which soundboard/mixer to buy?
SettinS0n
fostex x-55 multi track which i use and get more than fine results for my
liking anyway but i wanna take it to the next step in terms of channel
capabilities..for live stuff i am going straight to audio cassette probably or
maybe even dat quality sound on the computer..but anyway, i want to spend tops
$400 and this is a list of stuff i've narrowed it down to. Which of these is
the best for my money? Sound quality isnt a BIG necessity as i just want to get
some stereo mic'ing of all the drums and all the guitars, and be able to
monitor well when recording/playing. Here is my list:
Behringer MX2004A Eurorack Mixer : $280.00
Mackie 1202-VLZ PRO Micro Mixer : $379.99
Behringer MX1604A Eurorack Compact Mixer : $179.99
So..do i just go straight for the mackie which has less inputs than the MX2004A
but better pre-amps...or do i go for one of the behringers and use the other
money for things like mics, better cables, mic stands, etc? Remeber sound isn't
the MOST important, I just want to be able to record, drums, guitars, bass, and
eventually vocals and keyboards all at once for live recording purposes, and
obviously, when doing studio recordings i can take the time to set up the
optimal sound environment anyway. Any thoughts??
going nowhere,
max
Shaun
Pascal Facon
SettinS0n wrote in message <20000614093604...@ng-ch1.aol.com>...
>ok so i wanna buy a mixer for live sound AND studio sound
You're saying some pretty stupid stuff, max.
Why don't you forget the whole thing.
Pascal
Lord Valve
Max, the Behringer 2004 is the best of the lot for your
purposes. If you're going to stay in that price range,
the individual channel outs (and the ability to switch
the main outputs to mike level) are going to be fairly
useful features for live/home studio use. The extra
channel count won't hurt you any, either. As far as
the mike preamps go, I'd call it a tossup; with the
S/N ratio afforded by either of these mixers, this won't
be a problem for live use, and in a home studio it's
not going to matter much either. If you'd like to
drop a little more scratch and get something better,
one of the best two-trick ponies is the Studiomaster
Trilogy series. These are 4-buss, with lots of auxes
and some other nifty goodies for home studio/live PA
mixing. Check studiomaster.com for further specs.
LV
SettinS0n
>Why don't you forget the whole thing.
>
>Pascal
>
>
i'm not a "professional", i came to this newsgroup hoping to hear some
"professional responses", instead i get the response of a 5 yr old..pardon me
for asking someone's advice hoping to get a kind response.
goin nowhere,
max
(and in case anyone wants to mock that, its a song lyric, once again sorry to
be so horribly unprofessional in my manerisms.)
George Gleason
> (and in case anyone wants to mock that, its a song lyric,
once again sorry to
> be so horribly unprofessional in my manerisms.)
Funny, you sound more sarcastic than sorry.
George Gleason
Michael Gaster
I think the bit about "sound not being the most important" is what did it,
granted there are some *aspiring* pro's here occasionally but for the most
part this is a PROfessional group of people; so coming in and first talking
about which to get out of a couple of dinky boards and then stating that
sound isn't the most important, isn't going to get you very far.
as far as your situation with the mixer at that point it doesn't matter
which one you get, you'll replace it eventually. See which one has the right
number of inputs and out puts, for a price close to what you want to pay and
go with that, some of us here have desk that are tens of thousands of
dollars, at *that* point you need to worry about which one to buy! but for a
couple of hundred dollars especially in the100-300 range its all about the
same!
Michael
"SettinS0n" <sett...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20000615162542...@ng-cg1.aol.com...
> >You're saying some pretty stupid stuff, max.
> >Why don't you forget the whole thing.
> >
> >Pascal
> >
> >
> you're saying some pretty stuck up stuff too..i'm sixteen years old, sorry
if
> i'm not a "professional", i came to this newsgroup hoping to hear some
> "professional responses", instead i get the response of a 5 yr old..pardon
me
> for asking someone's advice hoping to get a kind response.
>
> goin nowhere,
> max
>
SettinS0n
they have OK mic pre-amps and ok inputs with an ok noise ratio rather than 12
inputs with slightly better pre-amps and a lower noise ratio that most people
wouldnt even notice...i mean i for one would probably notice it, but if i am
just playing the tapes back to hear where the improvements could be made..i'd
rather here each instrument in its own place in the stereo field and have each
piece of the drum set panned to a certain setting, than only being able to use
half the amount of mics i want to, therefore limiting my stereo field. is that
a better explanation?
going nowhere, (once again its a song lyrics, i didnt mean i'm literally GOING
NOWHERE though i'm sure some of you will tend to say i am)
max
Sonic City
>they have OK mic pre-amps and ok inputs with an ok noise ratio rather than 12
>inputs with slightly better pre-amps and a lower noise ratio that most people
>wouldnt even notice.
Max,
Look closely. I think there's an answer in there.
George Gleason
> In live sound it isn't normally a good idea to pan the instruments into a
stereo
> field. Only a small percentage of the audience actually get any real
benefit from
> this, mostly just those who are in a relatively narrow band between the
speakers
.
David , I understand that in stereo all things will not be equal at all
points but IMO they shouldn't be.It may be my perspective ,as I work mostly
smaller venues. I try to recreate the stage image in the mix. So if you are
sitting by the piano it will be louder. I belive that audio and visual cues
work together to create realism . I think it makes it exciting to have a
sound "sound" like it is coming from where you see the musician . Who can
argue with the excitment of hard panned drums running across the sound
feild as the drummer plays. I also fight promoters all the time to put the
stacks(modest size not more than 4 boxes) in twards the musos and not out to
the edge of the stage. There is little I hate more than a guitar player
sitting solo in a chair in the middle of the stage and haveing to hear the
sound coming out of some flying box 30 feet over head or 25 feet off to his
side. Try to position the sound to where the eyes tell you it should be
coming from. I'm sure this would be less desirable to achieve this in a
stadium or other huge venue.
George
David Shorter
<snip>
> ..i'd rather here each instrument in its own place in the stereo field and have each
> piece of the drum set panned to a certain setting, than only being able to use
> half the amount of mics i want to, therefore limiting my stereo field. is that
> a better explanation?
In live sound it isn't normally a good idea to pan the instruments into a stereo
field. Only a small percentage of the audience actually get any real benefit from
this, mostly just those who are in a relatively narrow band between the speakers.
On the other hand, some effects can benefit from panning
.
Do a Deja search on this newsgroup, panning was discussed maybe less than
a couple of months ago.
There is a good article on this subject in Jan '95 issue of "Mix" mag.
--
Regards,
David Shorter
DazzReal Sound Labs
Auckland, New Zealand
Scoot
<g.p.g...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>>
>> In live sound it isn't normally a good idea to pan the instruments into a
>stereo
>> field. Only a small percentage of the audience actually get any real
>benefit from
>> this, mostly just those who are in a relatively narrow band between the
>speakers
>.
>David , I understand that in stereo all things will not be equal at all
>points but IMO they shouldn't be.It may be my perspective ,as I work mostly
>smaller venues. I try to recreate the stage image in the mix. So if you are
>sitting by the piano it will be louder. I belive that audio and visual cues
>work together to create realism . I think it makes it exciting to have a
>sound "sound" like it is coming from where you see the musician . Who can
>argue with the excitment of hard panned drums running across the sound
>feild as the drummer plays. I also fight promoters all the time to put the
>stacks(modest size not more than 4 boxes) in twards the musos and not out to
>the edge of the stage. There is little I hate more than a guitar player
>sitting solo in a chair in the middle of the stage and haveing to hear the
>sound coming out of some flying box 30 feet over head or 25 feet off to his
>side. Try to position the sound to where the eyes tell you it should be
>coming from. I'm sure this would be less desirable to achieve this in a
>stadium or other huge venue.
>George
>
That makes a lot of sense to me. I even hate when the band is playing
and the FOH speakers are 20' from the edge of the stage. They should
be where the stage ends IMO so you can hide behind them between songs!
Way to use the eyes and ears George... At what level (height) do you
line up "speakers on a stick"?
Scoot
Phildo
> Behringer MX2004A Eurorack Mixer : $280.00
> Mackie 1202-VLZ PRO Micro Mixer : $379.99
> Behringer MX1604A Eurorack Compact Mixer : $179.99
>
> So..do i just go straight for the mackie which has less inputs than the
MX2004A
> but better pre-amps...or do i go for one of the behringers and use the
other
> money for things like mics, better cables, mic stands, etc? Remeber sound
isn't
> the MOST important, I just want to be able to record, drums, guitars,
bass, and
> eventually vocals and keyboards all at once for live recording purposes,
and
> obviously, when doing studio recordings i can take the time to set up the
> optimal sound environment anyway. Any thoughts??
I'd look elsewhere. Behringer is good value for money but any board at this
level is going to be lacking. You get what you pay for.
As an addition to these I'd look at Allen and Heath and Studiomaster. Both
have products that would do you better for what you need.
I'd also suggest trying to learn a bit more about how audio works as you
seem to have a pretty flimsly grasp on a lot of things. Hang around here and
on rec.audio.pro and you'll probably learn quite a bit.
Phildo
Joe Kotroczo
>I'd look elsewhere. Behringer is good value for money but any board at this
>level is going to be lacking. You get what you pay for.
Ironically, Behringer has raised the prices of their whole line by
20-50% a couple of days ago.
_____________________________________________________________________
Joe Kotroczo kotr...@village.uunet.lu
Mike Borkhuis
> 20-50% a couple of days ago.
Is there a corresponding 20-50% increase in quality??? Or in the pocket
linings of the owners???
Mike Borkhuis
Worship Technology