Mixing Console Recommendations

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Nick Sevilla
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Post by Nick Sevilla » Tue May 11, 2010 8:12 am

jgimbel wrote:
noeqplease wrote:
mattcastore wrote:i don't know, i had a mackie 8-bus for a while and i didn't really like how the preamps or the EQ sounded. i liked all the features. i mainly got rid of it because i was able to sell it for $800 and buy the tascam m520 for $300. so that worked out okay.

i feel like my biggest concern with any console is going to be the EQ. i've been totally spoiled by always using super flexible ITB EQs, and i don't want to have to buy like ten channels of good outboard EQ and ignore the EQs on the mixer. seems wasteful. but i don't know if there are many consoles with really serious fully parametic EQ sections on them. which makes me think maybe i'm better off just sticking with what i have instead of buying a new mixer that isn't quite what i want.
I may come off as an a*hole, so here goes :

In the audio world, please use your EARS, not your WALLET to make decisions about sound equipment.

Sometimes cheap is good, sometimes not.

I recommend you look at Allen & Heath GL Series. I own a GL2800-32 channel, and it is a dream.

Cheers
I might come off an as an ass too, and I'm not really in a place to be spending thousands of dollars on a console, but I'm just curious, how possible is it to use your ears when picking a console? It's easy to use your ears when buying a guitar that you can try yourself, or hear other people play, or a microphone that you can test or have heard many times before. But with a console, it doesn't seem you'd be able to go to a store and try out everything in their console section. It seems like you kind of just have to learn as much as you can about a console, then hope one comes up used or go buy a new one. In that case it's even easier to think the more you spend the better you'll be getting. I think a lot of those "it's cheap but it is actually awesome" situations rely on something being cheap enough you won't be losing much money by just getting it and trying it even if it sucks, which doesn't seem like something folks would be doing much when spending thousands on a console. So maybe you'd rely more on what other people say about a board, and that part of us that does say "you get what you pay for". But I've never looked to buy a console. I have one but I don't have it set up yet, it's sitting patiently in the corner of my room (which is killing me!).
You can call the manufacturer and ask where you can listen to one. You can get the GC people to set up a few in one of their isolated rooms, as long as they know you will buy one from them, they will do it for you. They are in the sales business after all. All you have to do is ask... That is what I did. I listened to a GL2400 (exactly the same as my GL2800, minus 4 busses and a few extra features, but otherwise the same electronic signal paths throughout), and a Mackie Onyx 4880. the Allen & Heath shocked the store guy... it sounded heads and shoulders above the Mackie.

Also, using these forums to at least get a picture as to what is acceptable in the community, and then asking a friend for a listen to theirs is s great idea too.

Cheers
Howling at the neighbors. Hoping they have more mic cables.

david f
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Post by david f » Tue May 11, 2010 12:38 pm

Currently the GearOrphanage has a 32 channel Allen & Heath, an Amek/TAC Matchless (both for about $3,000) and a Harrison PRO 790 for $ 2,500 buck. Just an FYI... shipping would be brutal though.
http://www.gearorphanage.com/index.php? ... Path=1_2_4

edit: and a nice looking Topaz for $2,000.

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jgimbel
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Post by jgimbel » Tue May 11, 2010 2:17 pm

Thanks for the info, noeqplease. If only there was a way to set up a bunch of things to listen to that were used! I guess my thinking was that I'm sure GC would get things setup for you if you're definitely buying from them, but if you're going there not totally sure which thing you're going to be really looking at it's hard to say you're definitely going to buy from them. Though I guess that's just not the situation you'd use that for. I need to build a damn structure to hold my console, this thread is killing me, knowing I have a console sitting unused right now!

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Ryan Silva
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Post by Ryan Silva » Tue May 11, 2010 4:04 pm

Sean Sullivan wrote:Depending on where you live and how hard you look, you might be able to get a good Soundcraft, Harrison, MCI, or Trident for that amount of money. You'd just need to be handy with a soldering iron to bring it back to 100%. Heck, if you are willing to install some new components you can make them scream.

I would avoid a Mackie, Ghost, or a new Toft. You can get consoles that used to be $60,000 for $2-3,000 these days.
Well on the subject of Toft Consoles:

Mr. Sullivan most likely is speaking to the 'Pilot' line of the ATB mixer, which had some construction problems. This is why they called it the "Pilot"

The Direct Inputs were Unbalanced, now balanced.

The main circuit board had connection problems due to sagging of the faderboard. They reinforced that, and upgraded the fader quality. Most issues with the first version were related to that.

V.2 is the real deal!

It did add about 1-3k to the price tag, but the changes were necessary.

I have had nothing but success with my Toft ATB. 18 months and no issues.

The pre's are a bit on the dark side, but the EQ's are just wonderful. Also you can get a meterbridege.

Alright I?m done.
"Writing good songs is hard. recording is easy. "

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ctmsound
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Post by ctmsound » Tue May 11, 2010 7:39 pm


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Nick Sevilla
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Post by Nick Sevilla » Wed May 12, 2010 1:21 pm

jgimbel wrote:Thanks for the info, noeqplease. If only there was a way to set up a bunch of things to listen to that were used! I guess my thinking was that I'm sure GC would get things setup for you if you're definitely buying from them, but if you're going there not totally sure which thing you're going to be really looking at it's hard to say you're definitely going to buy from them. Though I guess that's just not the situation you'd use that for. I need to build a damn structure to hold my console, this thread is killing me, knowing I have a console sitting unused right now!
Most used console owners probably won't mind you taking a listen to their console, and checking out any issues it might have, before you buy it. If they won't let you listen to it... then buyer beware!!!

For the OP, this one look to be a winner :

http://www.gearorphanage.com/index.php? ... ts_id=1203

3 grand. No, no fully parametric EQ's, they actually do not make those until you get to the next price bracket (a 12k and up console).

Cheers
Howling at the neighbors. Hoping they have more mic cables.

ofajen
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Post by ofajen » Wed May 12, 2010 2:54 pm

How about a Ward Beck or Auditronics console?

Cheers,

Otto
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Matt C.
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Post by Matt C. » Wed May 12, 2010 8:42 pm

anyone know the major sound/quality/feature differences between the Soundtracs MRX and Topaz boards? i hear good things about both. i saw there is an MRX for sale in New York, and i might be able to go pick it up there while on tour in a few weeks. on the other hand, i know of a Topaz here in town that i could probably get for really cheap, but i've been told it "has some problems", and although i haven't investigated too much, i'm sure i'd need to spend some dough getting it fixed up. plus i don't want to have to look at that light-gray-with-pastel-knobs color scheme all the time.

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trodden
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Post by trodden » Thu May 13, 2010 1:52 pm

I've got one of these... granted mine was little over a 1,000 cheaper.. and i've seen them go for as low as 800 before... but mine did not come with a meter bridge or patchbays... it did come with a few dead channels as well.. and I still feel like it was worth it!

http://www.gearorphanage.com/index.php? ... cts_id=335

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kingmetal
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Post by kingmetal » Tue May 18, 2010 4:48 pm

A Yamaha 01V96 VCM with some kind of A/D back-end (like a Focusrite Pro40 in stand-alone mode) would do everything want for the price you want if you're only interested in workflow. Super flexible, nice pres, 4 band parametric on every channel, 4 effects engines REALLY nice reverb, compression / gates everywhere, etc.

But, you know, it's digital.

Sorry, I had to. Carry on!
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Matt C.
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Post by Matt C. » Tue May 18, 2010 5:13 pm

i'm now thinking more seriously about just keeping the tascam m520, and having someone do some work on it. although i'm not sure it would benefit as much as i want it to - the board doesn't have any serious problems, so recapping everything might not have a noticeable effect, and i've heard replacing some of the channel opamps doesn't do a whole lot either. but for whatever reason, it's tempting.

if i knew anything about electronics, or my soldering skills were above DIY-cable level, then i would try to do some of this myself, but right now, that would probably end in disaster.

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