digital mixers

[Marc Katz]

I'm in the market for a medium (16-20 input) digital mixer. Does anyone have a way to decide between QU-SB (Allen&Heath), Soundcraft Ui16, QSC 16, Behringer X18, etc. ?

We have an acoustic trio with 6 instrument inputs and 4 microphones.

Hoping someone is more up to speed on pro/con than I am.

Thanks!!
Marc

[mandroid]

the connections are in the dock, I see when you have only so much screen size on the tablet,
you drag your finger on the screen..

Mackie has a dog in that race too.. One of my friends got that one..

he has the funds for that stuff, I don't..:whistling:

[Bad Monkey]

we use a mackie unit. couple of the best features for us is that we can save the settings for each venue. pretty much plug in and start running. plus everyone can control their own in ear monitor mix.

[almeriastrings]

Personally, of those - I prefer the QSC. Very clean, very stable. Dual mode (you have a built in touchscreen, not 100% reliant on he tablet). Very compact. Very stable wifi.

Behringer - OK, but software can be pretty inconsistent and unstable. Wifi only.

QUSB - nice mixer but wifi only. My 2nd preference here. They sound good.

Ui16 - good GUI. Nice facilities. Wifi only. Preamps can be noisy, especially with +48v on. Wifi only.

There are several threads in the Equipment section covering these.

[banjoboy]

I've got a QSC Touchmix 8. It's awesome. Compact, easy to use.

[Astro]

I've got the Soundcraft Ui16. Quite happy with it. I have no experience with the others. My guess is that you will be happy with any of those listed. Almeriastrings(above posts) knows what he is talking about and gets to play with all the toys. You cant go wrong with his perspective. My only complaint with the ui16 is not having a built in screen because there is a little "vulnerability" to being 100% dependent on the wireless log in wi fi thing. But then again, for price, the ui16 is biggest bang for buck. And it has antifeedback and digitech modeling along with Hi Z tracks. And I've had zero problems with connectivity thus far.

[almeriastrings]

I agree with Astro. The Ui16 is amazingly good value. The AFS-2 anti-feedback system works very well. You can, however, add the same facility to say a QSC or other mixer by means of the little DBX Go-Rack. This uses the same algorithms and works very well too. Worth noting that a new Ui24 is due soon, and that (allegedly, as I have not seen one yet) has better preamps which would solve the one area where the Soundcrafts currently lag a bit behind. For some applications the preamps on the Ui16 are OK - and there are some workarounds, such as only using very high output mics (preferably 7mV/Pa or greater). With low output mics (SM57, for example) once you crank the gain up, you can definitely hear hiss otherwise.

[banjoboy]

Hey almeriastrings, tell me more about the DBX Go-Rack. Like I posted above, I love my QSC Touchmix, but feedback scares me. I'm still pretty new to running sound. Does the Go-Rack really work at fighting feed back? Is it pretty easy to use? Seems like a pretty good deal for $30.00.

[almeriastrings]

http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?127389-DBX-GoRack-field-report

Here's how I have mine set up with a QSC. On this occasion I was doing a test vs. my 'big' DBX AFS-2.

The Gorack is probably about 85% as effective as the larger unit at around 1/10 the price! In fact so handy to have that I purchased a second one, so I can run them on both mains and monitors where necessary. Basically, a brilliant deal at $30!!!!!!!

153741

[Toni Schula]

I decided for the XR18.

My reason/priority was:
* enough mic inputs (we were playing with a drum kit back then)
* also acts as a 18 channel recording interface
* reasonable quality preamps
* total recall incl. preamps
* support of all common OSes, including Android and Linux (even on raspberry pi)
* open, dicumented remote control interface (I wrote some simple Java SW to automate some of my tasks. My Pi is doing this job.)
* size
* and very important: the price. My limit was well below 1k €.

Of course I miss also some features, you find in other products
* multichannel recording direct to USB drive
* feedback suppression
* local controls

Some of my requirements are quite specific, so base your decission on your's.
Without budgetary constraints I might have decided for the Touchmix or AH QU series.

Overall I am satisfied with the XR18.

As for the WiFi stability, which is often reported as a weak point: I do not have the need to tweak settings during the show. And during soundcheck and during rehearsal or recording use, I never ran into problems.

[lloving]

I've got the Soundcraft Ui16. Quite happy with it. I have no experience with the others. My guess is that you will be happy with any of those listed. Almeriastrings(above posts) knows what he is talking about and gets to play with all the toys. You cant go wrong with his perspective. My only complaint with the ui16 is not having a built in screen because there is a little "vulnerability" to being 100% dependent on the wireless log in wi fi thing. But then again, for price, the ui16 is biggest bang for buck. And it has antifeedback and digitech modeling along with Hi Z tracks. And I've had zero problems with connectivity thus far.

One note to add to this. On the Ui12/16 you are not actually dependent on WiFi only. You can use a laptop and connect to the Ethernet port. I have done that and its solid as a rock.

[almeriastrings]

Yes, you can do that. It is also a lot more stable with an external router than with the built-in version. Overall, it is a very good mixer. My primary 'issues' with it have been over the mic preamps. I think the GUI is actually one of the very best there is. Really easy to use. Will be interesting to see the Ui24.....

[fiddleround]

Another vote for the QSC TM16, along with the GoRack. Lots to like particularly if you are doing your own mix: "scenes" that save your set up for different bands or venues, eq presets for most instruments and vocals so you can set up quickly, an on-board screen as well as remote access, small footprint, comes with semi-hard case, good customer support and user forums.

I find it works surprisingly well for someone with limited digital skills who wants to set up quickly and go, but has impressive options when I am willing to dig deeper. Feedback was rare before the GoRack, now it is a distant memory. And it sounds quiet and clear.

Downside: Going digital means significant time and frustration. Only eight inputs show up on a screen, meaning you have to change screens a lot if you have more than eight inputs. Each aux may mean another separate screen. So if the bass player shows up 15 minutes into a set you have to set his level in the mains in one screen, then go to one or more aux screens to set up monitors. And continual electricity is essential. It takes a few minutes to get back up and running after an interruption and the board acts up if you do not shut down the way it expects you to.

Depending on how many separate aux channels you are mixing, 8 instruments and 4 vocals could be a real hassle to mix if you are playing at the same time. I often mix while I play with 3 vocals and 4 instruments and one aux/monitor, and I would not want to add much to that. On the other hand if I have a sound person with an ipad at the bar to handle mains I am happy handling multiple auxes from the stage regardless of the size of the band.

I have used the Mackie a little but really can't comment on the other boards.