bonzodog Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 After some advice please everyone. I play in a rock trio (me on bass, plus guitarist and drummer, and me and guitarist share lead vocals roughly 50/50). We play a lot of gigs but virtually all in pubs of around 80-150 people. We only use our amps, never mic up drums and just use a vocal PA for both vocals. This consists of two powered EV speakers and a mixer. The mixer is a very basic Lynx £50 job with only 4 channels but has done job reasonably well for a while. It has no built in effects so we use a separate rack in through the aux. We now want to improve on the mixer to get something with built in effects, some decent preamps on the channels and also a decent build quality. From asking in a couple of shops and general comments on the web it seems Yamaha are a good all round choice and we have therefore been looking at a couple of options as below http://www.gak.co.uk/en/yamaha-mg10xu-mixer/93199 http://www.gak.co.uk/en/yamaha-mg12xu-mixer/93213 Although we only do pub gigs we want a mixer that in the future may be able to handle putting amps and a couple of mics for drums if we ever need them, so we think 10 channels is minimum but there seems to be a huge difference in price between the two for not much reason. The main thing being the lack of faders on the first one How important is it to have faders against just dials? It doesnt say if the preamps on the 12 channel are superior to the 10 channel which is the main thing we would be looking for and they both have compression. We would not use the bus feature so can anyone else advise if the 12 channel is better for us? A halfway house maybe this mackie mixer http://www.gak.co.uk/en/mackie-profx12-live-usb-mixer/22742 Any tips or advice would be gratefully received Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratman Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 (edited) There are a couple of things to point out with the mixers you are looking at - when you say 10 or 12 channel, be aware that some of those are stereo channels. And you don't sound like you're using a big stereo keys set up on your gigs. So, as it sounds like you'll be using the channels in mono on a gig, the 10 channel mixer effectively becomes a 7 channel, and the 12 becomes an 8 channel. The Macke is only 8 mono channels. Something like this [url="http://www.dv247.com/studio-equipment/behringer-xenyx-x1832usb-18-channel-mixer-with-usb-audio-interface--71180"]http://www.dv247.com...nterface--71180[/url] will give you 10 mono channels at a decent price. I would say you should always get a mixer with a mid EQ on each channel, not just bass & treble. The mids are where the nice (and nasty) sounds are and you need control of them. Sweepable mids are even better, ie a parametric. You don't need loads of effects either, reverb and delay will be fine. The more aux sends you want (for monitors) the bigger the desk you'll need. Most smaller desks will have 1 aux only. It's usually the cheaper mixers that have knobs instead of faders, and no mid control. Same as everything really, you get what you pay for at the end of the day. Edited January 30, 2015 by ratman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger2611 Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I would definitely recommend this, it has a really nice EQ sweep it will give you the 10 channels you are looking for and Allen Heath is one of the best names in mixers, I use a 16 channel desk in my studio, I brought it to upgrade from a Mackie 1604 desk and wow it is an upgrade http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Allen-and-Heath-ZED60-14FX-Analogue-Mixer-with-USB-/161318577938?pt=UK_Musical_AudioMIDI_Interfaces&hash=item258f562712 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRev Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I'll second the Allen and Heath Zed series. I recently bought a Zed 18 and I think its amazing for the money. Intuitive and simple to use, a great mixer for live use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3below Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Ditto ZED mixer, small mixer and lightweight(ish) power amp results in sensible lift weight. I bought a full ply flightcase for mixer / power amp / dbx etc etc. It was at a great price. Once fully loaded it is a beast... cue smaller mixer etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonzodog Posted January 31, 2015 Author Share Posted January 31, 2015 Thanks for the replies. I will check out the Allen & Heath mixers. What I guess I was asking was if theoretically we only need all the functions of the smaller yamaha mixer, then is it worth paying £100 extra for faders, if the preamps and compression features are the same in both units Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UglyDog Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 [quote name='ratman' timestamp='1422644289' post='2675157'] There are a couple of things to point out with the mixers you are looking at - when you say 10 or 12 channel, be aware that some of those are stereo channels. And you don't sound like you're using a big stereo keys set up on your gigs. So, as it sounds like you'll be using the channels in mono on a gig, the 10 channel mixer effectively becomes a 7 channel, and the 12 becomes an 8 channel. The Macke is only 8 mono channels. Something like this [url="http://www.dv247.com/studio-equipment/behringer-xenyx-x1832usb-18-channel-mixer-with-usb-audio-interface--71180"]http://www.dv247.com...nterface--71180[/url] will give you 10 mono channels at a decent price. I would say you should always get a mixer with a mid EQ on each channel, not just bass & treble. The mids are where the nice (and nasty) sounds are and you need control of them. Sweepable mids are even better, ie a parametric. You don't need loads of effects either, reverb and delay will be fine. The more aux sends you want (for monitors) the bigger the desk you'll need. Most smaller desks will have 1 aux only. It's usually the cheaper mixers that have knobs instead of faders, and no mid control. Same as everything really, you get what you pay for at the end of the day. [/quote] I agree with all the above. Behringer might have a bad/cheap rep in places but their mixers are very good. We have used one live for ages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Two more to consider, from Soundcraft..? [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/soundcraft_epm_12.htm"]EPM12, without FX...[/url] [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/soundcraft_efx_12.htm"]EFX12, with FX...[/url] We use a similar one (less entries...); it's very good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratman Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 [quote name='UglyDog' timestamp='1422718278' post='2676003'] Behringer might have a bad/cheap rep in places but their mixers are very good. We have used one live for ages. [/quote] +1 to that. I've been using a Behringer desk for 4 years now and it's never let me down. I know quite a few people who use them too, and no reliability issues for them either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essexbasscat Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 It seems the zed 60 -14 and the soundcraft mixers don't have any monitor sends. Or am I missing something ? Is it the case that small mixers don't have monitor sends ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratman Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 The Zed60 and all Soundcraft mixers do have monitor sends. It's only the really cheap (sub £50 ish) mixers that won't have an aux send. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 (edited) [quote name='essexbasscat' timestamp='1422735708' post='2676341'] It seems the zed 60 -14 and the soundcraft mixers don't have any monitor sends. Or am I missing something ? Is it the case that small mixers don't have monitor sends ? [/quote] I presume you mean 'sends to a monitor room', not aux..? Smaller-size desks of this sort are maybe not used in environments with a monitor room..? There are many features that a small/mid mixer won't have; it's just a case of matching one's needs to the spec offered (at the price one can afford..! ). Whilst I'm here, I'll mention a 16 channel Mackie desk in the Classifieds here. No connection with the seller, and maybe overkill for your current needs, but thought I'd point it out. Just my tuppence-worth. Edited January 31, 2015 by Dad3353 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 (edited) I would go with something with room for expansion. A 16 channel digital mixer with as many sends as possible. My band also plays mainly bars, we still mic our amps and drums.And everyone ( 4 piece ) has a powered stage monitor. We feel it gives us a better sound and control over our sound. Bringing a PA into a bar does not necessarily mean loud. To me it means control and that includes volume. Blue Edited January 31, 2015 by blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratman Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 [quote name='blue' timestamp='1422742431' post='2676443'] I would go with something with room for expansion. A 16 channel digital mixer with as many sends as possible. [/quote] Exactly right. I'm looking at buying a Mackie DL1608 soon. 16 channels and 6 sends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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