines and samplers into it to treat every drum voice separately. Aux 1 and 2 are pre, which means they're ideal for overdrive and modulation effects. 3-4-5-6 are post, and so mine are dedicated to two delays and two reverbs. Having 2 of each allows me to completely separate my synths and drums in the mix by simply panning them L and R, so yeah, they come out mono, and that's actually great. No phasing ever. Then you got direct outs and master inserts, which you could hook something like the Analog Heat to to dirty up that mix. These consoles cost 500$ and have a comparable feature set to that of this Zahl, from what I see. Either that or the Mackie 1640 or even the Zed14 are all great value and you can do a whole lot with it if you get creative and use all of their functionalities to best match your intent. My point is : do not buy into the idea that you need to splurge thousands to have a great mixer (or any instrument for that matter). Trust me, your creative decisions have so much, so much more impact on your music than the quality of your preamps.

[@Synth-PatchesCom]

I use Allen & Heath QU SB mixer, also great with graphic EQ, multitrack recording, 6 AUXs etc. Great machine.

[@sudbenzer6603]

don't blame stereo channels! i'm happy about the stereo channels on my midas. i use them mainly for stereo FX.

[@SymaticStar]

Allen and Heath Zed 14FX is my mixer for my Eurorack ( it handles the euro signals well ). Any other synths etc go direct into Motu interface. I'd love a big desk like this beauty for the whole studio, it would require lots of hard work, maybe a loan and finding a good deal etc but the question I have is how much of an impact on the sound does it have vs good outboard compressors, Eq's etc?

[@pipster1001]

Beautiful. Is that the one with the cv control per channel?

[@lpearson88gmail]

It would be reasonably easy to set this up in ableton with midi knobs and faders for anyone who likes this style workflow. 2 Scarlett 18i20s via adat, novation launch control xl, and midi twister knob box. Its how im setting up my studio.

[@OoraMusic]

yes, I did a previous video about that using a midi controller.

[@StevenKaeser]

I am interested about this @lucas Pearson. Can you tell us more?

[@leonardocaminati6432]

If you go with the Antelope Orion, you won't be dissatisfied with the converters quality. The software is a bit buggy though, it always does the job but it's glitchy AF.

[@OoraMusic]

Heard it got better tho!

[@leonardocaminati6432]

@@OoraMusic It always works! But I wouldn't say it's comparable to the UAD Console Software you get with the Apollo. It's glitchy (on the video side) and a bit clunky, definitely not user-friendly. I'm running the latest version on a Mac Studio Ultra, OS Monterey. So you get more background on my use case! Great videos though, thanks!

[@raphaelchemouni1276]

How is it compared to the Model One ? did you get rid of it ? how much for the AM1 ?

[@OoraMusic]

different uses. I will keep the model1, perfect for live!

[@Iredidv]

How do you sync everything? Dedicated sync box? Ableton (link)?

[@OoraMusic]

I have a motu midi box to sync it all

[@danielperkins7311]

Hey Oora, great setup. What's that DI box you're using for all your synths that I see in the Bobeats video?

[@OoraMusic]

thanks ! it is the palmer pan 16

[@filipeventura2729]

Crazy money grab this console.

[@OoraMusic]

I had a lucky strike in find this one, but yes super expensive. Consider is a small company and in 10 years they just made around 50. So you basically pay a lot for craftsmanship.

[@santiagogutierrez2017]

Check RME Interfaces and Ferrofish converters for more I/O

[@OoraMusic]

Will do thanks!

[@disantlor]

nice, I have an AM1 also... i opted to not use a patchbay and use the sends, and the group outputs routed back to the master section returns truly amazing console. the CV channel definitely worth the wait. havent good results driving the inputs lately and padding them back down with mix knob on the unplugged insert (to maintain gainstaging and the main fader position at 0, which is a nice place to start for a dub)

[@el_dani]

What headphone do you use exactly? The European Thomann favourite affiliate link doesn‘t work!

[@tendingtropic7778]

@M Castile sponsored probably :)

[@OoraMusic]

thanks for the heads up! they are audeze lcd5

[@BlackMan614]

Yeah... console is the way to go. Back when I actually went into the studio to record - everything was thru a console - DI the synths. Nowadays... straight into the audio interface?!? blah... I'm looking to upgrade from just using a summing mixer. Think I might just go with a stereo preamp into stereo EQ -> audio interface.

[@cameronmeyer2972]

I had a Facebook friend say that the rule is "you should never have to touch the EQs on the mixer, ever" 😂😂 Right.

[@eento06]

Congratulations Oora, glad that you are stepping up the studio game! This type of console is amazing and packs incredible sound plus a lot of flexibility and features we all love but...To be fairly honest with you, as you stated in the video it is 1) a pain to setup and maintain (cable management my old friend) 2) you will be limited when having more gear (extension costs too much) 3) the sound you get is great but remember that anything on the audio chain might ruin the quality. For 20k I would have looked at super high end digital console instead with way more conveniences and invest into good mixing/mastering gear. These consoles are not meant as warm boxes, CV channels are cool but come on, better to extend your Modular Rig for this ;) Enjoy until you sell it :D

[@OoraMusic]

this will be buried with me (hopefully)

[@devondetroit2529]

Have you got a new Eventide Harmonizer also??!

[@OoraMusic]

I have it since a year or so!

[@devondetroit2529]

@@OoraMusic please do a demo, there are precious few on KZbin, there is zero performer thru eventide demos

[@nagchumpalot]

Wow yes thats a dream mixer.. I´m wondering has The Zahl AM1 mixer made your Play Differently Model One not needed anymore? Or will you keep it? Ok just rad this question has been asked.. keeping the Model 1 for live..

[@OoraMusic]

I ill keep it for sure, is my live mixer!

[@nagchumpalot]

@@OoraMusic Yeah good call.. now I realise its perfect for live.

[@ACPRODUCTIONSNY]

whats the price tag ? thank you

[@Orge77]

Wow! Model 1 for sale then? ;)

[@OoraMusic]

NEVER!!

[@WastelandSurvival2]

This is the console Nils Frahm uses, did that have any influence on your purchase of this? haha

[@OoraMusic]

I knew the console from before, but whatever Nils uses is great :D

[@iSeeZar]

How do you afford all of this tho? Respectfully

[@OoraMusic]

I work in music full time so with some sacrifice and savings is not different than buying a car!

[@abirdie8530]

I would go RME over Antelope from experience

[@OoraMusic]

A possibility for sure!

[@Iredidv]

*Picks mouth up from floor.

[@OoraMusic]

:)

[@soraland4831]

WOW! H3000.... and is this an Overstayer ..... Why are you using Audeze HP....

[@OoraMusic]

when I record the videos I need to have headphones :)

[@soraland4831]

@@OoraMusic I have meant it in htat way why not Sennheiser....

[@MuslimShortanov]

It is 50000 ?

[@OoraMusic]

I got it for way cheaper

[@tendingtropic7778]

holy moly, isnt this thing like the price of a new car? how can a musician afford this?

[@OoraMusic]

ahah it is a job right? some years of saving !!

[@tendingtropic7778]

@@OoraMusic congrats mate

[@sudbenzer6603]

you can literally here his voice flattering in this room but there's already a zähl console :D

[@OoraMusic]

room needswork for sure :/

[@reggaerose]

Ma non è oltremodo esagerato tutto ció?

[@OoraMusic]

difficile darti torto ahah

[@nagchumpalot]

Ok I know the ZAHL is way better sounding than the model 1 but how much better.. 2 times 3times better! ha ha how would you compare the sound to Model 1? more open clear? wider? thanks.

[@OoraMusic]

Soundwise they are both great. The Zahl has way more flexibility and routing.

[@KosmoDeuz]

10 000 $ you said ?

[@martijn_nl]

times 10 I think. a smaller one already costs $84000

[@els1f]

I LOVE not having mic preamp in every channel! Everything else is amazing, but for what most of us do now, that's really unnecessary and a waste of space and money

[@OoraMusic]

very true!

[@LoVeAmBiEnT]

You must be selling drugs How did you buy that? Jk 😂😂😂😂. Congrats tho. But seriously. How.

[@LoVeAmBiEnT]

Happy for ya!

[@automationtraveler]

Hope the music income will help pay for it….

[@OoraMusic]

It will!

[@greganikin7003]

get your room acoustics fixed... i can clearly hear its bad state.

[@OoraMusic]

noted

[@devondetroit2529]

Oora is doing credit card fraud now?!

[@OoraMusic]

don't say it loud!

[@MDS77SUN]

Sorry....nobody needs a Console like this for that kind of Music....nobody never

[@sudbenzer6603]

indeed.

[@TechnoNates]

@MDS Sorry… anyone can use any tool they like to create whatever they want.

[@OoraMusic]

Hey mate, if you spent some time watching the video, I EXACTLY said that, but I guess is easier to come bashing down others like you did.

[@AmiliaCaraMia]

Well nobody "needs" any particular piece of gear. If it sounds good and works for you, then it is useful. I don't need a $30 cassette recorder or a Lynx Aurora, but both have wild amounts of utility. Cheers 👌

[@chemicaldialect]

@MDS What are you talking about? This is an amazing console for mixing outside the Daw, using outboard gear while mixing, summing and re recording etc... A project of any genre can sound next level when powerful gear is in the right hands.

[@jphwacheski]

very nice ;)

[@OoraMusic]

Thank you! Cheers!