I’m currently using an SSL Big SiX as my main mixer, with a Mackie 1402VLZ4 handling my drum sub mix. Due to space limitations, I’m looking for a more compact solution to replace the Mackie while keeping a similar workflow.
At the moment, the Mackie is literally sitting on a small IKEA stool under my desk, so I’m trying to find a cleaner and more practical solution.
The goal is to use the sub mixer not only for summing all my drum machines, but also as a routing hub for parallel processing. I’d like to have the option to send the drum bus into the Syntakt Analog FX section when needed, then run it through a Warm Audio Bus Comp for parallel compression, with the ability to EQ the wet return and blend it back in at the desired level.
My current drum setup consists of a Syntakt, Machinedrum, and TR-06. In the future, I’m also considering adding a sampler with stereo output and an MSW SY-01, so I’d like to keep some room for expansion.
I’ve been considering the Intellijel Jellymix for a while. Would you recommend it for this type of workflow? How does it compare in terms of headroom, sound quality, and overall usability?
I’d really appreciate any real-world experience or suggestions for other compact mixers that could work well for this kind of hardware setup.
Budget is not a major limitation, but I’d prefer not to overspend and I’d prefer to stay with an analogue mixer rather than moving to a digital solution.
That has 5 stereo channels, your setup seems fairly drum machine oriented with extra outputs on the machinedrum and potential extra outputs on the syntakt with outbox 8. No panning for mono tracks, and you’ll get out of channels pretty quick. So only a good option for you if you don’t plan to use any individual outs, but work with the stereo outs only. Sound and build quality is supposed to be great.
Boredbrain xcelon SL seems like a perfect fit,. Very flexible for stereo and mono combined. But in another price range - unless you let go of the SSL and just work with one mixer? Not clear why you need a main mixer and a submixer from your post.
As a compact submixer for the SSL, the cre8audio assembler could be a great option, but it more mono oriented like the mackie.
Hope that helps!
I was struggling to achieve the workflow I wanted without enough I/O and subgrouping options, so I decided to bring my old Mackie mixer back into the setup specifically for drums.
My current setup includes Digitone, Prophet-6, MSW Xena, MSW 810, SH-01A, and NR2. For send effects, I’m using a Quadraverb and an Empress on SSL Big SiX.
The goal is to be able to blend my dry drums with a parallel compressed and EQ’d drum bus, while still having the option to route the any or all drum elements through the Syntakt’s Analog FX block whenever I want.
Current routing:
All Drums → Mackie IN
Mackie Mute/Alt OUT → Syntakt IN
Mackie Aux 1 + Aux 2 POST OUT → WA Bus Compressor IN
WA Bus Compressor OUT → Mackie Stereo IN
Mackie Main OUT → SSL Big SiX Stereo IN
Plus, I can route any sound from the SSL back into the Mackie through the SSL Bus B output.
It’s certainly a “bold” aesthetic choice. Interesting featureset, but Jellymix and Xcelon SL hit a lot closer to the feature sweet spot for my needs at least.
Kind of a weird design. They mention organic sources, passive basses, vintage Rhodes, Moog Prodigy, Hofner Beatle bass, but then it’s a bunch of stereo inputs with no panning? The Neve styling and the marketing lingo seem geared toward people doing rock type stuff in the studio but the feature set is more geared to someone wanting to mix together a bunch of stereo outputs from grooveboxes and synths in a live setting. But without the filters and other performance features of other recent compact mixers. I really struggle to understand the workflow this is suited for.
Yeah, I couldn’t figure out who this is for either. Minimal send/insert options, weird mix of channels. Feels a bit like this is some specific person’s personally ideal mixer. The Jellymix doesn’t really give you any panning options either but it seems like here they are having that mono+thru feature as a real value feature; I guess if you think about it like having a bunch of mono DI boxes in one it might be pretty useful. Really it kind of comes across more like a bunch of individual preamp/DI boxes that would each be useful all collected together into a mixer.
Oh I totally missed the Thru element. They don’t really explain it on their website but the SOS article does. That’s pretty cool. Still a little odd though, you can have 4 channels with direct outs, but no direct out for the mic pre or the other 4 stereo channels. Their promo video touts the 4 stereo pairs as being 8 channels of dual mono but surely those are just going to be hard panned right and left?
Would be wonderful to get an incredible mixer for that price for sure.
Do I believe that will happen - a great mixer for that price in today’s world?
Zero percent.
But I hope to be wrong! …and sure there must be someone out there who can pull a great album with this…
My current mixer is a Pioneer V10 long fader. I realize people don’t tend to look at it because they associate it with DJing vs Dawless (and/or the price), but there’s a few reasons why I chose it over the others, namely:
Compression on every channel, which is extremely important in a world with so many different approaches synth amp/gain staging and summing algorithms on different groove boxes/drum machines leaning towards various frequency tilts which can get mellowed out with compression.
Everything is a stereo channel. All my elektron devices, most of my stuff from erica, and all of my flagships are either stereo or going through stereo fx boxes.
Having a 4 band EQ on every channel really helps with sculpting both in the studio and live.
Master Isolator - it’s great for tonal balance when I’ve got multiple channels playing together (usually with layered percussion).
FX that are MUCH, MUCH better than people rag on - noting that you need to spend some time learning how to customize the various effects to your needs. Yes, they sound like @$$ out of the box, but you can absolutely make them shine if you take the time to find their sweet spots. Additionally, I can instantly punch in/out of 3 simultaneous FX at the same time due to the UX - it’s not all based on send/return knobs.
Double cueing for when collaborating.
Not losing channels for mic inputs - it’s 6 full stereo channels PLUS two mic channels, contrary to a lot of other mixers that market themselves as having a certain amount of channels, but you add a vocalist to the mix and that quickly diminishes.
Faders are important to me. There’s some great options out there that were eliminated for me because of workflow. If I need to make fast linear cuts across more than 2 channels at a time, knobs don’t do it.
That being said, I do think there are some pretty cool mixers out there that work wonders for synths, and it really comes down to your needs. The biggest thing you can focus on when making a choice on what to buy is not the amount of bells and whistles a mixer has, but whether or not you understand your workflow and whether or not it will contribute to you finishing more music vs. getting lost in feature overload.
I think it would be for the same person Radial’s Key Largo is for- those wanting a high quality keyboard summing mixer with stereo send/return- but having a bunch more inputs, and none of that USB interface nonsense. Should be a winner.
I want to like this but honestly I think it’s sort of incoherent. In concept and execution.
If it had half as many hi-gain inputs and twice as many aux sends, it would be really cool. But to me it’s just weird to have so many mono inputs with only 1 aux send and no busses or panning. Bordering on perverse.
The thru option is pretty cool (like a giant pedal daisy chain I guess?) but seems like it would be inflexible in practice and a weird way to make up for the lack of routing options.
I guess paired with a mini patchbay it could be pretty useful but that kills the idea of it being an all-in-one box.
I get why tradition would insist on putting those mute buttons over the level knobs, but in practice they’ve hidden a small control behind a big control.
And yeah the (presumed) lack of pans so everything is hard panned or dead center makes the whole package much less useful as a mixer.
I don’t know. Feels a bit like a rough draft to me. Maybe if you could treat those outs as auxes, but that would mean decoupling them from the main out and also from each other (so making them into mono sends).
Swing and a miss for me, but always interesting to see a big swing.
See that one makes a lot more sense to me and looks like it was designed by people who understand live use. How many keyboard players need 8 stereo inputs and also a mic pre?
And they mention things like Rhodes. I have a friend who used a Rhodes live and it was the only keyboard on stage and it just went into an amp. Then on the other side of things, I played with a much bigger band whose keyboard player had a Rhodes along with some other synths but I’m sure they all went separately to FOH and they were touring with their own sound engineer. No reason for the keyboard player to try to mix onstage.
And then for Elektronauts who are doing dance music and have a bunch of different grooveboxes and drum machines with stereo outs, things like the boredbrain and intellijel with filters and tilt eqs and performance features like that look much more appealing. More expensive though I guess.
Anyway, not trying to pile on, just trying to understand because it certainly looks cool but I don’t understand the use case.
I don’t know, that actually looks pretty cool for using a laptop onstage without needing a separate interface.
If I didn’t alrady own a Key Largo this would be at the top of my list as a sub-mixer.
I don’t currently need the “performance” aspects of the more expensive Jellymix or the 3x-as-expensive Xcelon. What I typically need is lots of high quality inputs which this seems to satisfy.
Just making sure everyone has the same understanding of the specs – from my reading all the hi-gain inputs are STEREO, but can be changed to mono with the Thru option.