Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Depends on what you call budget.. on the low end, the Alto TS2 stuff is pretty good... the EV zlx stuff is nice but more expensive. Yamaha or QSC is a step up
Nice! I've been looking at the AR 16 as a small footprint analog alternative to my SL16.4.2.
Electro voice has a promotion on right now with their ZLX line. 50 bucks off I think. They'll work great for small gigs for sure.
Electro voice has a promotion on right now with their ZLX line. 50 bucks off I think. They'll work great for small gigs for sure.
So far I'm really impressed with the AR16.
- it shipped with rack ears and looks sized to fit a 19" rack
- I've been able to very comfortably use it as a DAW audio device set to 128 samples (though it will go lower if you think you need too) and run many midi tracks via the computer
- integration with StudioOne is super tight
- it's very easy to access the strips from inside the DAW
- preamps sound so clean, there's no noise. I tested recording with my SM57, Beta58, Rode NT1 and my Ibanez ATK jacked right into the AR16's instrument Jack. Very convenient to have an instrument input!
- I really am impressed by the analog mixer which can then route in USB from the computer or route a copy of each strip back out
Some things I learned that I had to dig for while shopping:
- the SD card is stereo master bus, which means post fader. I need to test it out, but effectively if you run your bass DI in a small or medium live stage situation but you are still running your amp though a bass cab, you probably won't have bass going through the PA and that fader won't be turned up, so it's not necessarily getting into the mix. On the plus side, you can bring your laptop and multitrack it pre fader
- it shipped with rack ears and looks sized to fit a 19" rack
- I've been able to very comfortably use it as a DAW audio device set to 128 samples (though it will go lower if you think you need too) and run many midi tracks via the computer
- integration with StudioOne is super tight
- it's very easy to access the strips from inside the DAW
- preamps sound so clean, there's no noise. I tested recording with my SM57, Beta58, Rode NT1 and my Ibanez ATK jacked right into the AR16's instrument Jack. Very convenient to have an instrument input!
- I really am impressed by the analog mixer which can then route in USB from the computer or route a copy of each strip back out
Some things I learned that I had to dig for while shopping:
- the SD card is stereo master bus, which means post fader. I need to test it out, but effectively if you run your bass DI in a small or medium live stage situation but you are still running your amp though a bass cab, you probably won't have bass going through the PA and that fader won't be turned up, so it's not necessarily getting into the mix. On the plus side, you can bring your laptop and multitrack it pre fader
