Tucker,

in 1993 I ownd a tascam 238 (which was an 8 track cassette stand alone recorder) the board i used was the Yamaha 1242. at the time I purchased that board new for about $900.00

it was some time ago and it seems we always tend to remember things in our past more fondley than they probably really were, (comparing to today) in other words I'm not so sure what I would think of it today.

i remember it being very versitle, very clean sounding, and it sounding better than the new mackie CR-1604 (at that time in 1994) that I purchased to put in my PA rack....(I was starting a live thing and needed the smaller portable top rack mounted Mackie)...I ended up selling the Yamaha and then my recording gear and remember thinking how much better the Yamaha sounded once it was gone.

I really did dig that board as its features were great for multiple busing, sends and especially returns on each channel. Also, it had a much better EQ per channel than the Mackie..if you can pick that beast up for $120.00 thats pretty darn good..

as far as it sounding better than the behringer or even the lower end Mackies of today?...thats a tough one! like i said, the old Mackie CR1604 became the current Mackie 1604 VLZ board and I know the Yamaha was a better sounding board than the CR1604 back then.

hope this is helpful, good luck

Bobby

Thank you for the input! Ya, the mixer does look very verstile. It also looks like a good buy, $120 Canadian = about $85 American, plus it is a 16 track, not a 12! Must have sold for bundle back then. Now they seem to fetch 400 - 600 US. Granted, this one supposedly does have some wear (paint chips and scratches), although it's mechanically sound. That subtracts from the value but still...for the money I can't go wrong! Lugging the thing back home should be fun, it is over 50 pounds :) ...not like a small behringer :D

any other info or advice is still wanted. (I really like this forum!)

The Yamaha boards were built by Phonic. They are not the cleanest in the world, and their Eq is typical of cheap consoles. But, for that kind of money it is a deal.