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[Bob Stone]

In the process of building out a rig for the occasional talking head/small gathering/corporate work/acoustic duets. Picked up a pair of K12.2's already for this and am trying to decide on a small format mixer for it. Usually just 1-2 mics but maybe upwards of 3-4 and some background music.

Thinking something like A&H Zed or Soundcraft Signature or EPM...or *gasp* Mackie ProFxv2? Would like to keep the cost to a minimum (sub $500 Canadian) on the board since I'm not intending to use it for bigger shows. Would also like to keep it analog to simplify setup and not deal with wireless and an ipad and all that other stuff.

In terms of features, would like a HPF on each channel, swept mid, faders not pots on the channels, inserts would be nice, 1-2 aux is fine, workable onboard FX would be a bonus.

So, any recommendations?

[Caleb Dueck]

Why not digital?  Setup is - grab iPad.  Small rack with mixer, wireless receivers, I/O panel, surge protector, wireless access point/router, and drawer.  Run lines to speakers. 

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

[Jeff Lelko]

My Mackie 1402vlz3 served this purpose for 10 years before I finally made the jump to digital.  It got the job done, and the 4 stereo inputs was nice for the corporate gigs.  Though it’s not in your budget, an A&H Qu-PAC would work nicely.  You can drive it with the onboard touchscreen for instances where you don’t want to bother with tablets.  When you also take into account the outboard gear a Qu-PAC or any digital mixer will save you it’s actually cost effective too.

[Bob Stone]

Why not digital?  Setup is - grab iPad.  Small rack with mixer, wireless receivers, I/O panel, surge protector, wireless access point/router, and drawer.  Run lines to speakers. 

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

Just too complicated and requires more setup/prep time...I don't want to have to deal with making sure a tablet is charged, the wifi is working, lugging around a rack case. Digital is really nice for what it brings to the table but it's too expensive in this case.

Ideally this entire rig is going to be put into soft sided bags (got the totes for the K12.2's and my speaker stands have a nice bag as well) I can throw in the trunk of a car. Will just put the mixer on the table, few cables to plug in, away I go.

[Jeff Lelko]

Just too complicated and requires more setup/prep time...

Not really, and something like a Qu-PAC will take up even less space than a Mackie 1402vlz.  You can also hard-line in to most digital mixers if you don’t want WiFi. 

Having done exactly what you’re proposing, I’d strongly consider a small digital offering over analog.  10 years ago small digital boards were not a cost effective option (and not even really available in the flavor we know today), but given what’s on the market now and how it’ll save you from buying the additional outboard you’ll probably need to do the job right (GEQ, comp/gate, delay, etc.), I just don’t see the argument to rule it out so quickly. 

For what it’s worth I clawed tooth and nail against switching from analog to digital, but a few years ago my needs grew beyond what my Mackie and GEQ alone could handle.  It was either buy more outboard or try digital.  I bought a Qu-PAC as a hold-over and it worked wonders.  It just makes getting good sound so much easier since I have features at my fingertips that would normally fill a whole rack in analog world.  Two weeks ago I swapped out my Qu-PAC for a dLive and have no plans on looking back.  If you haven’t played with a small digital board I suggest you do, even if you don’t buy it.  At least you’ll know what you’re missing out on! 

Out of curiosity, you say this only for smaller jobs...do you own a larger board already?

[Bob Stone]

Not really, and something like a Qu-PAC will take up even less space than a Mackie 1402vlz.  You can also hard-line in to most digital mixers if you don’t want WiFi. 

Having done exactly what you’re proposing, I’d strongly consider a small digital offering over analog.  10 years ago small digital boards were not a cost effective option (and not even really available in the flavor we know today), but given what’s on the market now and how it’ll save you from buying the additional outboard you’ll probably need to do the job right (GEQ, comp/gate, delay, etc.), I just don’t see the argument to rule it out so quickly. 

For what it’s worth I clawed tooth and nail against switching from analog to digital, but a few years ago my needs grew beyond what my Mackie and GEQ alone could handle.  It was either buy more outboard or try digital.  I bought a Qu-PAC as a hold-over and it worked wonders.  It just makes getting good sound so much easier since I have features at my fingertips that would normally fill a whole rack in analog world.  Two weeks ago I swapped out my Qu-PAC for a dLive and have no plans on looking back.  If you haven’t played with a small digital board I suggest you do, even if you don’t buy it.  At least you’ll know what you’re missing out on! 

Out of curiosity, you say this only for smaller jobs...do you own a larger board already?

I get the arguments with digital but it's way out of budget here. I'm not going to drag out any outboard for these sort of gigs anyway (I have a 166xl and a 31 band geq) so just want a board and into the powered boxes. The K12.2's have some DSP on board anyway for minor room tweaks.

I have access to some larger boards if need be but don't own one personally. I have done live sound, theatre, dj work in the past but haven't done anything in 10+ years and am just getting back into it in a different city (no old clients), so don't want to spend a lot until things pick up. All I have left from my old rig is a pair of JBL JRX125's, a PLX3102, RMX1850hd, mics/cables, and the comp/geq mentioned above...hence why I grabbed some K12.2's to cut weight and improve sound quality. If things do go well I could see myself getting a QU-16 or Touchmix or something like that, but not for now.

Would like to keep it under $500 CAD but $300 would be way nicer. Any digital setup by the time I'm done (mixer, rack, tablet, wifi, etc) I'm probably pushing $2000+.

[Tim McCulloch]

Shure SCM268.

[Bob Stone]

Shure SCM268.

LoL lacking just a few features...

[Chris Grimshaw]

I'd try to go digital. The reason being is this - you get all the outboard built-in.
If someone wants to use an omni lav mic or headset where GBF is going to be a problem, the EQ available there can be a gig saver.

If it'll only ever be wireless handheld mics, that's the only time I'd be happy going with a notepad mixer with no outboard.

Chris

[Jay Marr]

I disagree with going digital.
I will do an acoustic solo or duo show every once in a while, and I always grab a small analog mixer.
Simple and quick to set up.  Less to bring.
Don't need a router, don't need an ipad, don't need a charger, and don't need a stand to hold my ipad....and when I have an acoustic guitar in my hand, grabbing a knob in the middle of a song is easier than an ipad adjustment.

I've taken a X32 rack a couple times for this type of gig and it's overkill.

I use the prior version of the Yamaha MG10XU.
I went with the Yammy at the time because it was the only one with built in one knob compression (and of course built in reverb).

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