Best analog mixer +/- $200 ?

[capefisherman]

I presently have a Yamaha MG10XU that I've been using for a few years but I am searching for something a bit better for home recording. The Yamaha is a bit noisy and I don't care for the quality of the reverb regardless of which version I use. I know the best bet for that would be a good quality reverb unit but at this point I'm trying to keep the cost down. I need two channels with at least three EQ controls per channel. But the lowest noise factor is really the biggest thing for me, followed by the quality of the effects. thanks!

[philjs]

Try to find a 2nd hand A&H ZED 10FX...new they're a bit north of $300. Will hit all of your wants/needs (and then some).

Phil

[jamison162]

From a total sound quality perspective, I can recommend nothing but the Mackie VLZ4 series with Onyx preamps. I have not tried them, but if you want FX, the new ProFX now come with Onyx preamps as well I believe.

I've put my VLZ4 head-to-head with the A&H Zed series, Yamaha MG, and Soundcraft boards and the Mackie just sounds the best. Its quiet, plenty of power, features, the most balanced tonally, clean, and is built like a tank. Real metal, probably the heaviest all the ones mentioned here in a relative side-by-side.

Can't go wrong at all, I promise.

[capefisherman]

Originally Posted by jamison162

From a total sound quality perspective, I can recommend nothing but the Mackie VLZ4 series with Onyx preamps. I have not tried them, but if you want FX, the new ProFX now come with Onyx preamps as well I believe.

I've put my VLZ4 head-to-head with the A&H Zed series, Yamaha MG, and Soundcraft boards and the Mackie just sounds the best. Its quiet, plenty of power, features, the most balanced tonally, clean, and is built like a tank. Real metal, probably the heaviest all the ones mentioned here in a relative side-by-side.

Can't go wrong at all, I promise.

Thanks! I did check out the two Mackie models you listed. The 8-channel VLZ4 is very tempting especially with those pre-amps but the lack of effects is holding me back. I read a few reviews of the ProFX and in a couple of them they said it is somewhat noisy and that's what I'm trying to avoid. In any case, it probably just makes sense to buy a good quality reverb pedal and use that via the effect send and return on the VLZ4 as my guess is that a good reverb unit will surpass in sound quality of what is found on most mixers....but I could be wrong..... What is everyone recommending for a good reverb unit? Again, and sorry to repeat myself but the quieter it is, the better I like it. Thanks for all the input, no pun intended!

Gene

capecodacoustics.com

[B. Adams]

If you're just using it for recording, is there any reason you don't want an interface? There are a ton of 2-channel and even few 4-channel interfaces in your price range, and any DAW should have all the reverb and EQ you'd ever need right there in the box.

[Chipotle]

Originally Posted by B. Adams

If you're just using it for recording, is there any reason you don't want an interface? There are a ton of 2-channel and even few 4-channel interfaces in your price range, and any DAW should have all the reverb and EQ you'd ever need right there in the box.

This. It came up in another thread. For most home recording setups with an interface, you don't even need a mixer. You want quieter, removing something from the signal chain is always better.

[cdkrugjr]

For recording, consider going direct into your computer interface. An outboard interface will nearly always sound better than the sound card.

Everything you add to the signal chain is another opportunity to add noise and distortion.

Since you aren't hauling it around, I'd prefer a dedicated effects unit to built-in, which is yet another opportunity to introduce complication and noise.

All that said, I'm a HUGE fan of the Mackie VLZ series. Simple, straightforward, and have the wonderful Onyx pres, which are the best sounding pres I've heard for under $500/channel . . . Mind the $1,500/channel are AMAZING, but out of my budget . . . .

[MikeBmusic]

I'll echo what others have said ^^^ for recording, don't use a mixer, unless you are recording to a stand-alone recorder, in which case it can be handy. The A-D converters in mixers tend to be a little noisy (some have no separate 'volume' control, and the output is set by the Mains volume), and most are only 16 bit.

[Per Burström]

For home recording only, +1 on the advice on getting a sound card. I can recommend Focusrite, they are awesome.. I both have a 2nd gen 18i20 and a 3rd gen Solo.

That said, I am myself tempted to get a Mackie ProFX10v3 with onyx pre-amps to use for practice. According to reviews it's really quiet, but as a recording solution it has the drawback of only 2 channel USB.

Any owners of the ProFX10v3 on the forum?

/Per