Help with choosing a mixer

[ir0-ed]

Digital mixers always comes with a learning curve to it but the M-10dx is rather simplified, straight forward and easy to use. I have two of these in the house, mine and my 12yr old daughter has the other. She also has the MD-P1-S motion dive tokyo which makes me ooohh ahhhh everytime she shows me some of her work

[sue]

Okay really helpful stuff here, and has also helped shorten my list of choices.

I have a really dumb question, where does the mixer plug in to?

 

Here's the Ultrasound Amp

http://ultrasoundamps.com/image-viewer-ds4.htm

 

I thought it went in the back of the amp, or does it use one of the channels?

 

I need 2 guitar channels and 2 vocal.

[cappttenron]

Okay really helpful stuff here, and has also helped shorten my list of choices. I have a really dumb question, where does the mixer plug in to? Here's the Ultrasound Amp http://ultrasoundamps.com/image-viewer-ds4.htm I thought it went in the back of the amp, or does it use one of the channels? I need 2 guitar channels and 2 vocal.

 

You could pan hard right for vocals and pan hard left for guitar and send the right channel into the vocal channel and the left into the guitar channel. Assuming you have at least four channels on your new mixer.:wave:

 

That way you can keeps effects on vocal or guitars and not both.

[Bobby1Note]

Sue,

 

Just to be certain, perhaps you should call UltraSound tech support, and tell them what you'd like to do. They're a very friendly outfit, and easy to get in touch with.

 

I suppose there are a couple of ways you could go about it. Either thru channel 1 combo XLR/1/4" jack, or thru the Line/CD input on the back of your amp. The amps' line/cd inputs are unbalanced as far as I can tell. (rca jacks). There would probably be more potential for noise thru an unbalanced connection, depending on how long the cable run is. It most likely would be better to use a balanced connection between the mixer and amp if possible.

 

I'm just not certain that the 15v phantom power available at your channel 1&2 XLR/1/4" combo- jacks, might or might not be an issue. When I look at your amp, channels 1&2 both seem identical, with the exception of the notch filter on channel 2. UltraSound's manual says that when you use the "XLR" jacks, that 15v of phantom power is automatically activated. I'm wondering if using 1/4 trs plugs into that combo-jack, would block the phantom power.(if that's even an issue) Perhaps Andy (AgedHorse) has some thoughts on this.

 

Bob

[computmaxer]

I would steer clear of Mackie. (From experience).

 

I have found Behringer to be good for some things... such as my 15-band EQ. But I have no direct experience with their mixers. I'd say go for it, if you have a bad experience maybe you'll be more willing to pay more for a "quality" mixer.

[Bobby1Note]

Sue,

 

I just looked at your amps' owners' manual, and it looks like coming into the combo XLR/1/4" jack with a TRS cable, does "not" activate phantom power. The manual mentions phantom power only when an XLR connector is inserted.

 

With the Soundcraft Compact 4 or Compact 10 mixers, I'd probably come out of the "balanced monitor outs" with a cable like this,

 

http://www.audiopile.net/products/Patch_snakes/MTIS/YIN/YIN_cutsheet.shtml

 

Insert the left and right TS jacks into left and right monitor out on the mixer, and the TRS jack either into channel 1 or 2 of your amp, and make sure your channel gain is all the way down at first, and set the EQ's on both channels, to "flat". Choice of which channel you use is irrelevant, unless you'd like to use one of those channels "along with" your mixers' channels. Example; Let's say you have two guitars, and two mics plugged into your mixer, and someone else decides to join in, you can let them plug "either" their guitar "or" their mic into your amp's vacant channel, but not both, as there's only one available input. I'd recommend they plug the "guitar" into the vacant channel, and then "share" vocal mic#2.

 

If that 3rd guitar starts feeding back (resonant feedback), you might want to have them plug into your amp's channel 2 instead, so they can use the notch filter on that channel. Your mixer of course, would now use channel 1 on the amp.

 

If they happen to have their own 2-channel mixer, then they can plug their mixer in your amp's vacant channel, and plug their guitar and mic into their own mixer. Again, turn down the channel gain BEFORE inserting that mixer.

 

We can talk about setting proper gain structure for your mixer, once we know which mixer you're going with.

 

Bob

[cappttenron]

 

I would steer clear of Mackie. (From experience). I have found Behringer to be good for some things... such as my 15-band EQ. But I have no direct experience with their mixers. I'd say go for it, if you have a bad experience maybe you'll be more willing to pay more for a "quality" mixer.

 

 

 

 

Thats really not very good advice for someone IMO. I know mackie has had some problems in the past but I think they are working on them based on how they are pushing delivery back on new equipment. I just bought a little 402 and its great. I also own three older mackie boards and had 0 problems. Yet you recommend beheringer that probably has the worst history of any manufacturer out there.

 

I think just about any other manufacturer would be a better choice than Beheringer if she is going to keep it beyond the warranty period.

[cappttenron]

Just copied this off a poster on MF website. This regarding a soundcraft EPM 6 board that is 259 dollars. But a great choice IMO.

 

Quality Budget Mixer

Posted by Eddie from Chicago, IL on Jul 29, 2008

Experience w/product: I have used it

Reviewer's Background: Hobbyist

Reviewer's Play Style: Folk, Rock, Church

Just got the EPM 8 for church and swapped it with my cheapie, a Behringer UB1204FX-Pro. The difference was immediate and surprising. Transparency of the Soundcraft is excellent. It does what a good mixer should do -- it disappears. With the EPM-6 this inexpensive, there's no excuse to get a cheap mixer like a Behringer. This one has a few less features, but the sound quality and build quality are much better. Worth every penny

 

The peavey PV6 also gets good reviews and is half the price with usb.

[agedhorse]

 

Thats really not very good advice for someone IMO. I know mackie has had some problems in the past but I think they are working on them based on how they are pushing delivery back on new equipment. I just bought a little 402 and its great. I also own three older mackie boards and had 0 problems. Yet you recommend beheringer that probably has the worst history of any manufacturer out there. I think just about any other manufacturer would be a better choice than Beheringer if she is going to keep it beyond the warranty period.

 

 

There's a lot more to the delivery issues with Mackie then trying to improve product. In fact, a whole lot more.

 

Both Mackie and Behringer have a higher than average level of issues. I have stopped using Mackie for installations because the failure rate was just too high. A customer has 2 larger Onyx boards, both of which have intermittent problems. They will probably be available for sale soon if anybody is interested.

[Bobby1Note]

Ron,

 

That's probably a pretty decent board, but once you get into boards with faders, the size jumps up quickly. For some, that's not an issue, but for me, especially in this class of mixer, I prefer as compact as possble, without sacrificing too much audio quality. Ideally, I'm looking for something that would fit in the accessory pocket of my amps' shoulder-bag. That way, I have the amp over one shoulder, and guitar in the other hand. Mic stand bungee-corded to the guitar case. Granted, the EPM 6 could also fit in it's own Gator G-Mix shoulder-bag.

 

Although the new Soundcraft Notepad 124FX (9"x9") has two less mono-channels, it does have Lexicon FX (EPM 6 has no FX), and the 124FX is also less expensive. With the 124FX and a 2-channel combo-amp, you can handle up to 3 guitars/2 mics, or 2 guitars/3 mics. That's usually plenty good for an acoustic-guitar trio with one performer doing lead vocals, and two back-up vocalists/harmony, sharing a mic.

 

When I need more inputs(rarely for me), I can always grab my Soundcraft EFX-8, but then again, it has faders, built-in power-supply. It's larger, but still fits in a Gator G-Mix 15"x15" shoulder-bag. A bit more hassle to lug around though. Still, nice to have if yout acoustic trio adds drums (congas)

 

More inputs is always nicer to have. It's just unfortunate that you have that portability trade-off. Also, because many of those compact mixers focus more on a low price-point, audio quality suffers as well. I read many reviews with complaints regarding noise with many of the inexpensive compact mixers. Scratchy pots, hiss, inadequate gain, etc. Personally, I'm willing to pay a bit more for a compact unit with acceptable audio quality. For me, poor audio quality is simply a non-starter, and a sacrifice I'm not willing to make just to save a few bucks. I also want something that will still sound good a few years down the road.

 

Ragarding availability of the Soundcraft 124FX, my local dealers says he should be receiving some in two to three weeks.

 

Bob

[sue]

Thanks everyone.

I'll give the ultrasound people a call to ask specific questions about the amp i own.

 

Thanks for the mixer suggestions, some I would have never discovered on my own (like the soundcraft and Edirol by Roland).

 

Unfortunetly, my lack of audio/tech. knowledge is making this more difficult than it probably needs to be. So I really appreciate all the replies, comments etc.

[Bobby1Note]

Thanks everyone. I'll give the ultrasound people a call

They're great on the phone. I spoke to a delightful lady last time I called. Very helpful, very accomodating.

 

I came very close to buying the same amp you have, just a few years ago. These amps enjoy a pretty good reputation among the acoustic guitar folks.

 

The UltraSound D.I. boxes are pretty popular as well. I'd highly recommend you look into one, or the EWI that I linked to earlier. Mind you, you may not need a D.I. if you decide to go with the Soundcraft Compact 4 or Compact 10, since they both have a "D.I. switch" on some of their mono channels.

 

Bob

[Special J]

My company owns many small format Soundcraft mixers. They are slightly older - Folio E, M and FX series. I can't say enough great things about them. They have been extremely reliable seeing regular use. This is what I'd recommend to any of my customers looking for a good, small mixer.

 

I wouldn't recommend Behringer to anybody.

[cappttenron]

Hey Sue let us know what you end up getting.

[miden]

Hi all, since this thread is about mixers, I wanted to ask a question as I am having a hard time deciding.

 

The two I have narrowed it donw to are the Allen & Heath ZED12 fx, or the new Mackie 820i.

 

Does anyone have info/experience re these?

 

after reading the trhead I am a little concerned about Mackies' future???

 

Thanks

[Bobby1Note]

miden,

 

What do you need it for? Live sound? Recording? What type of music? How many instruments/mics will be plugged in? You need FX? monitors?

[miden]

Primarily for live sound (solo performer, backing tracks-live keyboards+vocals) and some DAW work.

 

I am getting sick of the noisy pots (white noise hiss) on my Edirol M10dx when they go past half. Plus its time to upgrade anyway I think..

 

The comments about Mackie's financial status got me a bit worried. So I was leaning more towards the A+H, alhtough the physical size is a bit off-putting.

 

But the Mackie does look a good package.

[Bobby1Note]

The Soundcraft Compact 4 would probably be a good mixer for your intended use. They're discontinued now, but there are still many available. I recently bought one new, in a factory sealed box for $99.

 

The "Compact series" mixers, will soon be replaced by the Notepad series. Those should be available shortly according to Soundcraft. They told me Feb.-Mar.

 

http://www.soundcraft.com/products/product.aspx?pid=121

 

 

 

http://www.soundcraft.com/products/product.aspx?pid=171

 

http://www.soundcraft.com/products/product.aspx?pid=173

 

Bob

[miden]

Thanks Bobby, but I REALLY have narrowed it down to the two mixers in my post

[Bobby1Note]

No contest then; A&H

[miden]

Okay cool..Thanks Bobby Appreciate your comments.

[DBR]

If I may suggest, The Mixwiz is THE mixer tom pick up. It's got the best EQ section and is totally versatile in installation. It may be a bit pricey but I have seen them for as low as $500.00. They are the best bang for the buck IMHO.

[jwlussow]

If I may suggest, The Mixwiz is THE mixer tom pick up. It's got the best EQ section and is totally versatile in installation. It may be a bit pricey but I have seen them for as low as $500.00. They are the best bang for the buck IMHO.

 

I totally agree