How much do you want for the Mackie? Unless something is wrong with it, I have found the Mackie's to be good sounding boards....

road_weary wrote: How much do you want for the Mackie? Unless something is wrong with it, I have found the Mackie's to be good sounding boards....

I'll be putting it on ebay. I'm the original owner and I've taken good care of it. I don't think there is anything wrong with it. The pres just seem very cold sounding to me.

i think you could find the allen heath board sounding improved in the higher end and most likely quieter all around. equalizer is much better too.

I'm split between a Soundcraft or an A&H. Is there much diff between the Ghost and Spirit boards?

Is it one of the original 24/8 channel boards, or is it a VLZ PRO XDR system? Depending on its vintage, you may do better selling it here privately.

I'd keep it around for tracking and playback, and get some good stereo mic pre's for your front end instead, but that's just me......

Soundcraft Spirit user here....
It's been a real work horse. I'd get a smaller board, but it has so much better "client apeal".... i.e. "It's frikkin huge!" Well, compared to the equivalent Mackie. 24 X 8.... 6 aux sends....
EQ that I don't use. I pretty much record flat and process everything in Cubase.
I only really use it for headphone mixes anymore. It has midi automation. Haven't used that in years.
But, all in all, a good old, reliable pal!

Sorry.... it's late and I'm getting a bit soppy and sentimental about my gear! :D

I own too many mixers (I'm addicted to knobs!) to count, and some are Mackies, some are Allen & Heath. I would have to say that the A&Hs (a pair of GL2s) do have slightly better-sounding mic pres, but only by the slimmest margin. And some of their newer models are not enjoying the best reputation for reliability (cheaper construction quality).
If you are wanting to get a board with better-sounding mic pre's, I would recommend the Midas Verona 8-bus. These are designed for live sound, but I have a friend with one in a recording/production truck, and these are not only great-sounding (awesome pre's), but very ruggedly and solidly-built. My personal experiences with Midas have been with their Heritage 3000 consoles, and their rep is second-to-none. We have (2) at our church, and do live-to-ProTools recording off them, as well as FOH. Can't recommend them enough.
That's if you can swing the bucks. The poster who recommended an external preamp set-up with your existing Mackie (JoeH?) has a very valid point. And going that route, you can expand as your budget permits, and you have the option of acquiring different "flavors" of pre's as you desire. How about an API lunchbox along with a Langevin Dual Vocal Combo and a Sebatron Thorax? That'll cover your bases!

p0llen_p0ny wrote: I'm split between a Soundcraft or an A&H. Is there much diff between the Ghost and Spirit boards?

If you're interested in the Spirit boards, contact me offline.

I'm getting rid of mine (for no other reason than I haven't used/needed it for quite some time).

I'm moving it cheap and it's in excellent/near perfect condition (though it's in rackmount form)

FWIW, I really dig the sound of the board and its flexibility, but I simply don't use it anymore... :cry:

jeremy - at - sublymerecords - dot - com

J.

Those Midas consoles look real nice, but unfortunately wayyy out of my price range.

CONGRATULATIONS!!! You're making a choice I doubt you'll regret.

The Midas consoles really aren't that expensive, unless you're looking at something like an XL.

I wouldn't trade my A&H GS3000 for a Trident B... unless it was for even money, that is.

The GL4, etc, have very musical pre's and eq's. The Ghost would be a step or two up fom the Spirit's IMHO.

As a side note about dumping your Smackie... You might... repeat might want to hang on to it for the probably rare occasion that you need an analog path that's as sterile as your Mackie. (Besides, you probably won't get but a few cents on the dollar for it...)

I've got an older 24*8 Bus myself that I can't get squat for. Sooooo, I'm just gonna hang on to it for the reason outlined above, until it becomes "vintage", or it drops to less than $100.00... then I'l take it out in the field behind the studio and shoot the sum-b full of buckshot!!

Max

I dont know if the A&H boards use different pres for the live (GL) as compared to the studio (GS) boards, but I can say I have heard a GS and it was very nice. Clean and clear and the routing was easily assimilated.I like my Ghost personally ...mostly because I like boards you can drive the crap out of and hear whether they break up or not.While its no Trident/MCI/AMEK, its small enogh to fit in my room, and big enogh sounding that when I take the tracks to other facilities to mix, I'm never embarassed. Comparisons here are hard to do since its the frikin innnneerrnet.....I will say that either of the A&H or the Ghost/Soundcraft pres, chew the Mackies for a snack. And dont get me started on the EQ.....I've used a Midas live and it was great. But then I owned a PM2000 and live its no contest...

How much are you thinking of spending??

o2x wrote: How much are you thinking of spending??

Around $2000.

How many channels and buses?

BTW, IIRC, the pre's in the GS series consoles are a "better" version of the GL series consoles. By better, I'm referring to the gain and noise. The gain is 6db greater and the noise floor is like -3db... again, if my memory serves me right. You'ld think I'd be able to recall stuff like this... especially since I have both a GS3000 and a GL2200! :-? :-? :-? :-? on top of it I ride a GL4 all summer long!!

Still, the GL's pre's are pretty musical. You do have to goose em' pretty good to get the channel sounding good. If you end up going that route, don't freak out when you end up going to +3db before a strip starts to really kick along.

I've seen a similar gain structure on a couple of Ghosts I seen as well. Spirits... well you get what you get with the smaller boards. Seems channels are not consistant one to another on the two I've had to deal with.

I've seen GL2200's (32 channel-Direct outs on the mono channels) go for about $2k used...(+/-$150.00)... depending on condition.

Here's [[url=http://[/URL]="http://cgi.ebay.com…"]one[/]="http://cgi.ebay.com…"]one[/] you might want to check out.

Good luck and keep us posted!!

Max

I might spring for a Midas Venice 240. I've seen a few go for around $2500 on ebay. May just have to save up a little more. I'm liking the Allen & Heath's as well. Having the ins and outs on the back is nice unlike the Mackie which has them all on top. Does this annoy anyone else or is it just me? The Ghost's are like that too I see.

MadMax wrote: How many channels and buses?

I usually go right from the direct outs into my MOTU 24io. 4 buses is fine.

I've settled on a Midas Venice 240. Thanks moonbaby for opening my eyes to them. I really like the fact you can mod the direct outs to post fader/post EQ. Thanks everyone for your input!

I'm sure that you will enjoy the Venice! The quality over the Mackie will be self-evident. Not to take away anything from good ol' Greg, lots of folks have benefitted from his being in this business, but...Good luck!

Might have to get a Midas 320. Just noticed the number of mono channels on the 240. Only 16. :( Guess I'll have to start selling my body between sessions.