Ramsa WR8112 vs. Mackie 1604 (not VLZ)

[88fingers]

I've pretty much settled down on these 2 options. There's a Ramsa WR8112 for $259 plus shipping in "excellent, like-new" condition. It is about 10 years old. Also, there's a Mackie 1604 for $300 plus shipping that's about 5 years old, also in "excellent, like-new" condition. I'm having trouble deciding on the two. I've been told that the Ramsa would be getting a better deal for my money, because in its time, it would have been (and possibly still is) a better mixer. However, the Mackie is much newer, and thus seems to me that it would be less likely to have problems in the near future. Any advice on this?
-B

[88fingers]

Geez, there's got to be at least one person, on some forum out there, that has an opinion on this...

[Son of Mixerman]

I think you wll find that a majority of the Panasonic Ramsa mixers will be better than Mackies. Most os the Ramsa line was designed to compete with Older Yamaha PM1000's, Soundrafts, Tascams and the like. The pre's are typically not as brittle like the Mackies but the EQ's suck for almost every mixer in that price range. Maintenance is a toss up as far as costs, but after a problem is resolved the Ramsa will still sound better.
Im biased because Im borrowing a Ramsa right now and I buy one if the opportunity came up.


SoMm

[88fingers]

Well, thanks for your advice, SoMM. At least someone responded here; I can't believe how many forums I posted on and didnt' get a single reply. I guess people are too busy answering "Which mic should I buy for less than $100?"

[Son of Mixerman]

LOL


Actually it shows my age and the length of my involvement in recording. If you were to ask about Ramsa mixers 15 or 16 years ago almost everyone would have said something about them. Not too many people have used them in the last 8 to 10 years.

Peace,
SoMm

[88fingers]

Yeah, I'm pretty much leaning towards the Ramsa. I've heard great things about Ramsa boards from several people, plus the head engineer at the studio where I intern says he used to use a Ramsa and loved it.