Topic: Fave budget mixers

[batchain]

I was wondering what people's recommendations would be to do a board/mic matrix mix. I know I could get a UA-5 for this but as this event I'm working on recording is only for a few days I was hoping to find something more economical. Battery power and phantom power would be nice but not a requirements. I see all sorts of things out there from Mackie, Samson, etc., but I know very little about mixers. I only need something simple to mix a line off the board with two mics.

Thanks.

[anodyne33]

sampson mixpad. can be had for < $100 used and the mic pres sound really good (yeah, i meant it), at least with 110v power.

[mmmatt]

sampson mixpad. can be had for < $100 used and the mic pres sound really good (yeah, i meant it), at least with 110v power.

only problems with the mixpads IMHO are that they have no metering, and the mixpad4 has only 24v phantom. I had a mixpad9 and the phantom was 48v but one switch for all channels.  It is nice to have at least a clip light on each channel (actual meters on each is best), a pair of main out meters, and a volume adjustment for the headphone outs.  Mixpads don't have any of that.  Other than that they are nice for the $$$.  I ran a Behringer MXB1002 for my first mixer and I made some great tapes with that  here is a sample (actually my very first matrix and other than 2 board patches my first tape)  http://www.archive.org/details/jacc2004-03-18.flac16
     I then moved to a Mackie ONYX 122O which I really like a lot and still have.  It is bulky for a 12chan mixer but the pre's and electronics in general are very nice.  You can also add a firewire card to it so you can multitrack straight to a laptop down the road.  The metering on the Mackie is spectacular including full meters on each channel and solo buttons so you can monitor each chanel individually.  This feature is nice if you have noise on one of your lines but aren't sure where it is.
     I've also used  an allen/heath mixwiz and a mackie vlz mixer and I think they both sound like complete ass.  I may be getting one of the newer Sampson MDR mixers  http://www.samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodID=60&brandID=2  for webcasting without the Mackie because they have better metering than the mixpad line, and they are pretty tiny.  I assume the pre's are same or better than the mixpad pre's but I haven't played with one to find out.

matt

[batchain]

Thanks for the help. I'm leaning towards a Tapco Blend 60 or a Mackie DFX-6. It looks like for the money the Tapco may be hard to beat.

[eric.B]

I found the samson mixpad to be noisy..

[Roving Sign]

Key feature: Peak light on each channel trimmer...

I've been using the Yamaha MG10/2 for a while...nice meters...

http://www.yamahaproaudio.com/products/mixers/mg10_2/

[Chuck]

I just went through this. I got the SoundCraft Spirit E6. It's great, with sweepable mid eq, pre and post sends and the most useful feature, solo on all input channels. I've seen them go for $150 on eBay.

I just found this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Soundcraft-Spirit-E8-Mixer-Mint_W0QQitemZ260012251806QQihZ016QQcategoryZ23785QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[georgeh]

got a question, you alll are refering to the pre in the mixer. I assume this means if i want  to use my pre (m148) it gets over riden by the mixer???
i've been thinking of picking one of these up myself.
thanks

[Chuck]

You can always run line in after your outboard pre-amp into a mixer.

[mmmatt]

I just went through this. I got the SoundCraft Spirit E6. It's great, with sweepable mid eq, pre and post sends and the most useful feature, solo on all input channels. I've seen them go for $150 on eBay.

I just found this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Soundcraft-Spirit-E8-Mixer-Mint_W0QQitemZ260012251806QQihZ016QQcategoryZ23785QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

This seems like a nice unit! I'll 2nd the usefulness of the solo feature.

Matt

[poorlyconditioned]

What do you think of the Soundcraft "compact4".  This has four mic inputs with 48V phantom, and runs from 12VDC.  Approx. $100 street.

It is a bit large (very thin, but quite wide), but seems like a good bet for field use.

Any comments on the pres?

  Richard

[Chuck]

I haven't cracked open the case on the E6 (yet) to see what's in there, but the pre-amps sound OK to me. I haven't given them a real good workout. They are quiet.

I haven't used the compact4, but I'm generally leery of those smaller mixers. I listened to a lot of them, the Yamaha, the Peavey, Behringer, Mackie, Alesis... I liked the features and sound of the SoundCraft best. Of course when I was looking, my price point was $150, so that limited me.

The SoundCraft has long throw faders, vs small knobs on the other units. I do think the compact4 has solo buttons, which is a huge plus in my book.

[Roving Sign]

I'll second the usefulness of solo buttons...the one thing my mixer lacks...a huge plus if you matrix...

Wish someone would come up with a "solo" mod for the UA5...

The Spirit looks like the best unit...But - What is the word on faders?...I always thought they would be more prone to dirt and gunk getting in them...Knobs were actually something I was looking for...

[mmmatt]

I'll second the usefulness of solo buttons...the one thing my mixer lacks...a huge plus if you matrix...

Wish someone would come up with a "solo" mod for the UA5...

The Spirit looks like the best unit...But - What is the word on faders?...I always thought they would be more prone to dirt and gunk getting in them...Knobs were actually something I was looking for...

faders are just so much easier to manipulate than knobs.  Eventually dirt and dust will find there way into either.

Matt

[batchain]

Hey folks. Thanks for all the info here. That Soundcraft Compac4 appears to be exactly what I was looking for, and size wise it appears to be not that much bigger than most other 4-6 channel mixers. Thanks all for the advice on the solo monitors. I can see where that could help a lot with doing a matrix. I believe I'm gonna snatch up one of these. And it's around $100...even sweeter.