Mixers? Mixers?? Mixers???

[King_Cobra]

I know this may sound like a dumb question, but here we go..

Does anyone know if there is a headroom different in a smaller mixer verus a larger mixer? For example; would a Soundcraft spirit M4 provide the same headroom and exact same sound as a Soundcraft Ghost series? I know the Ghost mixers have more features, but what if you don't need the extra features. Only needing a compact mixer, will the sound be compacted?

Also does anyone know the difference between a live mixer and a studio mixer? Does a live mixer have a different sound quality or is it just difference features?

[xstatic]

No, a Spirit will not sound the same as a Ghost. In fact, not even as similar as you might think. As for live vs. studio.... Both consoles are often designed very differently. Sound quality is important in both, but the way they are laid out and the amount and types of features they require are often very different. Studio consoles will often be "inline" or "split" in design and offer 24 to 48 busses, whereas live consoles are rarely split and the nicer ones offer VCA grouping, matrixing, and between 16 and 32 aux sends. The actual quality of each really depends on the make and model.

[King_Cobra]

Cool... thanks!

Although, as far as a Soundcraft Spirit verus the Ghost series? Are you refering to their preamps or the line inputs? Would this also apply to the Mackie 1202/1404 verus the 32.8?

[xstatic]

This may not apply to the Mackie products in the same way, but Spirit and Soundcraft are not nearly as similar as people seem to think they are. That would be like saying the Peavey and Crest are or DOD and Lexicon. Just because they share certain ownership does not mean that they are the same product. When I talk to the Soundcraft guys they laugh when people compare the Spirit's to the other Soundcraft consoles. Some of the small compact format stuff share some of the same technology, but hten they are also priced about the same.

It is important to remember that when something is BASED on something else, there is no guarantee how similar they actually are. There is a reason that a Ghost costs more than twice as much as a Spirit of the same size and similar features. There is also a reason why a Series 5 costs 10 times more than a Ghost. Some of it is features, but some of it is parts, design, and quality (both in build and sonic characteristics).

I would choose your console based on what YOU think of the sound and features and not worry about comparing it to another

[King_Cobra]

Wow.. thanks!