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New Mixer Recommendations
Chip Smith:
We are looking to replace our 40-channel Soundcraft Series Two mixer because it is 18 years old and it has some problems. I have been unable to find any new analog mixers that come close to what we have now, and I have several concerns about many of the digital mixers. I have looked at the Soundcraft GB8 and the Allen & Heath GL2800, and both are a major step down from our Series Two, and I absolutely hate having buttons located between each fader. Are there any other analog mixers with 40 or more channels that i should consider?
My main concern with switching to a digital mixer is the lack of faders, and the steep learning curve for the team. The other members of my sound team are in their mid-60's to early 70's and they have all expressed concerns of being able to learn how to be effective on a digital mixer. Working with layers and only having 24 faders to mix on the fly just won't work for us. On a typical Sunday we use up 28 channels for the praise band, vocalists, choir, podium, lavaliers, etc., and for Christmas and Easter concerts we use a minimum of 32 channels.
I've been looking at the Allen & Heath Qu-32 Chrome and I like its similarity to analog mixers, although I wish it was offered in a 40 channel version. The recently released Allen & Heath SQ-7 has caught my eye. It seems to be the best fit for us in a digital mixer. Has anyone had any experiences with the SQ-7 yet, or the smaller SQ-6 or SQ-5? Are there any other digital mixers mixers with 32+1 faders at a similar price point as the SQ-7? (Trying to keep it under $7,000)
Thanks in advance.
Scott Holtzman:
--- Quote from: Chip Smith on July 17, 2018, 05:33:00 PM ---We are looking to replace our 40-channel Soundcraft Series Two mixer because it is 18 years old and it has some problems. I have been unable to find any new analog mixers that come close to what we have now, and I have several concerns about many of the digital mixers. I have looked at the Soundcraft GB8 and the Allen & Heath GL2800, and both are a major step down from our Series Two, and I absolutely hate having buttons located between each fader. Are there any other analog mixers with 40 or more channels that i should consider?
My main concern with switching to a digital mixer is the lack of faders, and the steep learning curve for the team. The other members of my sound team are in their mid-60's to early 70's and they have all expressed concerns of being able to learn how to be effective on a digital mixer. Working with layers and only having 24 faders to mix on the fly just won't work for us. On a typical Sunday we use up 28 channels for the praise band, vocalists, choir, podium, lavaliers, etc., and for Christmas and Easter concerts we use a minimum of 32 channels.
I've been looking at the Allen & Heath Qu-32 Chrome and I like its similarity to analog mixers, although I wish it was offered in a 40 channel version. The recently released Allen & Heath SQ-7 has caught my eye. It seems to be the best fit for us in a digital mixer. Has anyone had any experiences with the SQ-7 yet, or the smaller SQ-6 or SQ-5? Are there any other digital mixers mixers with 32+1 faders at a similar price point as the SQ-7? (Trying to keep it under $7,000)
Thanks in advance.
--- End quote ---
You could come close to a nice used CL-7-48 for that price. It's really the only mixer that will give you the fader count you want and analog like workflows.
Even the 32 channel digital mixers you are still going to be dealing with layers to get to the group (matrix) masters and bus masters.
lindsay Dean:
There's a used one on reverb 3999
but there's only 16 faders with eight matrice faders and the mains so that's really no different for the top layer he's wanting
TJ (Tom) Cornish:
--- Quote from: Chip Smith on July 17, 2018, 05:33:00 PM ---We are looking to replace our 40-channel Soundcraft Series Two mixer because it is 18 years old and it has some problems. I have been unable to find any new analog mixers that come close to what we have now, and I have several concerns about many of the digital mixers. I have looked at the Soundcraft GB8 and the Allen & Heath GL2800, and both are a major step down from our Series Two, and I absolutely hate having buttons located between each fader. Are there any other analog mixers with 40 or more channels that i should consider?
My main concern with switching to a digital mixer is the lack of faders, and the steep learning curve for the team. The other members of my sound team are in their mid-60's to early 70's and they have all expressed concerns of being able to learn how to be effective on a digital mixer. Working with layers and only having 24 faders to mix on the fly just won't work for us. On a typical Sunday we use up 28 channels for the praise band, vocalists, choir, podium, lavaliers, etc., and for Christmas and Easter concerts we use a minimum of 32 channels.
I've been looking at the Allen & Heath Qu-32 Chrome and I like its similarity to analog mixers, although I wish it was offered in a 40 channel version. The recently released Allen & Heath SQ-7 has caught my eye. It seems to be the best fit for us in a digital mixer. Has anyone had any experiences with the SQ-7 yet, or the smaller SQ-6 or SQ-5? Are there any other digital mixers mixers with 32+1 faders at a similar price point as the SQ-7? (Trying to keep it under $7,000)
Thanks in advance.
--- End quote ---
The SQ-7 is a very logical choice on the digital side. Scott's idea of a used Yamaha M7CL-48 may work, but I'd take the SQ-7 myself.
I would suggest that you invest in someone very familiar with whatever desk you go with to help set it up for you and do the initial training. Most digital mixers these days are very easy to operate once they are setup, but routing and other settings may be frustrating without some prior experience. Someone familiar with the desk can get you over the initial hump and make your startup frustration significantly less.
If you do want to stay analog, you have your pick of many great boards out there for literally pennies on the dollar. There are a couple for sale here in the Marketplace:
http://forums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/topic,167854.0.html
Taylor Phillips:
Good digital mixers can had for decent prices today, and good analog mixers can be found for dirt cheap. As far as the learning curve goes, it seems to me that the new digital consoles are a good more intuitive and easier to learn than they have been in the past.
As far as 32+1 digital mixers for your budget, it would appear the options are the A&H Qu-32, SQ7, PreSonus StudioLive 32 Series III, Yamaha TF5, and Yamaha LS9-32. There may be a few that I don't know about, though. I only have experience with the Qu-16 and the LS9-32 out of these. I'd avoid the LS9 if people are afraid of digital because it's a pretty terrible board to learn. Though, it's a very good product once you know how to use it. If the Qu-32 is like the Qu-16, then it should be one of the most user-friendly options out there. If the SQ7 is an improvement on the Qu series, then I think going with it may be a no-brainer. I can't say much about the PreSonus or the TF series, though as I have yet to come across either in real life.
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