Can anyone recommend a hardware mixer for me?

[XenosoniK]

Hello, all. I'm finally here in the states and i was wondering if anyone could recommend a mixer for me to suit my needs before i buy one blindly and regret it.

i'm planning on getting a delta1010 and because of that, i'll be practically broke so i need to find a mixer that's less than $350

i don't have any external effects and i do most of my effects internally.

i'll soon be using cubase SX.

can anybody help me out? do i need to provide more info? also, does anybody know any guides on the net that show how to use a hardware mixer with a computer?

thanks,
-X

[snow axe pro]

what's a delta 1010?

[bombastique]

You might be able to find an older Mackie 1604 for that price - on Ebay or something. Maybe Soundcraft or even a Behringer might fit in there as well...

[XenosoniK]

i was looking around and i found a Behringer Eurorack 2004A on sale at musician's friend for $249. does that sound like a good deal?

-X

[LiquidTension]

I was in the same boat you are in. I'd recommend saving up a couple extra bucks and getting the Mackie 1202 VLZ Pro. I've used both, and the Mackie is just a better built mixer with better sounding preamps. Ebay has some of the old 1202's but they don't have the new preamps. Make sure it's the VLZ Pro with the XDR preamps. Hope this helps you out some.

[knowdoubt]

If you want at least 8 mic pre's with inserts to meat the full analog input capability of the Delta 1010, on that budget, the Behringer Eurorack 2004A is about the best you'll do audio quality wise. The pre's in it are quite adequate (about on par with the Mackie VLZ without the XDR pre's). Just keep your fingers crossed it doesn't break down. $249... at that price point it wouldn't make much sense to wait till you can afford something better. Just get it & record now while you save for something better. That little drop in the bucket won't make a dent in the amount you'll need to save to get something better.

[Lord Wan]

I use myself the Behringer MX-2804 and it has great features for about 350$ : 8 direct outputs, 4 sub-groups, 6 aux, etc....
The sound is great, without hisses, hums, etc... even with all faders way up.

You won't find anything close for that price and first similar model of other brands is at least twice the price...

[sumabreez]

Any small format mackie, behringer, or soundcraft will do. I personally love the soundcraft mixers better.

my 2 pennies,
Suma

[bombastique]

yeah, that eurorack sounds like the best bet...

[XenosoniK]

Ok, so I take it that with my pathetic budget, the 2004A is the best I can do. Seems like a good deal to me. Thanks for all your help. I knew I could count on these forums.

[ZooNooZ]

Do the old 1202's have any preamps at all, nasty preamps, or fair-to-middlin preamps, or is it that the VLZ's pre is just that much better?

Originally posted by LiquidTension:
I was in the same boat you are in. I'd recommend saving up a couple extra bucks and getting the Mackie 1202 VLZ Pro. I've used both, and the Mackie is just a better built mixer with better sounding preamps. Ebay has some of the old 1202's but they don't have the new preamps. Make sure it's the VLZ Pro with the XDR preamps. Hope this helps you out some.

[GZsound]

I use a Behringer 2004 mixer to run sound and simultaneous live recording to ADAT at bluegrass festivals. They currently cost $219 and are an exceptional buy.

Anybody that declares the Mackie preamps are better than Behringer is simply mad at Behringer for taking an existing design and making it cheaper.

I have three Behringer mixers and they all work great. I have had no problems with any of them as far as reliability. My eight bus is four years old and gets a lot of use. My 10 input rock and roll mixer is five years old and has worked flawlessly and my new 2004 has given me some pristine ADAT tracks.

Unbelievable value for the bucks..

[XenosoniK]

woah, this is an old post. i actually plan on doing my mixing in the software (which is not cubase sx because i didn't like the demo) so i just plan to get some preamps.

-X

[The Radman]

The Behringer MX2642A is a great little submixer for your task, on sale now at around $250.00 @ Musicians Friend and American Musical Supply. Best bang for the buck that I know of. I have had this model for over five years now and have never had a problem with it. I use the **** out of it too. 5 drum machines, 4 keyboards, 2 effects processors, a denoiser and a compressor all are routed to this bad boy and it handles it all with style and clarity. Make sure you do full diagnostics on any piece of gear that you aqcuire that you intend to keep.
Peace Love Electric RAD http://www.audioforums.com/forums/cool.gif
The Radman.

[Bops2000]

i found a berhinger 1832 for 200 bcks at music 123 site it has a little graphic eq as well as some on board effects.
damn I bought one. rack nountable, the proverbial 'bic lighter' board

[GZsound]

Both Americanmusical.com and zzounds.com have much better prices than musicians friend.

I have been using American Musical Supply for several years now and their prices are good and their service is excellent.

I also recommend purchasing from a local dealer if possible. I purchased my Behringer 2004 mixer from a local dealer and paid maybe ten dollars higher than I would have through an on-line retailer when adding in freight.

However, that ten dollars means I have a local dealer where I can review equipmet, return defective equipment, etc. and get good advice when I need it.

[ALBERTPIKE]

I have a Soundcraft Folio Lite with 4 mic pres. You can get around the problem of no direct outs by using the channel insert, pushing the plug in one click. This bypasses the mixer section, allowing you only to adjust the trim. This is what I would do anyway. You can't patch in external effects or adjust eq with this technique, but you get four preamps. I you wanted to use the mixer, you could do a 2 channel stereo submix (as for acoustic guitar, etc. Or you could use each of the aux sends for 2 mono channels. With these techniques, you can insert external effects devices.

This one went for $129 on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2501960798&category=23785

[This message has been edited by ALBERTPIKE (edited 02-08-2003).]

[This message has been edited by ALBERTPIKE (edited 02-08-2003).]

[Davros]

I'll second whoever recommended the MX2642A over the 2004A. They are both basically the same price now - well, within $20 on zzounds. More inputs on the 2642 and an additional subgroup to use. My vote goes to the 2642. And err... I have one...