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[Travis_Valois]

Hello, fellow Labsters

I'm looking for recommendations for a friend of mine for a new mixer to replace his A&H Mixwizard 3 16:2. He wants to be more compact, and wants to go digital. I'd like to recommend a rack mount mixer, but I'm pretty new to the digital mixer generation, having only had hands on experience on an X32 for about 6 gigs. All my previous experience is with analog systems, other than speaker management systems. Looking for something with an easy learning curve (my friend isnt too , dependable, and can be controlled from a tablet or phone. Need several monitor feeds for wired in-ears, effects, eq, etc. Something where more of the major features are able to be locked out., and the ability for each muso to be able to deal with their own monitor feed levels and mix via tablet or phone. Any major settings I'd be taking care of for them, but want to keep only the simple stuff accessible for the band members to be able to control.

My friend runs runs a 3 piece (keys/bass, drums, electric guitar, 3 vox), or keyboards with backing tracks and guitar, 2 vox, genre is classic rock, country, and Italian music.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Travis





Sent from my SM-S901W using Tapatalk

[Jeff Lelko]

Hi Travis.

How compact is compact?  I suggest you look through a few pages of posts here in the Lounge as this topic comes up several times each month without fail. 

The general consensus is that the Allen & Heath SQ Series is the best bang-for-buck option on the market right now before considering entry-level pro desks if you want a board with handles.  The X32 Producer is also a compact but still approachable option.  Below that you get into glass-only mixing which is a major setback to some users, especially coming from analog.  Hope this helps! 

[Travis_Valois]

Hi Travis.

How compact is compact?  I suggest you look through a few pages of posts here in the Lounge as this topic comes up several times each month without fail. 

The general consensus is that the Allen & Heath SQ Series is the best bang-for-buck option on the market right now before considering entry-level pro desks if you want a board with handles.  The X32 Producer is also a compact but still approachable option.  Below that you get into glass-only mixing which is a major setback to some users, especially coming from analog.  Hope this helps!

Thanks for your reply and insight!

[Debbie Dunkley]

Hello, fellow Labsters

I'm looking for recommendations for a friend of mine for a new mixer to replace his A&H Mixwizard 3 16:2. He wants to be more compact, and wants to go digital. I'd like to recommend a rack mount mixer, but I'm pretty new to the digital mixer generation, having only had hands on experience on an X32 for about 6 gigs. All my previous experience is with analog systems, other than speaker management systems. Looking for something with an easy learning curve (my friend isnt too , dependable, and can be controlled from a tablet or phone. Need several monitor feeds for wired in-ears, effects, eq, etc. Something where more of the major features are able to be locked out., and the ability for each muso to be able to deal with their own monitor feed levels and mix via tablet or phone. Any major settings I'd be taking care of for them, but want to keep only the simple stuff accessible for the band members to be able to control.

My friend runs runs a 3 piece (keys/bass, drums, electric guitar, 3 vox), or keyboards with backing tracks and guitar, 2 vox, genre is classic rock, country, and Italian music.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Travis





Sent from my SM-S901W using Tapatalk

The natural progression would probably be to the Allen & Heath QU series. I did the same thing from a Mix Wiz myself years ago - I went to the QU16 first.
I use the QU Pac rack mount mixer in clubs/bars/restaurants but I also own the QU-SB rack mount mixer. They are (almost) identical in terms of channel count and functionality but the biggest diffrence is that the QU PAC has a very handy little touchscreen that allows it to be used without an iPad. I use the onboard knobs, buttons and touchscreen when setting up on stage and programming at home and then switch to iPad mixing at a show. For this reason the QU PAC is my preference BUT is also a bit more expensive than the QU-SB.
I found the QU series to be very easy to learn and I like the workflow. Our band uses only IEMs and they control their own mixes on their phones. It offers 4 mono auxes and 3 stereo auxes on board which can be expanded to total of 11 auxes when using an A&H D snake and configuring the groups to mixes.

[Brian Jojade]

The X32 producer is a rack mount version of the X32 family, but is lacking the scribble strip screens, so working with multiple layers can become challenging.

The X32 rack is a beautiful small mixer and you can pair it with a X-Touch if you want limited fader controls available.  The Xtouch does let you access a lot of different controls of the mixer, but it's challenging to get to sometimes.  For something where you only want them to adjust fader volumes, it's a great choice.

The X32 system doesn't have a feature to lock out certain parts of the board though.  Even with the app, you have full access to everything.  If you do want to set up some restrictions, you can use the Mixing station app.  However, the restrictions have to be set up on each device, not globally assigned in any way.

It's hard to go wrong with the X32 line, as they are EVERYWHERE and pretty much everyone will know how to use it.

The A&H line is a good product as well, but far less common to see out in the field.

[Mark Scrivener]

The Ui24R is a great little mixer if you are willing to be tablet/phone/laptop controlled only (wired or wireless). Having used both the Ui24R and the QU Pac, I'd pick the Ui24R hands down - easier to use, more IO, and even has built in wifi (though many people add their own external unit for better coverage).

[Bob Faulkner]

+1 on the A&H QU mixer.  I use a QU-16 for the smaller shows.

Also, I use the 32 channel Presonus consoles.  In my opinion, the work-flow on the Presonus and QU/SQ series consoles is far better than the Behringer X32 Compact.  Two weeks ago, I mixed on a Compact (house system), and it took me 4 button pushes to get to a monitor send layer; compared with only 1 button push on the Presonus and QU-16.  This is just my experience with the X32 Compact.

[Mike Pyle]

Midas M32R-LIVE is about the same footprint as a Mixwiz, far greater in capability. Same essential operation as the X32 you are familiar with.

[duane massey]

I have a similar situation, a duo w/ keys and vocals +bass/drum tracks and a trio with bass, keys, vocals, and drum machine. I use an XR18, with a laptop via ether-net. Rarely need to make any adjustments, as it's the same personnel and set-up each time.

[frank kayser]

I'll throw my vote behind the QSC Touchmix 16.  It is a competent little mixer that may be the lightest, most portable digital mixer with 16 XLR inputs plus two stereo inputs.  10 aux channels.  I installed one and we've used it  at the cafe since 2016 (I believe), and the band I'm working with is using it for their IEM rig, very successfully.  On fly dates, it was important to keep the IEM rig <50lbs (mixer, transmitters, yada yada). The QSC has a better granular security model than the A&H or Behringer does.


I personally was like Debbie and transitioned form the MixWiz to the QU16, then after I talked with her for a while, to the QU-Pac.  I was fearful of going surface-less.  Once I made the jump, there was no going back to big, heavy mixers.  The QU-Pac isn't exactly a lightweight, but it is relatively small and much more maneuverable than a QU16 or Mix Wiz.  Add a AB168, and 32 channels of good entry-level-plus level of mixing. There are days I do like to have real faders under my fingers, but with MixStation and a compatible mixer, pfff... Who needs faders?


I recently bought an M32C with a DL16 stage box.  I was being faced with more and more occasions that required knowledge of X/M32 operation, which the M32C kinda gets me to that spot, but without a surface, not quite, really.  iPad mixing and mixing on a surface with REAL faders and buttons is like learning two completely different mixers.


One important point of the QSC - it has a built-in touchscreen to work - which is nearly identical to the iPad and Android apps. Saves the problem of learning a mixer twice - once on the included surface, and once on a usually dissimilar iPad interface.  No iPad needed...  It is complete in a roughly 18"x12"x 4" included case.  It can multitrack to a fast hard drive or SSD, but does not have a USB for interfacing to a computer.  Built in WiFi is marginal.


Now, unlike the Behringer/Midas 32 offerings, the QSC has very few routing options - which may be a good thing as it is as simple as the MixWiz. 


Another option (again, surface-less) is the X/MR18.  Also a winner in the small, lightweight category, also with a ton of features, and may be the most affordable (Forget the built in WiFi and go with a access point/router.) 


Sonically, most folks would be hard pressed to tell one from the other.


What made me "switch" to M/X32 family was the ability to set up scenes offline, without the mixer hanging about in the house.  The entry level QU-series of mixers do not have that capability, nor does the QSC mixer.  A&H SQ series allows offline scene creation and editing, but I'm sold on surface-less mixers.  Setting up a festival or bands for the week with the M32c mixer still tucked away in the storage locker was what sealed the deal for me. 

[ProSoundWeb Community]