Went exactly like this. From a Mackie 1642 VLZ4. That had good routing BUT : Very narrow space were it sound good. Either it distorts in not a nice way and get muddy or things just disappear. It felt like mixing though a thin Cola can. EQ : Useless and when I had the Analog Heat & a Compressor in the Master Insert I got a hum loop. Changed to a Midas Venice 160. Its day and night. You can drive the channels hot and it sounds good and all tracks go to the front if you like… Routing galore. Good useable EQ and no hum/ground loops or what ever. Sounds ace ! It’s a bummer this boards are not sold anymore. They are perfect for a electronic music home studio.
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Wondering if there’s anyone who had and can compare old 90s Mix Wizards and Venices.
I tweaked a MixWizard a while back and yes, that would be the only A&H that I would have considered for the quality of its components.m Vs the Midas.
Midas has definitely some good EQ. That is, to my ears 
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Xone 96 or Model one. If you want 6 stereo channels and like a dj type mixer(being able to cue etc)
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Slight thread hijack - what’s the smallest (narrower is what I really mean) 4 bus mixer you know of? 4 bus like a Mackie 1624 for example, I want to send 4 buses directly to OT inputs and still use the mixer for main outs etc. Anything smaller than a Mackie 1604 or 1624? I have 37cm of width to fit it in.
I have the QuPac with 22 Input and the xone 96 which is more fun to use. I may chain them one day for sub mixing but ran out of space. I think a SQ5 would have been my perfect match … maybe one day…
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Not sure how it works with this one, it has enough independent outputs / busses, but routings could be not too obvious with digital. But it is the smallest one for sure + tons of nice features
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I don t think you ll find smaller but did check soundcraft and allen&heath range?
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@Tajnost thanks I’ll look into that! I thought there was only a blackbox 
@dtr yes the SC and AH ones with 4 bus are all bigger. I think the Mackie or equivalent Behringer will be smallest as you say. Maybe a submixer then!
I have mixed countless shows on both Mix Wizards (and most the A&H models) and Venice, It’s no contest. Sound quality, routing, build quality…Venice was a game changer when it came out and nothing comparable has come out in compact analog mixers since. If the big Midas models (XL4, XL3, Heritage 3K) were in the English Premiere League, then Venice/Venice/Verona Sienna were in the Championship and A&H were somewhere in League 2. If you have a chance for a good condition, good price Venice grab it now or you will regret it.
and: there are DIP switches inside the desk that will switch the direct outs on the mono channels from pre to post fader.
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Thanks, I have very little experience with Midas, only two times on stage playing live techno sets, but I had similar feeling, it’s like different league comparing to A&H. Wasn’t so sure if it’s just my subjective experience or they’re really much much better in all aspects. Still have my old A&H and didn’t start the repair process… So probably will let it go and try to find Venice, which isn’t too hard nowadays. Most small clubs / bars / gear rentals replacing them with digital boards so there’re a lot of them on local auctions and prices are quite good, often less than 1000$ for a good condition.
True but you can still find 160, 240 and 320 on the net.
I would have lived a 240 or even 320 in USB or FX version.
Not enough place in the studio though.
I know I will regret it not investing in a 240 or 320 as I am yet shirt in terms of channels for hardware…
But hey, don’t we learn from our mistakes?
It’s super to know that there’re switches for post fader direct outs! Thanks for letting know!
don’t buy kmix, it’s garbage
I have the midas 16u since 2014, the best invest I made so far. I am not using the usb to daw, digilink, it’s only win 7 and the DAC didn’t sound so good.
But the pre’s and the eq’s are SO good.
Venice are great mixers. But they re also very bulky which is a consideration when you want to play live gigs. Are you gonna bring it with you? Don t count on these oldies being available at rentals where you gig. They might be still, but you can t be sure. So be prepared to have to play on something else.
Fantastic board - I’m using my 320 with direct outs on 20 of the mono channels and then from the 4 buses. A small tip here is of course that it’s easy to route to the buses and use their direct outs which will, by nature , be post fader - I sometimes find this to be more efficient for tracking, especially since I’ve strapped the AH across buses 3-4 
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Yes, me too. Would like more channels but not enough room. So I went for a used Venice 160 and super happy with it.
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Do you do analog mixdowns from daw as well? Or do you just use it for tracking?
Currently only tracking but have everything routed for DAW returns (26 ch) and just today thought about running a track we’re working on through it to try it out - will update with my findings if I get the time to do it.
I’m actually very happy with mixing ITB these days - using Console 1 & Fader combo with a bit of UAD. Mind you, I’m nowhere near being a great mixer but I feel this setup is at least a fun way to approach it and the mixes are getting better for each practise 
.