Members badhabit Posted December 13, 2007 Members Share Posted December 13, 2007 Gents, First I gotta say what a great forum and resource this is for guys like me who are musicians and not sound techs. I'm here to learn and am trying to put a decent club PA together. Thanks for the many replies to my questions so far. Here's another. Looking for a compact mixer to use onstage for a club band. I'd like to keep the cost to around 5 bills or less for a new model. I've learned enough here to avoid Berhinger:eek: After looking around, it appears there are some that may fill the requirements. My list so far includes: Yamaha MG116CX Mackie CFX12 mk11 Allen and Heath ZED 14 Soundcraft EPM 12 These are all nearly the same in price. I realize the features differ with the Yamaha having more channels. But I also like the longer travel faders on the A&H ZED. All appear compact enough and have adequate inputs for minimal miking needs. I could always use a small compact sub mixer for the drum set and send that to a stereo channel in the mixer to gain more miking capabilities. Anyway, what are your opinions on these models and brands? Is there another one I should be looking at instead? I'm not "loyal" to one brand over another. I just would like to get the best one in this price range. Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jbutler1982 Posted December 13, 2007 Members Share Posted December 13, 2007 I use an MG116C. Check out my review using the search function - I wote up a long one and I love the unit. I'm not a big fan of the Mackie CFX-series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members twostone Posted December 13, 2007 Members Share Posted December 13, 2007 Why sub mix drums:confused: just get a used mixer with enough of channels to mic out drums. I'm sure there plenty out their to suit your needs. Besides being in a club band you'll find yourself out growing a compact mixer real quick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members badhabit Posted December 13, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 13, 2007 Why sub mix drums just get a used mixer with enough of channels to mic out drums. Well, because there will be times that miking all the drums will not be necessary. A larger, used mixer takes up more room on stage; room that maybe needed for other things. Plus the reliability and warranty issues come into play as well. I could never fix a broken mixer and electronic labor costs are typically in the hundreds of dollars. I do buy used stuff when it's things I can repair (speakers, cables, cases, things like that). But mixers and outboard gear are way too complicated to repair for me. :confused:So I need to buy new for a warranty. The Yamaha does have 16 inputs, although 8 are stereo/line inputs. Any opinions on the A&H ZED? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members badhabit Posted December 13, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 13, 2007 Check out my review using the search function - I wote up a long one and I love the unit. I searched under "reviews, Yamaha MG116C, MG116C," Nothing came up. Suggestion jbutler? Found it! Great review! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted December 13, 2007 Members Share Posted December 13, 2007 If you don't need rack mount, I've got a new demo 8 channel (mic ins) that is looking for a home cheap. PM me. It's got 100mm faders too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members badhabit Posted December 13, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 13, 2007 OK, PMed you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members twostone Posted December 14, 2007 Members Share Posted December 14, 2007 Well, because there will be times that miking all the drums will not be necessary. A larger, used mixer takes up more room on stage; room that maybe needed for other things. Plus the reliability and warranty issues come into play as well. I could never fix a broken mixer and electronic labor costs are typically in the hundreds of dollars. I do buy used stuff when it's things I can repair (speakers, cables, cases, things like that). But mixers and outboard gear are way too complicated to repair for me. :confused:So I need to buy new for a warranty. The Yamaha does have 16 inputs, although 8 are stereo/line inputs. Any opinions on the A&H ZED? So I take it you never bought a used car neither and not enough of room what kind of clubs to you gig in I've played in some pretty small clubs myself. but I always have room for a my RQ2314 mixer and rack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Neonfacelift Posted December 14, 2007 Members Share Posted December 14, 2007 So I take it you never bought a used car neither and not enough of room what kind of clubs to you gig in I've played in some pretty small clubs myself. but I always have room for a my RQ2314 mixer and rack. Why are you micing all the drums in a small club? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members twostone Posted December 14, 2007 Members Share Posted December 14, 2007 Why are you micing all the drums in a small club? Because I can Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jgthatsme Posted December 14, 2007 Members Share Posted December 14, 2007 Gents, First I gotta say what a great forum and resource this is for guys like me who are musicians and not sound techs. I'm here to learn and am trying to put a decent club PA together. Thanks for the many replies to my questions so far. Here's another. Looking for a compact mixer to use onstage for a club band. I'd like to keep the cost to around 5 bills or less for a new model. I've learned enough here to avoid Berhinger:eek: After looking around, it appears there are some that may fill the requirements. My list so far includes: Yamaha MG116CX Mackie CFX12 mk11 Allen and Heath ZED 14 Soundcraft EPM 12 These are all nearly the same in price. I realize the features differ with the Yamaha having more channels. But I also like the longer travel faders on the A&H ZED. All appear compact enough and have adequate inputs for minimal miking needs. I could always use a small compact sub mixer for the drum set and send that to a stereo channel in the mixer to gain more miking capabilities. Anyway, what are your opinions on these models and brands? Is there another one I should be looking at instead? I'm not "loyal" to one brand over another. I just would like to get the best one in this price range. Thanks in advance. I've also been looking for something small/compact and built well. I want internal effects and I need 2 dedicated monitor sends. I'm probably going with a Soundcraft MFX 8/2. I might spend a little extra for the MFX 12/2 just to have a few extra channels. I have other boards, but nothing small. The choices you list have many differences among them. The only model among your choices with 2 monitor sends is the Yamaha. The Allen & Heath and Soundcraft mixers you mentioned don't have built-in effects. And I absolutely hate the thought of Yamaha's external power supply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members boomerweps Posted December 14, 2007 Members Share Posted December 14, 2007 Look at the Peavey FX series for built in FX and a quality board. Boomerweps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members badhabit Posted December 14, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 14, 2007 I need 2 dedicated monitor sends. I'm guessing the purpose of this is to have stereo monitors and the ability to have two separate monitor mixes for different band members? Is this correct? As I said, I'm still learning. I realize the only model of mixer I listed with effects was the Yamaha. Sometimes, there are feature trade-offs I suppose. I don't care for Yamaha's power supply either. I do like the 100mm faders on the A&H. And an outboard effects unit could be had for very little. Twostone, Yeah, I've bought used cars before and regretted it. I only buy new now. Club stages can be very small. Owner's don't want to give up valuable table space unless they have to. The band already has a large mixer. We were just looking for something compact for those small stages where space was at a premium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jgthatsme Posted December 15, 2007 Members Share Posted December 15, 2007 Badhabit...I need to dedicated monitor sends because my female vocalist is very specific about what she likes to her in her monitor mix and my male vocalist is very specific about what he likes to hear in his. It has nothing to do with running a stereo monitor mix. WEPS...Peavey scares me. I can honestly say I have not had one positive experience in 30+ years now with Peavey. Anyone I worked with, be it a guitar player, bass player, or keyboard player, who had anything Peavey in their rig brought nothing but pops, hissing, buzzing, and any other type of unwanted noise you can imagine onto the stage. The series looks nice and has some nice features, but it just scares me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members twostone Posted December 16, 2007 Members Share Posted December 16, 2007 Badhabit...I need to dedicated monitor sends because my female vocalist is very specific about what she likes to her in her monitor mix and my male vocalist is very specific about what he likes to hear in his. It has nothing to do with running a stereo monitor mix. WEPS...Peavey scares me. I can honestly say I have not had one positive experience in 30+ years now with Peavey. Anyone I worked with, be it a guitar player, bass player, or keyboard player, who had anything Peavey in their rig brought nothing but pops, hissing, buzzing, and any other type of unwanted noise you can imagine onto the stage. The series looks nice and has some nice features, but it just scares me... I wouldn't dismiss Peavey as bad gear be suprized how many pro touring acts use Peavey gear I beleive someone here posted about being at Ozzfest using Peavey's Versarray system. Also don't forget one of the most influential guitarist of rock used a Peavey amp aka 5150. But anyway can't go wrong with Soundcraft or A&H mixer but hey after 2 decades of a Peavey user my self Peavey has come a long ways to improve their designs and gotta say they've did a great job in doing so IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alexbelllive Posted December 21, 2007 Members Share Posted December 21, 2007 The Allen & Heath and Soundcraft mixers you mentioned don't have built-in effects. And I absolutely hate the thought of Yamaha's external power supply. Unless we get a different model in the souther hemisphere, the Zed 14 definitely has internal effects and if he need effect he can get a EFX12 instead of the EPM12. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alexbelllive Posted December 21, 2007 Members Share Posted December 21, 2007 Actually, I'm currently in the market for a compact mixer as a solo musician (vox/guitar). The three models im looking at are teh A&H and Souncraft both mentioned and maybe even a Dynacord CMS. You see, one of the problems I have with the first two mixer I mentioned is no graphic EQ and as I tend to suffer from feedback issues, this is very important to me. For you this would be even a larger issue once as you include more mics and more instruments. So maybe think about getting something which also has a five band (or more) EQ. The Dynacord is a great little mixer from what I've heard but unfortunately is over double the cost! Problems problems problems... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members axeman6969 Posted December 21, 2007 Members Share Posted December 21, 2007 For me, the minimum I'd use as a compact mixer is a Mix-Wiz. Nothing else compares under $1000 US. I haven't seen the Dynacord, but a mix wiz and a DBX 2231 goes a long way.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted December 21, 2007 CMS Author Share Posted December 21, 2007 Save up the $1000 and get the Mixwizard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dboomer Posted December 21, 2007 Members Share Posted December 21, 2007 You see, one of the problems I have with the first two mixer I mentioned is no graphic EQ and as I tend to suffer from feedback issues, this is very important to me. For you this would be even a larger issue once as you include more mics and more instruments. So maybe think about getting something which also has a five band (or more) EQ. I can't imagine trying to fix feedback with a 5 band or even an octave (10 band) GEQ. Now a 5 band parametric would be good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted December 21, 2007 CMS Author Share Posted December 21, 2007 I can't imagine trying to fix feedback with a 5 band or even an octave (10 band) GEQ. Now a 5 band parametric would be good Well, 'imagining' is all you could do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jgthatsme Posted December 21, 2007 Members Share Posted December 21, 2007 Unless we get a different model in the souther hemisphere, the Zed 14 definitely has internal effects and if he need effect he can get a EFX12 instead of the EPM12. Are you certain about the Zed series? Every piece of literature I've looked at mentions nothing about internal effects. They mention plenty of effects sends for external effects, but nothing about internal effects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Barisaxman2000 Posted December 21, 2007 Members Share Posted December 21, 2007 Although not always a popular choice...I had good success with a Carvin C1644. Lots of features in a small package. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alexbelllive Posted December 30, 2007 Members Share Posted December 30, 2007 I can't imagine trying to fix feedback with a 5 band or even an octave (10 band) GEQ. Now a 5 band parametric would be good Agreed. Iwasn't thinking graphic... you really want 31 channels for that! I'm pretty sure some of the A&H, such as the PA12, have 4 band parametric. Edit: I have been wrong before... check post below lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alexbelllive Posted December 30, 2007 Members Share Posted December 30, 2007 Are you certain about the Zed series? Every piece of literature I've looked at mentions nothing about internal effects. They mention plenty of effects sends for external effects, but nothing about internal effects. You know what? You're right. I was thinking about the PA series and miss read the specs on the zed. Real disappointment too, as I was looking at getting one of these! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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