Sell it all and go DAW yo!!!!!

Seriously.

Well, I had one 38 and a smaller mixer and I've gotten some great results, and I was able to snag two more 38's and the appropriate Hose snakes for next to nothing, so I am looking to keep up with the analog side (I've always been a fan of analog, for whatever reason)... so, I am still going to be looking into buying a 24-mono channel board. I will also be using it at some live shows, so I will need to pick one up anyway.

Right now I am looking at the Yamaha MG/32, which I have read nothing but good reviews on, but I've read one or two negative comments on this forum, so I figured I would find some sort of general concensus... sorry guys - not switchin to digital just quite yet!

Really. First off, you said "ADAT" and DA-38 in the same sentence. Are you planning on using ADAT lightpipe to transfer your audio data to and from the mixer? Or are using the term "ADAT" as a generic form of MDM?
The MG series is designed more for live sound as opposed to recording. It can be used for recording, but the noise level and lack of headroom make it a poor contender.
Then, you have to consider the monitoring of your tracks; you have no provision for this on the MG series. All you have is 8-32 mono channels that mix the same source (channel-wise) to the monitor buses as the main mix. You would have to have a 48-channel board to handle 24 inputs and 24 tracks playng and monitoring at the same time!
With INLINE MONITORING, each of those "mono channels" on the board can route the input to the subs, effects' sends,etc, and the TAPE TRACK to a seperate mix-your monitors! Boards like that are like having 2 boards in one!
Analog boards that let you do this include the Mackie 8-bus and various Tascams (M3500,etc). You should be able to find something like that for your budget (well, under $2K). One of those boards will do you a lot better than the Yammie...Personally, I think that Stickers has a valid point, but if you are hell-bent using an analog mixer with those pesky DA-38s...look around. And, as a former owner of God-knows how many DA88s, I'd skip that altogether. Parts for those things are getting scarcer every day. Eventually... :(

Whoops, I forgot to clarify this portion of the setup... I will be using mic's (condensor, dynamic, etc), running through separate preamps into the recorders, so I don't need the board to accept mics directly. I just need some sort of analog mixdown facility for after the mics go into the recorders and then out. And, of course, I need the ability to monitor tracks already recorded while recording new ones, but with the current setup, that works fine:

Mics -> external preamps -> DA38s -> 24 ch mixer -> stereo mastering hardware (either computer, stereo recorder, or headphones / monitors).

So, I wouldn't need two separate sets of 24 tracks, one for running mics into and the other to run the DA38s out to... and yea, I know they are getting scarce - eventually I am going to upgrade to a 24-track HD recorder... however, for the meantime I am looking to upgrade the mixing console somewhere in that price range. I'll take a look at the Tascam boards as well, as you said. I was also looking at Carvin's boards since I saw some people suggest them, but I don't think I can swing the 2 grand that the recording series board costs (at 24 tracks), so the next best would be their standard live line of mixers, but the 24 track honestly looks a little meager... and is under 1k, which seems suspicious.

Ah yes, and the whole lightpipe setup... I was using the ADAT term out of context. I am using the 38s' analog ins and outs (the DSub 25 connectors), couple with Hosa snakes to run from 8-channel pre's in to the recorders, and then out to the individual inputs of the mixing console. I know how much everyone loves analog, and I will probably continue in this fashion even when I get an HD24 of some type... thanks for the input!

FWIW, stay away from Carvin. Decent geetars (own 2), crappy sound gear. I was on the road with a Christian group a few years ago and they had a Carvin-sponsored touring rig. We went to Europe with it and it was nothing but problems, specifically RFI isses and breakdowns. Their latest stuff is a Mackie-wannabe. And when something goes down, it HAS to go back to San Diego to be fixed.....Good Luck!

What about the Soundcraft GB4 boards? I know they are also live boards but how would their noise floor matchup to other recording boards. I've had the Mackie 32x8 analog board and didn't like the preamps nearly as much as my A&H 32x4 GL2200. Especially the preamps, however there are so many problems with this board its killing me. No solo switches on the channels, and the direct outs are post-fader. The Soundcraft board has a lot of nice bells and whistles and its a lot cheaper than their version of the recording board...the ghost le which is nearly $6000. I'm interested in the Soundcraft GB4 boards bigtime since they have the push button to go with pre-fader direct outs.

any thoughts to these boards???

Thanks,
C.B. Smith

moonbaby wrote: Really. First off, you said "ADAT" and DA-38 in the same sentence. Are you planning on using ADAT lightpipe to transfer your audio data to and from the mixer? Or are using the term "ADAT" as a generic form of MDM?
The MG series is designed more for live sound as opposed to recording. It can be used for recording, but the noise level and lack of headroom make it a poor contender.
Then, you have to consider the monitoring of your tracks; you have no provision for this on the MG series. All you have is 8-32 mono channels that mix the same source (channel-wise) to the monitor buses as the main mix. You would have to have a 48-channel board to handle 24 inputs and 24 tracks playng and monitoring at the same time!
With INLINE MONITORING, each of those "mono channels" on the board can route the input to the subs, effects' sends,etc, and the TAPE TRACK to a seperate mix-your monitors! Boards like that are like having 2 boards in one!
Analog boards that let you do this include the Mackie 8-bus and various Tascams (M3500,etc). You should be able to find something like that for your budget (well, under $2K). One of those boards will do you a lot better than the Yammie...Personally, I think that Stickers has a valid point, but if you are hell-bent using an analog mixer with those pesky DA-38s...look around. And, as a former owner of God-knows how many DA88s, I'd skip that altogether. Parts for those things are getting scarcer every day. Eventually... :(

Okay, so the Yamaha is out. I have also been looking at the Behringer MX9000, and it has a large number of glowing reviews in a recording setting. Normally I would just save up the xtra cash and spend around 2k to buy a good recording board, but I am in a bit of a time crunch right now (a show I am recording in 4 weeks, and I have other stuff to buy as well, more mic's, etc.). I know that Behringer gets a lot of shit on forums everywhere, and in many cases, for good reason. However, I have always had great experiences with them,. and while I am not a fan of the little board I currently have, this one seems pretty damn good for the price... should be better than the Yamaha anyway - I compared the specs on the two and it definitely has more audible ceiling room. If anyone has used the MX9000 and has comments, let me know, because I may very well go for this over the Yamaha, what with the much better reviews, the specs, and the fact that it is still in my price range (I really can't go much higher than around 1200 bucks right now, unfortunately).

"Glowing reviews" pertaining to a Behringer board?!?!?!? Where are you finding these "reviews"? You need to do a LOT of research at this site. They are crappier than the Carvins, dude! No headroom, poor quality switches/connectors, the pits. I have had to deal with too many of their 8-bus boards in churches I teach audio in. Absolutely no longterm reliability, gain structure issues, switches and pots that crap out, etc.,etc.
BTW, I have a pair of Allen&Heath GL boards. Whoever said that they don't have "Solo"....they've got PFL, and the pre/post signal path for the direct outs is internally 'jumper-able' (is that a real word?).
Choosing a board based on the manufacturer's specs...you better be able to read between the lines and understand how they are referencing the numbers. Noise level means nada if the board can't deliver 20 dB of clean output ABOVE the nominal +4dBm output....or did they reference it against a -10dBm output level. Hartley Peavey used to use '0dBm' as his reference point. It makes the numbers look good. Too bad they sounded like %^&#$... See if you can rent or borrow what you are interested in before you lay down the cash.....

True they do have the PFL but that only gets sent to the headphone out on the front of the board. I have nice headphones but I want to be able to solo out a guitar mic or snare mic or whatever through my Dynaudio monitors or the large scale Urie 809's. I don't want that signal path to go through the headphone out. The old Mackie 32x8 board had this feature but again it is considered more of a recording board in the first place. I read in the manual that the direct outs are changeable but I'm wondering how difficult that would be. I personally don't like to mess with remoding gear when in the long run its just better to get what it is you need. I had to take the mackie in for repair before when the cables that ran the aux channels came loose because the connections for the cables were designed a little smaller than the actual cable strips. Figures. However, seeing that guy take the thing apart I was amazed. I'm just not that person really. Maybe there is another way to use the PFL that I'm missing but I'm pretty confident I've been down that road before. I also have a Mixwizard 16:2 and its the same thing.

moonbaby wrote: BTW, I have a pair of Allen&Heath GL boards. Whoever said that they don't have "Solo"....they've got PFL, and the pre/post signal path for the direct outs is internally 'jumper-able' (is that a real word?).
Choosing a board based on the manufacturer's specs...you better be able to read between the lines and understand how they are referencing the numbers. Noise level means nada if the board can't deliver 20 dB of clean output ABOVE the nominal +4dBm output....or did they reference it against a -10dBm output level. Hartley Peavey used to use '0dBm' as his reference point. It makes the numbers look good. Too bad they sounded like %^&#$... See if you can rent or borrow what you are interested in before you lay down the cash.....

Hi,
I'm also saving for new recording mixer and it will surely be analog one.
I think the GB2 could be an amazing choice. It's inexpensive and it should have the same sound quality as GB4/8. I'm also considering Gl 2400. And there is that Toft/Trident ATB recording mixer. Has anyone tested it already? BTW Mackie Onyx 24.4 seems good choice too, but it's sooo expensive in Europe (and has no polarity switches :( ).

$ .02

probably not interested but ya might think about checking into the used market... i've seen yammi 02r's fer pretty cheap with the tdf-1 cards yeah i know not digital... just trying to through that monkey wrench of mine...