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Live Mixer Suggestions

agreatheight

agreatheight

Dec 23, 2005
4,269
33
55
Portland Area, ME
#1
My new cover band will be ready to gig out by the end of the year and I am looking for recommendations for mixers. Unpowered with 10 xlr inputs is the goal (I think we will only need 8 but better to have extra in case) and useable compression & effects are a plus. Want something that will last and sounds good (but don't need top of the line, playing bars, clubs, parties, functions in Maine). What are you guys using? What would you recommend?

Thanks much!
 
#5
If you see an older Soundcraft Spirit 16 pass by, snag it. Decent mic preamps, 4 aux channels one of which feeds an onboard Lexicon FX section. Sorry, no compression. Should be $250 or under easily.

Edit: I see a couple sold on E-bay for ~$300...mmm, okay. Then again, a handful topped the $500 mark....mmmm, no. If you're gonna drop that kind of dough, get a MixWiz.

Riis
 
#6
JOOC, I went looking and found MixWiz 16:2 (British made) locally. I have no firsthand experience with this particular model but the price is right at $275 and negotiable. You'd have to add an FX engine (MidiVerbs are $50 used) but something along this line falls into place with your project IME.

Just a suggestion.

Riis
 
#10
A Mixwiz is really hard to beat for a small utility mixer. Four-band dual-mid-sweep "British EQ" is dang handy. They're small and durable. The suggestion of a used Soundcraft Spirit is a very good one also, but once you get to four-band EQ in a Spirit, you're probably into something larger than a Mixwiz, probably also with an outboard PSU, if that's a problem. The Spirit is also very durable and may be cheaper as they don't enjoy quite the long-term ubiquity of the Mixwiz.
 
#12
I see different versions of the MixWiz (1,2,3?) ... either preferred, and either less desirable ? .. thanks!!

.. also, I have seen a few of the Yamaha MG series 12-16 channels around for good prices ... the couple I have seen used seem to use decent preamps ??
 
#13
The newest series have individually assigned phantom power, but are essentially the same as the last series. I have the older one (3) with one master phantom and I like it very much. Paid $450 for it a few years back and it is rock solid.
 
#14
Ain't cheap but my Presonus studio Live 16.4 2 is great and you need no outboard gear and it really makes a great recording interface as well. Used in the 1000 to 1100 range. Well worth it Imo. If I were staying analog, it would be with a MIxWiz...
 
#15
Floyd Eye said:
The newest series have individually assigned phantom power, but are essentially the same as the last series. I have the older one (3) with one master phantom and I like it very much. Paid $450 for it a few years back and it is rock solid.
Click to expand...

I really don't like master phantom. I use condensers so I need the phantom power, but every once in a while I'll find some other component that makes nasty noises if it is fed phantom power. Admittedly, that's usually more with multi-media stuff than with traditional band equipment, but still I'd stick with the later ones that have the per-channel phantom control.

Both Soundcraft and Allen & Heath have units with decent pre's that are very nice value for the money. Use a 32 channel A & H at work, and it's been perfect for years - much quieter than the Ramsa it replaced.
 
#16
Major Softie said:
I really don't like master phantom. I use condensers so I need the phantom power, but every once in a while I'll find some other component that makes nasty noises if it is fed phantom power. Admittedly, that's usually more with multi-media stuff than with traditional band equipment, but still I'd stick with the later ones that have the per-channel phantom control.

Both Soundcraft and Allen & Heath have units with decent pre's that are very nice value for the money. Use a 32 channel A & H at work, and it's been perfect for years - much quieter than the Ramsa it replaced.
Click to expand...


Good point. The newer MixWiz is pretty readily available on the used market for the same price and there would be little reason to settle for an older board.

That said, if I was in the market for a new board I would be looking at the digital PreSonus boards. They can be had used at a pretty good discount and by all accounts they are the cat's @$$.
 
#19
JohnMCA72 said:
It's easy to use up channels & auxes. If you think you need 10 input channels & 2 auxes, MixWiz is probably a good choice.
Click to expand...

Very true...you can use up a lot of empty mic channels very quickly when re-assigning certain functions. I have one dedicated to FX (fed by Aux 3) and another tied to an MP3 player. While not absolutely necessary, I could dedicate two addt'l mic channels to monitors...sliders are a lot easier to manipulate on the fly.

I'm a small time operation but I'd be hard-pressed to look at anything <16 channels. It allows some flexibility in terms of expansion and that has proven to come in handy!

Riis
 

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