
pdadda
Captain Sea Boots
I am in the markey to buy a mixer. So I went to Guitar Center to test out a few of them. Mind you, this is he first time I have ever used a hard mixer (I usually use software). Those of you with more or less experience are welcome to add comments.
Behringer UB series: this was the first mixer I tested. First thing I noticed: it was quite noisy. Even with the gain only turned halfway up and no changes to the EQ, I could hear a significant amount of hiss. The pre-amps are the IMP line present in all the UB series mixers. Also, the unit was incredibly lightweight. You definitely would not want to take this to gigs.
Yamaha MG series: noticeably quieter than the Behringer. You could still hear hiss as you turned the levels up. This was even more noticeable if you turned any of the EQ knobs up. To minimize hiss on either this or the Behringer, I would suggest cutting frequencies rather than boosting, and then turning the overall levels up. This unit was also very light like the Behringer.
Mackie VLZ series: this unit was MUCH better than the others. With every single knob and lever turned up, the hiss was VERY quiet. I mean, like 100-fold less noisy than the other two mixers. Also, this mixer was heavy duty. It seems like it could easily be used both in the studio and on the road. Also, out of all the on-shelf sample mixers they had in the store, this was the only one that didn't have anything broken (more rugged construction than the A & H's even).
To give an idea of how I tested them, I brought them all into a separate room. To avoid cleaning any of the sound up, I just used isolation headphones. I plugged in a phantom power LDC mic, and listened to the pre-amps.
Another thing to note: I brought along a Studio Projects VTB-1 preamp, and the pre's on the Mackie sounded better than the VTB-1.
I went to the store planning to get a cheap mixer now and upgrade later. But this experience made me decide to wait and get a higher quality mixer like a Mackie VLZ series the first time. I am also considering getting one of the Mackie ONYX series mixers soon coming out. The firewire option (even though it's $400 extra) seems like it would be able to combine my need for both a mixer (preamps) and a better audio interface.
Behringer UB series: this was the first mixer I tested. First thing I noticed: it was quite noisy. Even with the gain only turned halfway up and no changes to the EQ, I could hear a significant amount of hiss. The pre-amps are the IMP line present in all the UB series mixers. Also, the unit was incredibly lightweight. You definitely would not want to take this to gigs.
Yamaha MG series: noticeably quieter than the Behringer. You could still hear hiss as you turned the levels up. This was even more noticeable if you turned any of the EQ knobs up. To minimize hiss on either this or the Behringer, I would suggest cutting frequencies rather than boosting, and then turning the overall levels up. This unit was also very light like the Behringer.
Mackie VLZ series: this unit was MUCH better than the others. With every single knob and lever turned up, the hiss was VERY quiet. I mean, like 100-fold less noisy than the other two mixers. Also, this mixer was heavy duty. It seems like it could easily be used both in the studio and on the road. Also, out of all the on-shelf sample mixers they had in the store, this was the only one that didn't have anything broken (more rugged construction than the A & H's even).
To give an idea of how I tested them, I brought them all into a separate room. To avoid cleaning any of the sound up, I just used isolation headphones. I plugged in a phantom power LDC mic, and listened to the pre-amps.
Another thing to note: I brought along a Studio Projects VTB-1 preamp, and the pre's on the Mackie sounded better than the VTB-1.
I went to the store planning to get a cheap mixer now and upgrade later. But this experience made me decide to wait and get a higher quality mixer like a Mackie VLZ series the first time. I am also considering getting one of the Mackie ONYX series mixers soon coming out. The firewire option (even though it's $400 extra) seems like it would be able to combine my need for both a mixer (preamps) and a better audio interface.