Small PA Mixer with sweepable mid eq ? - Recommendations?

[adammm]

Hi,

I need a small PA mixer, but I'd really like sweepable mid eq, , which is not to be had in many of the smaller mixers (my max budget about £350, possibly £400)

I also need onboard reverb

I previously had a small soundcraft EPM8 mixer (with sweepable mid), but this was dropped and broken.

These mixers are nice but a little outdated now, i'd prefer something more like a yamaha or mackie in nature (more solid state, plastic rather than metal etc) but their smallish models, 8 channel have basic mid only.

Also, the Soundcraft mixers are maybe not very tough and hardy for the road.

Any product spring to mind?

Thanks for any suggestions !

Adam

[adammm]

hang on.....maybe this....the Soundcraft Signature 12 Analog Mixer

it IS a soundcraft again...but a plasticated model, with fx ? a bit more portable than the metal cased one i was using before

(which crashed to the ground with a great thud, never to function again when a daydreaming guitarist wandered off across the room with his lead still plugged in).

anyone used this model ?

[Mike Stranks]

Each to their own and all that, but I'd prefer a metal mixer any day of the week to a plasticised one.

You haven't mentioned how many mic inputs you need/want, but I'm guessing it's 8. There are numerous examples from Soundcraft, Allen and Heath, Yamaha etc. Presonus have recently entered the analogue market and I've liked their mixers in the past - both from a usability and aesthetics standpoint.

You mention Mackie... I've always found build-quality a bit variable with them and had one (not mine) die on me immediately pre-gig. The dreaded ribbon connectors again...

I've just bought a small(ish) Behringer mixer on an offer-price. Very impressed so far and the mic pres are certainly better than Behringers of yore. Oh yes; it does have swept mids.

[Bob Bickerton]

Allen and Heath would be worth a look, but there’s lots of options, including Soundcraft, Yamaha, Presonus and Mackie.

It’s worth noting that any mixer will break if you drop it, plastic more so......

Bob

[Hugh Robjohns]

It’s worth noting that any mixer will break if you drop it, plastic more so......

You say that... but I was once carrying a Yamaha DM1000 in front of me, walking into a TV studio and I tripped on a door strip. Being so front heavy (and the mixer made that worse! ), I went sprawling forwards and the mixer came down to the floor with a heck of a crash. Obviously, I feared the worse... but it worked perfectly when I dared to power it up, and continues to work perfectly to this day.

Having said that and angered the audio gods, I now expect it to die any moment...

H

[Bob Bickerton]

Having said that and angered the audio gods, I now expect it to die any moment...

H

Surely not Hugh, the audio gods are more likely to be waiting until you’re using your DM1000 in a super critical live project - the resultant failure will be worse than death

Now I’m thinking ....... SOS should do a drop test on all gear they review ....... sounds like you have the prerequisite skills to undertake the work .....

Bob

[Hugh Robjohns]

It's tempting. I can think of a few review items recently I'd like to drop-kick around the place...

H

[Mike Stranks]

1974... just bought my first 'proper' tape-recorder - a Tandberg 1500 series - and almost had to take out a mortgage to buy it. Had it about 3 weeks when a 'helper' dropped it down some concrete steps... only casualty was the bulb in the meter-light. Phew!

[adammm]

Thanks all of you for your replies so far.

Yamaha, yes, a great make, but no sweepable mid within my price range (or am i missing something)

Presonus....above budget....but some interesting digital recording features that spark a bit of interest

Behringer, yes, fits price and feature demands , though i slightly worry about the cheapo slave labour sweatshop getting lots of features but not quite being good enough aspect of that brand

Could be that Soundcraft EFX8 , metal thing, could be the way to go....and *not drop it this time*.

Or stretch up to the Presonus StudioLive AR12 USB 12-Channel Hybrid Mixer at about £450, but the extra cost is really going on it's digital recording/playback/blue toothy type features, which is another thing altogether, but could be handy.

[Sam Spoons]

Allen and Heath Zed series are always worth a look, the Zed 14 has 6 mic inputs and is around £350, the Zed 16 has 10 and costs around £460, both have sweepable mids.

[MarkOne]

Thanks all of you for your replies so far.

Yamaha, yes, a great make, but no sweepable mid within my price range (or am i missing something)

Pretty sure the MG16XU (around £380) has sweepable mids.

[Mike Stranks]

Thanks all of you for your replies so far.

Yamaha, yes, a great make, but no sweepable mid within my price range (or am i missing something)

Pretty sure the MG16XU (around £380) has sweepable mids.

It does... as does the straight MG16...

I've used - and owned - several variants in the MG series from the 24s to the 2s. I like them a lot. That said, I'd go for a ZED if the budget allows...

[Drew Stephenson]

Was going to suggest the MG16, can be had for less than £400 with a bit of looking.
I know it's still a swear word to some people (and other forum members have had bad experiences) but I've now had three Behringer Xenyx mixers (still have 2) and they've all been faultless - despite having handled the vagaries of regular open mics (and beginner users!)
The newer ones have the Klark Teknik effects processors as well, which sound pretty good in my experience.
I have also had a PA speaker fall on one and it hasn't missed a beat.

But I'd probably still go for the yamaha if I could get hold of it!

[adammm]

hi
dammit you are right MarkOne...the MG16XU (around £380) has sweepable mids.

the only reason i hadn't checked that was because (a point i had not specified) i wasn't originally thinking in terms of that size and number of channels.

However, if i'm on for lugging it, that comes in on budget and with the required spec !

Also, the recommendation for the zed series looks attractive when i look at the (slightly smaller in dimensions than MG16XU, i think) alan and heath zed-12 fx (which is for some reason absent from gak's online store it seems, so i had on;y spotted the zed 14fx)

Both very promising, even though these options either have more channels or more cost than i might have had in mind. but we all know about that upward oriented mission drift that creeps in

Perhaps i will get one of these, but keep a tiddly little mixer handy for small performances where it seems almost absurd to set up a big mixer, when you just want a bit of reinforcement and a mic or two (sort of thing i do a fair bit of)

I think it might be a consideration of the quality of the basic things, such as quality of the mic pre-amps and eq, that might be a determining feature between the two options i mention above.
If anyone has a view from experience on this, i'd be interested to hear it

regards
A

[adammm]

It also worth noting (in case this issue is important to anyone)

that soundcraft efx8 still comes in as the *physically smallest* pa mixer with both a sweepable mid and onboard reverb, and proper faders, not just pots for channel level.

I literally sometimes end up having this stuff on my back, and instruments in my hands, so it is a factor

[Sam Spoons]

I doubt you'll be disappointed with the mic preamps in any of those mentioned. I'd expect none to be inferior to the Soundcraft you had. I have experience of A&H Zed series desks and have been impressed with sound and build quality. But, just to throw a curve ball into the equation (is that possible.....) A few years ago I bought a Mackie DL1608 and have since added three Behringer desks (X32 Compact and Rack and an XR12) to my inventory. My only analogue desk now is an old Mackie 1202VLZ which I mostly use as a loaner. The Berry desks are excellent and have more facilities than you can shake a stick at. The Berry XR16 fulfils your requirements and goes way beyond with 8 x mic and 8 x line inputs, stereo mains plus 4 x monitor sends and all the processing you could dream of. It costs around £400 so is in budget too........

[Mike Stranks]

Good call 'Sam'.... I'd been thinking the same, but had forgotten that the XR16 could be had for that money...

[dickiefunk]

Allen & Heath Zed 10FX - Sweepable Mid, Reverb, Metal chassis, very decent audio and £239.

http://www.allen-heath.com/ahproducts/zed-10fx/

[resistorman]

Perhaps i will get one of these, but keep a tiddly little mixer handy for small performances where it seems almost absurd to set up a big mixer, when you just want a bit of reinforcement and a mic or two (sort of thing i do a fair bit of)

regards
A

For a “twiddly little mixer’ I have the 12fx and it’s really quite nice and inexpensive.

https://www.soundcraft.com/en-US/produc ... gn=notepad

[adrian_k]

It also worth noting (in case this issue is important to anyone)

that soundcraft efx8 still comes in as the *physically smallest* pa mixer with both a sweepable mid and onboard reverb, and proper faders, not just pots for channel level.

I literally sometimes end up having this stuff on my back, and instruments in my hands, so it is a factor

Hi,
That is exactly why I bought the EFX8. Two things annoy me about it - no mute lights and no overall aux output level so can't kill the monitors easily (in the end I bought an external control).

But I think in general it's a good workhorse and the EQ works well.

I use a small Yamaha MG8/2FX for solo gigs. No sweepable mid and reverb isn't that great, but v light and small.

cheers
A

[adammm]

Thanks again all of you for your ongoing contributions.

Just a couple more points about the fairly small/low budget soundcraft desks

It seems that the 'signature' series, which are apparently prices at a very similar level to their earlier desks with effects, such as the EFX8, does incorporate some more and newer features (for very little more money).

This includes limiters on some channels.
And some USB connectivity features for recording with a separate DAW
This video also talks about 'asymetric' mid eq, which boosts by a broad range of frequencies when boosting, but cuts on a narrow range when cutting.
I don't know if this is 'old hat', or something that is different on the 'signature' series desks from the sweepable mid availabe on earlier designs such as soundcraft efx8

here's a video i just watched about it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHPlymkY_Zg