Small console for home studio!

[jeronimo]

Which console you guys recomend for a home studio?!

 

[sapplegate]

I love my Soundcraft Ghost. Soundtracs Topaz Project 8 would also be a good choice.

 

[user_gamesound]

how many channels/buses will you need? what kind of EQ/Aux/routing options are you looking for? what's your budget? I'd say get the best-sounding, most versitile mixer you can afford.

Mackie, Behringer, Allen & Heath, Soundcraft, etc. make decent gear. I personally use a Yamaha RM800 from the mid-'90's (16 ch., 8 bus - also available in 24 ch.) and it suits me fine.

 

[Bear's Gone Fission]

You've already told us in another thread you have a Mackie 1604. Unless there is a reason you need something else, there's a good chance that's fine for what you're doing. What do you need that board to do that it isn't doing? Once you answer that, you're a lot closer to making a suitable purchase. I'm not gonna run off brand names until I hear what you need a new board to do.

Bear

 

[jeronimo]

Sorry Bear, I didn't mean to "suck" information without a motive . The reason I'm not 100% satisfied with the 1604 is: only 8 direct outs. I can use the other 8 channels with the 1/2 way in plug on the insert jack but this out is BEFORE EQ, what makes it a little bit... let me say... disapointing! Or, I can use the 4 buses to rout 4 more outs POST EQ and even beter, POST INSERTS (what doesn't happen on the regular direct outs). So I was asking what consoles you guys recomend so I can take a close look on each and see how the are configured. I know the Ghosts are very good (that's what I heard) BUT they are too expensive for me, list price is around 5K for the 24ch (w/o bridge). I'm trying a 32/8 from Mackie but I'm not totally aware of it's setup. Can you guys help me now!? I want something up to fifteen hundred (I don't care if it's used). Any ideas?!

 

[bgroup]

Perhaps you could track down a Soundcraft Spirit Studio 24x8 or 32x8. This was the model that they sold to project studios before the Ghost came out. I had a number of Mackies before I ended up picking up the Soundcraft. I bought it (24x8) used for $1500 CDN which works out to be about $975 USD. I'm really happy with it - sounds "bigger" than the Mackies, good features, easy to work on... If you like what the Ghost is all about but can't afford one, maybe the Spirit is the ticket. I think there's still info about it on their website even though they're not made anymore. Hope this helps.

Brent

 

[bgroup]

Perhaps you could track down a Soundcraft Spirit Studio 24x8 or 32x8. This was the model that they sold to project studios before the Ghost came out. I had a number of Mackies before I ended up picking up the Soundcraft. I bought it (24x8) used for $1500 CDN which works out to be about $975 USD. I'm really happy with it - sounds "bigger" than the Mackies, good features, easy to work on... If you like what the Ghost is all about but can't afford one, maybe the Spirit is the ticket. I think there's still info about it on their website even though they're not made anymore. Hope this helps.

Brent

 

[jeronimo]

Sure it helps!! Actually helps a lot, I'll start trackin one of those as soon as I save enought money . By the way, does someone tried the Spirit M series? It has a digital out... and looks very well built... I never heard one, but I'm really interested on those too! The list price is 1k for the M12... and it has 4 more stereo channels... so may work for me (I only have 16 channels to record at the same time anyways ) Thanx guys... any more tips!?

 

[Matt Holt]

I'm trying a 32/8 from Mackie but I'm not totally aware of it's setup

I have been using a mackie 32/8 in a project studio for the past couple of years, and I have to say I have not had the best experiences. I have found it to be quite noisy, and the EQ's really don't sound all that great. Also, with the design of the buses being the way they are, with each bus being part of a stereo pair, for all practical purposes you only have four buses (you can get around it if you do some weird stuff with panning, but then everythings in mono).

 

[drumsound]

I've got a friend selling a Berringer 8 bus. It's the one not available in the U.S. anymore. It's got direct outs and a full meter bridge. I believe he's asking $1500. Email me if you're interested. drumsound@animail.net

 

[Rog]

The Behringer MX8000a is a nice desk. The build quality isn't the greatest so I wouldn't dream of using it as a live desk. If you look after one in a home studio you would get a lot of use out of it though.

The mic pres and the EQ are reasonable but hardly amazing, having said this, you get what you pay for.

 

[Tony C]

jeronimo,
The thing you have to realize with a Mackie mixer is that it's not really considered to be "high end" gear and either are some of the others mentioned so far. However, you should also realize that the VLZ Pro models have XDR pre's, IMO this is the only thing that sets the Mackies apart from most other low cost mixers.
Yes, tapping the inserts is a big limitation, but at that price range (or even higher) your not going to find much better as far as the pre's are concerned. That being said, for a box of pre's with a lot of monitoring functionality, you can't go wrong for a home studio.

 

[jeronimo]

My 1604 is the VLZ PRO BUT, it doesn't have the XDR pres...

 

[bgroup]

The pres on the Souncraft Spirit are fine. Much better than the pres in the Mackies for my work. I always found the Mackies to be "clean" but without much "character". The Soundcraft pres to me are "bigger", "warmer" and more "musical". They aren't Neves, but tracks I've recorded with the Soundcraft have sat fine in mixes that also had stuff recorded with Neves and the like. For a home studio, I think they're great! They're a tad noisier than the Mackies maybe, but this certainly hasn't been a problem for me. YMMV.

Brent

 

[atlasproaudio]

Stay with your Mackie for now. The most important thing is the front end of your chain. In this order of importance IMO: mics, microphone preamps, A/D (unless analog), and then compression and lastly eq. Stay with the Mackie for now and buy at least one really good mic and one really good preamp (or a pair of each if budget allows). Slow growth is your friend. If you buy something slightly better than the mackie you will not be able to quantify the difference in quality as compared to buying something better in the front chain. I dont necessarily believe in the old saying "your sound is only as great as the weakest link." Each piece of gear that you add that is high quality will improve the sound by a significant amount. Good Luck.

Nathan Eldred
Atlas Pro Audio, Inc.
http://www.atlasproaudio.com

 

[Bear's Gone Fission]

Another alternative, until your ready to move up to a name board (say a Neotek, Trident, or such) maybe just augment with really good outboard and keep your Mackie, as it is pretty useful. I don't see the problem with bypassing the board eq on the direct outs, the eq isn't that great, IME. Naturally, the recomendations for the outboard depend on the application and the goal.

I wouldn't be thrilled to be working on a Mackie, but unless you can budget for a big step up instead of a baby step, I'd say save up or invest your money in other pieces you'll always need.

Bear

 

[jeronimo]

Ok guys, I got your information... I guess I'll stay with my mackie for a while and work a little with it... thanx for all the inputs...

 

[Tony C]

Jeronimo, One last thought, FWIW, the XDR pre's just might be a decent step up when compared to the older Mackie mixers. We are talking home studio here, right?
The XDR pre's are comprable in quality to "mid range priced" pre's and sound similar to a Sytek pre amp.

 

[jeronimo]

Cool, thanks for the input Tonny C.

 

[jeronimo]

Hello guys!!! Hey, what about the Allen & Heath ones?!