Mixing Console/ advise on buying

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PsychoBandito

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so awile ago I bought a m-audio solo firewire box and me and my band made a cd that I mixed and everything with 4 crappy dynamic mics and it doesn't sound all bad. Infact it sounds pretty good

I am looking into becoming a recording techy dude and I have already experimented with crappy mics and a small mixer.

I have just got myself a job since I just turned 16 and I would like to buy a good mixer for home use

I had success with firewire and I'm looking into getting a nice firewire mixer

my drummer and geetarist are buying the mics for themselves such as 7 drum mics and a geetar mic

I have been researching for a long time and all over everywhere for good prices and all and good quality

I have come down to the choise of the following

1. the Phonic helix board 24 input mixer
it comes with 16 mic/line inputs and it is basically a really nice mixer as well as handy because of the firewire thing which simultaniously inputs 16 separate tracks to the comp.

2. the Alesis firewire one that has 16 inputs but some aren't mic/line inputs there are 8 mic/line inputs and that mixer also inputs the tracks simultaneously and separate to the comp.

I'm sorta leaning towards the phonic mixer cause it has more mic/line inputs and also because I could use it for the rest of my life

some peeps say that the phonic mixers are pieces of crap but I don't really think it could be all bad

I'm really looking for advice on this one cause I would like to use the mixer that I end up buying for the rest of my life

sorry about the long story but I needed to explain it all so that you guys would see my point of view and not just say buy the one that is cheapest or something

thanks again :)
 
One sad fact that I can guarantee you, Phych, is that if you do jump into the "recording techy dude" with both feet, that neither of those mixers are going to last you for "the rest of your life". Their lifespan notwithstanding, if you really do get into this gig, your ears and your needs will outgrow them within a few years :o . The trick is to try and get something that won't obsolete so quickly.

In this case between the Phonic and the Alesis, the big difference is going to be sound quality, both of the curuitry itself and - especially importantly - the mic preamps. It won't take you long - especially if you go out and buy or rent some better mics - to wonder why you're not capturing "that sound that you're expecting" or why you can only sum so many tracks together on your computer before you get a heavy buildup of high-midrange annoyances in your sound. If you cut corners now and go with something like the Phonic, that day will come a lot sooner than you'd expect. With the Alesis, which while still not "top shelf" in the preamp area, is nevertheless much cleaner and quieter and pleasant-sounding then the Phonic and you'll should get more legs out of the Alesis before you decide it's Upgrade Day. Plus your mixes in the meantime will sound much better to everyone else too.

Look at it this way. Ever wonder why the Phonic has twice as many preamps in it as the Alesis? The answer is because te Alesis preamps cost more because they're decent quality. The Phonic could give you a hundred preamps, but each individual preamp would still sound like a two-dollar preamp. Better to have 8 decent preamps than 16 crappy ones.

Go cheap now, and you'll really pay for it soon. That's no bargain. Muster up a little patience and save up a few extra paychecks then you originally planned for and invest in your gear wisely. :)

G.
 
thanks man

I just sorta had an apifany

my drummer is gonna buy a 7 mic set and my geetarist is gonna buy one mic

7+1 = 8
YEAH!!!!!

well and I'm gonna have a direct feed but thats for bass and I don't need a XLR for that

coo coo man thanks for the advise and help man

I suppose I shall buy the alesis after all

oh but one more thing.....Is Cubase LE any good cause it comes free with the alesis mixer and I have sonar but I wonder if it will work better in sonar or better in cubase LE
 
PsychoBandito said:
oh but one more thing.....Is Cubase LE any good cause it comes free with the alesis mixer and I have sonar but I wonder if it will work better in sonar or better in cubase LE
Click to expand...
Sonar is a larger package with more capacity and a few more bells and whistles, but CubaseLE works just fine as well. Either one should work fine for your situation. If you have them both, try them both out and see which one you like the "feel" of better.

G.
 
I would have to say sonar is better for me cause I have already used it quite a lot on the last demo we had

I enjoy sonar and its simplicity
 
PsychoBandito said:
I would have to say sonar is better for me cause I have already used it quite a lot on the last demo we had

I enjoy sonar and its simplicity
Click to expand...
Then stick with it by all means. Hang on to the Cubase, though if for only one reason; CubaseLE comes with a LOT of hardware these days, and because of it's nice price, there's a lot of entry-level folks buying it solo as well.

You never know when one of your musician friends may come up to you one day and say, "Hey Psych, dude, I was working of some stuff on my own last week. Now that you're Recording Techy Dude, could you help me out?" If he's down it in Cubase, yo'll not only be able to inport WAV files that he saves into your Sonar if you want, but you'll be able to take his whole projects (including things like FX seettings, level and pan automations, etc.) into Cubase.

It never hurts to have some extra software titles "just in case" you want compatability with others people. In the meantime, Sonar you brains out with your new mixer. :)


"One ping and, one ping only, please" - Capt. Marko Ramius

G.
 
oh yeah I will definetly keep the cubase but I would probably rather work with sonar since I used it so much mixing my last demo

that reminds me I should put that on the mp3 thing where you guys can listen to it and critique it
 
hey guys I've been wondering if its better to buy the alesis 16 or 8 multimix firewire console cause I am debating on spending the MOE money on the 16 just incase I get some more mics or whatever just for the future but I kinda am on a balance beam here

I am thinking on the 8 maybe for now or something but I'm kinda debating

please someone help me
 
here's another thing.....

I wouldn't run out and buy one of them crappy 7 drum mic packages. Keep it simple. Get a good kick & snare mic and a set of overheads. Look for multi purpose mics that can do a few different jobs, like the SM57 is a decent enough snare mic but it'll double for guitar amp nicely as well.

I wish I'd known about this place years ago before I ran out and blew my hard earned cash on a bunch of junk I had to offload at a big loss further down the line.

Alec
 
hahahah yeah that is probably what I would have done if not gone on here

I am looking into an ATM Pro 25 for the bass drum
and most likely the sm 57 for the snare
and probably some MXL 990's for overheads but I'm not really sure about the overheads yet

I really wanted to know how you get the right sound outa the bass
cause I heard this one recording on one of the threads and the bass sounded supperb done with a pro 25
but the problem is that I'm not sure how he placed it

could anybody help me

maybe I sould post this in the drum section as well
 
LemonTree gave you some great advice about not getting a crappy drum mic package. Much better to go with a bass, snare, and overheads as he suggested and as you seem to be doing.
 
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