Members lucho_84 Posted December 30, 2003 Members Share Posted December 30, 2003 i have a friend who's so into mackie. he has a behringer mixer right now and dreams about having a mackie one day. i was wondering because on the carvin site most people prefer the carvin mixers (discussion forum) because of the true 4bus design and other things i don't care to mention. anyway. my real question is which mixer is better? carvin or mackie? specifically the carvin c1644 mixer and the mackie cfx-16 mixer. anybody who has not used both of these brands and mixers please do not respond. this is only for dudes who have used both and know what they are talking about because theyve used the mixers. thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted December 30, 2003 Members Share Posted December 30, 2003 Originally posted by lucho_84 i have a friend who's so into mackie. he has a behringer mixer right now and dreams about having a mackie one day. i was wondering because on the carvin site most people prefer the carvin mixers (discussion forum) because of the true 4bus design and other things i don't care to mention. anyway. my real question is which mixer is better? carvin or mackie? specifically the carvin c1644 mixer and the mackie cfx-16 mixer. anybody who has not used both of these brands and mixers please do not respond. this is only for dudes who have used both and know what they are talking about because theyve used the mixers. thanks. The CFX line of mixers aren't very good,IMO. So I would put them roughly equal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lucho_84 Posted December 30, 2003 Author Members Share Posted December 30, 2003 ok, that's fine...but would you recomend the carvin mixer? if so...in your opinion which mackie mixer equals the carin mixer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted December 30, 2003 Members Share Posted December 30, 2003 Originally posted by lucho_84 ok, that's fine...but would you recomend the carvin mixer? if so...in your opinion which mackie mixer equals the carin mixer? No,I wouldn't recommend the Carvin. And as I stated before,I would put the Mackie CFX in the same area as the Carvin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lucho_84 Posted December 30, 2003 Author Members Share Posted December 30, 2003 so what mixer would you recomend in that price range?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ViLo Posted December 30, 2003 Members Share Posted December 30, 2003 Originally posted by lucho_84 so what mixer would you recomend in that price range?? Save a little bit more and get an Allen&Heath MixWiz 16:2DX:cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lucho_84 Posted December 30, 2003 Author Members Share Posted December 30, 2003 what's better about the a&h than the carvin? cause i've heard good stuff about the carvin c1644 mixer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted December 30, 2003 Members Share Posted December 30, 2003 Originally posted by lucho_84 what's better about the a&h than the carvin? cause i've heard good stuff about the carvin c1644 mixer Where did you hear these good things? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lucho_84 Posted December 30, 2003 Author Members Share Posted December 30, 2003 a sound tech i met a few years ago(he told me this r4ecently) so what's better about the allen and heath? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted December 30, 2003 Members Share Posted December 30, 2003 Originally posted by lucho_84 a sound tech i met a few years ago(he told me this r4ecently) so what's better about the allen and heath? I'm sure if you have your heart set on it,if you know what you are doing,you should be able to make it work ok. I think they are overpriced for what you get. IMO,there are better choices,including the newer Peavey mixers. You should check them out. Soundcraft Spirits are decent for the money. A&H is really cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lucho_84 Posted December 30, 2003 Author Members Share Posted December 30, 2003 Originally posted by ViLo Save a little bit more and get an Allen&Heath MixWiz 16:2DX:cool: well i checked prices and that mixer's price is near $1,000. not cheaper. it it that much better. is it worth spending $300 more? what do ou suggest:confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lucho_84 Posted December 30, 2003 Author Members Share Posted December 30, 2003 what do you do for a living tlbonehead? how do you know so much about all this gear. if you don't mind me asking... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted December 30, 2003 Members Share Posted December 30, 2003 Originally posted by lucho_84 what do you do for a living tlbonehead? how do you know so much about all this gear. if you don't mind me asking... Just a 44 year old guy who started gigging a lot at age 15 and was usually in charge of throwing together the sound equipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lucho_84 Posted December 30, 2003 Author Members Share Posted December 30, 2003 sweet...what do you own now? what's in your rack? what do you have onstage? do you buy equipment because of how it's treated you over the years or based on friend's recomendataions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeromus-X Posted December 30, 2003 Members Share Posted December 30, 2003 You seem pretty insistent on getting Carvin stuff. Do a search here on this forum for Carvin... you'll find the end result is that they're decent MI-grade stuff. I've used a Carvin 2kw poweramp before, as well as a 4x10 cabinet. The cabinet was sturdy but the drivers weren't amazing. The general word is that Carvin is notorious for inflating specs when it comes to power amps. I believe it was only a few years ago that things were being measured in "tube watts", "solid state watts", and "Carvin watts"! There are other options available to you both at that price range and for a little bit more. Investigate them before you spend a lot of money on something and have it not meet your expectations. In response to the other thread you posted -- 2,500 watts compared to 2,000 watts is nothing. I'd go with the reliability of a QSC over the power of a Carvin any day. The Carvin, as stated above, is probably inflated a bit. The QSC on the other hand is a tried-and-true amp that is fine running at 2 ohms (which people have reported having problems with the Carvin). Going from a 2,000 watt amp to a 2,500 watt amp isn't even going to net you a 1dB difference. Personally, and this all depends on the load you're using, but I'd look into the QSC RMX1850HD if you need to run a lot of speakers, or the RMX1450 if you don't. The HD has special design features to enhance its 2 ohm operation, but it's a little more expensive. The RMX1450 might only be 1,450 watts, but again... the difference between 1,450W and 2,500W is only about 2dB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lucho_84 Posted December 30, 2003 Author Members Share Posted December 30, 2003 where do you buy your gear zeromus-x? what site? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeromus-X Posted December 30, 2003 Members Share Posted December 30, 2003 If I'm buying online, I buy based on price and reputation. I'm not going to buy something from a place with a dirt-cheap price if they constantly rip people off, of course! If there's something in particular you're looking for, search around for it. Places like Full Compass have really cheap prices on a lot of stuff because they drop-ship from the manufacturer, but they can't post many of the prices online -- you've got to call them. Audioeast has great prices on Yorkville systems. If I need to try something first, or I know it's something that will get constant use/abuse I buy locally. You'll pay a bit more for it, but the convenience factor if something breaks is worth it. If my poweramp dies two hours before showtime and I need a new one, I'd much rather be on a first-name basis with some local shops, wouldn't you? The answer you're probably looking for is "I buy all my stuff here, but unfortunately it's not that easy. That's a good way to spend too much money. While constantly making posts here asking where to get the best price on x would be frowned upon a bit, asking for help on what to get isn't. As long as you're being realistic about it and not expecting a full-range rock band PA for $500 or anything! There are tons of people on this forum who are great resources to use for anyone just starting out to anyone at a professional level. Some of us have been doing sound for a few weeks, and are looking for advice ourselves... others have been doing it for 30-40 years! Odds are, there's no situation you're running into that someone here hasn't run into in the past... and they'll be more than happy to help you out with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lucho_84 Posted December 30, 2003 Author Members Share Posted December 30, 2003 thanks x...but the truth is i've bought audio and instrument gear online at aj pro percussion, american musical, audio east, drums etc, ebay, guitar trader, midwest percussion, music 123, musicians friend, sam ash music, same day, and zzounds. Most of theses places have really great service. And I always buy the product wherever it's cheaper. I guess I should start taking that into consideration though. Thanx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeromus-X Posted December 30, 2003 Members Share Posted December 30, 2003 I always used to buy online because you can always find it cheaper somewhere else... the Internet is great for that. What it's not great for is speedy returns on items. Take computers for example. I work for (and basically am co-owner of) a local computer store here. We can't touch Dell's prices when they have a good deal -- there are occasionally full Dell systems posted for as little as $299! If you factor in the cost of the motherboard, processor, and Windows itself that's below our cost, not even considering all the other components (case, drives, etc)! We sell a similar (better) system, with a few better components and a few things that the Dell doesn't have (a modem, for one, and a floppy drive) for about $499. Most people say "Goddamn, $200 difference... hellllo Dell". Then, three weeks later, their CD-ROM breaks. They call Dell for warranty work, and Dell tells them they'll send them a prepaid UPS label and to send the computer back, and they'll fix the problem. A friend of mine went through this recently. He got his computer back approximately two and a half weeks later. Worked great, sure, but that's two and a half weeks! If, on the other hand, he bought it from me locally, he'd have brought the system in and I'd have swapped out the drive in under five minutes, and he'd have it back. Sure, this example doesn't really justify the $200 difference to most people -- but what if this is a business computer? Or if you're taking classes online? You're screwed without your system for two weeks! And if you bring it in to me, sure, I'll get to it as soon as I can... you're in queue behind about six or seven other systems at any given point in time. Bought it from me and you've got priority. If that's important to you, it's something to consider. If not... it will be someday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lucho_84 Posted December 30, 2003 Author Members Share Posted December 30, 2003 i agree to a certain extent; however, i know of a store here in houston and i can put an entire cpu together with way better components than dell, gateway,etc. for less than $300 i know of a lot of guys who prefer the same thing as you do. but when it comes to price people don't care. also, not everyone's situation is the same. i use my computer everyday as much as kids watch tv and i can do all my stuf alone. i can also wait weeks for a companie's service b/c i have extra parts just sitting here. but hey, this is a music forum not a computer forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted December 30, 2003 Members Share Posted December 30, 2003 Originally posted by lucho_84 sweet...what do you own now? what's in your rack? what do you have onstage? do you buy equipment because of how it's treated you over the years or based on friend's recomendataions? Ok,lets see what is currently in them. I have two racks and run sound on stage currently. I have a 12 space SKB rack and an SKB mini-gig rig that sets on top. Bottom 12 space rack -QSC PLX 3002 (for subs) -QSC PLX 3002(for mid/high cabs) -QSC PLX 3002(spare or second sub amp in large or outdoor shows -Soundtech two-way stereo crossover -Peavey 215FLS main EQ (with feedback locating) -DOD Frequency Analyzer and noise generator Top Mini-gig Rig -Tascam CD160 rackmount CD player -Soundtech PS802 monitor amp -Digitech Studio 100 vocal effects processor -Peavey 215FLS EQ (with feedback locating) -Behringer UB2442FX Pro(less than a year old with three breakdowns already. Looking elsewhere,especially at the Soundcraft Spirit E and M series,as well as possibly a used Peavey RSM4062) That's all I can think of at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeromus-X Posted December 30, 2003 Members Share Posted December 30, 2003 lucho_84, Analogy. Analogy, lucho_84. I don't think you two have met. Fine, let's put this into a music perspective. It's the future, and you've got a decent rig built. You bought a good majority of it at your local mom-and-pop store, even though they're a bit more expensive. You're putting on a show for a well-paying band (or group of bands) tonight. You've run through the rig at your house and everything sounds great. You toss it in the truck and drive an hour to the gig. You get there three hours before the show is supposed to start. It's 7:00 PM on a Sunday night. Thirty minutes pass and you've got the racks and stacks ready to go. You fire it up and the poweramp does nothing at all. Completely dead. You check fuses, cables... it's toast. You call up that local mom-and-pop store that knows you well from all the purchases you've made, and they make arrangements to get you a loaner poweramp for the show. They drive it out to you because you don't have time to make the trip back and forth. You install it and the show goes on, and you get paid. Scenario 2: You bought your entire rig from some place online. Who knows where they are; that's none of your concern. You've managed to save quite a few bucks. You've got a really big show coming up, and you pack the truck and head out. It's 7:00 PM on a Sunday. You get to the show and your 2kW poweramp doesn't fire on. You check everything and no go. You proceed to be screwed, and try to salvage the show by calling everyone you know who might have a poweramp. You end up having to either call off the show or postpone it and have another sound company fill in for you. You have a bad reputation from here on out as having 'unreliable gear'. On the way to the show, the other sound company you're getting to run things hits your dog and sleeps with your wife. Which of these scenarios would YOU like to happen to you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lucho_84 Posted December 30, 2003 Author Members Share Posted December 30, 2003 lol. that's kinda' funny. but i understood the first time i'm just pulling your strings. but now i back you up even more. you're right. buy the gear and they'll know ou and treat you good cause of the business you bring them. i bought about 1/2 of my drumset at guitar center(even though some of their stuff is a rip off b/c of the price)(i mean prices like $250 at the store instead of $150 online) and one of the dudes who sold me my tama set knows me like the back of his hand. i've spent about $3000 at that store the past year and a half and he hooks me up sometimes. when i'm in a bind he lends me stuff as long as i return it to him clean and as good as new.... on a different note. i'm always buying gear for my bike(dirt jumping bmx) on ebay as well as paintball gera. i find cheaper stuff there using the "buy it now" would you use this? i mean mean savings dude. i bought 2 15' studio pro monster cables about 6 months ago and paid $85. they go for $100 + tax at any store if not 5 or 10 bucks more. i can sell those cables for 80 bucks straight up and make an easy 60 dollars. that's the good thing about ebay. same with my sm57's i've been drumming for about 6 or 7 years and have always been interested in pa gear contrary to the replies posted in that one topic full f bassist's that all own the band's gear. i plan on buying a sweet pa and pursuina career in sound engineering(sound tech) and opening a studio with a road crew to do shows and stuff. so any info i absorb now is helpful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted December 30, 2003 Members Share Posted December 30, 2003 I've been using Carvin PA gear for 10 years and none of it has ever let me down, ever. Current mixer is a C1644P, it works as advertised. Granted, I don't have the experience of some guys here, but my Carvin PA experience has been overwhelmingly positive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lucho_84 Posted December 31, 2003 Author Members Share Posted December 31, 2003 well gcdef...what's in your rack? and what knda amps and speakers do you use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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