Having followed this thread for a year or so, I figured I’d share a solution that worked for me (at least while many of us wait for something affordable to hit the market): a 90s Soundcraft Folio Rackpac Mixer.
10 mono tracks each with insert effect and direct out
2 stereo tracks
6 mono sends (each track can only use 4/6, but they can be re-routed to eachother)
6 stereo returns
2 group outputs
rackmountable
Does it sound good? Kind of – at least good enough for techno. Plus it cost me less than $200 with shipping.
I don’t see any on ebay for now, but they pop up occasionally. You can still get a lot of these church mixers for dirt cheap in the states, and since they were designed for live sound they’re really flexible routing-wise.
i’ve never had flexibility like i now do with a 96 in my life.
i’ve been running the zoom L6 on Send/Return A for lots of options, and then ableton out Send/return B.
input into ableton USB1 and out USB2. all physical inputs can be Ableton’d and returned with no audible latency. the physical send A through the hardware does seem to have a bit of phasing or audible latency but it’s not a trainwrecker
This sounds good, and just want to point out that this feature set sound a lot like the equivalent Mackie 1604 (as the article confirms) which are available today for a decent price. I’ve had one before and still swear by it. They have a version with a number of stereo tracks as well.
Another (old) compact-for-the-features option (if you can find one) is the Allen & Heath GS1. Has optional meter bridge and wrist rest add-ons. And a channel expander option IIRC.
That’s cool! I like the sound of A&H mixers, in fact I still have their old GS3 16 channel board I bought in 2020. I don’t use it anymore since I don’t not have space for it.
Yeah I’ve got a 24 channel GS3 that I used to use for analog summing/mixdowns but my MOTU 24 IO (that needs the PCI424 card) doesn’t work any more so I don’t have enough converters to wire it up permanently at present. It’s also pretty big so need to wall mount it… Other goals are currently taking priority lol!
I understand the frustration with the lack of choices with mixers so I took a different approach and decided to go with a commercial networked audio DSP with Dante I/O’s for mixing.
I use the QSC Q-SYS platform which gives me the ability for endless amounts of inputs and outputs, along with complete customization of mixing, EQ, Dynamics plus the ability to utilize LUA scripting for integration with any product that has an API. These are typically used for stadium venues, hotels or large scale conference rooms.
I am also using this as my USB interface as well as a conferencing device for Teams/Zoom.
I know this is not ideal for most musicians and is expensive but personally, I would never go back to using conventional mixers.
It is the heart of my setup and offers unlimited flexibility!
& @negation Yeah older analog mixers that were designed for live doing dual FOH and Monitor-from-FOH roles often have loads of auxes for the monitor wedges and fx sends. Eg A&H GL series as you mention. There’s also a sweet analog rackmount monitor mixer with 12 auxes by Crest - XRM Rack (premium grade electronics but hard to find!)
Absolutely, fully capable of sends and returns. Basically the DSP is a blank slate and can be programmed to route, send, return or process audio however you can imagine. You can create presets, custom interfaces and is only limited by the number of I/O peripherals.
So do you ‘play’ your DSP ‘mixer’ in some way? I.e do you have a control surface / iPad etc that you can use to change levels/EQ/throw to sends etc during a session? Or is that kind of mixer play not part of your flow?
Yes they did, Crest was apparently cutting costs after being acquired by Peavey and the guys behind Crest started APB. I bought a 24 channel APB Spectra last year and it’s amazing (and enormous). APB stopped making bigger desks but good deals can be had.
Anyone have tried the Elara.4? I know Dave Mech said it seemed a little under spec’ed for his needs, but I am really digging the size.
Wondering about anything to be aware of (apart from turntable inputs on ch. 1,2 only on MK1)
Edit: also interested in hearing anyone from Europe having ordered one, and what the import duty, vat, etc. amounted to?
Yes, but there is no meaningful functional difference, is it? It’s just an update of the software and chips. I know it works for some people in the studio as well, but it’s a live mixer first. I’ve tried it and it didn’t work for me. I need to be able to use (and see) multiple EQs at the same time in creative studio processes.
I am very happy with the Qu Pac, and the Qu series now delivers the plugins of Dlive, the only thing i am missing is a multiband compressor - this is now in reach, and a worthy upgrade. The plugin Bundle for 800$ is in my opinion far to expensive. Not sure about Behringer Wing, but i assumed their plugins were free.
(i can route multiband via usb, so effectivly its possible - but with latency added.) Running this on the console itself is much more favourable.)
If anyone considers this - i would also factor in the essential processors in the price - if you dont have outboard to such stuff.)
