Alesis 1622 mixer - opinions?

[Lez]

I'm on the lookout for a mixer. MY FUNDS ARE LIMITED and I have had the
offer of a used alesis 1622 mixer: PRICE 225 UK pounds.

Looking at the spec of the mixer it has everything I want - i.e.
inserts, sub-groups, 16 channels, lots of aux sends & returns +. As it
is a nigh on extinct model, it is a fraction of the price of a new model
with similar specs. [For example the cheapest equivalent Mackie, the
1604vlz, is 600uk pounds]. The alesis is in full working condition with
a 3 month guarantee. Has anyone had any first hand experience of using
this mixer? What are your opinions? Is it a good buy, or should I avoid
it like the plague?

Thanks for any advice

Lez

[MRMIDI1]

Avoid it like the plague - it's probably Alesis' worst, most trouble riddled
product ever. Do a Deja news check on it too - it sucks.
Steve

Lez wrote in message <389E9140...@keele.ac.uk>...

[RStory]

It is a good mixer. I have one that's from my church on loan
to me as long as I need it (they bought a 24 channel board).

The only problem is that when it starts to go bad, Alesis will not fix it.
They said that the factory that built the internal boards burned
down and they can't fix them.
There are no pots in the unit, no sliders like any other board.
Its like if you open it up, the knobs and sliders have brushes on the end
of them that brush up against the circuit board. That's it. (no pots at all)
(potentiometers-the turn thingys) My board started to go bad and
it took a while to find someone that would fix it. when I did find
someone, he wanted to sell me another board to keep from fixing
the one I have. He finally agreed to fix it.

Its like get the board if you know you can get someone to repair it
if it needs it. If not THE BOARD IS ONE OF THE BEST.
No other problem at all from it. (quiet too).
rsto...@valuenet.net

Lez <L.P....@keele.ac.uk> wrote in message
news:389E9140...@keele.ac.uk...

[Demian Norvell]

I recall the faders and knobs being extremely 'cheap' feeling and easy to
knock loose. Not one of Alesis' finer moments...

[Robot9000]

I have had one for about 6 years now. I have used it live and for
recording. It is a very nice warm sounding board with a TON of useful
routing. I have only two things I don't like about it:

The preamp gain is a little low and it doesn't have phantom Power. This
means that you have crank the mic pre's up past half way to get good level.
Not a problem live, but can get noisy if you have noisy gear attached
(marginal mic cables, noisy amps, etc.) An SM57 with this board for vocals
is very nice I think. If you have a condenser mic you will need a mic pre.

You have to keep it covered. The other poster is right. It is one big flat
circuit board and each knob is a wiper arm. If I get a diry slider or
switch, I turn the offending knob until the grim/dust is 'cleaned' or give
it a blast of air from one of those "PC Keyboard Cleaning Kits", you know,
the can of air with the small tube they charge you $600,000 for at computer
shops :)
I keep a towl over mine and don;t have any problems. I use that and a
Yamaha MX 12 depending on what I am doing (MX has Phantom Power).

I guess I would say go get it and use it until it doesn't suit your needs!
This mixer was designed as part of the whole Alesis low cost studio concept
from the early '90. The idea is you buy that mixer, an ADAT, a Quadraverb,
RA100 amp and Monitor one speakers and you have a digital 8 track studio!!
Actually, that's not a bad setup :)

Make sure you get the manual. I find myself going back to it quite often.
It talks about the routing options and setting up the gain stages and such.

Good Luck
<Snip!>