AW-2400 24-Track Audio Workstation

The Yamaha AW2400 24-Track Audio Workstation is the top of the AW line with 24 simultaneous tracks of playback, motorized 100mm faders, and the same expansion slot found on Yamaha's high-end digital mixing consoles for connecting the AW to professional studio gear.

The Yamaha AW2400 is proof that an audio workstation offering professional-level features and performance can also be easy to use. Once you've learned the basics, you can efficiently go from concept to CD while concentrating on the music rather than the technical details.

The addition of USB 2.0 compatibility for dragging and dropping files to your computer and a mini-YGDAI card slot for interfacing with virtually every piece of professional gear on the market make the Yamaha AW2400 the perfect portable recording solution for the professional project studio.

Up to 16 inputs, 24 tracks

The Yamaha AW2400 mixer supports up to 16 simultaneous inputs in 2 layers: 8 of the 12 - 100-millimeter motor faders provided on the AW2400 panel can be instantly switched to control inputs 1-8 or 9-16. 8 balanced mic/line XLR type connectors as well as 8 balanced or unbalanced TRS phone jacks are provided on the rear panel for direct input, and an additional 8 analog or digital inputs can be provided via an optional Mini-YGDAI expansion card plugged into the AW2400 expansion slot. With all 16 inputs available you can even record 16 tracks simultaneously when recording in 16-bit mode, or you can record up to 8 tracks simultaneously in 24-bit mode.

For 16-bit recording and playback the Yamaha AW2400 recorder section offers a total of 24 tracks, or 12 tracks for 24-bit recording and playback. You also have 8 virtual tracks per physical track”that's 26 (24 + stereo) x 8 in 16-bit mode or 14 (12 + stereo) x 8 in 24-bit mode. That's plenty of capacity for alternate takes or arrangements. Any of the mixer's inputs can be easily patched to any of the recorder's tracks for maximum recording flexibility. When the TRACK 1-12 or 1316 mix layer is selected the faders adjust playback level from recorder tracks 1-12 or 1316, respectively.

Effects for recording, mixing, and mastering

With the AW2400 you get a stunning range of top-class effects built right in! There's a large selection of reverb, delay, modulation, and pitch type effects. There are amp-simulator based guitar effects that let you get great guitar sound without having to actually mic a guitar amplifier, and processing presets specifically designed for mastering that can help to bring the sound of your overall mix up to professional level. What's more you have 4 independent effect processors with corresponding sends and returns so you'll have enough processing power on-hand for just about any situation.

4-band EQ and dynamics control

With the AW2400 you have complete dynamic control over each track with extremely versatile 4-band equalization, plus independent compression and gating capability on every input channel and recorder track.

Pitch-perfect vocal tracks

When a song has vocals, you want the vocal track to sound as good as you can possibly make it. Since singers are human the occasional off note is to be expected, but with the AW2400 Pitch Fix function that won't mean discarding an otherwise excellent track. Pitch Fix can effectively "repair" notes that are a bit sharp or flat without leaving digital artifacts.

From song to CD

Once youve recorded, mixed and mastered your musical creation you can burn it directly to CD right in the AW2400. A built-in high-performance CD-RW drive can be used to create audio CDs that will play on any standard CD player, or you can use it to make CD data backups of your song data so that it can be reloaded and remixed or edited at any time.

All the I/O you could ask for

Unlike many all-in-one audio workstations the AW2400 provides a full complement of 8 balanced XLR connectors for microphone or line input, as well as 8 TRS phone jacks for either balanced or unbalanced line input.

Switchable phantom power is provided for the XLR inputs so you can use studio-grade phantom-powered condenser microphones in order to capture superior sound right from the source. Insert patch points on inputs 1 and 2 allow insertion of external processing gear. Direct digital stereo input and output capability is provided via coaxial S/P DIF input and output connectors.

In addition to the main stereo and monitor outputs, the AW2400 also features 4 OMNI OUT connectors that can be assigned to output signals from just about anywhere in the system for additional signal feeds wherever they might be required. When you need more inputs and/or outputs”analog or digital”you have an excellent range of Yamaha Mini-YGDAI expansion cards from which to choose.

MIDI control

The AW2400 allows full parameter control via MIDI commands, so you can record scene changes as well as control changes from the AW2400 to a MIDI sequencer, for example, and then reproduce the recorded operations precisely when the sequence is played back. If you'll be using the AW2400 with MIDI gear such as a Yamaha MOTIF ES series synthesizer, the AW2400 includes a number of control templates that instantly set it up for convenient remote controls from the synth's keys and encoders.