Members rdegtyar Posted February 7, 2010 Members Share Posted February 7, 2010 Our 6-piece band is looking for a Mixer/Effects/Compressor solution for live gigs and we have around 1000$ to spend. What's the best combination for this kind of setup? Does it make sense to buy all-in-one mixer like Yamaha EMX5016CF or it's better to have separate components? As for the comressor, how many channels do we need (minimum)? Should we just compress the whole mix or it's better to comress individual channels as well? Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members banddad Posted February 7, 2010 Members Share Posted February 7, 2010 For a mixer, check out the Allen & Heath MixWiz. It's 16 channels, reliable, sounds great, has built in effects, lots of flexibility, and fits the budget. It comes under the budget if you get a good used one. I commonly mix a 6 piece band, and use all 16 channels on my MixWix. For compressor: you don't need any until you have a problem to solve. That said, I most commonly use it on vocals, but lightly. Never compress the whole mix, compress individual channels as needed. DBX seems to be the standard, start by looking at the 166xl. How many vocal channels do you have? Some people may like the all in one digital mixers, I don't have any experience with them. Analog is easy to learn, and fairly intuitive. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bugzie Posted February 7, 2010 Members Share Posted February 7, 2010 MixWhiz is a good board. Another with a few added features is the Peavey 24FX, which can be had for less than a grand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jwlussow Posted February 7, 2010 Members Share Posted February 7, 2010 I wouldn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members allexcosta Posted February 7, 2010 Members Share Posted February 7, 2010 Save another 500 bucks and get a StudioLive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rdegtyar Posted February 7, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 7, 2010 For a mixer, check out the Allen & Heath MixWiz. It's 16 channels, reliable, sounds great, has built in effects, lots of flexibility, and fits the budget. It comes under the budget if you get a good used one. I commonly mix a 6 piece band, and use all 16 channels on my MixWix.For compressor: you don't need any until you have a problem to solve. That said, I most commonly use it on vocals, but lightly. Never compress the whole mix, compress individual channels as needed. DBX seems to be the standard, start by looking at the 166xl. How many vocal channels do you have?Good luck! We have four vocal channels. We are not really experienced with setting up live sound. What else may be good to have? A good EQ, exciters/maximizers? Why not compress the whole mix? Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bugzie Posted February 7, 2010 Members Share Posted February 7, 2010 Compressing the whole mix robs the music of its dynamics (the difference in the highest level to the lowest level). Compressors are best used for individual feeds. Maximizers are best left as an effect and not used on the whole mix. A good 31 band EQ can be worth its weight in gold to fight feedback. Go to the beginning of the forum and start reading. There is a lot of info there that will fill in the blanks and help you get some sort of direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jwlussow Posted February 7, 2010 Members Share Posted February 7, 2010 Maximizers and exciters can cause more problems then they solve. They also complicate the signal path. Stick with the basics until you really have a need for extra toys. A 31 band EQ properly set up (no smiley faces) will really do just about everything you need to do. Make sure you use a crossover if you use subs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mshifflett Posted February 7, 2010 Members Share Posted February 7, 2010 Maximizers and exciters can cause more problems then they solve. They also complicate the signal path. Stick with the basics until you really have a need for extra toys. A 31 band EQ properly set up (no smiley faces) will really do just about everything you need to do. Make sure you use a crossover if you use subs. Great advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members abzurd Posted February 7, 2010 Members Share Posted February 7, 2010 I compress the whole, mix (1.3 ratio and 1-3db compression overall so very light), but I too say don't compress the mix. Honestly, I do it because I "can" as much as anything. It does fatten things up a bit, but if I couldn't do it I wouldn't really care much. It should be dead last on anyone's "do do list", especially if you're running sound from stage and can't see and hear what it's doing all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members banddad Posted February 7, 2010 Members Share Posted February 7, 2010 My take on good stuff to have, in order of importance for the top few, is: Great musicians.Properly tuned instruments, including drums.Good speakers, properly powered. These will need very little eq correction.Good microphones. Think Shure SM58 or better for vocals, vary per taste.Good board. MixWiz got my vote.Reliable cables.Experience.Then consider equalizers, possibly add some compression. If the musicians can hear themselves well, have a low stage volume and good control of their own dynamics, not much else is needed for a good show. KISS for the soundguy adds reliability. An equalizer for each channel of monitor mix is as important, if not more, (IMO) than eq for the FOH sound. Having said all that - you were originally asking about board and effects, I hope I didn't get too far off track. Good comments above on the use of compression, processors! Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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