Gearslutz.com - View Single Post

Mertmo · 11th July 2009

Hi all. Never knew the ZED series existed until the other day when I was shopping for a tiny mixer with some faders. (the one thing I don't like about my mackie 1202 - no faders). Saw the ZED 14 and was very impressed with the feel and apparent build quality. That got me researching the whole line of ZED mixers on the internet, and of course eventually led me to this thread. Wow, long and exhaustive but a very encouraging discussion, especially the way Mike from A&H has engaged everyone here. Decidedly classy and professional, I like it. Bottom line: I am sold on the concept of the ZED mixer line, but I have some specific questions for Mike and/or anyone else that might have some answers.

Keep in mind that I am coming at this from the following perspective: I am getting out of the "audio work for others for money" biz for an indefinite while. I have been running a mid sized project studio for about 10 years, but I am tearing it all down and packing it up. And for the time being, moving back into my bedroom (!!!) to just make some of my own recordings and have fun. Also, at the same time, I am going all OTB with one or two blackface ADATs for now (always had good luck and was happy working with them), most likely soon to be replaced with an Alesis HD24XR. (Taking the computer and ProTools out of the picture for now, and am *very* excited about it, I'm totally burnt with PT computer recording)
My goal is to have a *small* but good sounding hardware recording and mixing studio that is simple in nature. I have one good channel of input that I really like, and that's really all I need as I'll be almost exclusively recording myself one track at a time. (UA M610 -> ProVLA) I don't even want a bunch of outboard to mix with, I really just want to be balancing faders and using EQ. Probably I will be printing mix effects to tracks, using my guitar pedals mostly. The idea being that mixing really only involves faders and EQ. Simplicity of workflow is paramount to me right now, I have lost myself in option paralysis and feel that I have to minimize the "engineering" aspect for a while so I can write some songs.
Again, this all has to be done in a very small space.

Whew, I know that was long winded as I usually am, but I thought some perspective was in order for my questions to make sense. Here goes:

First off, the ZED R16 is too much for me right now. Too much money, too much feature set, too many options, etc. Plus, 100 mil faders are an absolute must for me, no two ways about it. But it looks like a great product and moreover, the potential of the ZED R24 reaching maturity has me VERY stoked. Regardless of which smaller ZED mixer I might get for now, I can almost guarantee that a full blown ZED R24 will be a perfect product for me sometime down the road. But that time is not now. Sounds absolutely drool worthy, though, I can't wait for this product to surface!!!
But for now, I am trying to decide between the small and simple ZED 24, and the slightly bigger and badder ZED 420...

So, having said ALL THAT perhaps I should get to the point

1) Mike, earlier in this thread you stated that the mix buss circuit in the R16 was exactly the same as "the majority" of the rest of the ZED line... Can you be totally specific on this, are there *any* mixers in the ZED line that have an different mix circuit than the rest?

2) Let's talk EQ. How does the 4 band semi-parametric in the 420 compare to the R16. Obviously it's a different design and offers less control, being that it's not fully parametric. But is the sound in the same ballpark? I don't necessarily need that kind of control, especially since I'm looking to work with a "less is more" type of simple workflow. But it would be reassuring to know that the EQ in the 420 is a nice sounding EQ for mixing. I don't expect it to be the same EQ, just something that sounds nice.
Sub question: Is the EQ on the 14/24 the same as on the 420, just one less band? Or is it yet another different design? On your website it talks about the EQ on the 420 being borrowed from the GL mixers, but it doesn't say the same for the 14/24...

3) Are the insert points on the 420 the same as on the 14, in that you can use them as direct line inputs, bypassing the mic preamps? This is huge for me, I don't like mixing through mic amps and when I tried the difference on the 14 (listening to some CD's) I was very pleased with the sound of the direct input versus going thru the mic amp.

4) Is there any future possibility of the USB section being modded/upgraded to USB 2, so that one could potentially send and receive audio of higher sample rate and bit depth than 16 bit/48k...? This is mainly a curiosity, not a deal breaker in any sense.

I hope that is not too many tweaky questions! I am very excited about getting one of these for my tiny little bedroom studio, I just wanted to clear up some details to help me decide which one I really want.

These things look and feel really great, the 100 mil alps faders are way smooth and sexy. The second I put my hands on it at the store I knew I was buying one. Hell, I was happy back in the day with my Mackie 24x8 for mixing and I can't imagine that these are not at *least* on par in terms of EQ and a nice big summing sound.
Alas, the 24x8 is long gone and uhh... i won't be getting another mackie that's for sure.

Thank you Mike and anyone else who has input for me. Again Mike, the way you have handled yourself and represented your company in this thread is very impressive. Not that I needed more convincing on these mixers, but it's the icing on the cake. I love where you guys are headed with all this, especially the potential of the R24.

11th July 2009	#763
Mertmo Lives for gear Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 942	A few general ZED questions... Hi all. Never knew the ZED series existed until the other day when I was shopping for a tiny mixer with some faders. (the one thing I don't like about my mackie 1202 - no faders). Saw the ZED 14 and was very impressed with the feel and apparent build quality. That got me researching the whole line of ZED mixers on the internet, and of course eventually led me to this thread. Wow, long and exhaustive but a very encouraging discussion, especially the way Mike from A&H has engaged everyone here. Decidedly classy and professional, I like it. Bottom line: I am sold on the concept of the ZED mixer line, but I have some specific questions for Mike and/or anyone else that might have some answers. Keep in mind that I am coming at this from the following perspective: I am getting out of the "audio work for others for money" biz for an indefinite while. I have been running a mid sized project studio for about 10 years, but I am tearing it all down and packing it up. And for the time being, moving back into my bedroom (!!!) to just make some of my own recordings and have fun. Also, at the same time, I am going all OTB with one or two blackface ADATs for now (always had good luck and was happy working with them), most likely soon to be replaced with an Alesis HD24XR. (Taking the computer and ProTools out of the picture for now, and am very excited about it, I'm totally burnt with PT computer recording) My goal is to have a small but good sounding hardware recording and mixing studio that is simple in nature. I have one good channel of input that I really like, and that's really all I need as I'll be almost exclusively recording myself one track at a time. (UA M610 -> ProVLA) I don't even want a bunch of outboard to mix with, I really just want to be balancing faders and using EQ. Probably I will be printing mix effects to tracks, using my guitar pedals mostly. The idea being that mixing really only involves faders and EQ. Simplicity of workflow is paramount to me right now, I have lost myself in option paralysis and feel that I have to minimize the "engineering" aspect for a while so I can write some songs. Again, this all has to be done in a very small space. Whew, I know that was long winded as I usually am, but I thought some perspective was in order for my questions to make sense. Here goes: First off, the ZED R16 is too much for me right now. Too much money, too much feature set, too many options, etc. Plus, 100 mil faders are an absolute must for me, no two ways about it. But it looks like a great product and moreover, the potential of the ZED R24 reaching maturity has me VERY stoked. Regardless of which smaller ZED mixer I might get for now, I can almost guarantee that a full blown ZED R24 will be a perfect product for me sometime down the road. But that time is not now. Sounds absolutely drool worthy, though, I can't wait for this product to surface!!! But for now, I am trying to decide between the small and simple ZED 24, and the slightly bigger and badder ZED 420... So, having said ALL THAT perhaps I should get to the point 1) Mike, earlier in this thread you stated that the mix buss circuit in the R16 was exactly the same as "the majority" of the rest of the ZED line... Can you be totally specific on this, are there any mixers in the ZED line that have an different mix circuit than the rest? 2) Let's talk EQ. How does the 4 band semi-parametric in the 420 compare to the R16. Obviously it's a different design and offers less control, being that it's not fully parametric. But is the sound in the same ballpark? I don't necessarily need that kind of control, especially since I'm looking to work with a "less is more" type of simple workflow. But it would be reassuring to know that the EQ in the 420 is a nice sounding EQ for mixing. I don't expect it to be the same EQ, just something that sounds nice. Sub question: Is the EQ on the 14/24 the same as on the 420, just one less band? Or is it yet another different design? On your website it talks about the EQ on the 420 being borrowed from the GL mixers, but it doesn't say the same for the 14/24... 3) Are the insert points on the 420 the same as on the 14, in that you can use them as direct line inputs, bypassing the mic preamps? This is huge for me, I don't like mixing through mic amps and when I tried the difference on the 14 (listening to some CD's) I was very pleased with the sound of the direct input versus going thru the mic amp. 4) Is there any future possibility of the USB section being modded/upgraded to USB 2, so that one could potentially send and receive audio of higher sample rate and bit depth than 16 bit/48k...? This is mainly a curiosity, not a deal breaker in any sense. I hope that is not too many tweaky questions! I am very excited about getting one of these for my tiny little bedroom studio, I just wanted to clear up some details to help me decide which one I really want. These things look and feel really great, the 100 mil alps faders are way smooth and sexy. The second I put my hands on it at the store I knew I was buying one. Hell, I was happy back in the day with my Mackie 24x8 for mixing and I can't imagine that these are not at least on par in terms of EQ and a nice big summing sound. Alas, the 24x8 is long gone and uhh... i won't be getting another mackie that's for sure. Thank you Mike and anyone else who has input for me. Again Mike, the way you have handled yourself and represented your company in this thread is very impressive. Not that I needed more convincing on these mixers, but it's the icing on the cake. I love where you guys are headed with all this, especially the potential of the R24.