New Small Mixer Day

[jjbigfly]

You were warned in the other small mixer thread……carry on…There is a possibility of a sprinkling of DRY HUMOR, which is so close to sarcasm that you could consider that it may be that….

This is the much requested hands on review of the NEW Beringher FLOW 8 compact (small) mixer.

Not sure how much info you folks want, so I will jump in and you can skip the boring parts. Fed X guy comes into the shop, acting like it’s just another day, hands me the box, a plain unmarked cardboard box, in which the NEW Beringher FLOW 8 compact (small) mixer for people who like and use this type of stuff.
Now, let me interject here that I do not actually have any (accepted) formal education in either product reviews (but I have a lot of products) or electronics, but I know a guy whose girlfriend’s cousin use to play in a band and he knew how to plug everything in and all that stuff…

I am going to jump right into this review, but I DO have pictures of the box from the Beringher company with the mixer inside it, and pictures of the mixer out of the box. Just trying to cover all the bases here. I dislike (ok, hate) reviews that do not include necessary information for people like us.

First off, it has a big knob and a couple of small ones. Buttons you can push and sliders that slide and everything changes depending on the knob, sliders and buttons that you push. I found the controls (knobs, buttons and sliders) easy to use, and while there are those who will insist the knobs, buttons and sliders feel bad, and could have been machined out of solid bar stock (and anodized in YOUR favorite colors) and custom fitted to the users fingers…but I was able to use them well enough to operate the Beringher FLOW 8 Mixer so that the noise I was making sounded SO CLOSE to actual music.
It has lights, and I like lights, so this is a nice feature. Before I get carried away (by those in the white coats) I feel I should make mention of some of the missing features the many of us consider necessary in a mixer console (cooler word than desk, huh?).
It is NOT self powered. No generator is included, though it does have a wall wart that plugs into the wall. No, there are no batteries inside either. Now, seeing as how the actual wall wart terminates (just love these 50 cent words) in a mini plug , like, say, the one you may be recharging your vape or Bluetooth speaker with (4/20 WAS indeed yesterday). Just sayin is all. Going to assume a power bank is going to make this mixer portable!
Some of the buttons could have been bigger and easier to read and perhaps with language options, but manufacturers never listen to us. Nor is there any stage lighting arrays built in. The case is fashioned of metal, and it’s silver only. No color options.
I assume many readers have tuned out already due to the lack of needed controls, but I will carry on for the few remaining.
I feel that I should get into the technical aspects for those of you still here. Some folks may think I am only focusing on the negative issues here in order to warn you away from the product, but I am only trying to be up front about the product.
First thing I did was plug it in, plug in the Mic to channel one and the acoustic/electric instrument (it’s a guitar) into channel 3. I started with the Mic controls and got to the point that I could thump the mic (Shure SM7) and the speaker made a similar noise (Bose S-1 pro). Looking good now, Vern. Same thing with the instrument, but I was was strumming the strings instead of beating it with my fist (it’s a nice instrument), but I was able to get the instrument sound to come out of the speaker. Now, it’s getting good! I really wish some of you were here to share these moments with me….

How did it sound? Bad, that’s how. I have been around a while, so I have a basic understanding of what these mixers actually do. If the sound is not what you were after you can utilize the knobs, buttons and sliders to ALTER the sound you are hearing out of the speaker! Incredible. Yes, I was able to adjust the sound to something that I considered acceptable. Yes, I realize that I could have put it back in the box and returned it instead of messing around with all the things it does, but, not this time. This mixer (desk, console, sound shaper) was starting to make sense, so I kept at it.

Now i don’t know about all those weird symbols for electrical impulses and things like compression, but I do know that if you fool with them long enough, it sorta sounds like music. Nice music I might add.

Seeing as I only have two days off I will get to the good stuff and perhaps expand on the review at a later time (which we all know will not happen), but protocol is what it is.
The mixer seems quiet so far. Adjustments (basic) are easy enough, but I went ahead and jumped in with BOTH EARS (feet maybe?). That’s right, I stripped out of my comfort zone and downloaded (not a techie) the Bluetooth app on my own personal iphone, an Apple 12 Pro Max in the blue color and things started to get , well, hinkey. A mixer control face appears on the screen. I moved a slider on the app and the Mic got louder, but did not sound like what I was used to, so I touched the channel 1 section on the phone screen and discovered a FOUR band EQ, compression, gain, phantom power, balance and so on. It is done with a graph that takes up most of the screen (just touch the screen away from the EQ and it goes back to the main control screen. Exact same operation with ther instrument channel. Sounding better now… Touched the MAIN output icon on the control screen and found an 8 band EQ in there. This is where is gets really strange. As I am playing and singing (multi talented but please do not be intimidated) I discovered that you should be able to adjust your sound you hear out of the speaker to whatever you like. And if you do not like the sound, you can change it! WOW!
The mixer has effects (which seem fine for now, but I am still fooling with settings. But I think they will be fine.
The EQ sections are really easy to use, but you need to have the app installed on a phone or tablet.
I was able to easily adjust the sound to what I was used to hearing without diving into multi layered menus and getting lost. Fine adjustment was not difficult either.
Small footprint is an accurate term here.
I think this features this mixer has will work for most of us. I have used many mixers and I will say this seems as good as any of them, for me, anyway.
If you have the need for a decent mixer that will allow you to make easy adjustments to your sound you should consider the Beringher Flow 8.
This was one of the easiest mixers to set up and use that I have been around. If you are playing out, you should look at this unit. A MIXER, power bank, Bose S-1 pro and Mic along with a few cables in a small bag in one hand, Mic stand and instrument in the other will make for a one trip load out nice.
Think of an acoustic duo to in the forest, or a full on Concert at the campsite…..
Or, it could live on your desk at home.
I am impressed with this unit. I think it was well worth the price, even considering that it does not have everything you can dream up built in and included in the box.
I would suggest that if you have a need for a small mixer that works well, get the Beringher Flow 8.
GET OUT THERE AND PLAY MUSIC! Is this not the reason we do all this?

[jjbigfly]

And…no, I was not compensated in any manner from the manufacturer for this review (and unboxing), but I am open to that. So…call me.

[Bookstorecowboy]

Thank you for this review. I like the strong, quirky personal voice.

[shufflebeat]

I normally prefer a dryer text with numbers, bench tests and graphs but enjoyed your report.

I’d love to hear further thoughts once you’ve lived with the BF8 for a while. I’ve been considering picking one up just to have in the armoury but could never quite justify it to myself.

[jjbigfly]

Thanks for the comments (old thread though).
I thought the mixer was very good, well worth the price (but I ended up auctioning it off to raise funds for the forum).
Once in awhile I feel like being nice…..

[Bookstorecowboy]

I just got mine and your post will help me approach it patiently.

[Chipotle]

Originally Posted by Bookstorecowboy

I just got mine and your post will help me approach it patiently.

And carefully. Make slow, steady movements so as not to startle it. Maybe have a few treats to toss it so it knows you're friendly.

[jjbigfly]

Nothing worse than a small mixer that goes vicious…..