Favorite Small Mixer

[BoB/335]

Originally Posted by dcopper

My latest fav is an Alesis iMultiMix 8. It may not be as state of the art as A&H, but certainly on par with Mackie, etc. (IMHO, I like it much better than my Mackie DFX6, and my old 1202 vlz pro.)
The cool thing is the built in iPod dock with a playback/recording options, which records to the "voice Memo" function. There are on board controls on the board for the iPod for convenience too. For solo/duo small group performers, it is an excellent board. The onboard effects are as good as any onboard effects on a mixer IMHO. I pop in the iPod and record the night right from the board. CD Quality recording and very simple.
FWIW,
davidc

Thanks for mentioning the Alesis. I've heard a lot of good coming from them. Nice feature with that Ipod.

[geokie8]

Originally Posted by BoB/335

I need to know what this means:

"ZED-10 and ZED-10FX feature two innovative ultra high impedance discrete Class A FET (Field Effect Transistor) inputs, which allow an instrument to be plugged directly into the mixer, emulating the valve/tube input circuitry commonly found on instrument combos or amplifiers. There is also a 26dB gain boost switch, which caters for instruments with very low output pickups."

That sounds like electric guitar talk to me.

It sounds the same to me, but I don't think it's anything worrisome. They're only on channels 3 & 4 so you could easily bypass them if they didn't produce the sound you were after (i.e., 2 acoustic guitars into channels 1 & 2 and two vocal mics on 3 & 4).

Here is what appears on their brochure:

"Inputs 3 & 4 have a high impedance jack input capable of taking either a normal line level or a low line level input from a guitar pickup.

"These newly designed inputs have been crafted with the aim of replicating the sound of a classic guitar or instrument pre-amp in a combo or head amp . . . employed to give the valve-like gain stage . . . overdrive characteristics of the guitar inputs are very similar to a valve (tube) circuit. . . wonderfully natural sound to be reproduced from the instrument, full of warmth and character."

I would probably A/B my acoustics on channel 1 & 3 to see what sounded best and put the vocals on whatever channels were left. Heck, you may decide you like the "warmth and character."

Hope this helps,

geokie8

[BoB/335]

Originally Posted by geokie8

It sounds the same to me, but I don't think it's anything worrisome. They're only on channels 3 & 4 so you could easily bypass them if they didn't produce the sound you were after (i.e., 2 acoustic guitars into channels 1 & 2 and two vocal mics on 3 & 4).

Here is what appears on their brochure:

"Inputs 3 & 4 have a high impedance jack input capable of taking either a normal line level or a low line level input from a guitar pickup.

"These newly designed inputs have been crafted with the aim of replicating the sound of a classic guitar or instrument pre-amp in a combo or head amp . . . employed to give the valve-like gain stage . . . overdrive characteristics of the guitar inputs are very similar to a valve (tube) circuit. . . wonderfully natural sound to be reproduced from the instrument, full of warmth and character."

I would probably A/B my acoustics on channel 1 & 3 to see what sounded best and put the vocals on whatever channels were left. Heck, you may decide you like the "warmth and character."

Hope this helps,

geokie8

Thanks! Those details makes it seem clear that my assumption was right. I'm just surprised that they put that on their small mixer instead of the larger mixer which is more apt to be used for a band situation where an electric guitar is more lkely to be used. I will try again tomorrow to give them a call.

[ferg]

Originally Posted by BoB/335

Thanks! Those details makes it seem clear that my assumption was right. I'm just surprised that they put that on their small mixer instead of the larger mixer which is more apt to be used for a band situation where an electric guitar is more lkely to be used. I will try again tomorrow to give them a call.

Maybe the logic is that, in a larger situation, people are less likely to go direct?

[ferg]

Well, I got my Zed 12 FX today (a day earlier than Fedex had originally said on their tracking!). I have this to say - amazing.

I'm honestly not going to bash Behringer here. In fact, I really, REALLY contemplated buying one of the new FX USB mixers after my unpleasant experience with the Yamaha MG124CX. I still think that's a worthwhile endeavor if you find yourself a little cash-strapped.

But boy, oh, boy am I already in love with it. Here are some of my initial impressions from messing with it in my bedroom with headphones:

First off, I'm not sure it belongs in the "small mixer" discussion. It's not tiny, by any means (the top surface is roughly 18" x 15"), but it's still what I consider portable. It's very solid, but, for its size, I wouldn't call it heavy. In fact, I'm not sure it's that much heavier than the MG124CX with its giant power brick (this has an integrated power supply). I bought a padded softside case for the MG124CX (gator), and this should fit in that perfectly (that bag is at my rehearsal space, and I'll find out tomorrow).

Secondly, the build quality is fantastic. Everything about it exudes quality: The way the knobs turn so smoothly and (in the case of the pan and EQ) snap in into the center position; The way the faders glide up and down; The way the input jacks slide in smoothly, then securely snap into place.

Thirdly, this thing is DEAD quiet. I mean dead. There is NO noise. I've never had a big issue with the noise from other mixers I've had. The Behringers were actually pretty quiet on the signal chain, but they either had wall warts (the smaller ones) or fans (a little noise - not noticeable in a live setting, but still). The Yamahas had no fan (just the wall wart) and were very quiet, but not like this - I'm talking dead silent. I have a footbass (footbass.com - no affiliation, just like it), which I plugged into one of the line inputs on the mono channels and cranked it. I heard NOTHING until I hit it...at home using headphones with the thing cranked...NOTHING. I guess this is actually a testament to both the footbass and the Zed.

Fourthly, the mic preamps are noticeably better than those on the Yamahas and Behringers I've used. I'm not going to say that they are ridiculously better or that, say, in a coffee house setting it would be significant, but it's noticeable to me. I was really enjoying the sound of my EV N/D967 mic, and I didn't think I cared for this mic much.

Finally, the effects. This is where this thing, IMO, is head and shoulders above the other units I've used. I LOVE the fact that I can choose a Delay+Reverb and use the parameter control to set the room size of the reverb and TAP IN a small delay. It's beautiful. Now, I believe the new Behringers actually allow you to do this as well, but the quality of the effects is also fantastic.

The Behringer X1222USB offers, more or less, the same feature set, minus the sweepable mids but plus channel compressors on channels 1-4 and a 7 band graphic EQ on the mains for ~$220. This thing has a MAP of $499, though they can be had for a bit less (PM me if you want to know where I got mine), but I tell ya, I don't recall a time I was more excited about a purchase. I think I'm probably done mixer shopping for quite some time (sort of - I may pickup a small Behringer w/ effects for my home karaoke needs...I don't need my drunken neighbors getting near this puppy).

I also tracked down a used QuikLok laptop stand that servers as a great stand for this sucker.

Note: I have no affiliation with footbass, A&H or the place that sold me mine - honest. I've just had very good experiences with all of them.

[Kabalan]

i always come back to my old mackie micro series 1202( 17 years old)
i add a lexicon reveb unit.
for a while i used an alessis with efects,,, nothing to do with mackie´s quality
Eblen

[Bobby1note]

Well, I went to my dealer yesterday, to see the new Soundcraft Notepad 124FX. Nice unit for someone who's looking for "compact". I elected to think things over before taking the plunge. What I'm currently looking for is something with the size of that Soundcraft, with the features of the Zed10FX.

I already have a Soundcraft EFX-8, which is not a lot bigger than the Zed10FX, and roughly the same features, but more channels. Tough call.

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by BoB/335

Many of us have discussed using a small mixer whether we use powered speakers or a "line_array" type of setup.
A few specific makes and models have been mentioned from time to time throughout a few threads without having gone into any specifics.
The ones that I have seen mentioned are:
Behringer XENYX 1202FX
Yamaha MG82CX and MG124CX
Mackie 802-VLZ3
Soundcraft Notepad 124FX
Allen and Heath ZED12FX and the new 10FX

And variations of those with different amount of inputs and with or without effects.

So what are your thoughts of those who have experienced these or any others to add on the list? Price? Sound? Build Quality? Usable Effects? EQ?

Also anyone know what the ZED10FX is all about?

ZED-10 and ZED-10FX feature two innovative ultra high impedance discrete Class A FET (Field Effect Transistor) inputs, which allow an instrument to be plugged directly into the mixer, emulating the valve/tube input circuitry commonly found on instrument combos or amplifiers. There is also a 26dB gain boost switch, which caters for instruments with very low output pickups.

Is this feature geared towards electric guitars plugged in direct without an amp? That's what it sounds like. What would that feature do for an acoustic guitar?

Well, a couple of days ago I got a Bose T1 ToneMatch Audio Engine mixer. This is designed to mate up with any of the Bose L1 systems BUT it works with any system. The T1 has a great effects set and plenty of EQ power too. It's a bit pricey at $500 plus a $35 power supply but it's very compact and lightweight and offers up great tone and flexibility for a total of five inputs, three with XLR/1/4" combo inputs. My Bose L1 Compact, with or without the T1 Audio Engine, is free of extraneous electrical noises except for a bit of pink/white noise up in the line array--no 60 cycle hum or other electrical noises. Most likely, if a player doesn't own a Bose L1 system, they'll look at other mixer alternatives but the T1 will no doubt give very good results with any system requiring inputs for two or three performers.

I also own a Mackie 802VLZ3 Compact Mixer, a Mackie DFX-12 Mixer, and a Behringer Eurorack UB802 that have given me satisfactory, troublefree results.

Regards,

SpruceTop

[ferg]

Well, I tell ya...I keep finding more and more reasons to use more inputs...

Again..acoustic duo...2 voices, 1 guitar, and percussion (which entails now mic'ing a cajon and a conga). We used to just move one mic on a boom between the conga and cajon, but since I've got spare mics, we now mic them separately. Lately, though, my project is installing pickups (plural) into the cajon. The thing about the cajon is that it's designed to simulate both snare and bass, so I need to 2 pickups, mounted in different locations that can be EQ's differently. So, the way I'm planning on wiring it all up, we're not using up 6 of the Zed 12 FXs inputs (1-6)...2 for vocals, 1 for guitar, 3 for percussion. If I ever introduce the Harmony-G XT into the mix, we'll be using more...gladder and gladder about not going smaller...

[Bobby1note]

Originally Posted by ferg

Well, I tell ya...I keep finding more and more reasons to use more inputs...

More inputs is almost always good, especially if you only have one mixer. I've got four of them, ranging from a 16 channel MixWix3 16;2, to a 2 XLR/ 4 channel Soundcraft Compact 4.

The Soundcraft Notepad 124FX would be ideal for an acoustic duo, looking for an ultra-compact set-up (9"x9"), but.........no aux send for a monitor mix, and no swept mid EQ. I suppose I could live without the aux send, and simply use the FOH mix for my monitor, but a swept mid would have been nice, and should have been easy to do. They could have used a CombiCon jack instead of separate XLR/1/4" jacks for the mono channel inputs, in order to save real estate.

The Notepad series replaces the Compact series (Compact 4/ Compact 10). Those mixers had the CombiCons, so it's not as if this was a new concept. The Compact series even had a Hi-Z switch on some of those inputs (D.I.), which the Notepad series omits.

[mike o]

Although not for all situations, you folks might want to check out the Bose T1 mixer. Works perfectly for our duo.

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by mike o

Although not for all situations, you folks might want to check out the Bose T1 mixer. Works perfectly for our duo.

+1!

I tried my new T1 last night for the first time into my new Bose L1 Compact and I'm in love with it! Such great flexibility and versatility in a small package that is also easily used with other types of speakers. Although it's expensive and has a small number of inputs (5), it's a super mixer for a solo or duo!

Regards,

SpruceTop

[tayloralf]

Thanks for the review on the Zed 12fx. I currently own a Yamaha Stagepas 500 and am looking around for another small mixer to expand the number of inputs. How well will the Zed 12fx work as a "sub-mixer" going into the Stagepas?

[ferg]

Originally Posted by tayloralf

Thanks for the review on the Zed 12fx. I currently own a Yamaha Stagepas 500 and am looking around for another small mixer to expand the number of inputs. How well will the Zed 12fx work as a "sub-mixer" going into the Stagepas?

Any mixer, really should work fine with the StagePAS. For quite some time I used a Yamaha StagePAS 300 as my PA and a Behringer 1204FX going into it. I just went from the main outs into one of the stereo channels on the StagePAS.

The Zed 12 FX is a pretty good-sized mixer with lots of inputs and routing options, so, it may or may not be more than you need, but I know speaking from personal experience the effects will blow away the ones built-in to the StagePAS.

[BoB/335]

You probably only need a small mixer with just a couple more inputs most likely. However, to be carrying around an extra piece of gear would probably a temporary thing and you should probably be considering what direction you "might" be going in the future when deciding on this mixer. If you plan on upgrading the whole system in the future then you should be considering how many inputs in total you will need so that you don't have to be carrying around 2 mixers. But in answer to your question, any mixer can be used as a submixer.