Best 12 ch Analog or Analog/USB Mixer???

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soens
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2016/04/06 06:29:09 (permalink)

Best 12 ch Analog or Analog/USB Mixer???

My old Tascam 644 mixer/multitrack fits perfectly on my studio desk like it was custom made for it. But after 20+ years it no longer wants to work right. The tape won't maintain proper speed and the mixer output needs a new wire internally. If someone can recommend a good repair center, that would be great.
 
Otherwise I will be looking for a good 12 channel mixer.
 
What I need:
Decent mic pres
10-12 actual inputs (2 XLR & the rest 1/4")
1 aux send/return
48v phantom power for 1 mic
3 band EQ with sweeping mids
Small size (15" D x 20" W x 5" H ish)
 
Optional:
Rear mounted I/Os (I hate the ugly clutter of top I/Os)
USB 2 with min 24/96
Rackmountable
 
Stereo channels are fine but rarely have sweeping mids or 4 band eq.
Most USB mixers are only USB 1.1 and don't say what level of A/D they have. My rule: if they don't say it's probably 44.1/16.
 
So far my choices are:
1. Soundcraft EPM 12 (no USB)(archaic design)
2. Allen & Heath ZED60 14 (USB 48/16 - for the $ I would expect higher)
3. Mackie ProFX16 (no ProFX14)(few sweeping mid channels)
4. Yamaha MG16 (no MG14)(no USB)(too long [deep] for my desk)
    Yamaha MG16XU (no MG14XU)(USB 192/24)(too long [deep] for my desk)
5. Alto Live 1604 (USB ?/24)(owned by Alesis' parent co.)(nicest layout)(unknown quality)
6. Harbinger L2404FXUSB (USB ?/?)(guitar center brand)(but unknown quality)
 
I'm leaning toward 1, 2, or 5. Any others I should consider?
#1

30 Replies Related Threads

    mikedocy
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    Re: Best 12 ch Analog or Analog/USB Mixer??? 2016/04/06 10:27:20 (permalink)
    The Soundcraft.
    Soundcraft mic preamps sound great, especially on transient material like drums and percussion.
    I like the individual TRS inserts on every channel.
    You can use the TRS inserts as individual mic pre outputs to feed your audio interface line inputs.
    The "tip" is (usually) the output.
     
    Why do you even need a mixer?
    Why not just get an audio interface with enough inputs and do it all "in the box"?
    #2
    soens
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    Re: Best 12 ch Analog or Analog/USB Mixer??? 2016/04/06 17:49:11 (permalink)
    mikedocy
    Why do you even need a mixer?
    Why not just get an audio interface with enough inputs and do it all "in the box"?



    12 XLR/TS connection doesn't sound cost effective but I'm researching that now.
     
    Any suggestions?
    #3
    mikedocy
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    Re: Best 12 ch Analog or Analog/USB Mixer??? 2016/04/06 18:47:40 (permalink)
    Presonus VSL1818 plus a Behringer ADA8000 will give you 16 mic/line inputs.
    Start with the Presonus with 8 channels then get ADA8000 later when you need more than 8
    Get a used VSL1818 for under 300 and a ADA800 for under 150 on ebay.
     
    It depends on your recording situation/requirement.
    Do you need to record 12 channels simultaneously or do you just like the convenience of keeping everything plugged into a mixer and ready to go? With the setup above all 16 channels would be recorded to individual tracks in Sonar.
     
    #4
    soens
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    Re: Best 12 ch Analog or Analog/USB Mixer??? 2016/04/06 19:04:14 (permalink)
    mikedocy
    Do you need to record 12 channels simultaneously or do you just like the convenience of keeping everything plugged into a mixer and ready to go? With the setup above all 16 channels would be recorded to individual tracks in Sonar.



    Convenience comes 1st. Only 1 or 2 tracks are ever recorded at once but the luxury of having everything ready to go without messing with tangled cords is a big thing here. The notion of everything routed to it's own track is also convenient. Much to think about here.
     
    This caught my attention:http://www.qsc.com/live-sound/products/touchmix-mixers/
    A bit pricy but having one on a slide out shelf (which I have) would be really slick!
     
    I'm also curious what people think about Yamaha mixers for recording.
    #5
    mikedocy
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    Re: Best 12 ch Analog or Analog/USB Mixer??? 2016/04/06 19:36:58 (permalink)
    One advantage to using a mixer instead of an interface is that you can turn on the mixer and keys at any time and practice, jam, work on a song, etc  without needing to turn on the computer.
     
     
     
    #6
    ston
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    Re: Best 12 ch Analog or Analog/USB Mixer??? 2016/04/07 06:55:21 (permalink)
    I like my new Behringer X1622USB.  I can't really say much about the quality of the mic pre's as that's something I know nothing about.  However, it's very cheap, provides a lot of routing possibilities, has inserts on the mono (mic) channels and provides stereo I/O over USB (it is not really an 'interface mixer').
    #7
    Mystic38
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    Re: Best 12 ch Analog or Analog/USB Mixer??? 2016/04/07 15:05:28 (permalink)
    Why not look at the Behringer Air XR12?.. at $250 its a total bargain...
     
    there is also a 16ch, and then a jump to the 18ch, but the 18ch can also be an audio interface...but outside your budget

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    Pragi
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    Re: Best 12 ch Analog or Analog/USB Mixer??? 2016/04/07 16:05:51 (permalink)
    Mystic38
    Why not look at the Behringer Air XR12?.. at $250 its a total bargain...
     
    there is also a 16ch, and then a jump to the 18ch, but the 18ch can also be an audio interface...but outside your budget


    Yep, the midas designed preamps are really good and the fx section too.
    Don´t know if this fits the needs of a  user who prefers analog gear,
     there is no fader......
    post edited by Pragi - 2016/04/08 02:18:02
    #9
    soens
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    Re: Best 12 ch Analog or Analog/USB Mixer??? 2016/04/07 16:34:12 (permalink)
    Gosta has faders.
     
    Going totally digital @reedicuuulus $$$ only to fish around thru hidden menus just to adjust levels and settings seems counter intuitive and counter productive. You're paying tons more for the ability to loose control over what you're doing. I like to see what I'm doing instantly. Probably the reason so many use a DAW controller.
    post edited by soens - 2016/04/08 10:52:09
    #10
    Pragi
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    Re: Best 12 ch Analog or Analog/USB Mixer??? 2016/04/07 17:18:02 (permalink)
    I hate  to edit gear like X - air via smartphone, I- pad and cons.
    Preamp wise I  prefer the Allen and Heath Zed boards over the yamaha´s , presonus,mackie´s 
    aso in the price range under 500 bucks.
     
    #11
    Cactus Music
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    Re: Best 12 ch Analog or Analog/USB Mixer??? 2016/04/07 19:39:23 (permalink)
    I've spent a fair bit of time shopping for mixers. Both small and large, I have 3 different needs. Solo act, Live band and the studio.   I make  lists of features and specs and compare all the leading brands. I would never waist my time with any company that is an unknown in Pro Audio. Alto makes cool powered speakers (I own them), but the mixers are going to be the bottom of the line.
    I also will visit a music store and do some hands on armed with a mike and a set of headphones to try the effects out. This is why I chose the Yamaha. You can adjust the effect parameters so they are 1/2 arse usable.
     
    First the band I joined last year was in dire need of an upgrade as the 15 year old Mackie 12 channel had many issues going on. I ended up with a Yamaha MG16 XU and after living with it for 8 months I am still very happy with my choice. It was just the best bang for the buck overall and a huge plus was the editable effects and the compressors on most channels.  I did not want a digital mixer simply because the rest of the band would be helpless if I was not there. We use in ears so the patching and sends had to be just so. Those compressors are very important if your in ears don't have protection...They are not that useful in a studio being set and forget, but they do even things out in a live mix.
     
    For my solo act I have both a small Yamaha MG82cx and a Mackie Mix 8. You can read about that here on my web page 
    http://www.cactusmusic.ca/johns_rig.htm
    Those were bough based on small footprint needs. It was cheaper to add the Mix 8 to my kit than to suffer a larger mixer when I needed more channels. This is an option you might want to consider. Use a dead simple sub mixer to handle synths and drum machines and a table top to serve as the patch bay and monitors.
     
     
    I also have an old Yamaha 01V that is now gathering dust as I find between having the 2 small mixers in the studio I have all I need to keep a few instruments and my old synth rack plugged in.
    I'm a huge believer in using real mixers in the studio, like you I need fast access to faders and buttons.
     
    The Mix 8 is used as a sub mixer for inputting via left main out to #4 of my interface.
    The interfaces #3 input has the Joe Meek Pre amp for vocals patched in.
    My Bass is Patched in to the interfaces front input # 2 from a Small Bass amp DI out (so the amp is the monitor).
    Input #1 on the interface is a spare and comes in handy for many things.
    The Yamaha MG82 is for monitoring only, it has the 3/4 output from my interface, a second send from the Joe Meek pre amp as well as the feed from the Mix 8. I use it for my headphone mixing this way.  Anyhow lots of options when you have a few mixers and a multi channel interface. Bottom line is, I rarely have to re patch things, my inputs are uncluttered and optimized, I have 100% control over my headphone mix.
    post edited by Cactus Music - 2016/04/08 15:01:03

    Johnny V  
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    #12
    tlw
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    Re: Best 12 ch Analog or Analog/USB Mixer??? 2016/04/08 00:38:54 (permalink)
    I've a small lightweight Yamaha mixer I use for small gigs of the kind where you set up a mix on stage and basically leave it alone. No engineer because gig fees won't pay for one. There's also often minimal setup time so speed is essential.

    The Yamaha is fine for that kind of use, and I've heard them used for bigger systems as well and they're OK. The "one knob compression" on the mic channels is decent enough for rapid setup live work but obviously nothing like as flexible as a fully featured compressor. It works like an MXR Dynacomp as far as I can tell, just one control that's basically threshold and a fixed high ratio, gain compensation being via the channel fader.

    As a recording desk, personally I wouldn't use it for that if an alternative were available. The pres don't sound as good to me as my old Mackie VLZ series console. And neither of the mixers can match the pres in my UFX which are invisible for all intents and purposes. They just add gain and very little noise. RME's Totalmix lets me configure it as a full 12-input desk plus up to another 16 inputs via ADAT plus whatever sends the DAW needs to use. The UFX, additional ADAT units and an ipad or laptop runing Totalmix actually make a pretty comprehensive digital mixer with eq, dynamics and reverb with far quicker access to the channel controls than most digital consoles give.

    For DAW purposes I go for as many inputs to the interface as I need then monitor everything via the DAW. It's simple and allows me to run delays, compression, modulation fx, whatever on an instrument and hear what they're doing. I find it a much more flexible and convenient setup than using a hardware mixer.

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    #13
    Snehankur
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    Re: Best 12 ch Analog or Analog/USB Mixer??? 2016/04/08 03:35:06 (permalink)
    YAMAHA MG16XU.
    It is rack-mountable with the clamps come with this model.
    Apart from built in effects there are other signal routing possibilities which made me interested buying this product.
    #14
    soens
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    Re: Best 12 ch Analog or Analog/USB Mixer??? 2016/04/08 04:51:15 (permalink)
    Thanks for sharing all the tips everyone. I just run a simple little home studio and like to keep it that way. There's a few good choices out there.
    post edited by soens - 2016/04/08 10:02:19
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    Cactus Music
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    Re: Best 12 ch Analog or Analog/USB Mixer??? 2016/04/08 19:13:31 (permalink)
    I thought I'd add a few notes that may be of interest to others shopping for a mixer. Just a few observations along the way. You mentioned USB.
     
    The USB audio interface option that you'll often see with mixers is to be taken with caution.
    Many brands don't offer proper drivers so these mixers will work fine for recording a stereo board mix into Audacity but may not work well or at all with Sonar. So worth noting is that Yamaha's come with Steinberg audio drivers. In other words, very decent drivers.
    I was even able to double up with my Tascam us1641 in WDM mode.
    I was able to have Sonar recording multi track from the Tascam, and switch to music playback on breaks from Media player via the Yamaha's USB without any issues.  So another plus bonus for Yamaha over the rest, good drivers.
     
    The built in effects are also optional in most mixers. Once again approach with caution. I found that most brands have static pre-sets with no way to fine tune. Some Mackie and Yamaha boards have a parameter control which will gives you the advantage of say, changing the delay or reverb time.  This makes a huge difference to the usefulness of the effects in a live situation.
     
    Also beware of the false advertising of channel count. It is sort of annoying that they will call a mixer 8 channels when it only has 6 faders.  Count the channel strips!! And some even expect you to use a stereo channel as a effects return.
    Another annoyance is they will sport a "monitor" or "Control room" control which is post main output clone. It's disappointing to have your floor monitors level die when you turn down the mains.
     
    And on the subject of new fangled gizmo digital mixers, What happens to all these iPad dependent mixers when your iPad dies 5 years from now and they become hard to find as time and technology moves onward? And some don't charge your device when docked? I find my iPad or phone batteries die pretty fast if I ask it to do to much and the screen is on. The life expectancy of an iPad is about 2 years ,, so your $299 digital mixer needs a $500 iPad..I think I'll stick to digital mixers that are 100% stand alone. If they have the iPad option that is then cool, but not cool if dependent.
     
     
     

    Johnny V  
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    #16
    soens
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    Re: Best 12 ch Analog or Analog/USB Mixer??? 2016/04/09 05:52:59 (permalink)
     
    I touched on those issues a little bit.
     
    Channel count
    I ignore the name/channel count and refer to what's actually there. It's nothing more than sales hype intended to bloat the price beyond what it should be. Why would the same maker sell a "12 channel" and a "14 channel" with exactly the same input layout? Because they're aiming them at 2 different customers?!
     
    To me a true 12 channel mixer has 12 actual mic/line inputs and channel strips. How many people actually use SPDIF or optical anyway?!
     
    USB
    Years ago I tried an Alesis Multimix and sent it back because the drivers would not work on my system.
    Most cheapy mixers are going to be 16/44.1. Yamaha comes in @24/192. I had my eye on the Allen Heath ZED60 but it's only 16/48 which is not what I want for quality recording/mixing. And I like the idea of multitraking right off the mixer.
     
    Digital
    I like where the Presonus Studio Live is going but it's still too menu driven for my simple mind.
     
    Ethernet
    This seems like a great idea over USB, firewire, etc. Almost every desktop and laptop has it. Why hasn't it been more widely implemented? There's an interesting thread on Gearslutz.com about it.
     
    post edited by soens - 2018/06/17 03:05:15
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    JonD
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    Re: Best 12 ch Analog or Analog/USB Mixer??? 2016/04/09 11:58:43 (permalink)
    tlw

    The Yamaha.....
    As a recording desk, personally I wouldn't use it for that if an alternative were available. The pres don't sound as good to me as my old Mackie VLZ series console. And neither of the mixers can match the pres in my UFX which are invisible for all intents and purposes....



    Interesting.  My feeling is the exact opposite.  I think the D-Pres in my Steinberg (Yamaha) interfaces are an improvement over the Mackie VLZ stuff, and even the pres on my RME FF400. 
     
    I would compare the D-Pres to the newer Mackie Onyx pres - with the latter being slightly more round/warm.

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    #18
    Cactus Music
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    Re: Best 12 ch Analog or Analog/USB Mixer??? 2016/04/09 15:48:51 (permalink)
    Pre amp quailty of signal is subjective. Often it's just some are louder so therefore come across as being "better" 
    I have both Mackie and Yamaha gear now and from in the past and have never "heard" any differance. I even had a little Behringer mixer that sounded just fine but blew up after a short lifespan. My son owns an Allen and Heath which I also found of good quality. 
    I find my little Mackie Mix 8 very worthy of feeding my interface. And my Yamaha 01v was my main front end for the last 18 years or so. It still works fine but is too big for my desk. I'm going to rebuild my workstation and rack mount it. 
     
    I actually do not like the Focusrite interface pre amps much so they are my last ones used. It's not a matter of sound quality for me, but how forgiving a pre amp is. That's why I bought the Joe Meek 3 Q. as I was having way to many issues with getting a good level from the Scarlett. The focusrite pre amps are way to delicate so I end up with them turned down below what I'm used to recording at.  Can't expain why all I know is my levels are much better / hotter when I use most any other pre amp. Even my Tascam us1641 which has these el cheepo flimzy looking controls is tougher and needs little attention while recording live. 
     
    I know there's plenty of gear snobs who poo poo Yamaha but it's a solid brand that has done me very well so I remain a loyal customer. Mackie is also still in my good books. My PA's have always been Yamaha and Mackie driven. Some Yorkville too. I just bought some Alto Speakers after reading a lot of positive reviews. So far so good. I would have prefered the Yamaha's but these where 1/3 the price so I'll see. I have a year to try them out risk free. 
     

    Johnny V  
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    #19
    soens
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    Re: Best 12 ch Analog or Analog/USB Mixer??? 2016/04/10 00:07:56 (permalink)
    It just seems odd to me that Yamaha can put 24/192 USB in their mixers which are probably used more live than studio, while Allen Heath only puts 16/48 USB in their gear.
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    elegentdrum
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    Re: Best 12 ch Analog or Analog/USB Mixer??? 2016/04/10 02:35:09 (permalink)
    I personally would not trust USB for more than a few channels of real time transfer unless you have tested the results with a specific set of gear. The USB buss can get jammed up crating audio problems.
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    Cactus Music
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    Re: Best 12 ch Analog or Analog/USB Mixer??? 2016/04/10 10:53:24 (permalink)
    The reason might be is that Yamaha and Steinberg take audio drivers seriously and spend money developing them. Allen & Heath is a hardware company, not software, so they just use generic off the shelf drivers. They build great mixers that are not not audio interfaces. 
    With the exception of the true multi track mixer/interfaces, the intent of the USB port on a mixer is for playback of tunes on a break and for a quick and easy board mix recording. So really 16/44.1 is good enough for 98% of the folks who will use this feature.  
     
    The USB port is an option, it costs money to add it in, it cost even more money to write good audio drivers for it, The manufactures are forced to comply because now a days people expect that feature. 
    It's certainly handy for live bands, but because of the pour drivers those mixers are sub par for use in a studio.
     
     

    Johnny V  
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    #22
    Mystic38
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    Re: Best 12 ch Analog or Analog/USB Mixer??? 2016/04/16 17:33:43 (permalink)
    I accept your prejudice, and thats ok, but not your facts..:)
     
    The Behringer XR series connects a controller via wifi or ethernet.. no docking station.
     
    You can use a $49 android tablet..or a $500 iPad, or a $2000 PC/laptop via Ethernet, or can use that last smartphone you had, for free...at my last count i have 3 devices currently unused that can be dedicated to a mixer.. as they are all useless and worthless for anything else...and being connected via wifi,  they can be left screen on and powered.
     
    The FX on digital mixers are simply light years ahead of what comes on an "analog" mixer, (that has digital FX anyway).. imagine a 4 band fully parametric EQ per channel.. that alone is worth the money in a live situation... So, for $250 the XR12 is simply light years ahead of anything else available... (and, I am not necessarily a Behringer fan, simply stating the obvious here).
     
    Cactus Music
     
    And on the subject of new fangled gizmo digital mixers, What happens to all these iPad dependent mixers when your iPad dies 5 years from now and they become hard to find as time and technology moves onward? And some don't charge your device when docked? I find my iPad or phone batteries die pretty fast if I ask it to do to much and the screen is on. The life expectancy of an iPad is about 2 years ,, so your $299 digital mixer needs a $500 iPad..I think I'll stick to digital mixers that are 100% stand alone. If they have the iPad option that is then cool, but not cool if dependent.
     





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    #23
    Cactus Music
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    Re: Best 12 ch Analog or Analog/USB Mixer??? 2016/04/17 11:05:59 (permalink)
    Point taken, I have used a Yamaha 01v since 1996 or so so I'm certainly aware of the huge advantages of digital over analog. And there are many digital mixer that still have 100% control without an outboard tablet device. 
    I just picked up an iPhone 4 for $50 just to use with a obsolete Akai Synthstation 25 
    http://www.akaipro.com/product/synthstation25
     
    The synth will be only partially useful the day the worlds supply of iPhone 4's is depleted. So my point is my Yamaha 01V still works, It will continue to work for I expect anoth 5 or 10 years. But all this new gear that is dependent on the currant line of hand held devices will become obsolete in possible a short time frame.
     
    I myself am actually thinking about A Behringer X Air xr12  for my solo act just to get the programmable effects.
    But I like my gear to last more than 5 years so I'm reluctant.
     
    anybody notice that Mackie just released a small digital mixer that is also device dependent.   
    http://mackie.com/products/prodx-series
     
    For the money its sadly missing a lot of ins and outs. 

    Johnny V  
    Cakelab  
    Focusrite 6i61st - Tascam us1641. 
    3 Desktops and 3 Laptops W7 and W10
     http://www.cactusmusic.ca/
     
     
    #24
    elegentdrum
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    Re: Best 12 ch Analog or Analog/USB Mixer??? 2016/04/20 20:56:25 (permalink)
    I had an O2R. I really worked up my chops on that thing. The bad part was that only one channel could be adjusted at once. The good thing was being able to save and recall EQ settings. The cool thing was 16 flying faders, and 32 with the "Flip" one gets used too after a while. Automated mixing was fast on that interface.
     
    The reason I no longer use was the IO and word clock issues (And VHS tapes) of the day. I was using ADATs with optical to and from the O2R. Back then the clock was taken from the first ADAT of the batch. The loss of quality from the mixture of early bad 18 bit converters and a low quality word clock with no color digital mixing really made things hard to get it sounding right. I added to the problem by using high quality colorless preamps....Grace, Avalon.
     
    Years of fighting digital mixing has shown me: 
    #1 Digital is great for surgical precision, but lacks color. In some cases (soft synth), just allowing the signal to go into analog and back makes it sound like it's supposed to before mixing. Even the digital processes are tuned through an analog monitor of some kind.
     
    #2 Track and mix through a single continuous system. A single word clock master must run the entire system. If you have two sets of converters that sound better each running from it's internals.....deal with it, you can't have everything. Many devices only work well using the internal clock. Using an external clock can (not always) cost the quality of the digital processing it does. In general, get a master and run from it, or try to run from the A/D converters. Computers also like to be in charge.....there in lies the rub.
     
    Digital vs Analog. In general, Up to a point, I want as much analog as I can afford. The point is the tape machine. Digital recording is better than analog. Other than that, I prefer analog EQ, Compression, Effects (Outboard), mixing, to the effects inside the computer.....on average. The cost of time, space, and price go up really really fast for small gains. The bottom line is, the quality is better with analog.
    #25
    Cactus Music
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    Re: Best 12 ch Analog or Analog/USB Mixer??? 2016/04/22 14:41:20 (permalink)
    elegentdrum
     The bottom line is, the quality is better with analog.




    Change that to "High End Analog" and you'll be closer to the truth. There is pour quality analog gear that is easily outdone by mediocre digital. 
     
    Mostly what digital offers over analog is a lot of on board processing. 
    This topic is about using a mixer for studio recording which has entirely different needs than live sound. We don't really need the processing power of a digital mixer in a studio because we already have all that in our DAW.
    Analog is certainly doing well in studios these day's.  
     For live sound you are further ahead with a digital board because those processors are more or less essential to pro sound.
     There's no limit in what you can stuff inside a little digital box. The equivalent processors in analog would be unwieldy to move around. Pro Live Audio is almost all digital desks now for this reason. Scene recall is has also become essential for live.   But those desks are not the consumer models  we talk about around here. We are talking $$$.
     
     

    Johnny V  
    Cakelab  
    Focusrite 6i61st - Tascam us1641. 
    3 Desktops and 3 Laptops W7 and W10
     http://www.cactusmusic.ca/
     
     
    #26
    soens
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    Re: Best 12 ch Analog or Analog/USB Mixer??? 2016/09/06 06:53:54 (permalink)
    So I went with the Behringer UFX1204USB. Great features and worked great with Windows 7. However, I just bought a new LpTp running windows 10 and apparently there are no Behringer drivers for it. They can be installed and run in compatibility mode.
    post edited by soens - 2016/09/06 07:29:07
    #27
    musicroom
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    Re: Best 12 ch Analog or Analog/USB Mixer??? 2016/09/06 09:54:15 (permalink)
    How about the Soundcraft Signature 12 MTK? Lots of features for $450.
     
    There are a lot of great choices that I think in the end you'll like whichever one you land on.  I'm impressed with the Soundcraft, Allen & Heath and Yamaha preamps I've worked with - although the preamps in those mixers may or may not differ from their next tier up products.  I do have a lot of first hand experience with all of those brands. Very impressed with anything that has Yamaha's D-Pres housed inside.
     
     
    EDIT>>  Should have read the last post before sending this one. All the best with your choice. Keep us in the loop for info on this mixer.
    post edited by musicroom - 2016/09/06 10:16:50

     
    Dave
    Songs
    ___________________________________
    Desktop: Platinum / RME Multiface II / Purrfect Audio DAW  I7-3770 / 16 GB RAM / Win 10 Pro / Remote Laptop i7 6500U / 12GB RAM /  RME Babyface



     
     
    #28
    soens
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    Re: Best 12 ch Analog or Analog/USB Mixer??? 2018/06/16 04:17:13 (permalink)
    1-1/2 yrs of use and overall the UFX1204 is a pretty awesome little mixer/multitrack interface. At first the drivers had some issues but lately haven't had any hickups with them.
     
    I use it for DAW activity and the onboard sound for system default and other audio players, which is plugged into the mixer's 1st 2 channels so I can hear everything through the mixer. It has 2 main outputs which is handy for A/B comparisons or routing some channels thru outboard processors while keeping others dry.
     
    The only thing wrong with it is the headphone volume pot is scratchy and crazy loud. With Main Fader at -0- I have to keep the headphones between the first tick mark and 0 or they'll blow my eardrums. Don't know what's up with that.
    #29
    sock monkey
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    Re: Best 12 ch Analog or Analog/USB Mixer??? 2018/06/17 02:19:31 (permalink)
    Thanks for the update on what you bought. I'm still gun-shy of Behringer as the 3 things I bought all are broken now. Our Behringer mixer died at a gig a week ago, Main outputs are gone. Aux still works, 
    So, 
    Just ordered a Soundcraft Signature 10. It had exactly what we needed and no more. 
    Small footprint, 6 XLR, 2 Aux, effects with control, Compressors on vocals, Hi Z on guitars. and USB for the laptop backing tracks. 
    Only one thing missing is no RCA output to make board mix recordings. I'm hoping I can figure out how to use the USB for playback AND recording at the same time. 

    Cakelab - Sonar X3e Studio   
    Singer Songwriter, Solo Performer, Acoustic Duo and semi pro Sound Monkey.   
      
    #30
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