Apologies for my confusion. The Onyx is really nice, it’s just a shame it’s so much longer/deeper than the 1604.
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I know right! I swear by Ecler. They used to make HiFi equipment before they started making DJ mixers and IMHO it shows
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On 1 1642vlz4 pan balance was off when at center setting. On another noisy main bus, and crackly gain pots after not very long use.
I know 2 more people IRL with bad vlz4 quality experiences.
I really wish they d build them better bc functionality is awesome.
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It’s an interface and not a mixer, but the new MOTU 16A offers some very flexible patching and mixing options so it may fill some people’s void. Only downside I see is no hardware remote or MIDI ports, you’ll need software (can be on a tablet or phone) to mix, which is a lot less immediate. And I’d love to see RME style room correction EQ on it as well, but that may be possible with a software update.
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If you like this, I think you might like Rme soundcard,
well with the software it acts like a mixer with EQs and stuff
I have a brand new boxed Mackie Onyx 16 never even plugged it in yet I bought it at Christmas in a sale 
how are they I’ve never had it out the box 
This is really superficial but I’m always disappointed in how ugly a lot of small inexpensive mixers are. I was looking at them again because I thought it would be fun to take the 4 outs of the A4 and be able to eq them and send them to a couple of external fx. I was looking at the Soundcraft EFX line the other day and just thinking why would I want this thing with pink and teal and yellow knobs sitting next to the badass looking blacked out A4?
Then a lot of the DJ mixers look sleek and all black but they only have rca inputs and in general aren’t the right feature set for recording.
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You’re back to the Union Audio Elara.4 there. It’ll cost you more than the actual synth though. But damn they’d look nice next to each other. It even has a crossfader 
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The Intellijel Jellymix looks really nice and have all the inputs and outputs on the back of the unit. It’s 5 stereo channels and 2 stereo aux and two stereo returns/ext with some EQ. Looks amazing but not out yet… only prototype shown at superbooth.
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With Totalmix you mean? Totalmix is very flexible indeed, but from what I understand the number of loopbacks etc is limited the number of hardware I/O on your soundcard, whereas the 16A seems to have 128 virtual I/Os you can patch. I have an RME Digiface USB and I have maxed out my physical connections so don’t have spare inputs to patch to, which would not be a problem on the 16A. I also though the connecting cables UI of MOTU is simpler to understand than how Totalmix works.
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You get what you pay for (with regards to inexpensive small mixers)
RCA inputs are not a problem, just use 1/4" to rca cables
Adding to the pile,
Elara 4.
Very compact 4 channel mixer, and I dive deep into it together with a nice new FX unit, Le FX. Both by Union Audio. Great combination, and this FX unit in itself sounds really nice as well. So if you’re looking for hands-on performance multi-fx, check this out.
Enjoy the dive!
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Found this nice (not too) old analog A&H mixwizard wz 20 s mixer:
8 (pairs of) stereo channels
4 mono channels
6 auxes
Not bad for 19"
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Indeed, had this particular model for a while before moving on to a larger console and can confirm it’s great, especially for synths. The 20S is the best Mixwizard ever in the series if you ask me. There’s a newer WZ3 version but I’d argue the original WZ is the one to get, as you have two stereo buses you can assign any channel to. It’s actually quite close to the holy grail of 19" mixers (APB H1020) at roughtly a tenth of the prize, if you’re patient and wait for a deal to pop up.
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I use the exact same one in my project studio! For me, its a def keeper
As an cherry on top, you can pipe the mix1 / mix2 outputs to a 2 channel DJ mixer, for best of both worlds (DJ mixer & studio mixer)
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This looks great. What is the EQs like? Useful? Meh? I’m comparing this to the Mackie 1604 VLZ4, which I’ve had for a while. Love the routing, but not so much the EQs. This seems like it is serve me well, but there wouldn’t be a reason for me to upgrade if the EQs are not better than the Mackie ones.
just bought this one to replace my mackie 1604 vlz4. its on the way so not tried yet but higly recomended by a friend for its sound and eqs. its the APB H1020s predecessor.
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Ohhh I didn’t know this exist. If I ever see one second hand for a reasonable price I’m getting it. Love my Mixwizard, but then with a load of stereo channels, great.
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