Mixer

[Mitchmusicman]

Guys, I am about finished with my small home studio. I am wondering which mixer you would recommend. I will probably not ever record more then four vocalists at one time, and no more then 2 instruments at once. The room is small, 12 x 16. For the demos I make, I play most of the stuff myself, so it will be just one instrument at a time. Any other tracking will be recorded at church utilizing their gear, and I do the mastering and final production at home in my little studio. Should I look at 6 track, or more? Whcih brands do you recommend? Your wise and experiencial thoughts and notions please... Mitch

[subtractor]

I'd say mackie is most reccomended around here for the best all around small mixer. So I feel so passe even mentioning it, but I do like my 1402 vlzpro alot. It's built like a tank and I've never had any problem with it, it's packed with features and control, and the pre's are strong and clear. And they can be had for relatively little on ebay.

[juststartingout]

I would look at no less than 12, probably 16. I thought I would only use 4, and forund that 10 is not unusual for me. I have a 16 track.

[subtractor]

And there is an advantage to being able to have all instruments and mics plugged in all the time rather than having to plug and unplug. Just depends on how many things you have.

[TexRoadkill]

What is your recorder and how many tracks at once can it record? Are you going to use external effects or mixdown through it?What mixer you should use depends on your whole recording setup.

[Mitchmusicman]

I have a Boss BR532 digital recorder. I can record up to 4 tracks at a time. I really can't see recording anymore then that at a time with what I do. I will use outboard effects I have a Helicon Voice Prism plus. So, that's why I thought I didn't need a big mixer. However, the commmetns above have merit. It is good to have evrything hooked up and left hooked. Each piece eats up a channel. Mitch

[Sennheiser]

If you ever go to a stand alone analog tape machine or digital unit, always budget twice as many channels as you think you'll need. You won't regret it...

...And especially for analog, you want at least twice as many channels as you have tracks. Just a rule of thumb.

I don't know if that is as critical for digital units, what with "virtual tracks" and the like. Digital is some weird stuff that you can do stuff with that you can't do in analog. The thing about analog is, you have to be able to actually play and sing.

That was a joke guys.

[Mitchmusicman]

With that in mind, you will need 16 minimum. I guess that's logical and makes sense. What do you guys think about buying used gear on eBay? Especially with electronis, seems like there could be problems if the gear wasn't new i.e. damaged wiring, pots and sliders that don't work well etc. Do you guys typically buy used gear like this type of thing locally? I look forward to your wise counsel :-) Mitch

[Sennheiser]

Mitch, I bought my entire current set-up except my monitors off of e-bay. I never received a bad piece of equipment or a delay in shipping from any of them. If I had to pay retail, I'd still be waiting to buy most of my gear. A lot of it isn't even made anymore. I waited 18 years for a TASCAM 38-8 tape machine because I couldn't afford a $3600 price tag in 1985. They're dirt cheap now, along with most other analog stuff. I don't know if you're into analog, but my method of recording is saving me a ton of money.

You buy from the guys with a lot of positive feedback. Watch out for the dealers. A lot of them don't know their ass from a hole in the ground when it comes to gear. Especially analog gear. Many of them are charging the same price for a piece of gear you could by for the same price retail, OR LESS!

[Even]

I have to agree, 16 channels is pretty much a staple. When you consider that the additional cost for a 16 channel board is maybe $100 more than a small 4-6 channel board it just makes financial sence (as opposed to buying a second or new machine in 6 months). Add in the fact that sometimes you want to get creative and record the same instrument into two channels for different effects, or slip in something new, or loop things all over. You will eat up 4-6 channels and curse yourself.

My two cents on E-bay. I have had nearly perfect luck with any gear I got. I tend to bid on stuff listed by common dudes (probably some of you actually) who sound like they at least know what it is they are selling, and have 10 or more positive feedback deals. I did buy a piece of shit from a pawn shop that the dude "wasn't sure it worked", it didn't, he knew it. I relisted the item a week later and was honest "it didnt work"....... got more than I paid for it. So if you do your homework, and trust the instinct, you can do very well on E-bay.