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[Ben Brunskill]

Hi guys,

We’ve had some serious water damage this week, and most of it came through the roof directly over the tech desk. Amongst the dead gear is our console, an A&H GL3300 plus some dead outboard and wireless.

Anyway, so I’ve had everything appraised, and I’m waiting for the insurance confirmation and starting to think of replacements.

As far as I’m concerned, the A&H GLD is much better than the other board in the price bracket (LS9, Roland m380 and Si Compact)

Is there any other consoles in that sort of price range than I should consider as well?

Essential needs for us - recallable scenes and head amps, 32 channels, at least a couple of FX units, must be easy to use for volunteers, must have excellent EQ and dynamics. A big bonus would be good parametric EQ on outputs so I could get rid of 3-4 31 band EQs.
Minimum of 10 auxes needed, more would be nice so I can patch some IEM’s in stereo.

Rest of our rig is VRX932 tops, SRX718 subs, Crown XTi and QSC power. Room seats 450.

[Caleb Dueck]

Either GLD, or Midas Pro1, depending on if you need digital snake or not. The Midas is a much better board. 

Caleb Dick
AVE

[Jason Lucas]

The GLD was pretty nice while I was playing with it.

I don't recommend the Roland M380, but I DO recommend the Roland M300.

The 380 is the red-headed step child of the V-mixers. Has the worst mix of features IMO.

The M300 however is a fantastic console. I use the 400 regularly and sometimes I wish we had a 300. 4 band fully parametric on each channel, gate and comp on each channel (with key-in filters!), recallable head amps, 32 inputs, 8 band parametric on all outputs (including matrices), time delay on all outputs, up to 4 internal effects (requires 1 aux per effect, however).

The only place it falls short for your application is that it only has 8 AUX sends. It supports the Roland M-48 personal monitoring system, but it's pretty pricey.

The only real con about Roland mixers is the fact that you're pretty much stuck with Roland stuff. No real expandability. But otherwise, they're great mixers.

[brian maddox]

Hi guys,

We’ve had some serious water damage this week, and most of it came through the roof directly over the tech desk. Amongst the dead gear is our console, an A&H GL3300 plus some dead outboard and wireless.

Anyway, so I’ve had everything appraised, and I’m waiting for the insurance confirmation and starting to think of replacements.

As far as I’m concerned, the A&H GLD is much better than the other board in the price bracket (LS9, Roland m380 and Si Compact)

Is there any other consoles in that sort of price range than I should consider as well?

Essential needs for us - recallable scenes and head amps, 32 channels, at least a couple of FX units, must be easy to use for volunteers, must have excellent EQ and dynamics. A big bonus would be good parametric EQ on outputs so I could get rid of 3-4 31 band EQs.
Minimum of 10 auxes needed, more would be nice so I can patch some IEM’s in stereo.

Rest of our rig is VRX932 tops, SRX718 subs, Crown XTi and QSC power. Room seats 450.

Just came from the other thread I commented on so I won't repeat myself.  But you are pretty much describing the X32.  And at the price point it comes in at, I think you have to at least consider it.

Couple things to mention.  The X32 has 32 mic inputs, but it also has 8 more line inputs, and 8 channels of effects return, so it's bigger than it would appear.  And it'll do 16 auxes/Mixes.  Is it as good as or better than the GLD?  I've no idea really.  But from everything I've heard it's pretty close, and you can basically buy one and two spares for the cost of any of those other desks....

Just something to think about....

[Samuel Rees]

The upcoming Si Performer 3 has similar specs. 32 Preamps, 8 Line Inputs, 80 inputs to mix, 8 VCAs, 4 FX processors, 32 faders. That said, it is to-be-released. GLD does have great features though - the expandable digital snake, more FX processors, its already out, and etc. Reviews have been positive around here.

[BobWitte]

GLD owner here and it is a very good mixer, good features and is getting better as A&H updates the software. Sound quality, features and ease of use are good. Dante card and software and you have multitrack recording to a laptop. The only item missing that is important is an iPad app and sw for a PC/Mac.....


But with the drag and drop touchscreen, setup is fast.


I would propose that if you stick with A&H, Soundcraft, Midas  etc - they all are quality gear, backed by reputable companies with good quality records. I did not include Behringer, only because of their "history". Then it is a matter of price, features that fit your needs, stagebox/ethernet versus analog snake etc.


Bob

[Ben Brunskill]

I had a HORRENDOUS experience with a 32 channel Behringer Eurodesk years ago, and it’s scared me off the X32 quite a bit. That desk failed over and over again, each time it was sent for repair it took weeks to get it back, while we were shoehorned into some terrible 16 channel backup. It just kept developing problems, and in the end I bet it cost us way more money than it was ever worth.

So my scottish heritage says ‘Save money, Ben!’ but my brain says ‘Get something respected and with a proven track record’

I have emailed our ‘Local’, I.E. only one ocean away, Midas dealer to enquire about prices of the Pro1 and Pro2c.

Sourcing gear in NZ can have those challenges!

While a digital snake would be nice, we are not touring, and we have a 24/8 Whirlwind installed. This is enough for us if we run the wireless rack at the console and not on stage.

[Ben Brunskill]

Just received a quote for a Pro1 - certain an option! just have to figure out how much I want that digi snake, if we can mix on 16 faders, and if we can survive on 24 channels for six months or so until we can afford some kind of AES expander so we can get another 8-12 channels.

[Frank DeWitt]

I have been in the awkward position of telling the church board and treasurer that the money I spent on 5 Behringer ADA 8000s was wasted. They all failed in less then two years and had to be replaced.

In 20 or 25 years I may try Behringer again with my own money, but never never will I spend the churches money on Behringer 

Also there is this. http://lbpinc.com/tester.jpg

Friends don't let friends buy Behringer

[Ben Brunskill]

Friends don't let friends buy Behringer

That’s basically how I feel too after my Eurodesk disaster. We have to be good steward of God’s money. Our last console lasted 14 years with very minor repairs needed exactly twice.
I want to get a console which will last the distance, and that leads me towards serious brands.
I’ve basically decided on the GLD.

Also, while it seems to me the Uli/Behinger is trying hard to realign themselves in the market as a quality player, items like that cable tester really annoy me. I find it hard to trust a company who plagiarizes like that.

[ProSoundWeb Community]