What would you do?

[thesobe]

Ok, i've had quite a lot of experience recording acoustic guitar and voice on what most would consider a very limited budget. Ive been using an old 2 input Audiowerk soundcard with an Audiobuddy pre-amp and an SP B1 mic for everything. However now that im going to be recording drums, im undecided as to whether or not i should upgrade my small behringer mixer which was just used for monitoring...

So im going to use the SP mic for an overhead, sm57 on snare and a senheiser mic on bass drum, and i could either get another audiobuddy (£50) then go into the line ins on the mixer ive got, or get a new mixer (£100 Mackie dfx 6, £60 Soundcraft notepad) and use the pre amps on the mixer. Again, i know the sound quality isnt going to be world class, but im happy with the quality i get just now so on that basis what would be the best combination?

Cheers

[thesobe]

anyone got an opinion on this?

[AlexW]

Your mic selection sounds fine. If you want a new mixer, go that route. If you're happy with the Behringer, get another preamp like you have. I'd pick Soundcraft over Mackie, and maybe step up to the M-series.

[SonicAlbert]

I agree with AlexW. A small Soundcraft mixer would be a good way to go. I think the small Mackie VLZ's sound pretty good too though, actually better than their larger mixers.

Witha mixer you get not only the preamps, but the line ins which you can use with your current audio buddy. So you'll have some room for expansion as well.

[thesobe]

cheers guys...well looks like the notepad is the way to go then. However im tempted by the mackie dfx-6 as it is only 30 quid more expensive, has faders as opposed to standard knobs and also some effects thrown in (which ive heard bad things about, and probably wouldnt make use of anyway)

Heres a link to the mackie board;

http://www.soundcontrol.co.uk/mod_1/....1.5.4.2-16-15

And for the notepad;

http://www.soundcontrol.co.uk/mod_1/...1.1.5.4.2-22-4

Something I noticed when researching these mixers was that they are almost the same price in the uk as the would be if i bought from the US, which is pretty uncommon, especially for electronics. They must be brittish made?

Anyway, thanks again for your opinion...i think the soundcraft is the slight favourite right now, but only because it would fit on my desk better.

[thesobe]

anyone got an opinion on this???

[thesobe]

no more chat????

[thesobe]

so has this subject been discussed already?

[manning1]

sobe.
a signal chain to demo sometrime...
mic>>>rane ms1b mic pre>>>>RME soundcard in a pc.
problem is the cost.

[thesobe]

eh? ...i know these are pretty low budget pieces of equiptment (for some people) but i dont really have 2k for a mixer to record a demo in my bedroom... i was wondering if anyone had any experience to compare both these mixers, as the mackie seems to have considerably more functions for an extra 20 quid. Obviously sound quality is the most important thing, as i'll need no more than 4 xlr inputs for recording kit, but still if the mackie was by far the better choice here then id fork out the extra cash.