Members Killa J Posted February 19, 2007 Members Share Posted February 19, 2007 I'm sorry if I'm starting to annoy anyone by asking a whole bunch of questions, but I don't want to end up with something that's not as good as it could be. I was originally shooting for 4 mic inputs, but I think I need at least 6. I also was originally wanting a PC interface, but I discovered that I don't need that either. So, basically, I just want the best sub $400 mixer with at least 6 mic inputs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted February 19, 2007 Members Share Posted February 19, 2007 Do you need monitors and effects? This may not be the "best", but you'd have a hard time matching the features for the price. http://www.carvin.com/products/mixer.php?ItemNumber=C844 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jguitarguy27 Posted February 19, 2007 Members Share Posted February 19, 2007 How is Carvin pro audio stuff anyway? I mean...it's gotta be better than Behringer....right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted February 19, 2007 Members Share Posted February 19, 2007 How is Carvin pro audio stuff anyway? I mean...it's gotta be better than Behringer....right? I've used the C1644P powered mixer for several years. Many times it would be outdoors in direct Florida summer sunlight. The only trouble I had was a circuit board became unseated. It was an easy fix. For the money, their speaker sound decent too. I'm not a big Carvin fan-boy like a few posters here are, but I like them probably more than most people here. To me, it's equivalent to similarly or slightly higher priced Peavey, Yamaha stuff. Seems better than Behringer from what I can tell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Killa J Posted February 19, 2007 Author Members Share Posted February 19, 2007 I'm actually somewhat of a Carvin "fanboy", but everyone suggested other stuff when I asked about Carvin's PA equipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted February 19, 2007 Members Share Posted February 19, 2007 I'm actually somewhat of a Carvin "fanboy", but everyone suggested other stuff when I asked about Carvin's PA equipment. They always do here. It's not as bad as they'd have you believe, but there are limitations. Carvin's customer service can be terrible. I've had a couple of bad experiences. If you do need warranty work done, your only option is to ship it to them, let them fix it and wait while they ship it back. Not quite as friendly as dropping by the local store or service center. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Singin' Dave Posted February 19, 2007 Members Share Posted February 19, 2007 That Carvin does seem to be a feature stocked 8 channel mixer. I have no experience w/ Carvin as far a reliability (save my c980 acoustic which I love for stage work) I will say that if you think you need 6 channels, I bet you really could use 10 or 12 or even 16. One of these days you may want to mic a kit or do some recording etc. It would be nice to buy something now for the long haul rather than have to look for another mixer down the road. If 2 mon mixes are OK, a used Peavey RQ2318 would fit that budget very nicely (I got mine for $320 w/ a case) and give you room for growth. No FX or EQ onboard though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SoundMan Posted February 19, 2007 Members Share Posted February 19, 2007 One thing to watch for with Carvin mixers is their preamps. Looking at the specs they list the EIN at -117dBu, this indicates a simple op-amp preamp. Not the quietest in the world. Look at other brands, including ours (Peavey), our EIN is usually -128dBu or better. That's at least an extra 11dB of noise at any given setting with the Carvin. Also, does an 8 channel 4-bus seem weird to anyone else? SoundMan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted February 19, 2007 Members Share Posted February 19, 2007 One thing to watch for with Carvin mixers is their preamps. Looking at the specs they list the EIN at -117dBu, this indicates a simple op-amp preamp. Not the quietest in the world. Look at other brands, including ours (Peavey), our EIN is usually -128dBu or better. That's at least an extra 11dB of noise at any given setting with the Carvin.Also, does an 8 channel 4-bus seem weird to anyone else?SoundMan They have 16 and 24 channel versions of the same board. 4 busses makes more sense for them. -117 is still pretty quiet. I never hear any hiss added by the mixer. In a studio that may make a difference, but in a bar, I doubt anybody would hear the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jguitarguy27 Posted February 19, 2007 Members Share Posted February 19, 2007 Does anyone actually use the busses on their small mixers anyway? (by small I mean 8-12 channels) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members prosigna Posted February 19, 2007 Members Share Posted February 19, 2007 Also, does an 8 channel 4-bus seem weird to anyone else? I think it would need sub-groups so you can group inputs to simplify mixing duties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted February 19, 2007 Members Share Posted February 19, 2007 Does anyone actually use the busses on their small mixers anyway? (by small I mean 8-12 channels) We have a 16 channel mixer. A former soundman used them to arrange guitars and singers into different groups. In a small band, I don't really see the point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Killa J Posted February 19, 2007 Author Members Share Posted February 19, 2007 I doubt I'd have any use for buses. I don't even know what they are for. I forgot to mention in my first post what this mixer is going to be used for. It's mainly for practice and possibly small (10-20 people) performances. No drums, no mic'ed guitar cabs, just acoustic guitars, vocals, and a keyboard. The only FX I would probably ever use would be reverb, maybe delay every once in a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SoundMan Posted February 19, 2007 Members Share Posted February 19, 2007 "-117 is still pretty quiet. I never hear any hiss added by the mixer." On an individual channel, you may be right. But what happens if every channel is adding an extra 11dB of noise? Eventually it's gonna catch up with you. SoundMan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted February 19, 2007 Members Share Posted February 19, 2007 "-117 is still pretty quiet. I never hear any hiss added by the mixer."On an individual channel, you may be right. But what happens if every channel is adding an extra 11dB of noise? Eventually it's gonna catch up with you.SoundMan As I said, 16 channels of -117 still sounds quiet to me. My guitar amp's hissing at about 75dB just sitting there. At the levels you're talking about, I doubt anybody could hear the difference, especially in a club or pretty much any band setting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Killa J Posted February 19, 2007 Author Members Share Posted February 19, 2007 I'd prefer the lowest noise I can get. Hopefully, I will record with it one day. 11dB=a little more than twice as loud, right? Where do I find the EIN information? I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere when I've been looking at mixers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted February 19, 2007 CMS Author Share Posted February 19, 2007 Sounds like a PV-10 would be a good choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted February 20, 2007 Members Share Posted February 20, 2007 I'd prefer the lowest noise I can get. Hopefully, I will record with it one day. 11dB=a little more than twice as loud, right? Where do I find the EIN information? I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere when I've been looking at mixers. 2 x inaudible still = inaudible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Killa J Posted February 20, 2007 Author Members Share Posted February 20, 2007 2 x inaudible still = inaudible. That is correct. The only problem for me with ordering from Carvin is that I have a Carvin card. If I spend over $999 with them, there is no interest for a year, and I wouldn't be able to resist adding a third Carvin guitar to my collection. The problem is that my girlfriend will kick me square in the nuts if I buy another guitar. So buying anything from Carvin=me kicked in the nuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 2manband Posted February 21, 2007 Members Share Posted February 21, 2007 I've been looking for the same thing, and after doing a fair amount of research, I have pretty much decided on the Soundcraft EPM-12 which is $370 from PSSL.com I'm real close to pulling the trigger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted February 21, 2007 Members Share Posted February 21, 2007 I've been looking for the same thing, and after doing a fair amount of research, I have pretty much decided on the Soundcraft EPM-12 which is $370 from PSSL.comI'm real close to pulling the trigger. It's kind of low in features. No built in effects. Only two aux sends, pretty seriously limits what you can do with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jguitarguy27 Posted February 21, 2007 Members Share Posted February 21, 2007 Yeah...I'd buy the EPM-12 solely for the preamps...not for features (which is what I did) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Preacher Will Posted February 21, 2007 Members Share Posted February 21, 2007 2 x inaudible still = inaudible. Hmm . . . don't know that I buy this. 2 x inaudible is often the difference between being under the threshold and over the threshold of audibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted February 21, 2007 Members Share Posted February 21, 2007 Yeah...I'd buy the EPM-12 solely for the preamps...not for features (which is what I did) Yeah, I'm sure the preamps are what makes the product eh??? Good grief, why the (general) fixation on mic preamps when they are probably the least significant part of the console? Is it because of all the advertising? Do you know that the preamps are (really) different in that comsole (other than urban myth)? I'll bet it's one of the basic topologies like their other similar product and in a double-blind test you (or anybody else here) could tell the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jguitarguy27 Posted February 21, 2007 Members Share Posted February 21, 2007 Well...I can at least tell a difference between the EPM12 and my Mackie CFX12...and that's good enough for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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