drickner wrote: ↑Sat Mar 18, 2023 8:40 pm
Other consoles I've looked at are the Tascam Model 12 or 24, soundcraft SI series. 90% of the time, I'm doing small live events, but there are a
few times where I want to do 12-16 track recording. We have AH SQ6 at the church, but I can't afford one of those for myself.
Those Tascams are just analog desks with audio interfaces - none of the benefits of a digital desk.
Soundcraft Si will feel quite a letdown compared with the SQ you're used to.
I've said elsewhere that it's really between X/M32 and SQ for desks with a surface in the sub £10,000 market these days.
However, if you're out doing live events on a budget, I'd now be mixing on glass with a stagebox mixer every time. With what you lose with having no physical controls, you gain in reduced kit, not having to run a multicore (or even cat5), and not needing dedicated FOH space - all of this counts for a lot in many events. It feels scary at first, and you need to be network literate, but the benefits soon outweigh the drawbacks. I spent years feeling I was fighting with my 01v96 but, the day I got my XR18, everything fell into place.
There's a much wider choice of these but, for the budget conscious, and your channel count, it's really between XR18 and UI24R. You'll hear arguments either way, but it really is swings and roundabouts - they both do a cracking job on a budget - as well as shrinking the pack size hugely. Try out the software for both (Mixing Station works on both, and UI has a web-based interface that's like Marmite). Just make sure you use an external router/access point (the internal routers in all these mixers will let you down at the worst times)