Soundcraft EFX 8 vs Allen & Heath ZED-10FX

[ntik]

Hello, We would like your help. Allen & Heath ZED-10FX vs Soundcraft EFX 8.which of the two is the most suitable for acoustic guitar?

[SLG]

I have the Allen & Heath ZED-10FX and have been quite happy with it. I would like to hear others' experiences with the Soundcraft mixers with the built-in Lexicon processors.

[lschwart]

This are both good quality small mixers, and either will work nicely for acoustic guitar.

The EFX8 has more inputs and a few useful features that the ZED does not have (in particular, it has channel insert points and mute buttons for each channel). On the other hand, it's larger and heavier--although not all that much.

The ZED has two High-Z inputs that can be very useful for plugging a pickup in directly without having to use a DI. It also has a USB port, so it can be hooked up directly to a computer and used as an interface.

Some people prefer the effects on the EFX8 to those on the ZED, but I think they both sound good--especially if all you need is a little reverb and/or delay. The controls for the effects on the EFX are more conventional and easier to use and adjust than those on the ZED, but I have no trouble with the ZED myself--it just took a little rethinking. The layout of the EFX is less cramped than the ZED and it has sliders which are nicer and a little easier to use than knobs (part of the trade-off that comes with size).

I used my ZED just yesterday at a small local outdoor arts sale with my guitar (using a Baggs M1) plugged directly into one of the High-Z inputs and a mic in channel one. I hooked it up to a single RCF 312a, going out of just the left channel. A little of the reverb with the "color" adjustment set toward the warm side, mixed in about 30%. A great, simple, and very nice-sounding set up for a solo acoustic performance. I used it on Friday night to send acoustic guitar and 3 vocals to the RCF for a small coffeehouse gig with my full band. I've been using this system for a while now for these purposes, and I have to say that it's one of the best PA purchases I've made. I imagine it would be pretty much just as good with the EFX8, a bit bigger, but with more inputs in case I had company or wanted to mic more pieces in the band (right now I have a bigger PA for that, so I don't need the extra inputs).

Hope that helps.

Louis

[ntik]

ie with Allen you do not need di box?

[lschwart]

Originally Posted by ntik

ie with Allen you do not need di box?

Yes, the 1/4" inputs on channels 3 and 4 of the Allen and Heath ZED10FX have a 10 M-ohm input impedance, and will take the signal from a passive guitar pickup without a DI box. They also have a gain boost switch that can add 26 dB to the signal for weak pickups or for an overdrive effect with electric guitar (the preamps in these inputs can be made to distort in a pleasant way). I find that these inputs work very nicely with my Baggs M1, and I don't need the gain boost. The EQ controls are very nice for adjusting the sound of the the pickup, too. I've more or less stopped using my Para Acoustic DI when I use the ZED, except for when I need to be more than 10 or 12 feet away from the mixer (the signal then needs to be balanced, so a DI is still necessary for that so I can go into the XLR input on these channels).

Louis

[ntik]

if you have an active system on the guitar;

[ntik]

the soundgraft have not di box,boost,and 10 M-ohm input impedance in some channels?

[lschwart]

Originally Posted by ntik

if you have an active system on the guitar;

As I understand it, you don't usually need a DI box with an active system because the impedance is usually low enough to go directly into a mixer's input--unless you need to go a long distance and need the balancing function.

But it won't matter with the ZED10FX. Either sort of system will work just fine.

Originally Posted by ntik

the soundgraft have not di box,boost,and 10 M-ohm input impedance?

Yes, that's right. The EFX8 does not have these functions, and the ZED does.

Louis

[ntik]

which of the 2 has a better equalizer?

[lschwart]

Originally Posted by ntik

which of the 2 has a better equalizer?

Both have very good EQ.

Louis

[ntik]

Originally Posted by lschwart

Both have very good EQ.

Louis

my friend, what do you do, after, connecting the guitar;

[lschwart]

Originally Posted by ntik

my friend, what do you do, after, connecting the guitar;

I'm not sure I understand your question.

Louis

[ntik]

Originally Posted by lschwart

I'm not sure I understand your question.

Louis

guitar-di box-allen health-and PA?or something else?

[lschwart]

Originally Posted by ntik

guitar-di box-allen health-and PA?or something else?

For solo guitar and vocal gigs, when I can play just a few feet away from the mixer, I plug my guitar pickup (a passive L.R. Baggs M1) directly into the 1/4" input jack on channels 3 or 4 of the ZED10FX, and I hook the main output of the mixer up to a single RCF 312a powered speaker. That's it. Sounds very good for small gigs.

When I have to play farther away from the mixer, I plug the guitar pickup into an L.R. Para Acoustic DI and from there into one of the XLR mic inputs of the ZED. The rest is the same.

I don't have one, but if I were using an EFX8, I would use a DI or a DI/preamp (probably the Para Acoustic DI, because I've got one). Everything else would be the same, and I think the sound quality would be comparable.

How you would do it would depend on what pickup system you're using.

Louis

[ntik]

Originally Posted by lschwart

For solo guitar and vocal gigs, when I can play just a few feet away from the mixer, I plug my guitar pickup (a passive L.R. Baggs M1) directly into the 1/4" input jack on channels 3 or 4 of the ZED10FX, and I hook the main output of the mixer up to a single RCF 312a powered speaker. That's it. Sounds very good for small gigs.

When I have to play farther away from the mixer, I plug the guitar pickup into an L.R. Para Acoustic DI and from there into one of the XLR mic inputs of the ZED. The rest is the same.

I don't have one, but if I were using an EFX8, I would use a DI or a DI/preamp (probably the Para Acoustic DI, because I've got one). Everything else would be the same, and I think the sound quality would be comparable.

How you would do it would depend on what pickup system you're using.

Louis

thanks my friend