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[Frankie Lessard]

Looking for a new analog/USB mixer for live gigs from solo acoustic up to a 4 piece band. Leaning toward Allen and Heath or Presonus. Any insight about these two company's would be appreciated.

[David Simpson]

There has been a lot written on both brands. Do a search, particularly in the Lounge for more in depth. Both brands make good products in general for your level of work. It is all about the features you are looking for and how you will use it.

~Dave

[Mike Caldwell]

What do you mean by analog/USB?

If it's an analog mixer format that has a USB input output interface
the Allen Heath ZED are good.

[Peter Kowalczyk]

Take a look at the Soundcraft Signature Series.  The standard models offer 2 in / 2 out thru USB, while the 'MTK' models serve as a multi-channel interface thru USB.  Their audio and build quailty seem better than many at this level, though I can't speak directly to the A+H or Presonus options.

[Sean Anderson]

Looking for a new analog/USB mixer for live gigs from solo acoustic up to a 4 piece band. Leaning toward Allen and Heath or Presonus. Any insight about these two company's would be appreciated.

I had a studiolive ar12 for a little while. It was a decent little mixer. But, I would suggest a presonus 16.0.2 for just a little more if you need physical controls. I have had great results with my studiolive series iii gear for a little more cash. I think that digitals are much more flexible, especially for a band. Even better may be a small rack unit and a tablet, behringer xr18, studiolive 16r, soundcraft ui series. All three are good options.

[Scott Slater]

Both the A&H and Presonus sound good and offer similar features, but what sets them apart is the build quality on the A&H is rock solid.  If possible, go somewhere where you can pick up and put hands on each of them and compare them.

[Thomas Le]

I'll go against the grain and recommend two separate mixers. For solo gigs, I'd recommend ZED10FX. For a 4 piece, I'd look into digital offerings since you might run up to 16 channels, maybe an X32 or XR18.

[Mike Caldwell]

I'll go against the grain and recommend two separate mixers. For solo gigs, I'd recommend ZED10FX. For a 4 piece, I'd look into digital offerings since you might run up to 16 channels, maybe an X32 or XR18.

Along those lines I would also add the Allen Heath QU Pac and the Soundcraft UI24 to the list.

[Daniel Levi]

Behringer also have the UFX1604? that got good reviews in SOS, USB/Firewire interface plus built in USB multitrack recording.
https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/behringer-ufx1604

[Brian Jojade]

A&H, Presonus, Soundcraft, Behringer, Yamaha, all offer decent quality products.  In this level of work, there is essentially not going to be an obvious significant overall winner.  It comes down to which workflow you like the best.

Knowing what your actual needs are will help determine what makes the most sense.  The needs for a small solo acoustic act are certainly less than a 4 piece band.  Dragging a large full sized console for an acoustic act would be overkill at the very least.

However, some of the small format digital consoles which are tablet controlled can fit the bill for the full band and still are small enough to lug in for your solo acts.  The nice thing about going digital is that you now have oodles of options to make it sound like you want it to, vs if you just have a simple little mixer limited to unflexible EQ options.

With the digital consoles, you can set up scenes so that depending on which type of show you're doing, it can be pre-configured for your starting point.  Easy peasy.

[ProSoundWeb Community]