"Budget" recording mixer

  • Thread starter Thread starter beatmstrj
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xstatic said:
In every instance I can think of, the boards I talked about above will far surpass the mackie. Even with cheap mics and a bad room.
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Do you know of anywhere or any site that has recorded comparisons of different mixers with no fx or eq processing just to get an idea of what kind of overall sound improvement the board will make to your recordings? Or even external mic-pre's for that matter.
 
I don't. I also don't ever use stuff like that as a reference. I much prefer getting advice from people I trust. Equipment is too different and too tempermental for tests like that to be very useful.
 
xstatic said:
I don't. I also don't ever use stuff like that as a reference. I much prefer getting advice from people I trust. Equipment is too different and too tempermental for tests like that to be very useful.
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In other words, you can't really prove it. It's a matter of opinion and talent. If a person knows how to use a certain board to its full potential, it can sound as good as a board twice its cost.
 
katierich said:
In other words, you can't really prove it. It's a matter of opinion and talent. If a person knows how to use a certain board to its full potential, it can sound as good as a board twice its cost.
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Using your woman as a hatchet chick? Nice :D
 
katierich said:
In other words, you can't really prove it. It's a matter of opinion and talent. If a person knows how to use a certain board to its full potential, it can sound as good as a board twice its cost.
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Lets maybe try to be a little less narrow minded here. Does a $1000 and a $2000 board sound much different? Not really, in general. Features is usually what you will find at this price range. However. I was talking about consoles that started their lives in the $10000 and up range. So now we are talking about consoles that cost 5 to 20 times as much. Having used many of these consoles, including Mackie's, here is what I have come to realize. Your statement is absolutely false. If a person knows how to use a certain board to its full potential, it can sound as good as a board twice its cost WHEN someone else with less potential is using the other board. However, if those same people were to use better stuff, there product would almost always be better as well. Telling someone to stay with a Mackie instead of buying a piece of equipment that sounds much better, has more appeal, and has more features is kind of irresponsible to me. Especially if you want to pretend that sonically they are virtually equals. Now, reccomending that someone do this based on budget, intended use and other qualifying factors is a completely different story.

In the end, I stand by my statement. My statement comes from my own experience, my own trials, and my own opinions. There is no scientific way of testing those things.
 
So where are some places I might look to find such a console when/if the right time comes that I long to do so? They don't seem all too common.
 
Try Recordingconsoles.net, gearslutz, Blevins Audio, Odyssey pro audio, Soundbroker, and ebay....
 
xstatic said:
Lets maybe try to be a little less narrow minded here. Does a $1000 and a $2000 board sound much different? Not really, in general. Features is usually what you will find at this price range. However. I was talking about consoles that started their lives in the $10000 and up range. So now we are talking about consoles that cost 5 to 20 times as much. Having used many of these consoles, including Mackie's, here is what I have come to realize. Your statement is absolutely false. If a person knows how to use a certain board to its full potential, it can sound as good as a board twice its cost WHEN someone else with less potential is using the other board. However, if those same people were to use better stuff, there product would almost always be better as well. Telling someone to stay with a Mackie instead of buying a piece of equipment that sounds much better, has more appeal, and has more features is kind of irresponsible to me. Especially if you want to pretend that sonically they are virtually equals. Now, reccomending that someone do this based on budget, intended use and other qualifying factors is a completely different story.

In the end, I stand by my statement. My statement comes from my own experience, my own trials, and my own opinions. There is no scientific way of testing those things.
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Of course if theirs no budget you can get mixers so good that it doesn't matter how good you are, as long as you're not an idiot. But this is reality, there is always a budget. It's more like a, "if you're asking if it's worth it you can't afford it" kind of deal.
 
First off, not true. Anyone who does not know what they are doing can screw up an album on an EMI TG console. Secondly, as far as I was concerned, my responses were within the reality of this specific thread. What wasn't is insinuating that a mackie will do the same as the nicer consoles. Have you ever used a good desk?
 
When buying a used console be prepared to spend some money on fixing it up. Expect to have some channel modules repaired by a tech at the very least. It may need to be recapped as well, or the power supply rebuilt. Be wary when buying a used console, don't even think about buying one if you can't check it out in person. Just because it is old does not mean it's better.

I'd stick with the Mackie until you have an absolutely compelling reason to spend some big bucks on a console upgrade. Then look around at new consoles first before considering "grand old lady" consoles.
 
LemonTree said:
Cornwall is ALLEN & HEATH country! I'd be keeping my eyes n ears open for an old SABER PLUS




Now THAT is funny as hell!! :D
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A&H saber plus?? I'll see whats about!! Allen and Heath are literrally an hour down the road from me! They're an awesome bunch, and theyre mixers are everywhere! Also protection racket cases and Bare knuckle p/ups are down here! EMS synths? I know the chap who runs them! 10 mins away from me!
 
xstatic said:
First off, not true. Anyone who does not know what they are doing can screw up an album on an EMI TG console. Secondly, as far as I was concerned, my responses were within the reality of this specific thread. What wasn't is insinuating that a mackie will do the same as the nicer consoles. Have you ever used a good desk?
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Yes, I have. But when reading what I'm saying, keep in mind the name of the thread. "Budget" recording mixer. As in.. BUDGET! The best bang for your buck is a Mackie, especially if you know the strengths of the board and how to stay away from its weaknesses.
 
First, I prefer to read the actual post, and not just the title of the thread. Did you read my first post? I did say to go ahead and keep the Mackie if you want to be a really low budget studio. However, I also offered some options which the original poster also seemed to be interested in, at least as far as giving it consideration.

Second, since when is Mackie the best budget board? What about Allen Heath? Soundcraft? Yamaha? How did you determine that Mackie was the best one? I used to be a Mackie dealer and was also an Allen Heath dealer. I had a very hard time convincing myself to sell someone a Mackie bigger than a 1402 because once you got to 16 channels, the Allen Heath smoked the Mackie with both features, durability, usability, and sound quality. You say to avoid the weaknesses of the board and play to its strengths. What strengths would those be? I can make a huge list of weaknesses, but can not think of many strengths at all...

Third, the word "budget" means different things to different people. A budget console to me would be a Midas Venice, Soundcraft Ghost etc.... Mid priced would be a Soundcraft Series 5, Amek Media, Neotek etc... and expensive would be an SSL , Midas Heritage 8000, or something similar.

Out of curiosity, have you ever used a better board than a Mackie so that you can really understand just why so many people do not like using them?
 
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