Mixer recomendations

  • Hey, everyone!


    I'm looking for a small reliable mixer, with up to 8 channels, maybe with effects, maybe with interface. My searches lead me to these options:

    Mackie 802vlz4 series / Mackie Mix8 / Mackie ProFX8v2

    Yamaha MG10XU / Yamaha MG6X / Yamaha MG6

    Presonus StudioLive AR8

    Alto Professional Live 802

    ART Tubemix


    They all have enough of good and bad reviews to judge about their quality, and they all have some complains about scratchy pots, channels going out or bleeding into each other, power supply overheating, poor built quality or some general unit failure. Exception is ART Tubemix, which has only six 5-star reviews across all the Internet, which is really strange (but I can't stop drooling at it, because it looks so cool, which, of course, is all that matters in audio hardware :) ).

    Do you guys have any long-lasting experience with any of these? Or may be you can recommend me something else?


    Thank you

  • How many mic pres do you need at the same times?

    The art tubemix has two eg. The MG10XU 4 pres.

    Do you need in a studio or on stage?

    Build in effects in this price range are nice e.g. on stage sometimes usable but in a studio

    I don’t want use it.

    Can speak only for the Macke vlz4 series. They come with a very good mic pres.

    HTH

  • I don’t have any direct hardware experience with mixers, sorry - but when I was doing a similar search for a small(ish) mixer last year, I spent a lot of time researching & narrowed it down to some from Allen & Heath (ZED-10 or ZEDi-10 series), PreSonus (AR8) and Soundcraft (Signature 10 or 12MTK for multitrack output). Also the Keith McMillen K-Mix, which I really liked due to its small footprint & versatility. My criteria were a good number of inputs (8+, at least 1 Hi-Z), at least 1 Aux bus, USB in/out supporting PC, Mac & hopefully iOS. In the end I decided I could do the basics with my audio interface (Focusrite 18i8) but I’d still like to get a mixer at some point...

  • Zappledan, dmatthews, thanks. How long do you have your mixers?


    PETERFR, I need a mixer for home use, so I don’t think, that I will ever need more than two mic preamps.


    Durwin99, yeah, pretty much same results that I’ve had with my searches, except K-Mix. I’ll do some googling for it, thanks.

    I have 2 Yamaha mixers, with the oldest about 6 years and the youngest at about 3 years. I bought the latest one used, so it's exact age I don't know.

    Go for it now. The future is promised to no one. - Wayne Dyer