i own a ghost LE. (which i am selling to help finance my burgeoning protools habit)
i think it sounds great. in the studio where i work we had it in the "project" room. and it was great. it was replaced with an MCI JH600. the ghost has better flexibility and the eq on the ghost kills the mci. i would however have to admit that the MCI sounds better. all in all in the small money console department i think the ghost is a winner. super flexible, outstanding eq, good pre's, great value.

i however need a titanium G4 powerbook.

Harry

I used to own a Ghost and thought it was great. The EQ is a lot smoother than the somewhat harsh/clinical Mackie (it's closest rival) and the pre-amps are great for the money. The number and flexability of the aux/sends is also fantastic.

There are a few minor downsides that you should be aware of that mean it's not really a true in-line console (although at the price you can't complain)-
1) switching the meters from monitor to record channel requires an internal jumper setting
2) insert points are fixed to record channel when in record mode and monitor when the channel is switched (i.e. you cannot record flat and monitor with a compressor on)
3) likewise the two mid band e.qs are fixed to record channel or monitor channel depending upon which mode you are in (again you cannot record flat but monitor with e.q.)-
4) Phantom power swithes are behind the meter bridge and require very long fingers to reach (a minor point I know but it bugged the hell out of me)

However, if you're NOT using the desk as an in-line and have seprerate channels for record/monitor it can't be faulted.

-Peter

Hi! New member here, let me quickly say what a blast this site is. I, too, regret Deja's (seeming) demise and am grateful for this outlet. OK enough said...

We bought our Ghost LE 32 when it first hit the street (before the early price increase!) and have never regretted our decision. We reviewed all of the usual suspects, Mackie, Behringer, Topaz, Tascam, Studiomaster, et al. The Ghost was the most expensive at this level, but it simply blew away all the others in terms of sound quality and features.

Regarding the above mentioned limitations, you can switch the high and low eq into the monitor path, but not the sweepable mids. With a proper patchbay, you can patch the compressor, etc., after the multitrack return before it hits the monitor return giving you flat recording with effects on your returns. The preamps are OK, but you will probably want to use better outboard preamps anyway so the location of the phantom power switch is a non-issue. Again, a proper patchbay and some decent outboard gear will mitigate many of these perceived limitations.

Argosy console housings makes a unit for the Ghost, and I can't envision living without it. Best investment we made, after the Ghost. We also were able to get Optifile's DRAX automation installed before they stopped making that system. So now we have a 32-channel board with meterbridge, VCA fader and mute automation, and attractive (and highly functional) housing for under $10k! Check it out on our homepage.

I have the Ghost 32 and I think it's a nice board. I used to have an old ('76)Soundcraft Series II which was much darker sounding and very noisy. The Ghost has very effective EQ and it has a musical sound in general. Having never worked on a Neve or SSL I can only guess how they might sound but for the meantime I am quite satisfied with the Ghost.

Garth