So I got gifted a Xenyx 1202usb mixer a little while ago and am wondering how good the preamps are in the mixer. I'm mostly going to be recording guitar and sax. If they aren't that good is there anyway to effectively use a cheap external preamp to get a warmer sound? Thanks!

They aren't good and if and anything you run into them isn't going to sound good. So why not lose the cheap behringer junk and get a proper interface?

Get rid of the crap gear that someone gave you...great advice.

In actuality, the xenyx preamps aren't terrible. I had a 1202 for a very short period. The rumor is that the xenyx are a clone of mackie's onyx preamp. I can say from experience that they arent as nice as the onyx's, but they are certainly useable in most cases. They are clean , but slightly brittle. No mojo to speak of, but try em out and see what you get . You might be surprised. Good luck.

I had a Xenyx mixer quite a while. Nothing wrong with it. Perhaps a little noisy. If you're recording solo sax for hi end audiophiles you might need something better. For general work it's fine.

You are posting in the newbie forum. Chances are that if you don't like the sound of your recordings there are lot of things that would be more important to improve before you get into details like preamps.

Have fun!

"Get rid of the crap gear that someone gave you...great advice. "

It's better than denying the truth and trying to convince yourself that it is acceptable.

Don't know the unit, just totally grinning re; 'If they have (had..) copied Mackie's circuits as well as even their names LOL (once again..
Well then they'll 'prolly sound pretty darn good!
Just to pile on.
Carry on.

Only one way to find out. Try It !

People bash stuff without ever having used it.
Recommend stuff without having used it.
Buy stuff without having used it.

Berhinger has a bad rep for 2 reasons.

1. Stealing ideas, physical model builds and names. In an industry that thrives on creativity and being unique. Similar to Kia and Hundai cars. It doesn't mean they're bad cars but can you ever fully respect a clone?

2. Poor quality control. Things break, are at times noise and bad construction. Not all units but some. Now if it works and sounds good, does it matter how it looks? No because the product is your sound, not the looks. One of the ugliest pieces of gear is Moog. But based on how they sound, it's a winner!

Try it.
Listen to it.
And regardless of what people say, if it sounds good compared to what you had before, keep it.
Are there better units, yes. But that's with anything. A new 2017 mustang will get smoked by a 2007 Ferrari.

I've got a couple Xenyx mixers. They are usable and not too bad.

Did someone say "clone"? Err... perhaps not!!!

Now that's interesting.

Behringer is still getting crapped on? I thought they really turned things around. Especially now a days when everyone is cloning something. When will they catch a break. Lol

I have that same little mixer.

I have only used in in a pinch when I needed to have more channels going in to a stereo mix. I found that as long as those pre-amps are not pushed hard they give you a decent recording.

They get noisy fast and, has been mentioned, they are pretty bland.

Use it until you hear what is missing.....you will eventually. Start saving for that epiphanous moment.

I still have mine, and I use it for project stuff at home cause a desk is just handy for working that way. They're fine, if your results aren't great it's nothing to do with the preamps. I've use of much nicer gear elsewhere, and my portable rig is certainly fancier, but the results are usually capped by the source and mic placement. The 'mojo' thing is usually not a consideration..

Why everyone is telling Newbies to go get fancy preamps when they certainly don't have the skills to maximize the use of them is beyond me. Is it just a ritual to give new artists a gear inferiority complex, or do people actually believe this junk?

Jazz noise said,"Why everyone is telling Newbies to go get fancy preamps when they certainly don't have the skills to maximize the use of them is beyond me"

Well it's not like newbs are actually wood shedding to get their skills up anymore... As soon as they get their budget interface it's on. Time to make a record.
SO-
isnt it better for the person starting out to get some truth with their s*** sandwich?

Honestly there is a decent use for the mixer in question for the beginner- use it as a monitor mixer for talent. There's your zero latency and everyone is happy.
Record through it? Wasting everyone's time.

It takes a really lame engineer to blame a set of preamps with a basically flat frequency response for bad recordings.

The only downside to these is the noise floor isn't great - so for some recordings like ribbons on acoustic guitar or very distant room mics, you might get noise. But for most people, who are close mic'ing sources and using high output condensers even that is a non issue.

This. If you're starting out and not getting good sound it's a hundred to one bet that the preamps aren't the problem!

Instead, start reading here: Why do your recordings sound like ass? - Cockos Confederated Forums

There's no accounting for willful ignorance, I suppose...
Isn't it a contradictory statement to say a Xenyx pre and a high output condenser will yield acceptable results?

Flat frequency response? Says who?

Are you joking?

OP- please- save yourself a lot of time and frustration and skip using the unit for tracking. Best purpose is still as a monitor mixer to have true zero latency monitoring.

Says the manufacturer, says the schematic, says multiple sources online.

If you've any contrary evidence then please provide it. Do you have any examples of recordings that were ruined by bad preamps? Or do you have any examples of your own work where good preamps clearly shine through?

and says my ears, I would like to add.

@ dubhausdisco : have you actually used them (in a home studio scenario, which is what we are discussing here)?

Behringer products are cheaply made and will not withstand much abuse. The innards, however, are the same quality components and design you will find in much higher priced products. I have dissected quite a few Behringer mics/mixers/amps to see what they were using, and I was quite impressed.

So there is nothing inherently bad about them, if your mixer works, it isn't going to cause any harm to your signal chain. The source and the mic are the places to put your money and effort.

All that said, you will most likely will get a better sound if you upgrade to a professional quality interface.

Stumbled on this post when looking at an old mixer I have for doing streaming and what a pack of cork sniffers this thread found.

I thought I would respond for anyone else who is looking for some advice on similar desks, not really the OP as I would suspect they have already made up their mind on what they would do with the desk.

1. The Behringer gear is not the best and if you're using it for tracking, and you are any more then a novice, you'll hear that. However it depends on what you're tracking for, I originally used this desk for tracking demos to then take in to a pro studio to record with session players, so for this application it's 100% acceptable, as it is for live or streaming work, as there are so many other factors where the weaknesses of the unit will not be heard. For a student learning to record, again what's the problem? The OP said he was going to track just some guitar and sax, didn't say what context, so telling him it's crap is short sighted, if it's used for a professional recording, it may not be up to the task, but try it and see.

2. Behringer did have some major issues in its early days before building their own factory, since then their reliability has improved, but they still use cheaper components and housings, so I wouldn't be using them in hostile environments. That said, if they are well housed and cared for, they don't have any more or less failures then many of the other brands with better reputations, the one I have is 9 years old. And on reputations, it's easy to get one, good or bad, it's harder to break out of them once acquired, I think Behringer suffers here.

So to answer the OPs question, and that of any others that stumble on to this thread, I have two simple rules for gear:-
1. How's it sound?
2. Does it fit the application?

For me the old Behringer desk I have, and will use for streaming, has 4 XLR inputs with compression, built in reverb and USB out, so it fits the application. Most people will be listening via Facebook live or YouTube on PCs, laptops, tables and phones, so the weaknesses of the listening devices will be be far greater then the desk, so it will sound good enough.

I have owned a Behringer Xenyx 2442 mixing desk for at least 4 years. I have gotten my moneys worth for sure. Within the past 2 years I have been using it quite frequently for recording, live sound, P.A/monitor and mixing. The sound of my board is not terrible at all. I think I can get pretty decent sounds all the way around with the Xenyx preamps, I think bass and vocals come across pretty good.
I will say this.
After getting the hang of things a bit, honing in my ears per say and after mixing on a Midas Venice console. I concluded that the Xenyx just didn't have the oooomph.

Another thing about the Xenyx 2442 is that the sound does improve when mixing using the sub groups. I think this is even mentioned in the operation manual.

I use a Xenyx x2222USB for my DrumBrute. It has just enough channels that I can send all the individual outs to their own channel, process them, and still have analogue mixing of the sounds before it hits the A/D of the Babyface. Sounds fine.