Hi.
At the minute I have a djm600 which is perfect for my 3 elektron machines, but in future I’ll probably have one or two more synths so will need a dedicated mixer.
Any tips on what’s good? In terms of budget mixers, I’d like to hear what other people use…
Only requirements I’d have:
Cheap.
6+ channels.
I prefer faders to rotary knobs
Mutes/solo on each track.
Lightweight.
Compact.
Nothing fancy!
Cheers
I’ve always been happy with a cheap Mackie.
Though if budget is such a big concern, just look around locally used and get whatever fits your criteria and you can afford.
Other than that I don’t think there will be much difference besides personal preference and concrete features.
The new mackies VLZ4 802 is a good mixer. No faders tho. However I swopped it for a A&H ZED 14 which is with faders and larger. But this ZED14 is really good. highly recommended.
Thanks for the advice jeffe.
Locally I have my eye on this
http://www.adverts.ie/mixing-desks/behringer-xenyx-x1832-usb/4295425
Any thoughts?
Read a few bad things about xenyx mic pre-amps being a bit noisey but apart from that seems like it could be an ideal cheap fix.
Not sure I’d need that many channels, but maybe with MM/MD/OT and another synth they’d be handy.
Yeah I’ll just get something very cheap locally.
Faders are preferred for sure, but only because I’d imagine there handier in a live performance situation. Maybe they’re not essential though?
I’d go with the Allen Heath before the Mackie.
The build and sound seems better to me, pretty much the same price.
Check out the Zed60-10 or the 60-14
Cheers JuanSOLO… but I reckon I’m in a Behringer state of mind… there’s no saving me;)
If you can go without the mutes and solos, a Peavey Rq200 meets all your other desires.
I had one given to me by a guy on Craigslist when I bought his EV loudspeakers.
Great little mixer.
Thanks for the tip Adam. Looks nice and compact, that mixer.
Crikey, THE AdamJay?!
Honoured to be in such esteemed company.
I had a record or two of yours when I used to dj (badly), about 10 years back. I’m sure that little nugget of information has brightened your day;)
Yea, cheers for that!
Yea, cheers for that![/quote]
Anytime;)
If we’re talking about modern, cheap mixers I think A&H and Soundcraft sound better than their Mackie counterparts. Then again, I overdrive my gains a lot, so it’s important that it sounds good. I think of those 3, the Mackie has the weakest overdrive.
Old, CR-series Mackies distort nicely though.
Hi, I love my Yamahas so much that I have two of them!
MG82CX and MG102C. First have same onboard effects, second an extra stereo input. Read the manual for further info.
Thanks for the advice. I’m used to using a dj mixer. Does having rotory controls out you at a disadvantage in a live situation ie. you can’t just fling the faders quickly up and down?
Good question! I don’t know, just use it in the studio for now. I agree sliders are really more convenient to tweak but this is not so bad either. I’d more concerned about the visibility: With a slider you know your levels relative to each other at a glance, this is not true with knobs.
Could look at a line mixer like the Sampson SM10.
For ~$200 you get 10 stereo channels.
For each channel you get to control input volume, mute/send to mix B, send to monitor, and send to effects, clip light, and pan knob.
This means you could have up to 10 stereo synths attached and mixed. When you mute a channel it gets redirected to a mix B output, so you could say hook up mix B output to Octatrack Inputs, which would allow you to select any combination of the 10 units as sample input.
You get knobs instead of faders but the overall package is very compact and rack mountable.
Allen & Heath Zed range :: very good bang for buck. Read around on Gearslutz, Sound on Sound. I’ve upgraded now, but I started with a Zed 14 and was very happy with it for my A4, MD and OT.
I now have a Allen & Heath MixWizard WZ4 14:4:2 and am very happy with that too.
Allen & Heath Zed range :: very good bang for buck. Read around on Gearslutz, Sound on Sound. I’ve upgraded now, but I started with a Zed 14 and was very happy with it for my A4, MD and OT.
I now have a Allen & Heath MixWizard WZ4 14:4:2 and am very happy with that too.[/quote]
Basically did the same upgrade but to the WZ DX 16:2… Still have the Zed 14 and no one wants to buy it at $275…
Yeah, mixers are a bitch to sell if you want any kind of real money.
this looks nice and cheap, would probably do for me. funnily enough, i was starting to look at something similar (2-4channels) to help get the Blofeld and the AR into the MM 
without too much of an effort