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Title: Powered mixer
Post by: Lynn Gephart on January 27, 2013, 05:40:01 PM
What is the best powered mixer for around 6 or 800 dollars for an acoustic show.Im using one acoustic guitar and 2 vocals in small clubs.Im looking for something with built in effects.Thanks for any advice
Title: Re: Powered mixer
Post by: g'bye, Dick Rees on January 27, 2013, 05:48:21 PM
What is the best powered mixer for around 6 or 800 dollars for an acoustic show.Im using one acoustic guitar and 2 vocals in small clubs.Im looking for something with built in effects.Thanks for any advice

I've found the Peavey powered heads to be good performers.  Very sturdy and a nice set of features.  I still have a couple of the 680's that see service quite a bit for "user-operable" systems and rental to friends with hobby music groups.

Title: Re: Powered mixer
Post by: John Luty on January 27, 2013, 07:24:36 PM
I will second the Peavey I have a xr8600d light weight and 1200 watts
Title: Re: Powered mixer
Post by: Mark Gensman on January 29, 2013, 01:06:42 AM
I agree with using Peavey. I have a couple of Yamaha powered mixers and their 312C is really light weight and works well. Peavey, Yamaha, Soundcraft Gigrack, Mackie all make good reliable powered mixers.
Title: Re: Powered mixer
Post by: Keith Billik on January 29, 2013, 04:44:51 PM
I agree with using Peavey. I have a couple of Yamaha powered mixers and their 312C is really light weight and works well. Peavey, Yamaha, Soundcraft Gigrack, Mackie all make good reliable powered mixers.

If you get a Mackie be aware that they don't deliver 48v phantom power (not sure if it's 12v or 24v). That's always annoying.
Title: Re: Powered mixer
Post by: g'bye, Dick Rees on January 29, 2013, 04:53:04 PM
If you get a Mackie be aware that they don't deliver 48v phantom power (not sure if it's 12v or 24v). That's always annoying.

The Peavey models are full 48v phantom, albeit global.  I have not seen any of these "box" powered heads with individual phantom.
Title: Re: Powered mixer
Post by: John Roberts {JR} on January 29, 2013, 05:26:47 PM
The Peavey models are full 48v phantom, albeit global.  I have not seen any of these "box" powered heads with individual phantom.

The XR600 topbox powered head series goes way back and wasn't always 48V phantom. Really old ones probably didn't have any phantom at all, and then evolved first to 15V phantom, finally by some time in the '80s ending up with full 48V phantom.

I recall when two amp channels of 150W each was considered big power...  8)

These are workhorses designed to be very easy to use and pretty much plug up and they just work.

I don't recall if there was even a phantom on/off switch on the simple top boxes. The console format powered mixers had richer feature sets. 

I was over the engineering group for two generational model upgrades almost two decades ago... I would barely recognize the new models now but the same design philosophy probably still holds true. You don't change the recipe when you're making good biscuits.
 
JR

PS: If you want Midas mic preamps you need to buy a Behringer topbox.  ;D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Powered mixer
Post by: Jay Barracato on January 29, 2013, 07:13:21 PM
I had a pair for a long time. When I finally graduated to a mixwiz I just plugged into the amp inputs and kept using them. I stopped using them when I went to powered boxes but I never personally owned a traditional amp rack.
Title: Re: Powered mixer
Post by: Bob Leonard on January 29, 2013, 11:29:05 PM
I would go for a Peavey as well. I, and everyone else, has probably owned at least one or two powered head type mixers in their time. starting with my first Bogen to now with a couple of Peaveys in between. They never let me down.

Here's a link for a $600 Peavey that fills the bill nicely. FX, EQ, 600 watts stereo, monitor out, etc.

 http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/peavey-xr-8600d-class-d-powered-mixer
Title: Re: Powered mixer
Post by: Doug Fowler on January 30, 2013, 12:55:00 PM
I did plenty of playing gigs back in the early 80s with an XR600B head and a pair of SP2s, usually sitting on bar tables.

I watched the head fall off a pickup truck and hit the pavement. Of course it worked. 

That combination of classic Peavey products kept bar bands working for many years. 
Title: Re: Powered mixer
Post by: Bob Leonard on January 30, 2013, 03:15:44 PM
I did plenty of playing gigs back in the early 80s with an XR600B head and a pair of SP2s, usually sitting on bar tables.

I watched the head fall off a pickup truck and hit the pavement. Of course it worked. 

That combination of classic Peavey products kept bar bands working for many years.

Right after I got back from Vietnam I bought a Peavey PA w/ head and 2ea. 4x12" columns. I played every dive and juke joint in the FL pan handle, MS and AL with that rig and the only problem I ever had with it was the night some lampie decided he could plug 120v into the output jack to make the stage lights flash. Great stuff those old Peavey (and new Peavey) combo PAs.
Title: Re: Powered mixer
Post by: Ned Ward on January 30, 2013, 04:27:41 PM
We still use a Peavey PA-200 head in our rehearsal room for keyboards... works fine.
Title: Re: Powered mixer
Post by: Tom Burgess on January 31, 2013, 11:05:16 AM
Unfortunately Soundcraft stopped making the Gigrac series but there are still dealers out there with new stock.  We probably sold through a couple dozen of them without a single failure.  Great little piece of gear if you can find it.