Hey Guys, I have an opportunity to get a Hills Audio Mixing Console. Its a monitor mixer (24x6) from 1984. Also, I know its Brittish. I'm using an Allen and Heath Mix wizard (which I like a lot) and was wondering if I would be upgrading in sound quality by getting this piece. I have been looking at getting some nice mic preamps but thought this might be a way to get 24 higher quality pres in one unit. Then hopfully still add some other high-endpres as well later. How does this board compare to other boards? I've seen guys selling just the pre modules out of these boards. Obviously its not an SSL or Neve but would it stomp my A&H? What could the Pres be compared to? Opinions on price of this unit (it all works with a few missing lights has meter bridge.)
Thanks so much guys
Jason
Comments
Hey Audiogaff thanks for the reply. This board was used in a pr
Hey Audiogaff thanks for the reply. This board was used in a production studio. I haven't seen the board yet but I was assured it was in proper working order and all around good condition. I was just thinking that if it had nice pres and eq that it might be a good upgrade. Besides there is the WOW factor for my clients of having a big board with a meter bridge and all. I was wanting to upgrade to 24 inputs nyway. Well, thats why I like this bbs. I figured someone would have had experiance with this unit. Thanks AG
Jason
I've worked a few live shows in venues that had Hill's installed
I've worked a few live shows in venues that had Hill's installed, and they have decent tone and usable pres.They lack somewhat in the headroom department as I found myself always using a lot of gain on the pads and the channels for your standard dynamic mics.I would agree with AG on the build quality being in the same league as Tascam 3500 or thereabouts..certainly not a lot better than what you are already using.....Monitor mixers are generally not known for mic pres....its just not their function, though I'm not sure that a company would change em for that configuration...but then again......
James, That's a real tough question to answer simply but I'll
James,
That's a real tough question to answer simply but I'll try. I also own a Hill desk and a Mix Wizard. The Hill desk has had very little use because I emigrated 12 months after I bought it and it's still in storage in the UK. However I have extensive knowledge of Hill Audio knowing Malcolm Hill the original owner and Robert Lingfield (now with Martin Audio) who was the factory MD. Robert and I were at college together for 3 years. I also worked on some of the Hill modules to earn money during college vacation. Finally I played in a band for 4 years which used to beta test all the new Hill prototypes. If we didn't pass the gear it never made production.
HIll made studio consoles as well as live sound reinforcement consoles. The item you're referring to is a live sound reinforcement console and to be frank the majority of answers you have received in this thread are pretty accurate. It's a pity you're not looking at one of their studio console because the Eq section from these boards had a really warm tone due to the use of a fairly large transformer. These are the channel strips you see advertised from time to time. They are certainly very good but I wouldn't go as overboard on them as some of the advertising I've seen. I've seen ad's that almost make these things to be Neve quality and they really aren't in the same league. The Mix Wizard is a very versatile good all round British design. To be honest it is a better all round design than the Hill gear you're looking at. Certainly the HIll gear carries kudos. The Alps faders are nice and they weren't stingy about using a decent meter bridge. In short however, the A&H is a better all round item of audio equipment. What it really comes down to is price. If you can get the Hill for a song then go for it but I wouldn't spend more than a couple of hundred bucks and I would NOT get rid of the A&H on any account. I use the A&H a lot because it's a workhorse, reliable and versatile. I also own fairly hefty pro quality audio production equipment here and the A&H is at the bottom of my ladder but I'm not looking at selling it any time soon whereas I am thinking about unloading the Hill onto ebay as soon as I can get over to the UK to check it out. I use the mic pres from the A&H channels quite a bit as GP amps. Not the best, but as I said earlier they do a reasonably good job
Hope this helps a little.
Everett
Producer
Cari Vaughn
Jason, I feed the mics into the balanced XLR channels to get
Jason,
I feed the mics into the balanced XLR channels to get the phantom powering and first stage amplification and immediately route the mic signal to the line outs and continue processing the signal outside the A&H board.I don't use the A&H as a mixer. The channels are just being used as G eneral P urpose amps.
Hill mixing boards from that era were about on the same level as
Hill mixing boards from that era were about on the same level as the mid to upper Tascam mixing boards. They were used in mid level budget studios. I can't for the life of me think of one valid reason why you want to use or buy a live stage monitor board that has likely been beat to hell?