I feel like i only need my mixer for show now

  • Thread starter Thread starter Nick The Man
  • Start date Start date
Nick The Man

Nick The Man

New member
I have a BEHRINGER MX3282, its a 32 channel board which ive only used about 12 channels at once before. I have a TASCAM FW-1804, which gives me 8 ins and i just bought an M-audio Octane which gives me another 8.

Therefore, thats 16 ins that i can record simutaniously. Like i said before, I've used only 12 channels at once before with the mixer. Now that I have 16 ins the mixer feels usless. Now lets say i get rid of my mixer, that makes my sutdio a whole lot smaller and less impressive. So I guess what i want is maybe some ideas/reasons on why to keep my mixer and not buy like 4 quality preamps and get better sound?

I'm sure someone else has ran into this problem at some time too... right?
 
How do you think pres in the range from 200-400 would sound in comparison to the behri pres?
 
mshilarious said:
That depends on whether or not the Behri's power supply is working the day you do the comparison :D
Click to expand...

haha, seriously though what do you think, would something like an ART PRO blow it out of the water?
 
Nick The Man said:
haha, seriously though what do you think, would something like an ART PRO blow it out of the water?
Click to expand...

The Pro Channel? I would rather have the MPA Gold (actually I do have the DMPA), it's full plate voltage. Unless you really need the compressor, but the MPA Gold + Pro VLA isn't unreasonable in that case.

To be fair, I haven't used the MX mixers, but I have a suspicion they would lose to the ART. Certainly I would want to be using direct outs or insert outs from each channel.
 
Well on the bigger picture.. if your not using it, get it outta there. At least store it for the one "in case" time.

I have a decent Soundcraft board that I only pull out for tracking drums. Everything else I just use the pre's. Less clutter and crap to work around.
 
I have a small 8 x 4 channel mixer that feeds different monitors and a headphone mix to my headphone mixer. I don't use the pres on it at all.

If you mix in the box and monitor right off the soundcard to one set of monitors and don't need separate headphone mixes dump the thing and get another decent stereo mic pre.
 
OK so here is my set-up.

Now lets say I sell the mixer. What in the world do i do with all that open space from where the mixer was? That mixer is what makes my set-up look like a "recording studio."
 

Attachments

  • Set-Up 20.webp
    Set-Up 20.webp
    31.6 KB · Views: 164
Put a controller keyboard there?

I dunno man, if it's not in the way I'd just leave it there. But it'll get seriously dusty so you'll want to put a cover over it, and then you'll probably feel like even more of a pretentious dork for uncovering it when you have someone coming in.

I've been working through the same thing and haven't reached a solution yet, except that I want my house to be a home and so until I need the mixer I'm keeping it more compact.
 
Nick unless you're doing live work as well, the board's just taking up space. The pre's are nothing compared to the octane's. Maybe sell it and get a control surface?
 
Nick The Man said:
OK so here is my set-up.

Now lets say I sell the mixer. What in the world do i do with all that open space from where the mixer was? That mixer is what makes my set-up look like a "recording studio."
Click to expand...

hey dude! i have that LCD. but only one... i can't fit two. they're nice ain't they?
 
Sell the board and get a control surface. It willl have faders and little lights too!
 
pohaku said:
Sell the board and get a control surface. It willl have faders and little lights too!
Click to expand...

Yeah thats what I was thinking about. I think I need to learn alot more about them and what they do, and if I would need one. At this point in time, my thoughts are that they don't make anything sound better but they just make your program easier to use. But once again I don't really know much at all about them.
 
in their most basic sense, they control the mixer functions of your DAW - fader levels, panning, solo/mute, automation...many also give hands-on control over plug-in paramters, such as EQ, compression, etc., along with aux sends and bussing
 
pohaku said:
It willl have faders and little lights too!
Click to expand...
it took me all the way to here to finally see wisdom. +1

see, sometimes you *want* things for show. do other people come over to record? if so, never underestimate the power of random blinking lights. VU meters are cool too. you said yourself that the mixer is what makes it look like a studio. sometimes that's important.

i had a session over the weekend and believe it or not the first thing out of the band's mouth upon seeing the mixer and rack was "wow.....look at all the gear". i wanted to impress, so i had shit turned on i wouldn't use in YOUR live rack. blinking lights good. :p :D

later in said session (after the inevitable computer meltdown), the V67 came to the rescue as the right mic for the voice (beat out my V77 and dragonfly by a mile). i don't know what it is about that mic--every time i swap something else out for it, it's always the right mic and it always inspires a great performance. got half of it in the first take and the second half in the 2nd take.

anyway.....never underestimate the impressiveness of a console (or control surface or random piece of gear for that matter). put yourself in the overwhelmed musician's shoes--would your space look cooler with or without it?

lots of really valid points in this thread, but often looks can inspire a better performance out of the musician, and when they're really bringing it, does it matter what's hung as long as it's capturing it decently?


cheers,
wade
 
If you have clients, having the large metal object with faders and lots of lights isn't much different than having that one Neumann mic. Clients have a certain set of expectations regarding what kind of equipment a "real" studio should have. Even if the right mic for the job is an SM-57, they expect, and will want to see, that you have a Neumann on the stand. Same for a console or control surface. I have a home studio for my own and my friends' entertainment so it matters less to me. I use a MotorMix as a control surface. There are numerous options out there.
 
This thread is turning into a very informative one if I do say. It really is a totally different ball game when you are the musician coming into the studio. They want to see all the things that they see in pictures of their favorite band in the studio. Therefore, I might just have a huge monitor mixer. Really, I might juse use it for as many ridiculus reasons that I can, just so I feel that it has some purpose in the stuido.

A control surface does not seem to important to me. I do not see too many benefits from a sound quality standpoint. Maybe someone can change my mind, but they do not seem nessicary.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top