Mixer advice needed

[Way Of The Heart]

Originally Posted by IRL303

Hi Guys,

I'm going to need a decent mixer at some stage, so I've had to come here to ask what I should take into account and what to avoid at all costs. I was thinking I'd like either a 16 or 24 channel mixer. I know there is plenty out there for me to just read up on, but the companys will tell you anything to buy their products. So I was hoping I could get some advice/knowledge from you guys who know whats what. Many people talk about pre-amps? right, Yeah I will be not using the mixer for any live or acoustic instruments so I'm not so fussed about that.


Cheers Gang!

If you can let us know what it will be used for, you will get much more precise feedback and advice. Preamps BTW will be needed regardless if it is used for live performance or for acoustic music. You can expect to find preamps on most channels of a 16TRK OR 24TRK mixer either way. They come with the territory.

[IRL303]

Rodney, I'm gonna need it for a TB303, TR 606, A Korg MS2000 and later some FX units and compressors etc.

[mattjew24]

For a high quality recording all in one solution check out the Presonus Studiolive or Mackie equivalent

[johnnyv]

Well I guess you don't need pre amp then, That will help save you money as good pre amps are what put the price point up.

We used to call those "Line Mixers" they made them for keyboard players to rack up dozens of MIDI boxes etc. But they are very limited in what they do.
You will need something with "Insert" jacks to use compressors.
The common $300-$500 Behringer,Yamaha,Mackie , allen Heath usually have a whole whack of stereo inputs.
I used one the other day-
CH 1-4 channels Mono with inserts ( good for what you want)
CH 5-8 had xlr and 1/4" stereo/ mono ins
CH 9-12 were 1/4 stereo only and 2 had RCA.

Because you don't care about the pre amps the cheaper boards are the place to look.

[IRL303]

Mattew and Johnny, Thanks for the info guys.

[Tomiboy]

I would avoid buying any of the cheaper boards or an all in one solution. Presonus and Mackie gear will not hold it's value and generally sounds pretty darn average. behringer is just rubbish so don't bther with it. Avoid all in one gear because if one part of it craps out you have to send the whole lot off for repair. Kinda like TV's with built in DVD players, if your DVD player dies and you want it repaired, you can't watch TV at all. Buy the best quality gear you can afford and try to keep everything independent of the next piece of equipment.

[mattjew24]

Will not be using the mixer for live or acoustic instruments********

Perhaps I misinterpreted this as meaning he wants a recording mixer...and doesn't need to mix live.

I'm sure he's aware now that just a mixer with no DAW requires some kind of hard disk recorder...that's why I suggested the persons and mackie though. My mistake

[IRL303]

Thanks Tomiboy, I was eyeing up a 24 Channel Behringer Eurodesk...I'll have to think twice about that now.

[top dog]

Don't you afraid to buy anything Behringer?
Maybe it's better to buy less channels Soundcraft? I read a lot of goodd things about Soundcraft M12. 12 mono channels, 4 stereo channels, 3 aux for your future fx. And main feature is really not bad sound for the price. Think about replacing my dusty 20 channels Soundcraft Spirit SX with M12 in good condition. It's not bad too, a bit muddy, but definitely less than Behringer cheap consoles

[Way Of The Heart]

From my own perspective, for their intended purpose and for the purpose of the OP here in the 'newbie' forum, both the MACKIE ONYXi series and the Presonus boards are excellent choices with a high return of value vs. cost. Particularly the ONYX boards. They sound great as a mid-level board and buying used, it is easy to retain nearly 80-90% of the value over a 2-3 year span. Upgrading is easy after you have matured your ears and learned the craft a bit.

I agree to buy the best quality gear you can afford while meeting your needs. I also agree that a great deal of mid-level gear does sound average, but more common is the engineer using that gear has average skill or experience and produces average results. It is rarely the deficiency of the gear itself.

Also, you will indeed want preamps (and that is a good thing to have available). The line-level signals (probably +4db) coming out of your beatboxes will not have enough gain to adequately drive a signal to any monitor source for practical purposes without some additional gain. The line-mixers mentioned back in the day had their own set of outs that fed into to 2 channels of the PA.

Either way, jump in. You will do great. The most important thing is to get moving and enjoy every bit of the process. As Lao Tzu say's "A busy ant gets more done than a dozing bull..the journey of a 1000 miles begins with a single step". BTW, my very first mixer was a 16 channel Behringer 20 years ago. They were made in Germany and built to last back then. I used it to record my first (self-produced) album. Prior to that it was always in a 'big' studio. Album still sounds great.

Cheers!

[IRL303]

Thanks everyone who replied. Here is a link to the Eurodesk I had my eye on
Behringer SX2442FX Eurodesk 24-Channel Mixer at zZounds

[jetam]

Originally Posted by IRL303

Thanks everyone who replied. Here is a link to the Eurodesk I had my eye on
Behringer SX2442FX Eurodesk 24-Channel Mixer at zZounds

That's probably the worst mixer you can get.
I'd look for some used Soundcraft Delta.

[Way Of The Heart]

Originally Posted by jetam

That's probably the worst mixer you can get.
I'd look for some used Soundcraft Delta.

I would agree to look for used. It will provide you much more value.

Allen and Heath, Soundcraft or a used Mackie ONYX 1640i would be a superb choice for your needs.

I can't say that the B boards are the worst, but with all genuine honesty there is a high chance once you get a unit something on it will fail in short time. Some B-gear can be modded for great results. Most are just too unreliable anymore for the long term.

[Below Zero]

Why would you need any of this?

Just get a dj mixer

The sound is from ur machines

[IRL303]

Originally Posted by Below Zero

Why would you need any of this?

Just get a dj mixer

The sound is from ur machines

[IRL303]

Originally Posted by Rodney Gene

I would agree to look for used. It will provide you much more value.

Allen and Heath, Soundcraft or a used Mackie ONYX 1640i would be a superb choice for your needs.

I can't say that the B boards are the worst, but with all genuine honesty there is a high chance once you get a unit something on it will fail in short time. Some B-gear can be modded for great results. Most are just too unreliable anymore for the long term.

Ok so I'll deffo cancel getting that board. I'll check out some A&H, Soundcraft and Mackie ones.

[jetam]

I'm not saying that the B boards are the worst. I'm talking about this particular model. I had to use it once and it was a nightmare.

Anyway you'll get much more with a used Delta. A&H and Soundcraft have/had some cool models. I don't think that Mackie is on the same level (at least harder to service).
If you decide for Soundcraft, try to get something above the spirit range. Not that they're bad, but you can get a really nice second hand mixer for the price of the Behringer.