Square Enix and Roland, a manufacturer of electronic instruments and mixing consoles, have announced the launch of the Roland Bridge Cast FFXIV Edition audio mixer! Pre-orders open on November 1st. The mixers start shipping on December 1st. While we can’t find an official price at this time, regular versions of the Roland Bridge Cast mixer retail for $340 on sites like Amazon, B&H, and Sweetwater.
Roland’s Bridge Cast line of mixers caters to gamers, streamers, and content creators who don’t really need the kind of audio equipment found in a professional broadcast or audio recording facility. They do, however, offer tools that streamers and content creators might appreciate. If you’re an FFXIV streamer, this might be the audio mixer for you. 🎛
How Is the Roland Bridge Cast FFXIV Edition Different?
The Roland Bridge Cast FFXIV Edition sets itself apart from other mixers with artwork by Toshiyuki Itahana. The FFXIV meteor icon decorates the left side of the mixer, while the official Final Fantasy XIV logo, Alpha the Chocobo, and Omega adorn the right side.
What’s also neat is that the knob LED colors match the game’s role colors: blue for Tanks, green for Healers, and red for DPS. Though, if you prefer, you can adjust the colors as you see fit. Additionally, the iconic Duty Finder matching chime and the FATE joining sound are already programmed into the mixer. These could be fun to use in voice chat, during streams, or when you’re bored while waiting in DPS queue.
Finally, the Roland Bridge Cast FFXIV Edition mixer comes in original packaging featuring the artwork found on the device. While perhaps not main reason you’d want to buy it, it’ll look nice in your gaming setup or on a bookshelf as the design isn’t over the top.
Sounds Great! What Other Features Does It Have?
As for the technical features, the dual-channel mixing system allows streamers to independently balance their mic, team chat, game play, and background music levels. For example, you can boost the in-game audio in your personal mix so that you can hear enemy sound effects without your viewers hearing the difference. Meanwhile, you can increase the volume of voice chat audio for your viewers without it overwhelming your own in-game sounds.
The inclusion of an XLR connector is fantastic news for those with condenser mics, which usually require phantom power. Furthermore, the mixer includes a low-cut filter, which is excellent for softening harsh “P” and T” plosives. There’s 5.1 or 7.1 virtual surround sound, which of course, gamers will appreciate. And if you want to play music from your phone or other device, just connect it to the aux input. This can include musical instruments like an electronic keyboard! 🎹
Streamers who like to role-play in streams can also take advantage of the voice changer tool. Just adjust the pitch and formant settings to mimic your favorite Scion or whoever else you wish. While I personally don’t stream anymore, even I’m tempted to buy this mixer just for this feature.
Check back with Icy Veins to stay on top of FFXIV news, including info on the annual Starlight Celebration and Tokyo Fan Fest at the end of the month!