I need help purchasing my first mixer(UPDATE: I decided on the SSL SiX and couldn't be happier)

The Lounge Other Gear
#1

I’m looking to buy my first mixer.

Which ones are you guys fans of?

I currently route two mono synths into a Digitone, and then I route the Digitone into my Analog Rytm’s audio in and Everything through the RYTM analog compressor and I really like the result I’m getting.

I was looking at the SSL SiX one because of the size, the demos I’ve heard sound really nice I like the compression options. I would like a few sends for some effects. I have a Quadraverb and a Volante I’d like to utilize.

Ideally, I’d like to hook up a drum machine a few synths and send effects at the same time, It doesn’t matter if it’s not an audio interface. I’d also prefer if it was on the small side, space is a premium. I’m super flexible on price.

the kind of music I make. -> https://soundcloud.com/cassilda_and_carcosa

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#2

I will go with the SSL for sure.

We have or use in the studio the K-Mix, StudioLive 16 the MX-P61 and a bigger Orion analog board and we’re buying the Six for compression and for livegigs the SSL

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#3

i think about getting the sll six too. i´m super flexible on room :wink: but i´m not sure my music is worth it, that´s some fine equipment.

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#4

What do you need to mix. Performance maybe? Or more studio?
There are so many options. My only proper mixer is my computer or my octatrack, so maybe I’m the wrong to answer this… dang.

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#5

AH Qu-Pac, small foot print, very versatile, many options, beware: digital…

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#6

Really quite a lot of options. I probably don’t need mic preamps.

I was even looking at the WMD - Performance Mixer. What are you guys using for your synth jams/recording etc?

#7

my first mixer is a mackie 1202. got it 17 years ago and i still use it today. sounds good enough to me.
great little thing. perfect as a first mixer. easy to learn about
signalflow, feedbacks, … you even can make synth sounds with it, overdrive signals, glue together different tracks.
it´s dirt cheap, very robust, and i don´t care at all if i destroy it… as i said, 17 years :wink:

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#8

I like my StudioLive AR12~ Just got it too. It’s my first mixer and it does the job. A bonus: i can plug it into a computer and get each channel individually. And has enough inputs to plug in a buncha stuff.

#9

if you dont need the pre amps the SSL might be not a good choice. the pre amps do contribute to the price quite a bit I would think.

mackie 1202 would be (and is) my choice too

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#10

How are you recording and is that a part of the equation to be concerned with?

I was pretty happy with the Allen & Heath Qu-Pac for a couple years but wanted to use more DAW FX in realtime.
I am now more happy with my MOTU Ultralite MK4 + Traveler MK1 (via ADAT) and just using Ableton Live’s mixer. The latency is under 4ms round trip, plus a few more milliseconds to use some good sounding Kush plug-ins to make things sound real nice without really noticing the latency.
MIDI Fighter Twister is my preferred tactile controller for this software mixer setup, since it is highly customizable and ideal for EQs and FX sends.

#11

Mostly for jamming with the synths on the house or in the garden the K-Mix super flexible and mega portable midi controlled mixer, audio interface and control surface you have 2 transparent preamps. Powerful for the footprint

And for playing live we use the presonus studio live great mixer nice headroom a little digital but sounds real good and 16 Fat channels with compressor and 2 fx good for live sets. Same for recording the synths.

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#12

oh yea these are indeed great, and if you need more inputs, multiple units can be aggregated on a Mac.
I wouldn’t suggest them if wanting to monitor hardware through a DAW, however, as round trip latency gets near 9ms at 96khz (64 samples). But that’s not everyone’s use case. Most people will just monitor directly out of the mixer.

#13

I had a babyface pro expanded with a behringer ADA 8200 and was basically using Ableton as a giant mixer with Valhalla DSP plugins on the sends.

I use a Cirklon to send midi and control all the synths.

I started collecting Old midiverbs and effect pedals and wanted to incorporated them as external instruments and started to realize things started getting quiet noisy, quite fast. ADDA conversions back and forth in the DAW degrade the audio (plus those old boxes can be quite noisy themselves.)

then I moved to the set p described above: Cirklon controlling all monosynths -> digitone -> RYTM Recorded into 1 stereo track in Ableton. That’s been kinda nice. I don’t have to deal with latency issues, crashing VSTs, computers, screens, etc.

Im a software engineer is sit in front of a computer all day long. I don’t want to have to use ableton unless I really really need to.

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#14

fair enough, then I’d check out the k-mix or even a pair of k-mixes.
No computer required, 3 stereo aux sends, lots of bang for buck in a small package. Multi-track digital output (USB) capabilities should you ever need them, and class-compliant so you could use a phone to record multi-track, even. :diddly:

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#15

Yes for a compact setup is really flexible once you understand how to route the aux and get the most from the KMiX have several options, the presets you can make changes via midi real useful live, the sorround options for panning the sound and all the midi implementation and his portability is a good option

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#16

Congrats You can do magic with this seq maybe the midi controlled mixer will appeal or fit your setup
I hear your music and note the Cirklon track and I like it . Something I would check is the headroom and some technical stuff

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#17

Interesting, the K-Mix wasn’t on my radar. I didn’t even know it existed.

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#18

A midi or CV controlled mixer would be nice TBH. Also, thank you for the kind words!

Is the headroom on the K-Mix something to be worried about?

#19

I bought my Mrs one of those Kenwood mixers for about £400 a couple of years ago. She swears by it. I can only testify to how good the baking is as a result, and that my friend is very good.

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#20

Me, I wouldn’t want to use the squishy touch interface on the K-Mix. I would think that the idea of having a physical mixer is that you have faders and knobs to push around.

You specify “a few sends” which narrows down your choices in a compact mixer. Most analogue mixers have only one AUX or two AUXes on the units with more channels than you might need. The SSL SiX does not meet this spec, so I am confused as to why it is being considered.

I mix on the computer with an RME interface. This gives me 8 analogue ins and outs that can be configured as I need. The audio quality is going to be far superior to the output from a low-end mixer, since no-one has drivers like RME. Besides which, TotalMix is the best software in the business. Any MIDI controller can be used to control it. A FaderFox device might fit the bill.

EDIT: OK I see your reply now where you say you don’t want to sit in front of a computer. So I guess you could get one of the RME devices that works standalone?

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