Alesis Multimix 8 usb 2.0 or Tascam M-164UF???

[Uber Records]

I've recently been looking for mixer to record into Ableton Live 8 on my iMac, and I came across the Alesis multimix 8 USB 2.0 and the Tascam M-164UF, which both look good to me.

The alesis multimix 8 has 8 channels, and costs £255
The tascam supposedly has 16 channels (although 2 of them are return tracks from the computer), costing £399.

Alesis also have a 16 channel (multimix 16 usb 2.0) which costs £469.99.

Does anyone know why the multimix 16 costs more than the tascam?

In my opinion, the tascam looks nicer. It also has a subwoofer output, which the alesis model doesn't.

Has anyone tried either the multimix 8 or 16 or the tascam and can give me you opinion on it's quality?

Any advice about either mixer will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance

 

[Uber Records]

by the way, I am setting up a little studio in my house for recording guitar, vocals, keyboards and possibly drums. At the moment I don't think I will need to record more than 4 micropones simultaniously (which is the maximim for the multimix 8).

Do you think it will be worth investing an extra £100 for the tascam now or waiting until I need the extra 2 mic inputs?

 

[johnnymegabyte]

I have the Tascam M-164UF. 1 to 6 are mic / 1/4" combo inputs, 3X stereo 1/4" and 1X RCA stereo + 1X mini-plug stereo input = 16 inputs + onboard FX with 24/48 recording, and 24/96 Stereo Return from PC
The tascam driver is very stable.
This mixer / interface is very silent / quiet and has Sub and Stereo Mix.
You can even record a track without it appearing in either Sub or Stereo Mix, actually being monitored back from PC, if using a Amp Sim, etc.
There is an option for external FX, as well
The 2 FX, Stereo Mix and Sub Mix are available to be sent to PC
The driver even allows for odd stereo pairing, like 2/3, 4/5 etc

 

[Uber Records]

I have the Tascam M-164UF. 1 to 6 are mic / 1/4" combo inputs, 3X stereo 1/4" and 1X RCA stereo + 1X mini-plug stereo input = 16 inputs + onboard FX with 24/48 recording, and 24/96 Stereo Return from PC
The tascam driver is very stable.
This mixer / interface is very silent / quiet and has Sub and Stereo Mix.
You can even record a track without it appearing in either Sub or Stereo Mix, actually being monitored back from PC, if using a Amp Sim, etc.
There is an option for external FX, as well
The 2 FX, Stereo Mix and Sub Mix are available to be sent to PC
The driver even allows for odd stereo pairing, like 2/3, 4/5 etc

Thanks. So would you recommend it? Is it worth the money?

 

[johnnymegabyte]

Thanks. So would you recommend it? Is it worth the money?

Yes. Value for money ... think of it this way, 16 channel mixer, and oh, it's also a 16 channel USB 2.0 audio interface, too.

One word of caution: it is 16 channel interface, but only 1 to 10 are always direct, 11/12 = FX, 13/14=Sub Mix, 15/16 = Stereo Mix
Not sure whether 11-16 inputs can be output individually. Still investigating this. But haven't recorded more than 8 channels at once in a true record. I have Test recorded 15 channels to makes sure all worked without a glitch, don't have an external FX

For more info, Download the manual and have a read. It shouldn't take more than 10 minutes to go over everything. Decide from there. Tascam makes good stuff

I am using the Tascam M-164UF with Vista Hme Premium (32). There is a 64 bit version of the driver, too. I din't bother with the install CD, just DL the latest driver, installed that. Worked first time and no issues period since Dec 28th.