Digital small frame mixer

[jmbstudios]

I am headed out tomorrow to check out some small digital boards. I am looking at the Mackie DL1608 and the Presonus 16.4.2.

I have been reading a lot on them and see the opinions are all over the place.
Most were from a year or more back.

My budget is between these two but I can stretch it to pick up the more expensive Presonus if it is far superior.
16 channels is perfect right now because most of the stuff I do is bands that dont use more than 16 channels. If I have to go bigger I break out the my 32ch Allen & Heath.

I like the idea of having all the comps, effx, eqs, etc in one package.

So is there one that shines over the other. Or is the price point pretty much the deciding factor?

By the way I have an ipad so thats not an issue.

Thanks

 

[AlexDonkle]

The DL1608 requires an iPad to work and has no physical faders, is that important to you?

2 slightly newer options that may also be worth a look are the Behringer X-32 Rack and Core units (similar idea with iPad mixing and no faders). Haven't seen either unit personally though.

The other option to stay consistent with your other A+H board is a MixWizard which recently added digital FX into the 4th edition released a few months ago, and would likely be sturdiest option for traveling with. Personally I didn't really like how they integrated the FX into the board, but ymmv.

 

[TJCornish]

Take a look at the Allen-Heath Qu-16 as well. It is a lot of the mixer for the money, especially compared to the Studiolive.

 

[museav]

So is there one that shines over the other. Or is the price point pretty much the deciding factor?

It's often details and the relative value of certain functionalities. Does multichannel recording to an attached computer have any value? How about being able to have pre-EQ and pre-compression aux sends? Any value to having subgroups (or DCAs, mute groups, etc.)? Is it practical to dedicate your iPad to the mixer use or to have a mixer that is dependent on that iPad being available and properly functioning? Are you going to be using wireless mixing and have you looked at all that entails? You could go on with numerous specific functionalities and details but the point is that the value of any particular mixer option may be greatly dependent on how you would use it and what is important or not to you.

 

[jmbstudios]

When my band performs it would be nice to walk out with an iPad and remote mix, also it would be nice for the guys in the band to have their Iphones out to mix their own in ear monitors.

Also some small clubs have no room for the sound guy to set up a rig in the room because its jammed with customer tables. Remote mixing would be very nice.

I guess remote mixing and having the effx, comps, eqs, is what in am after.

 

[jmbstudios]

Well I demo'd both boards and decided to go with the Presonus 16.4.2.

I like the idea of having a hands on board as opposed to being a slave to the ipad. I was told that ipad looses connection i am out of luck.

so remote mixing is great. And a stand alone board with that feature is great.

Now to jump on the manual and read up on it.

 

[bishopthomas]

I have the StudioLive 16.4.2. I'll probably be replacing it soon with the Behringer Compact (or Producer). It's a fine mixer but there are some small things that I don't like about it, mainly non motorized faders and the gain is not recallable.

 

[museav]

When my band performs it would be nice to walk out with an iPad and remote mix, also it would be nice for the guys in the band to have their Iphones out to mix their own in ear monitors.

Also some small clubs have no room for the sound guy to set up a rig in the room because its jammed with customer tables. Remote mixing would be very nice.

I guess remote mixing and having the effx, comps, eqs, is what in am after.

I understand but still think people often overlook the potential relevance of some of the details. It's great that your band could mix their own IEMs but are they going to be happy if all they can mix is the signals after you have applied the effects, comps, EQ, etc. that are apparently so important to you? I don't know what A&H model your 32 channel mixer is butI believe that on mnay the default for the pre-fader aux sends are pre-insert and pre-EQ, thus before any channel processing, and if that is what you are used to then it might be something you also want in any new mixer.

so remote mixing is great. And a stand alone board with that feature is great.

Another example of the details that may matter in some situations is that some boards allow remote mixing with nothing other than a tablet or smartphone while others require providing an external wireless network interface and yet others require that you have a computer connected to the mixer and you communicate wirelessly with the computer which in turn then communicates with the mixer.

The StudioLive is one of the latter and in order to have any wireless remote mixing you would typically have a laptop or computer running VSL connected to the mixer with a wireless router, switch or access point then connected to the computer. In effect, the StudioLive mixer does not actually support wireless control and it is instead the VSL software running on a computer wired to the mixer that supports the wireless control. Whether that matters to you depends on the situation, if you're going to have a laptop or computer connected for multichannel recording then it may effectively make no difference but if you are trying to minimize the equipment you have to bring or the space required then it might be relevant.

Please understansd that I am not suggesting that you did not make a good choice for you or recommending any particular product, however I am suggesting that what is a good mixer selection for any particular application can depend on many factors, some of which may take looking beyond the product marketing and sales materials to assess how you actually plan to use the mixer and thus want it to function.

 

[jmbstudios]

I understand all of these points. They were taken into consideration when before I bought it.

thanks for the help. I have a router ready to go. I just need to figure out what computer I will use. I have a macbook but it doesnt have firewire. I have heard of guys using a mac mini.