Help Me Pick A Mixer

gotmule? · #1 07-11-2011, 03:20 AM

So I am starting to assemble my own PA system and so far, I have 2 RCF Art312A speakers with a powered mixer and 4 passive Phonic speakers. I am hoping to soon buy 2 more powered speakers along with an unpowered passive mixer. This will mostly be used for a 2 man acoustic band myself and a friend of mine have just put together. We will also have a bass player occasionally playing with us, so at most, I will need about 5 inputs for this band (3 mics for vocals and 2 inputs for guitars). This will also be used for a 4 piece classic rock band that has 2 guitar players, a bass player, and drummer that I will be doing sound for. They have 3 vocal mics and as of now, I will not be mic'ing any instruments or have any amps going into the PA. Also if possible, I would like to try to do some recording with this mixer. I am not sure which mixer will be best for me, but have limited it to a few options that I think will work best. My budget is about $500 (give or take $50 or so). Thanks! And if anyone knows of any mixers that would work for me that are not on here, please feel free to include them.

MuzikMan · #2 07-11-2011, 03:56 AM

I voted for the Allen and Heath ZED 12fx but to keep things in perspective you should know that it is the only one on your list I have experience with. I used it with a three piece classic rock band for 2 years and I LOVE that mixer! It sounds fantastic (I can't emphasize that enough) for a mixer of such a low price. The sliders feel like a mixer of a more pro level. The effects are plenty good enough for a live situation. The USB is neat but I never found a good use for it. With that said if you have an interface you can use the inserts on the ZED 12fx to send a nice clean signal for multi-tracking.

I have heard that the Soundcraft mixers on your list are of equal quality to the ZED line but I wouldn't consider your other choices to be contenders. Happy hunting!

oerk · #3 07-11-2011, 04:15 AM

Voted for the Yamaha because it has six channels with built-in compressors. They work well for a one-knob compressor and are really useful on vocals, bass and kick drum.

Geddyfleaharris · #4 07-11-2011, 09:07 AM

I use a 16 channel A & H MixWizard so I voted for the A & H. Soundcraft are decent too but the A & H just has an awesome sounding mic preamp. They are very popular in my area.

Jimbob Jones · #5 07-11-2011, 09:27 AM

I'm an A&H man too, with the Soundcraft coming as a very close second.

Manndreas · #6 07-11-2011, 10:33 AM

Count me in on the A&H also. I have no experience with that particular board, but the sound company I work for have a GL3800 which I love using.

gotmule? · #7 07-11-2011, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MuzikMan

I voted for the Allen and Heath ZED 12fx but to keep things in perspective you should know that it is the only one on your list I have experience with. I used it with a three piece classic rock band for 2 years and I LOVE that mixer! It sounds fantastic (I can't emphasize that enough) for a mixer of such a low price. The sliders feel like a mixer of a more pro level. The effects are plenty good enough for a live situation. The USB is neat but I never found a good use for it. With that said if you have an interface you can use the inserts on the ZED 12fx to send a nice clean signal for multi-tracking.

I have heard that the Soundcraft mixers on your list are of equal quality to the ZED line but I wouldn't consider your other choices to be contenders. Happy hunting!

I had a feeling that this would be the most popular mixer, the only thing I'm worried about is that it only has 6 xlr mic pre's. Has there ever been a situation where you needed more than that? I probably shouldn't but I was just wondering what I could do in the event that I did.

MuzikMan · #8 07-11-2011, 11:26 AM

I understand that deciding on the number of channels required can be difficult but you have to draw the line in the sand somewhere and stick with it. For me the six channels was fine. I decided that before I bought it. If our band needed more we would hire out sound for the night.

gotmule? · #9 07-11-2011, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MuzikMan

I understand that deciding on the number of channels required can be difficult but you have to draw the line in the sand somewhere and stick with it. For me the six channels was fine. I decided that before I bought it. If our band needed more we would hire out sound for the night.

Very true. Thank you for the help. It sounds like I might have found a mixer, but if anyone else has any other thoughts, please share.

Barisaxman · #10 07-11-2011, 03:30 PM

Get as many channel strips as you can in your budget....IME you'll always find yourself coming up with a reason to use one more channel than you have available. I can't even fit most groups I play in or run sound for on a 16 channel board...but I'm not into no instruments/drums in the PA except for acoustic/coffeehouse gigs.

gotmule? · #11 07-11-2011, 09:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barisaxman

Get as many channel strips as you can in your budget....IME you'll always find yourself coming up with a reason to use one more channel than you have available. I can't even fit most groups I play in or run sound for on a 16 channel board...but I'm not into no instruments/drums in the PA except for acoustic/coffeehouse gigs.

Well I'll probably start putting instruments into the PA once I get subs, but that might be a few years away. In that case, do you think I would be best with the PV20?

agreatheight · #12 07-11-2011, 10:06 PM

A&H has the best pres - imo. If you need more channels, so be it - the rest of the mixers are all decent or better, so pick the ones with the features you need.

Barisaxman · #13 07-11-2011, 10:29 PM

Is used an option for you? If so, there are some smokin' deals on older Mackie SR24's that will give you lots of mixer for that price point (thinkin' 6 aux sends, 20 xlr channels, etc.) and give you something to grow into. I used one for several years and loved everything about it, until I went digital. Speaking of, if you'd like to dip into digital mixer territory, you can find original Yamaha 01v boards for about 500 bucks. Just keep in mind that they're not supported anymore so parts are becoming a bit harder to find.

gotmule? · #14 07-11-2011, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barisaxman

Is used an option for you? If so, there are some smokin' deals on older Mackie SR24's that will give you lots of mixer for that price point (thinkin' 6 aux sends, 20 xlr channels, etc.) and give you something to grow into. I used one for several years and loved everything about it, until I went digital. Speaking of, if you'd like to dip into digital mixer territory, you can find original Yamaha 01v boards for about 500 bucks. Just keep in mind that they're not supported anymore so parts are becoming a bit harder to find.

I will continue to look used, but so far, I have been unable to find a lot. I have not looked for the SR24 or the Yamaha, so I will look for those and see what I can find.

stingraysvt · #15 07-11-2011, 11:18 PM

Not sure if anyone else suggested this, but Yamaha O1V96

It comes with 12 XLR inputs and 4 bal 1/4's

But what is best, you can expand it to 24 channels (8 outs) by adding an ADAT lightpipe pre i.e. Presonus, behringer, then should you need more outs / ins just buy the MY16 ADAT expansion card and add another Presonus, behringer, pre. (32 in's Max, 40 counting stereo returns and 8 out's Max, 10 counting stereo LR) plus it's 19 inch rack mountable!

It also has built in gates, comps, parametric eq's on in's and out's and 4 stereo efx that can be routed to stereo returns so you don't burn up any channels on the returns.

Kind of a learning curve (if you're not familiar with Yamaha or audio in general) but you can save settings from club to club although that kinda stuff changes less than you might think.

Very good sounding mixer and a Swiss Army Knife of included capabilities.

Best of all! No external processor or efx patching! It's awesome! Coming from a Bass Player/ Sound Guy/ Light Guy/ whatever else... No wonder I drink so much at gigs!

Munjibunga · #16 07-11-2011, 11:19 PM

I use the Mackie ProFX12 for my trio, and it's perfect for that. Three vocal mics, three instrument inputs, and we're all set. The on-board effects are halfway decent, and it's got input for an iPod. It also has USB out to record a stereo mix. I run it to a couple JBL PRX 612Ms.

If heard good things about the A&H ZED, too.

stingraysvt · #17 07-11-2011, 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MuzikMan

I understand that deciding on the number of channels required can be difficult but you have to draw the line in the sand somewhere and stick with it. For me the six channels was fine. I decided that before I bought it. If our band needed more we would hire out sound for the night.

Wise beyond your years! Otherwise you'll wind up like me and own a sound company! But that's another day, another story!

philter25 · #18 07-12-2011, 12:09 PM

The new Mackie ProFX16 looks like it has good options. Im currently using the 1604 VLZ3 but I believe they have different preamps. Id really like to take the ProFX16 for a whirl and see how the compression is for vocals and how their preamps sound compared to the XDR2's in the VLZ3 series. I like a little reverb on vocals so the built in effects are also nice. Plus, it has 2 aux sends with master volume control so you can have 2 seperate monitor mixes. And the EQ section gives you more options with the midrange.

Another option is consider the A&H ZED 14. If you dont need the FX on the 12FX, the 14 gives you 2 additional channels..... and its 100 bucks cheaper!

You might want to head to a local store, plug in a few mics, and play with the preamps and see how they sound to you.

Another thing to consider if in the future, you are planning on 2 powered speakers as your monitors, are you going to want seperate aux controls for each monitor, or are you going to be fine with 1 monitor feed. Are you going to want master volume controls on both monitor feeds?

Another option is the Mackie 1402-VLZ3. They can be had used for $250ish. 6 mic/line inputs with 4 stereo/line input channels. Brand new for $399.

No Malarky · #19 07-12-2011, 12:25 PM

We like the Cuisinart SM-70.

4Mal · #20 07-12-2011, 06:14 PM

I would love to play with a larger version A&H board but ... I've been using Yamaha in my PA for a long time and it's been bullet proof. Channels and aux sends have a way of finding uses. IMO - stay in Yamaha and up the channel & aux count as best you can.