Hey guys,
Although I've been using a Mackie 1604 VLZ-Pro for recording and mixing (which was initially supposed to just be a temporary solution), I've become unhappy both with the track count limitation (I'm using two sync'ed TSR-8 machines for recording, so with 14 tracks usually being used at once for mixes, it doesn't offer me a great deal of flexibility as well as any future expandability) and, more importantly, the rather brittle sound of the board. I've been eyeing the Toft ATB-24 for some time (I think I actually prefer the sound of the Oram 80-T boards, but from what I've read of the board build quality, as well as the fact that they tend to be more expensive here in the US than the Toft boards are, the ATB-24 seems to be the better buy), which can be found (sometimes) as a refurb from Toft Audio for around $4500...but I'm wondering if I can't do better in terms of bang-for-buck (or, at the very least, I'd like to know that I did as much research as I could before spending money).
What I'd like to know is: are there any boards that people can recommend which retail (either new or used) for roughly $4k or less? Has anybody compared any boards they'll recommend to the ATB-24, and if so, what were their thoughts on pros and cons of the boards? For that matter, what thoughts do people who own (or have used) ATB-24s have on that board?
Thanks
Although I've been using a Mackie 1604 VLZ-Pro for recording and mixing (which was initially supposed to just be a temporary solution), I've become unhappy both with the track count limitation (I'm using two sync'ed TSR-8 machines for recording, so with 14 tracks usually being used at once for mixes, it doesn't offer me a great deal of flexibility as well as any future expandability) and, more importantly, the rather brittle sound of the board. I've been eyeing the Toft ATB-24 for some time (I think I actually prefer the sound of the Oram 80-T boards, but from what I've read of the board build quality, as well as the fact that they tend to be more expensive here in the US than the Toft boards are, the ATB-24 seems to be the better buy), which can be found (sometimes) as a refurb from Toft Audio for around $4500...but I'm wondering if I can't do better in terms of bang-for-buck (or, at the very least, I'd like to know that I did as much research as I could before spending money).
What I'd like to know is: are there any boards that people can recommend which retail (either new or used) for roughly $4k or less? Has anybody compared any boards they'll recommend to the ATB-24, and if so, what were their thoughts on pros and cons of the boards? For that matter, what thoughts do people who own (or have used) ATB-24s have on that board?
Thanks
