Suggest a fairly straightforward mixer for beginners

[Ralph Manak]

I have experience with most of the mixers mentioned (with the exception of the Depusheng), and with minor differences in feature sets they all will work fine in a rehearsal room. If you're more clear on all functions you want it to perform (2-track or multi-track recording, use on some gigs, etc.) that might narrow the field. The Zoom Livetracks are feature-rich, have an iPad app that helps, mixes can be saved, and having more monitor mixes can be a real help (IEM rehearsals, recording...).

 

[Kipp Harrington]

Thank you for all the input, guys! I will keep these suggestions in mind. I’m really leaning toward the Zoom L-12. I understand it is probably made with cheaper components, but it will be my first mixer and it appears pretty “user-friendly”. But the ability to record rehearsals (or anything else) is a great option for me. I haven’t heard many reports/reviews regarding live mix sound quality, so I’m hoping it’s at least decent. If I ever start gigging places, I will probably go with a Yammy, Soundcraft, or A&H mixer. Thanks again for all the suggestions.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

@Kipp Harrington I’ve rehearsed with a band that used the Zoom L12 and played with another band that records and plays live using the Zoom Live Track L-20r.
I find the interface easy to use and sound quality very good

Thank you! This is what I want to hear!

 

[Mannyinnewyork]

I've got this. Sounds good and very flexible.

 

[micguy]

One of the things you need to know before you buy something is how many and what kind of inputs you need. Nowadays, a 14 channel Mackie (which is a good board) has 6 mic inputs, and 4 stereo line inputs. That's "sorta" 14, but in reality you can only plug 10 things into it, and only 6 can be microphones. Other brands often do the same kind of thing (more or less), so you need to mentally add up how many mics you need to plug into it, how many mono or stereo line things you have (a guitar or bass pedalboard or a keyboard are examples of this) and compare what you need to what the mixer actually has.

 

[Sam Evans]

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MXP144FX--samson-mixpad-mxp144fx-mixer-with-usb-and-effects

That's what I have. Quite happy with it.

 

[4StringDave]

Wait! I have a 12FX and it has a USB out for recording. It’s a very nice little unit.

https://www.soundcraft.com/en-US/product_documents/notepadusermanual_v-1-0-pdf

Maybe it's just the EFX8 that doesn't have it. Good news.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

One of the things you need to know before you buy something is how many and what kind of inputs you need. Nowadays, a 14 channel Mackie (which is a good board) has 6 mic inputs, and 4 stereo line inputs. That's "sorta" 14, but in reality you can only plug 10 things into it, and only 6 can be microphones. Other brands often do the same kind of thing (more or less), so you need to mentally add up how many mics you need to plug into it, how many mono or stereo line things you have (a guitar or bass pedalboard or a keyboard are examples of this) and compare what you need to what the mixer actually has.

This is sound advice! Thank you!

 

[DonaldR]

Zoom Livetrak L12 is a nice little mixer for home. Plus it has built-in headphone amps.

If you go with an analog mixer, don't forget to add:

1. a graphic eq to ring your room
2. a second reverb/delay for acoustic guitar or background singers
3. 1-3 compressor for vocals and acoustic guitars
4. a rack to put all those things together
5. a power strip to power all those things
6. I assume you are not micing the drums. If so plan to add 1-2 compressor

You can see that going analog might be cheaper at first but it can come pricey once you add the gear that is part of a digital mixer. So if you go analog I suggest (even if it's not what you are intending to do) you go used. There's a lot of old but good stuff for nearly free.

 

[Bonecat]

Not as simple perhaps, but if you scour around you can find the Behringer/Midas XR-MR digital mixers in that price range. I bought my Midas MR18 for $450 a couple years ago. (Admittedly a great deal.) It served as my band’s only mixer for a year before we relegated it to backup/rehearsal duties. Sounds plenty good enough, pretty straightforward to use (Particularly with Mixing Station), and a deeper set of useful features. There’s a learning curve but it’s not difficult and is something that will serve your needs for a long time. If you stick with analog, I’d recommend Soundcraft - I’ve owned a couple and they’re tough and sound very nice.

 

[Stylee Mousse]

Zoom Livetrak L12 is a nice little mixer for home. Plus it has built-in headphone amps.

If you go with an analog mixer, don't forget to add:

1. a graphic eq to ring your room
2. a second reverb/delay for acoustic guitar or background singers
3. 1-3 compressor for vocals and acoustic guitars
4. a rack to put all those things together
5. a power strip to power all those things
6. I assume you are not micing the drums. If so plan to add 1-2 compressor

You can see that going analog might be cheaper at first but it can come pricey once you add the gear that is part of a digital mixer. So if you go analog I suggest (even if it's not what you are intending to do) you go used. There's a lot of old but good stuff for nearly free.

I can’t count the number of band rehearsals we did completely successfully without any of that outboard. Including and especially a graphic eq for the room.

It’s not needed unless you need huge volume to fight with amps turned up too high for the room. Match bass to kick, guitar/keys to that and add vox.

No NASA ground control system needed!

 

[micguy]

Zoom Livetrak L12 is a nice little mixer for home. Plus it has built-in headphone amps.

If you go with an analog mixer, don't forget to add:

1. a graphic eq to ring your room

You'll get much better results ringing out a room with a parametric EQ - a graphic can only get kinda close to the right frequency, a parametric can be dialed in to the precise frequency that needs to be cut.

 

[Mike Caldwell]

The mentioned small Mackie VLZ mixers are solid small table top mixers as are the Allen Heath ZED series.
If you do plan on taking out a mixer like those to play live you will need to look at some outboard equipment, good news is there is a lot of that selling cheap these days.......bad news is it's more to take to a gig and get set up, yes I did analog mixers for years along with the rack or racks of insert equipment.

Analog mixers let you kind of visualize the routing and set up while most digital mixers that will be in a menu and that can be helpful when jumping to a digital mixer.
You may want to start on an analog mixer but you soon will be looking for something digital.

 

[eniac]

The mentioned small Mackie VLZ mixers are solid small table top mixers as are the Allen Heath ZED series.
If you do plan on taking out a mixer like those to play live you will need to look at some outboard equipment, good news is there is a lot of that selling cheap these days.......bad news is it's more to take to a gig and get set up, yes I did analog mixers for years along with the rack or racks of insert equipment.

Analog mixers let you kind of visualize the routing and set up while most digital mixers that will be in a menu and that can be helpful when jumping to a digital mixer.
You may want to start on an analog mixer but you soon will be looking for something digital.

Kipp, please take the last line of Mike's advice to heart. I strongly suggest you start on a low-end digital mixer and get your feet wet in that world. Better to learn the technology now while there's little to no pressure, than to put it off and then have to absorb it all in a (relative) microsecond when you're suddenly forced to.

 

[erayser]

Kipp, please take the last line of Mike's advice to heart. I strongly suggest you start on a low-end digital mixer and get your feet wet in that world. Better to learn the technology now while there's little to no pressure, than to put it off and then have to absorb it all in a (relative) microsecond when you're suddenly forced to.

I kind of agree with this from my recent experience... I've had my digital mixer for a few months, and I'm still watching videos today learning about this thing. It wasn't a plug and play out of the box kind of mixer for me... but I'm having a lot of fun learning new things from practicing, rehearsing, and playing with friends at home. Now I have a better idea of what the sound guys are doing and asking for when I play live. I guess an analog mixer is good to learn as a beginner??? but then... I would just be a beginner again upgrading to a digital mixer... which I still feel I am.

 

[DonaldR]

You'll get much better results ringing out a room with a parametric EQ - a graphic can only get kinda close to the right frequency, a parametric can be dialed in to the precise frequency that needs to be cut.

Totally agree, but OP is asking for a "straithtforward mixer for beginners" and graphic EQ is easier and cheaper for a beginner.

 

[DonaldR]

I can’t count the number of band rehearsals we did completely successfully without any of that outboard. Including and especially a graphic eq for the room.

It’s not needed unless you need huge volume to fight with amps turned up too high for the room. Match bass to kick, guitar/keys to that and add vox.

No NASA ground control system needed!

And I can't count the number of those bands where there was feedback from the mics...

 

[DWBass]

Somebody bought us one of these...not sure why...for our rehearsal space: Amazon.com

Surprisingly, it sounds pretty good for the intended purpose. I'd look for something analog (used) locally on-the-cheap or free.

Riis

I have the 4 channel version. Pretty nice little board.

 

[DonaldR]

Kipp, please take the last line of Mike's advice to heart. I strongly suggest you start on a low-end digital mixer and get your feet wet in that world. Better to learn the technology now while there's little to no pressure, than to put it off and then have to absorb it all in a (relative) microsecond when you're suddenly forced to.

Totally agree. I played with most digital mixer softwares (Behringer, Mackie, Soundcraft) for months in demo mode to be comfortable with all the screens, and I'm coming from a nice analog mixer and outboard gears.

It's probably a bit limited according to OP needs, but I scored a Mackie ProDX8 for $100 4-5 years ago. It's probably the most straightforward digital mixer for a beginner. You can go easier than that, but only 6 mic preamps. I suggested a Behringer Flow8 to a friend and he's very happy with it.

 

[Stylee Mousse]

And I can't count the number of those bands where there was feedback from the mics...

You are right DR! Also…Lotsa bad drivers out there too! You don’t have to be one .

I’m just pointing out that there are a ton of fundamentals to learn like proper mic and speaker placement, gain staging, etc that you should learn to do correctly before cutting up a room eq into a mess chasing feedback.

As a sound tech that worked as a house guy for venues and for bands I can’t count the number of bad room eq jobs that needed fixed in order to mix properly. Yes, I’d put them back to whatever goofy setup I walked in to…

Cloud rant over!