Mixers/Consoles YAMQ (Yet Another Mixer Question)

ScottT

Lighting Programmer
Gonna put this one out to the masses as I've been having issues deciding.

We are currently looking for a new digital sound board.

Constraints:
-About $5,000
-Must have at least 24 XLR inputs
-Must have MIDI in as we are going to couple it with CHSound's Palladium
-2 Tape/CD inputs

We have been looking at the TT24, but after reading posts here and on ProSoundWeb I feel like we should reconsider it...

What do you think?
 
The TT24 is dead in the water as far as LOUD is concerned.
Do not buy one unless you're prepared to be your own tech support.
 
The only thing anywhere near your budget is a Yamaha LS9.
However, it only comes in two frame sizes, 16 and 32 channels.
The LS9-32 goes for a minimum of $8,400.
 
I've looked at the 24.4.2 and the thing that I really don't like about it is that it doesn't have motorized faders. And the LS9-32 is a bit out of our price range, if we pushed it we could probably get 6 or 7k but that would come out of upgrading our lighting board in the long run.

What do you think of the Tascam DM4800?
 
Don't know if I can provide a good alternative for you - maybe Presonus StudioLive 24.4.2 or Yamaha 02RV96VCM with the right add-on cards, or, for something completely different, Software Audio Console.

We have three tt24s at our church, BTW. Bought two as refurbished units at half of the price we bought the first one new.
Upside - very user-friendly, still supported, computer control via USB, they're still releasing updates (last in March 2010 - bugfixes, no new features), amazing routing, card options, digital snake option, you can get refurb'd units cheap (check zzounds.com), etc etc etc.
Downside - They're discontinued so unless you're set on it, I wouldn't go that route.

Still, an amazing amount of functionality in a user-friendly board, and very cheap.

The SAC looks pretty interesting - look on youtube for some cool videos.
 
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how about a pair of 01v96's? With cascading cables and a couple of ADA8000s you'll have 32 motorized faders, 48+ ins, 28+ outs, and some change left over :)
 
OK, a couple more things about the tt24, since you asked - the two big things with it that sunk it in people's minds were an issue with some power supplies, and software releases have had some reliability issues. Any refurb'd console bought from a dealer should already have the fix for the power supply and will have a one year factory warranty. The software is now very reliable in my opinion, and pretty flexible. That said, I have 'spares' so it doesn't bother me if we have a hardware issue.

refurb'd at zzounds for $3799 - here. Looks like the same board at electricguitar.com & samedaymusic.com.

-B
 
I'd avoid the TT24, as I'm not confident that it will be properly supported.

I've seen used LS9-32 go for $5500, sometimes with a case that you could sell off.

The idea of two O1V/96 ain't a bad one.

If it were not for your need of MIDI, I'd say the StudioLive would be a good choice.
 
What is the MIDI for? If you are wanting to recall preset scenes on the console then you have to make sure the mixer supports that and what it recalls. That's one area where I can possibly see some of the options falling a bit short.

SAC can be cost effective but if you start wanting things like recallable preamp settings, physical faders, etc. the cost starts going up. There are a few firms selling turnkey systems and support but otherwise you are on your own to put the pieces together and get them working (no problem for some people, a potential problem for others). And if you have to consider rider acceptability, that can be a real issue. My general impression is an intriguing concept for someone's personal mixer but maybe not as well suited to multiple users or entities.

The segues into another issue, are there any needs other than what you listed? Things like the number of aux sends, having DCA capability, what channel EQ is provided, the physical size and so forth?

If you look at the TT24 link posted and read about what 'resealed' means you find that all Mackie 'resealed' gear comes with a 90 day warranty rather than the standard one year warranty. There is also nothing that says that any updates were necessarily applied.
 
We would need two of them as we run 24 channels of wireless lavs...

If you are running 24 Lav's (as Standard), then in my thought you should be looking at a 32 channel board. Otherwise what happens when you get a band/orchestra/pit, that has a keyboard or running audio of a laptop and CD player, etc. Just a thought. I think your biggest problem will be the midi features. as any analog board is well under 5k at 24 channels (even if you get a REALLY FANCY one.) In my most recent research looking for a new sound console for our space this is the wall that i've run into with the jump in price between a analog live console and a digital one.
 
Brad,

Ooops, you're right about the warranty term for that one in the link. Better than ebay I suppose. FWIW one of our refurb'd mixers was bought a while back & had the power supply issue. I know it was beyond three months but we still got factory warranty service on it.

It's really too bad that they didn't do a better job of quality control with the board, I still think it's a great board. I agree on the SAC, for some it's a fascinating project with lots of flexibility & options, others a potential nightmare.

I keep thinking someone is going to come out with a killer digital board that's the 'next gen' and around $3-4K... the tt24 took itself out of the race, The O1V96VCM seems like just a retread and requires additional mic pre's/cards/outputs to get the I/O up to a usable level (but Yamaha has an amazing breadth of cards/interfaces), the presonus lacks motorized faders, yada yada.

-Blanton
 
I keep thinking someone is going to come out with a killer digital board that's the 'next gen' and around $3-4K... the tt24 took itself out of the race, The O1V96VCM seems like just a retread and requires additional mic pre's/cards/outputs to get the I/O up to a usable level (but Yamaha has an amazing breadth of cards/interfaces), the presonus lacks motorized faders, yada yada.

Same, but by the time this comes out "next gen" console will already be outdated by what's coming down the pipe. *sighs* Sometimes I hate working with technology.
 
Maybe it's just my age, but I look at some of the tools we have now and am amazed at what you can get for the money.

One potential downside of having better tools is that I find people depending on them more and not learning the basics or how to work without the latest and greatest toys.
 

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