ajay_m wrote: ↑Fri Aug 25, 2023 3:53 pmI think you are being too kind, Hugh. Have a closer look and try and imagine this is your first digital mixer.
I haven't read it in depth, I just skimmed, and I don't have a physical console to relate it to. It just looked typically comprehensive to me at first glance.
The Yamaha manual is just 300 odd pages of this.
I understand your frustration. As you'll be all too well aware, judging the right audience for a written manual is always a challenge. Assume little knowledge in the reader and you're writing a
Sound Recording Practice tome all over again! Assume too much experience and it's completely impenetrable to a novice.
For someone coming from an analogue mixer world, it does not explain any concepts. e.g what is the difference between busses and matrixes...
I'm not a spokesperson for Yamaha's position here but, to be fair to them, the introduction of the Reference Manual states clearly:
Target User This product is geared toward people accustomed to mixing the audio of PA systems...
Busses and matrix sends are both very standard features of PA consoles. So, yes knowing the difference is assumed knowledge and they have made their (reasonable) expectations known before you get into the manual...
To help, though, in general (analogue) terms, buses (or sub-groups) receive signals directly from input channels, whereas matrixes normally receive signals only from the buses*. Typically, you might use buses (sub-groups) to create sub-mixes of specific instrumental sections to make balancing things easier — such as a drums bus, backing vocals bus, rhythm bus and so on.
Matrixes pick up those bus sub-mixes to create alternative balances which can be used for things like IEMS and monitors, or for additional speaker arrays etc just as a faster and easier way of creating a specific mix without having to dial up individual sends from every source channel.
*Given the inherent versatility of a digital console, the DM3 also allows channels to send direct into matrixes as well as the buses (sub-groups), removing the normal distinction between buses and matrixes to some extent. Other differences remain, a key one being that the buses can route into the Stereo Out mix bus while the matrixes can't and, as you noticed, the matrixes don't have graphic EQs while the buses do.
What's the difference between MAIN and STEREO out?. You'll look in vain in the manual - MAIN changes to the bus master out automatically as you switch 'sends on faders' views and STEREO out stays locked on the main outs.
From a quick scan of the manual, my understanding is that 'MAIN' refers to the on-screen main fader strip, the role of which varies depending on the current display mode. Normally it controls the main (Stereo Out) mix level. If you change the screen to show 'Sends on Faders', then it logically changes to become the relevant send's master mix level instead. That seems a fairly simple conventional (for Yamaha mixers) to me... although I have some familiarity with the Yamaha mindset as I own a DM1000 and used to use the related 02R96 and DM2000 consoles a lot in years gone by. The newer generations of console still share familiar operating paradigms.
Which protocol should I use in DAW REMOTE mode? (turns out to be HUI by a process of reverse engineering).
Reference Manual Page 269:
2. Configure the ports of the control surface of the DAW.Select either HUI or Mackie HUI for the type of control surface or for the remote device. Gotta say that seems explicitly detailed to me without any need for reverse engineering...
If I power down with phantom power enabled, is it enabled at power up? As it turns out, yes, which is a rather stupid and dangerous feature about which the manual is silent.
You mean like every analogue PA desk on the planet has always worked?
In olden analogue days, a standard ritual was the 'zeroing of the desk' after a gig, resetting all the aux sends, the EQ, the channel gains, and the phantom power (etc) precisely to avoid any surprised or mishaps when rigging for new gig.
Of course, being a digital desk, the DM3 comes with the ability to load an initial setup Scene with all phantoms off, all EQ's zeroed, standard routing set up etc. So the sensible approach if rigging for a new gig would be to recall an initial default Scene to establish a 'safe' operating condition and then configure as needed before saving the completed Scene ready for the gig.
There's also a Master phantom-off option in the Setup screen menus too, for additional safety!
But for many users, having the desk re-boot in exactly the way you left it when turned off is a not only a normal expectation, but a definite preference!
So, sorry, but I think you're being unfair there, too.
It should just say 'enable phantom power?' on powerup, if the master was enabled, and underneath list the input ports that have phantom power set, if any.
Nice idea. Certainly worth suggesting... but loading with a no-phantom initial scene is a simple, safe and valid solution.
Still, this isn't the fault of the manual but it IS the fault of the manual not to walk you through the dangers of phantom power.
Again...
This product is geared toward people accustomed to mixing the audio of PA systems... The danger should be known to that level of user and the risks accommodated appropriately.
While these are likely to be things any sound tech is familiar with, manuals are also supposed to be there to help people who aren't necessarily familiar with the product.
I don't wholly agree. I didn't expect the manual for my new car to explain how to drive, or list the complete Highway Code. The basic function of a manual is to assist those unfamiliar with the
product, yes. Some also go further and aim to educate the user on how to use it in specific applications... but these tend to be manuals for novices with entry-level products. As Yamaha clearly state, they have assumed the DM3 user is already familiar with standard practices and applications in the PA world.
You're arguing that that decision was wrong... and I really do understand your frustrations, and why you feel the manual should do more novice user hand-holding. Indeed, when reviewing products for SOS I do try to explain why a product's feature is useful and how it can be used rather than just list it, for all the reasons you argue. But the SOS magazine is specifically intended to be educational, whereas the DM3 comes from Yamaha's Professional division and its manual is clearly intended to be informative for experienced pro users rather than educational to novices.
So I do get it's not what you want... but I don't think it's entirely fair to lambast the company for making that choice based on who they think their customers will be.
The same problem arises in many other high-tech fields. For example, when I bought my first Canon DSLR a few decades ago I had the same problem as you're having with the DM3. I was out of my depth and lacked the knowledge and experience to understand what many of the functions were there for on the camera, or why they worked as they did, or why I even needed them, let alone how to use them.
So I bought a third-party book specific to that camera model that made all those things clear in a really helpful way. My knowledge and understanding improved considerably and, when I subsequently upgraded the camera to an even more capable model I didn't need such a helper book because the supplied reference manual then made perfect sense.
So your idea of writing a
DM3 for Dummies type book (I'm not inferring you're a dummy by the way! It's just a brand of that type of helper manual) would be a great idea for those of limited experience to bridge the knowledge gap. Given the console's very attractive price and feature set I'm sure there will be many others who have made the investment without yet having the depth of knowledge and experience Yamaha have assumed.
