mobile mixer

[hakanai]

so i really want to sort out a mixer for live to 2track and it needs to be as compact as possible. the neve 8816 with fader pack seems almost perfect until you read the comments about build quality. is there anything else out there that would do the trick? here's what i would like:

12-16 line in (one or two stereo in would be nice but nit critical)
at least 1 aux send (2-4 ideal)
faders!
small enough for one person to carry or hand truck easily


thanks

[drBill]

Check out the D&R Vision. Rackmount or small frame. Fits the bill for me!

Not cheap by any means, but very flexible, configurable, and sonically superior to most cheaper options. I have both a small frame and a rackmount, and exchange and swap modules depending on the application or gig.....

Full sweepable EQ, 4 discrete Aux sends, switchable to 8, bussing, monitoring, etc.

[hakanai]

interesting, i had never seen those. thanks. anyone else have any thoughts?

[trashman]

How about a Midas Venice 160 or an SSL Xdesk?

[O.F.F.]

http://www.audio.co.uk/B3.htm

[glissando]

That DR looks pretty cool, Midas Venice is good, Allen and Heath GL is surprisingly good too...I would say however that in a live to 2 track situation you are definitely gonna want 32 channels...even then you will run out...16 is NOT enough ...and as many subgroups as you can get. Don't try to make it too easy to carry around as you might sacrifice getting actual work for compactness and ease....oh and definitely not an 8816 for that purpose...that's a very limited mixing tool...it's a summer

[hakanai]

yeah the audio developments stuff looks good but it's 20k+ for 16 channels. it's a little frustrating because I don't need there mic pre's or eq and this is what i run into with allot of mixers. all I want is a basic line mixer with a little bit of routing and there seems to be a gaping hole in the market. it really just comes down to faders. lots of line mixers without linear faders and then you jump to full featured desks with mic pre's and eq. the only things that fit exactly with what i'm looking for are allot bigger (api 1608, RND 5088, speck LiLo, etc.). that's why i'm kinda a stuck at the 8816. realistically it's not the worst place to be stuck, it's very compact and it sounds good. But this is why i started the thread, i don't really like the idea of buying something because it's the only option. I'd rather it be exactly (or at least a little closer to) what i'm looking for.

thanks for all the reply's. keep'em coming

ps what do those D&R's go for? the rack mount ones.

[drBill]

Originally Posted by hakanai

yeah the audio developments stuff looks good but it's 20k+ for 16 channels. it's a little frustrating because I don't need there mic pre's or eq and this is what i run into with allot of mixers. all I want is a basic line mixer with a little bit of routing and there seems to be a gaping hole in the market. it really just comes down to faders. lots of line mixers without linear faders and then you jump to full featured desks with mic pre's and eq. the only things that fit exactly with what i'm looking for are allot bigger (api 1608, RND 5088, speck LiLo, etc.). that's why i'm kinda a stuck at the 8816. realistically it's not the worst place to be stuck, it's very compact and it sounds good. But this is why i started the thread, i don't really like the idea of buying something because it's the only option. I'd rather it be exactly (or at least a little closer to) what i'm looking for.

thanks for all the reply's. keep'em coming

ps what do those D&R's go for? the rack mount ones.

See the close up on the modules in the pic above. exactly what you are asking for. No pre's, two independant line input paths per module, two 3 band fully sweepable EQ's per module, two faders per module, 2 sets of Aux sends (4 switchable to 8) per module, 2 insert paths per module, and group bussing from the lower path. Pretty comprehensive. Moreso than some in-line designs.

Price? Fairly expensive. It's completely modular, and configurable with a variety of modules, so the price is dependant on what modules, and how many you choose. Last time I checked with the dollar a little weaker than it is now against the Euro, the rack mixer was maybe $8kUS-ish, and the small frame desktop in the $20k range. And worth every penny IMO.

[trashman]

xdesk

[hakanai]

see the DR rack mixer for around 8K is something i really need to investigate. All i'm getting at is if they were to put out a small line mixer without any eq (and i thought the brochure said it had pre's on both the standard and deluxe modules but i could be wrong) the price could come down even more.

as far as the xdesk goes it's only 8 faders and to make it 16 channel input has the other 8 on pot's in the midst of other pot's. not really exciting to me. also, i'm not sure that the 8 extra inputs have any access to the aux buss. I think it has some cool features just not what i'm looking for.

the midas is interesting. i have used one and liked it but for some reason was thinking it was was physically allot bigger. just had a look and that is almost reasonable (240 - 16 mono/4 stereo Width 698mm (27.5”) Depth 568mm (22.4”) Height 194mm (7.6”)
Weight* 21.1kg (46.5lbs)) all for 5k brand new.

so now that my cliche gearslutz "no makes what i want!" bitchfest has concluded, it looks like there are some very reasonable choices. but of course i'll continue to spin my wheels until something actually arrives at my door.

thanks for all the input
don

[drBill]

Originally Posted by hakanai

see the DR rack mixer for around 8K is something i really need to investigate. All i'm getting at is if they were to put out a small line mixer without any eq (and i thought the brochure said it had pre's on both the standard and deluxe modules but i could be wrong) the price could come down even more.

Don, the modules in the closeup picture (#3) with the 2 faders per module are what you want. It's called the "dual line module" and of course is the most expensive input module they have for the Vision.

What's that saying? You can have it good, fast or cheap, but you can only have 2 out of the 3. In D&R's case it's good and fast. I helped with the ergonomic design of that module. It was about 10 years ahead of it's time and at the time, they thought I was crazy, but it's time is NOW with people wanting "summing" mixers on steroids. Sonically (in the "trasparent" world) it will hold it's own with anything out there. The features are perfect for mixing DAW's into an analog console with inserts for comps, EQ on every channel, and plenty of AUX sends. The only problem is that pesky dollar to euro exchange rate.....

[hakanai]

thanks again drBill. looks like your input yielded some nice modules