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Help picking a Mixer


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Hello,

I am looking for a new mixer. This is for a live band. We have 5 members and added electronic gear (synth, drum triggers, etc.) so we need a 32 channel board. We play multiple venues, mainly bars and clubs. We also sometimes do weddings. It would be nice to have 6 pre-fade AUX sends. Looking for recommendations. $2400 would be more than I would want to spend, but would be my max if really compelling. Thanks for any advice.

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Hello,

I am looking for a new mixer. This is for a live band. We have 5 members and added electronic gear (synth, drum triggers, etc.) so we need a 32 channel board. We play multiple venues, mainly bars and clubs. We also sometimes do weddings. It would be nice to have 6 pre-fade AUX sends. Looking for recommendations. $2400 would be more than I would want to spend, but would be my max if really compelling. Thanks for any advice.

 

At the rate people are switching from analog to digital, you can probably pick up a 32 channel analog desk,,,with sub-groups and matrix's, plus a rolling case & dog-house, for half that price. Spend the rest on a GEQ rack for monitors and FOH , and you're golden.

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I'm wondering how you get to 32 channels for 5 musicians? I can see 5 vocal mics, guitar, bass, keyboard, 2nd keyboard, and 5 drum mics. That's 16 channels and you can easily get a Personus Studio Live 24 channel digital mixer to handle all of that with 6 channels to spare and 4 aux's to spare. I don't see 32 channels without getting stupid about drum mics. (I frequently do 2 or 3 mics for a drum kit. There are a lot of different ways to make any of this work. Any drummer who insists on more than 5 drum mics, isn't a team player. I'd bet that you can't tell the sound difference between a well setup 3 mic setup and a 5 mic setup.) And the Studio Live system is in your price range new.

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I'm wondering how you get to 32 channels for 5 musicians? I can see 5 vocal mics' date=' guitar, bass, keyboard, 2nd keyboard, and 5 drum mics. That's 16 channels and you can easily get a Personus Studio Live 24 channel digital mixer to handle all of that with 6 channels to spare and 4 aux's to spare. I don't see 32 channels without getting stupid about drum mics. (I frequently do 2 or 3 mics for a drum kit. There are a lot of different ways to make any of this work. Any drummer who insists on more than 5 drum mics, isn't a team player. I'd bet that you can't tell the sound difference between a well setup 3 mic setup and a 5 mic setup.) And the Studio Live system is in your price range new. [/quote']

 

 

Wynn, with all due respect to your reasoning, this reads a whole lot more like preaching or chastising than wondering. And the OP wrote that he's using triggers, not mics, on the drums

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Yeah, a full kit triggering a robust drum brain can easily eat up 10 channels. Patching in various keys/synths without a submixer eats up plety, too. The OP might be able to squeak by with a 24ch.. but why intentionally limit yourself on a new board purchase? FWIW - We have a 12-piece and don't NEED a 32ch. board, but we'd be maxed out on a 24ch. if we had guest artist(s) sitting in or if our sub drummer needs more mics. BTW - we get by with 8 aux sends (1 for fx), but another 2 aux sends would be sweet!

 

ahermon - Where are you located? There are several nice 32ch. analog mixers going cheap on Craigslist here in the midwest...

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I am located in central Illinois. Drummer uses a mix of electronic drums and a real set, so it does take a bunch of channels, plus 2 guitar players 1 who also has an acoustic on another channel, etc. I am looking at the A&H gl24. It looks promising.

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I believe that you could get a deal on an X32 for that price if you do some calling around. Then you would not only have 32 channels of XLR inputs, you would also have six 1/4" aux inputs (total of 38 inputs), six 1/4" aux outputs, and 16 XLR outputs.

 

In addition you would be able to control your mix from anywhere with either an Android or iPad tablet and record multi-track to a laptop.

 

Every channel would have a fully parametric eq, gate and compressor. You would also have a built in efx rack of 8 efx of your choice.

 

I think you should see if you can get one of these at your price point. Even if you had to get it used, it would be well worth your money. Do a search for the X32 and "forum" you should see plenty of posts of people using them at professional levels all over the place.

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If it were me, I'd craft my stereo image in the drum brain, send a stereo out from that to the mixer (two stereo outs if you can do one dry/one wet), and then mic up the real drums per usual and route each stereo drum mix (10-12ch or so mixer inputs max) to side by side group faders... with cues by song to the BE to use one or two or all for the FOH mix. If your eDrum hardware is capable enough to do that internal mixing (should be nearly set-it-n-forget-it anyway... at MOST a kick and snare direct out to adjust to taste) ... then you can get by with a 24ch. mixer (analog or digital, your choice). If you REALLY need total mix control for all drum mixes... then a 32ch. board might only barely cover everything and you should really be looking at a digital board with digital snake or remote control capability.

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Hello,

I am looking for a new mixer. This is for a live band. We have 5 members and added electronic gear (synth, drum triggers, etc.) so we need a 32 channel board. We play multiple venues, mainly bars and clubs. We also sometimes do weddings. It would be nice to have 6 pre-fade AUX sends. Looking for recommendations. $2400 would be more than I would want to spend, but would be my max if really compelling. Thanks for any advice.

 

 

Do you have a tech out front? If not, then I'm going to second the suggestion of submixing the drums. I sometimes see drums all miced up with no tech, and the odd errant tom or whatever, is irritating - but how can they tell, they're not out front.

 

If your drummer was hearing the mix, pretty much as is, and then sending it out, that might be better and would certainly take up less channels. As suggested, send the kick, snare maybe hats out (for safety) and then send a general mix.

 

It might be worth considering, or even trying at a rehearsal.

 

BTW do you do a fair bit of electronic Pop, or is the drummer just fond of triggers?

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