Mixer Recommendations

[ebe9]

Hi guys.

I apologise if I am asking questions that have been asked several times before. I have done a search of the forums but was not 100% in what I was actually looking for.

Anyway, here goes.

I am looking to get a small mixer, 8 channels or less, into which I can run a Pre-amp. I will at a later point be looking to run more equipment through it, hence the 8 channels or there abouts.

I am looking for something that is decend quality that will not break the bank but I am prepared to spend a little more if it means that the sound quality will improve, as I am wanting to use this for recording purposes into a computer.

So basic rundown of what I am looking for:

- 8 Channels (there abouts)
- Low Noise for recording
- Preferably under US$285

I was having a look at the Alesis MultiMix 8USB as it seems it would do what i need it to, however I did find some less than encouraging reviews about it.

Also, one final question, as far as Mixer manufacturers go, who can be recommended in terms of quality. E.g. When buying a home stereo system, one knows that you usually can't go wrong with Sony, Panasonic etc regardless of what you buy in their range. Who would be some of the equivalents as far as mixers are concerend?

Thanks in advance.

 

[ebe9]

Bump.

Does nobody have any suggestions?

I have been doing a bit of research and have come up with the following mixers that should suit my purposes.

- Yamaha MG8/2FX
- Yamaha MG10/2

Both have pretty decent write ups on musiciansfriend and seems to be pocket friendly.

So any input would be appreciated on any other mixer I might want to consider, or any input on the two that I am looking at would be appreciated.

 

[srxplayer]

Yamaha MG series are good products. They will perform favorably for you and are put together well. Should be fine for basic recording & live sound support. You shouldn't go wrong with one of those.

Keep in mind that in the price range you are talking about you are not going to get perfectly quiet channels and never experience any bleed over from other channels. It's less important if you are doing live sound but if you want pro level recording these are not the products to do it with. If you are looking at flexibility for a product to handle some live sound duty and then hook up to firewire interface and do a basic demo recording these should be fine.

You could also look at some of the small SoundcraftEPM Series, Macki DFX & VLZ models and the Peavey PV Series. These are are all around the price range you are talking about.

The Alesis products are available in with USB & firewire but I have no experience with them.

I would suggest that you go with a few more channels than you need and make sure you have enough XLR / mono channels to cover everything. Many mixers are sold as 8 or 12 channel but only 4-8 of the channels are actual mono channels and the the others are stereo 1/4' inputs and you use two per channel so that turns an 8 channel mixer into a 4 channel. Stereo hook up's aren't always usefull for live sound if you need that. I have only used the stereo hookups for keys and cd / mp3 players. I have always found that sooner more than later I need to hook up more instruments or vocals than I have channels for. It never fails.

I hope I helped you a little.

 

[ebe9]

^^ Thanks, finally a post, alonmg with some useful info.

I am primarily wanting to use equipment (I am getting an EBS MicroBass Preamp) for home recording.

I do not want to invest huge sums of money in something that might not turn out as planned.

But as a first foray into the recording field it seems like these mixers would surfice. As for more channels, The 2 Mono should be fine at this point as I plan on only recording myself and maybe adding a little drum machine at a later point.

Esentially I would be running the Stereo outs of the mixing board into my computer soundcard and using Audacity and Creatives Wave Editor to adjust them and mix/match/multitrack.

I did have a look at the mackie and soundcraft gear on musiciansfriend but unfortunately they are not readily available where I am, I have thus far only seen Yamaha and Alesis, but think Yamaha might be the better bet as I trust the brand more.

Thanks.

 

[KarateKid25]

Mine is the Yamaha MG10. So far im having a bit of trouble using it, but that is just my NOOBness. I can get it all installed and monitor my sound etc... only prob is I can't yet work out how to playback my recording and be able to hear it

On the topic of the mixer though... It seems like a nice bit of gear. The construction is relatively tough and the knobs feel good. Nothing loose etc.. Also came with bundled cubase le software and power adaptor etc. Obviously I would be a lot happier if I could work the thing!! But thats my fault, not the units!

 

[ebe9]

Mine is the Yamaha MG10. So far im having a bit of trouble using it, but that is just my NOOBness. I can get it all installed and monitor my sound etc... only prob is I can't yet work out how to playback my recording and be able to hear it

On the topic of the mixer though... It seems like a nice bit of gear. The construction is relatively tough and the knobs feel good. Nothing loose etc.. Also came with bundled cubase le software and power adaptor etc. Obviously I would be a lot happier if I could work the thing!! But thats my fault, not the units!

Thanks for the info.

I am actually looking at the Soundcraft EMP6 or the E Series 6as a mixer of choice as they seem to be pretty decent in terms of build quality and also the features that they offer seem to fit in with what I want.

 

[Timecrash]

we are using a Yamaha MG10/2 in our home studio and we are looking forward to get rid of it! thats because the EQ circuit is not worth that money(yeah I know its not expensive either, but we had expected something better) and it doesn't have "mute" switch on it! also faders are replaced with knobs so it doesn't feel like a mixer