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what is your favourite?

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anonymous Sat, 10/08/2005 - 11:49

Well, I'm all about "muckies" also. They are compact and can make a great demo- just don't push the pres on them and you will lose head room fast when you start to use just a bit of eq on them.

When they came out they blew away all the Peavey, EV, BFI, and Audio Centron boards that I had owned. Back in the day, my friend had a Ramsa that was just KILLER and I could have bought it for a song but it was HUMONGOUS.

I'm saving up for a midas "venice" board and the Sound Craft Ghost boards are great also. But my control room is very small and I'm only a 16 channel, 2 aux kinda guy. So the compact boards suite me to a tee.

But man, the older muckie 1202's and 1604's will always have a soft spot in my heart.

zemlin Sat, 10/08/2005 - 19:50

What are you going to use it for? Having used both, I'll take my A&H Mixwizard over a Mackie any day. The preamps are only slightly better - better transient response, but the overall sound is a lot better. Also, I like the direct outs when recording a live show and doing FOH at the same time. I have routed the Direct Outs to be pre EQ/pre Fader. Just wish they were pre Insert.

zemlin Mon, 10/10/2005 - 04:28

No. It isn't just preamps. I was particularly interested in the preamps because I record live shows - I pull everything out pre-EQ pre-Fader.

What appealed to me most about the Allen and Heath was that it has 16 direct outs, so I can still use the inserts as inserts if I need to. For live work I'd say the EQ is probably more important than the preamps. On the older mackies, EQ was a major weakness. The A&H EQ has 2 sweepable mids and just sounds nicer.

Farther up the thread I ask what you're going to use the mixer for. Mixers are not all the same - different routing options, different output options, etc.

How many channels to you need? How many submixes to you need? How many aux channles do you need - pre or post? The list goes on and on. If you only need a simple 4 channel mixer, you might be able to find one with some pretty sweet electronics. If your looking for 32 channels, you'll be shopping for something used on eBAY - or maybe Behringer.

FWIW, my trackk record with Behringer gear is not good. I have a 4 channel DI that seem OK, but my headphone amp is another story.

I would NOT make a significant investment in Behringer gear. I know others have had different experiences.

moonbaby Mon, 10/10/2005 - 07:13

Who came up with this list? Do Korg and Roland even manufacture a REAL mixer? C'mon, where was Midas? Speck? Studiomaster? Soundtracs? Never mind the Neves, Sonys, API, SSL, Paragon, Audient,Neotek, and God-knows-what-else is out there today...
For a "budget" board, I believe that Allen&Heath are hard to beat....HEADROOM!

zemlin Mon, 10/10/2005 - 07:34

moonbaby wrote: Who came up with this list? Do Korg and Roland even manufacture a REAL mixer? C'mon, where was Midas? Speck? Studiomaster? Soundtracs? Never mind the Neves, Sonys, API, SSL, Paragon, Audient,Neotek, and God-knows-what-else

I would swear that there was a $999 price limit on this thread when it started - which would leave out the big boys. Looking back now I don't see the $ limit - so maybe I'm thinking of another thread.

3dchris Mon, 10/10/2005 - 21:09

I just got mackie d8b and even though it's probably too soon for me to make a proper judgement I'm more and more impressed with it... very accurate sounding board.. pretty good eq as well.. decent preamps but I would not dare making a pro recording using just those preamps. Mixing? yes ! I own a A&H mixwizard analog board and to my ears it's preamps are way better that mackie's but it's an analog board so it's really unfair comparison.

chris

anonymous Tue, 10/11/2005 - 04:04

Not being all that familiar with all mixer models on the market, I can offer my opinion from my wee bit of experience. Mostly I work ITB, but I´ve worked with a large Studer broadcast mixer, a Yamaha 32 ch thingie at a church, some Behringers, small mackie mixers and I have a tiny Soundcraft rack mounted mixer at home.

This summer I was responsible for the sound at a small musical with zero sound budget, and we were using a 24 channel Allen & Heath GL2200 about half of the time, until it started falling apart. So we got a Mackie SR40. The sound quality difference was mind-blowing, even the musicians immediately commented that the mix they got in their shitty stage monitor was so much clearer. EQ sounded way better too. Now they are not really at the same price level but I was really surprised by the huge difference in quality... even the manual was excellent (and fun). I would buy an SR40 or 32 if I had the choice between Allen & Heath and a Mackie. I will not even look at a cheap Allen & Heath for live or studio work again. The more expensive ones might be worth considering though.

Mats

Cucco Wed, 10/12/2005 - 09:47

Hmm -

Out of the budget mixers - for sound quality, I would go A&H or maybe the soundcraft. (Love my M-Series).

For sheer versatility and staying power - the Mackie 1202. (Got a couple of those and love em for what they are...)

I haven't tried the Onyx yet.

If I had the change, I would go Euphonix any day. Damn fine mixers if you ask me! (In the Bill Gates realm, BTW).

My next mixer purchase will either be a Dangerous 16x2 summing mixer or a Speck LiLo (or both if I win the lotto! - I guess I have to buy a ticket though...)

J. 8-)

Davedog Wed, 10/12/2005 - 18:39

Theres a fine line to balance upon when considering different levels of ANY sound gear.

Its an impossible task to compare even pieces at identical prices without sitting down with them individually and using them in your environment.

Your style of mixing, your need for a workflow, your needs sonically, the availability of patching, ease of operation, all these things are to be considered when rating a piece of equipment.Especially a mixer. There is not another piece in a chain more 'hands on'.....

You cannot compare an API to a Mackie. You cant really compare Soundcrafts to other Soundcrafts as they make such a wide variety of boards.

I own a Ghost. I use it for recording. I make records on it. I use a lot of other things with it in the process which enhance the final sound. I have a small control room. It has a footprint that fits my purpose. It has routing that fits my purpose. Its ability to handle my workflow requirements and never break down fit my purpose. Is it the BEST board made? No. But it fits my purpose. Does it sound better than a Mackie 8 bus? Without a doubt. Does it retail for 3K more? Yes. So it should sound better right?......maybe

Given a particular set of gear, with a particular purpose in mind, I would not have a problem getting it to sound like I want it too.

In the end its the mixee not the mixer which will make the biggest difference.

anonymous Thu, 10/13/2005 - 10:19

Davedog wrote:
Given a particular set of gear, with a particular purpose in mind, I would not have a problem getting it to sound like I want it too.

In the end its the mixee not the mixer which will make the biggest difference.

True, the guy/gal behind the controls will make the biggest difference. But getting a cloudy, hazy, grainy p o s sound, not being able to do squat about it because the mixer is not up to par is not fun. And channels breaking during live gigs sucks big time. Great gear makes better mixing easier.

Mats

anonymous Fri, 10/14/2005 - 00:53

I guess mixing is like learning an intrument.... Need good gears, good hands and good ears... so its an Art......

But what if, in the enar future, mixing becomes something that is computer-controllable, calculating the dynamic, impedance, compression, EQ... all done my A.I. mackie's tt24 has motored faders, just add AI.. haha....