Does this mixer exist?

easlern

Boredom artist
Hi all- I'm new to mixers so I'm wondering if this exists?

16 channels, interface on board (usb or firewire or something, 16 in/out), faders (motorized or not), pan, highpass, 4 band eq with sweepable mids, compressor on each channel (one knob is fine, as long as it sounds decent.) Digital or hybrid, I don't care.

Basically I'm desperate to ditch the mouse for the basic stuff, I'm looking into control surfaces too but it looks like I might enjoy a mixer more. Anyone have any recommendations that kind of fit this bill?
 
I would like to check that out but I'm afraid to click the link haha

Edit: oh I see from the link it's a behringer xenyx. I was afraid to check those out because of the brand, maybe that's unfair of me though.
 
Presonus. Studiolive. 5 configurations. Everything you need. And they sound good and are easy to learn. Plus the software and DAW is really good.
 
That looks good cavedog, do you know if it can use the fat channel with different settings on each channel, even when mixing? I'm having trouble understanding from their site whether you can use all the blue panel controls ("fat channel"?) with every channel separately, or only on one channel, or only on the mix bus, or what. . . I basically got spoiled on the daw channel strip with a whole dynamics section for each channel, I want that if possible.

Edit: cavedog do you have one of these? Is the noise as bad as some of the reviews online say it is?
 
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I have several friends with these and my experience has been limited to mixing live shows with one. However, the newest iterations all seem to have the ability to add individualized settings of the 'fat channel' to any channel strip. The 'fat channel' is a plug-in and I can't confirm or deny anything about latency with this as a global useage. I do know that the older 'legacy' boards had some sort of lack in how the 'fat channel' was implemented.

As for the noise, I never trust what people hear or do to create this kind of thing. I'm a firm believer that ALL equipment these days when used within the design parameters will perform as stated. That doesn't mean that someone who gave this a bad review didn't get a lemon from the factory. Every one that I've used, including the older 'legacy' builds was whisper quiet even when driving the crap out of a house system.

The digital hybrid I use in my personal system is a QSC Touch-mix. Also a great unit.

All of the major manufacturers are building exactly the type of mixer you are seeking. Soundcraft, Mackie, A&H, etc....It's all about your budget at some point.
 
Doesn't have to be Behringer, though they are on a roll. I was shopping mixer a few months ago and was checking out what I would be missing in the better models. When I spent my lowly $400 I mentioned this to a german guy I was chatting new mixers with. He turned around and snagged a signature 22 MTK. Bastard : ) You could of been happy for a year, since the SOS article April 2016 !

You'll pay more for compression on every input, but many can slum about with 8 compressors, etc..
 
Yeah if I didn't care about the compressor on each channel I'd be set I think, lots of awesome stuff to choose from with nice eq's. I guess that part's expensive? Or maybe live folks just don't need/use them.
 
I did have a pair of behringer truth monitors years ago that I eventually sold during a move. They were great, I guess if behringer are about hits and misses those were definitely hits.
 
sweetwater had a preorder page up for a new Behringer synth and I thought I would sleep on it. The page was gone when I went back to order. Last Friday?? , maybe ??

Regardless, how good are the cookie cutter boards they make now days. My old tascam is about 36- years old

Anyway, I'm sure you'll find something
 
Yeah if I didn't care about the compressor on each channel I'd be set I think, lots of awesome stuff to choose from with nice eq's. I guess that part's expensive? Or maybe live folks just don't need/use them.

Well, they might think a rack of goodies works better, but track compression on board is better than a kick in the teeth. Whatever the buyer wants : ) The same with onboard effects
 
Nobody ever mentions what budget they have?

Alan.

Fair point, less than 2k I'm thinking. But I have no idea the value of mixers so I wasn't even thinking about it till this point.

You can get a lot for cheap, I'm actually kind of shocked! I saw an 8 channel mackie used for $100 at one of the music stores here.
 
Fair point, less than 2k I'm thinking. But I have no idea the value of mixers so I wasn't even thinking about it till this point.

You can get a lot for cheap, I'm actually kind of shocked! I saw an 8 channel mackie used for $100 at one of the music stores here.

Okay. From your first post it seems you already have a recording system of some sort but like a lot of people you're looking for the tactile feel to mixing rather than sliding the mouse around on the pad. Accurate?

I feel ya. I went the opposite direction in getting rid of my console and going ITB for a bit. I found that even though there wasn't a lot of difference to my mixes other than the basic noise you get from ANY mixer (in all fairness, some of this type of 'noise' is perfect for music production)....I wasn't getting the satisfaction or the feeling of being proactive in a mix by not having sliders. So I added a couple of control surfaces to my setup. Since I'm deep into the ProTools financial network, I went with Avid Artist Control and an Avid Artist Mix. These are both Eucon controllers as far as their language goes. Motorized faders, memory for ALL moves, Basically giant fancy mice.....But they provide the tactile feel of mixing with a fader which is what I was missing.

I still use the mouse a lot except at the end of the mix when I'm putting all the fades and automations in place...then I use the faders.

I still have a real analog mixer but it's a sidecar for its preamps and EQ and routing. I only needed 8 channels so I bought a Toft ATB8. A very nice sounding board BTW. When Malcolm came out with these there was some talk about the development of an interface and there was even a space in the back of the board to accommodate this but it never happened. It really wasn't a big deal for most people with these consoles. I mention this because this probably isn't what you'd be looking for.

If you already have a DAW setup and are just looking to get faders then there are several control surfaces that will probably integrate totally into your system. This gives you access to your plugin library, total recall of mixes, probably (depending on the rig) motorized touch sensitive faders, and something easily within your budget.

What it doesn't do is add any preamps or any other analog to your system.

And maybe that's what you're looking for. I don't know how many channels you need. Or why you mentioned having the interface onboard, but defining these things makes deciding an easier thing. And easier to make suggestions.
 
I'm really looking for a better workflow is all. I have a great couple input channels, a couple good encoders, and an interface. What I want is very (I think) simple- the ability to physically tweak a full channel strip for 16 or more channels. That's usually where my track count tops out so I figure that would be enough for me. I don't need motorized faders or recall either because I only ever work on one song at a time. If I have to hit a track button to tweak a certain channel, that's okay. I just spend so much time dragging knobs with the mouse that by the time I get a rough mix I've heard the song 5 times and completely lost perspective. And it makes it hard to get better mixes because it takes so much longer to try different things.

Lately I was looking at midi control surfaces (perfect for this kind of thing right?) but except for a couple exceptions, surfaces with 16+ knobs don't exist! I want a poor man's console basically, I've used a few emulations of ssl strips in particular and love them. But they have like 15+ pots per strip depending on the implementation, and it's just so hard to find a simple surface like that.

So I'm willing to dive in to a new tech if that's what it takes, sell off what I got and just get an interface/mixer (or interface and analog mixer pair) that can do what I want. That's what this thread is for, to check out non-surface options. It probably seems like a silly place to start (it would be) but I've explored the surface route already and I'm looking to compare.
 
Do you mind me asking what your current setup is in some detail? Integration might make this important.
 
...by the time I get a rough mix I've heard the song 5 times and completely lost perspective.

:laughings:
Only 5 times?
Oh...I'm not laughing at you...just that hearing a mix only 5 times before getting a final mix, is somewhat of a dream...for most people...so don't feel too bad if you have to hear it more than 5 times. :)

I want a poor man's console basically...

So it's becoming more common these days...ITB people getting more OTB and consoles are making a comeback, especially in the pro world...which is cool.
Thing is...not too many poor man's consoles are going to have the full-tilt channel strip options that you now get with a simple, inexpensive plug-in. Just having 16 channels with a comp on each in a hardware mixer will take you beyond the "poor man's" world.
Also...in most cases, you will still end up ITB for a lot of stuff, unless you go all-analog...because again, the added feature sets you find in even the most basic DAWs are simply not easily attainable OTB and without a nice chunk of $$$...which is why so many people live in the ITB world.

I'm using a larger format analog console...and I run a hybrid OTB/ITB system. It's great setup (for me)...but it adds all kinds of complexity and considerations that people simply don't think of when they are use to working entirely ITB...so an external console is a nice addition, but I'm not sure how much it will help to keep your mic playbacks to 5 or less times. :D

So how much exactly are you trying to go OTB?
I mean...why the need for the comps on each channel, if you're still going to run the channels vie interface ITB...?
Just not clear on what's you real need or what you want to accomplish...without making your life more complicated....?
 
Yeah, definitely takes me dozens (hundreds?) of listens before I bounce miro! I'm talking rough though to start, just levels sounding relatively sane, basic eq/compression, maybe a quick pan. Usually I just drop a single channel strip plugin on every channel and tweak till I'm pretty happy, after that I get into the real mix, effects and details. But always going back and forth to those channel strips to fine-tune or try different sounds.

Cavedog right now I got my main chain: mic -> pre -> compressor -> 500 goodies -> encoder -> interface. And a secondary chain: mic -> pre -> encoder -> interface. I use audient id14 with logic pro x. I pretty much throw a channel strip plugin on each track and later effects, maybe a de-esser and delay. All live recording except drums, which I play with a touch sensitive pad. That's pretty much the setup.

I'm looking to do a hybrid thing if I have to, for no reason other than convenience. I wanna use my plugins but I want the ease of physical controls. Drives me nuts having to click and drag, click and drag. . . I figure I can't make a set of encoders for every single plug but if I can just get the channel strips onto encoders I'll be pretty damn happy!

The studio live will be on my list to check out for sure. I also found the Allen & Heath Qu16 and Yamaha MG (which is only stereo out to daw but has some compressors.) They all sound like they'd be great to work with.
 
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If they have one at guitar center! That's as high-end as it gets on the west side that I know of. :\ It looks gorgeous and seems like it does what I want, I must have overlooked it earlier.
 
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