Hi

I am looking at investing at a smallish sound desk 12-18 channels or so that also has a fire wire so I can record multiple tracks live rather than recoding it in stereo and mixing before I record.

Any desk recommendations? Cheap but reasonable quality (if possible?)

Thank Guys

I have a phonic helix 18fw which has 8 mic preamps and another 2 stereo inputs. They also do a larger version with 16 mic channels which is about £200 more expensive. I would say however that it is quite picky on the hardware it will run on so try before you buy if possible. Hvaing said that I have the older mk1 version and they have a newer mk2 which is meant to be a lot better.

Or you might want to look at a mackie ONYX with the firewire card. Its more money but a better mixer

Hi Kevin

Thanks, I have just looked at the desks you mentioned and I really like the look of the phonic helix desks and they are quite reasonably priced too.

Thanks Again

Have a look at the new Allen & Heath ZED-R16 here:
http://www.allen-heath.com/zed/zed-R16.asp

16 channels of FireWire (or ADAT), plus Digital Master I/O over FireWire. Looks like a pretty flexible unit with a variety of ways to integrate into a DAW application. However, it is pretty new, so I don't know if they have any prestigious users. It's one of the ZED range mixers, and has a smaller footprint and channel count than the older GS3000 (awesome desk that though IMHO). Looks as though it has live applications too from the website!

Does the Onyx come with FireWire built in nowadays, or is it optional?

I can't think of many other products from the main stable of manufacturers that are FireWire. Anyone know of/used any Soundcraft offerings?

Mike

I was just about to mention the R16..

its brand new, so quite unproven in its own right, but I've tried the ZED428 and as a mixer, its great for the price. cant comment on the firewire bits though obviously.

The Onyx has a separate unit which you can use with it make it work with fireWire

I'm an Alesis Multimix user, and their Multimix Firewire desks are very good. As desks go, they're mediocre. Better than say, a Behringer or other no-brand-brand, but they're not as good as say, a proper small format Soundcraft desk.

Still a good buy though. I got mine B-Stock, so it cost me just under £300.

If you are going to Plasa this year have a look at the ZED R16 on the A&H stand. It is meant to be one of the things they are showcasing this year.


Josh

phonic blah!

I don't personally like them either but if you are going to say something like "phonic blah!" then please expand on your reasoning for saying that.

I don't like Phonics because they are trying to copy the copy's in an essence. You see their Firewire Desks and they look and feel very DJ compared to the Behringers even though they cost quite a bit more.

Josh

I'll expand on why it's "Phonic..blah". If you open one up, you'll see that they're very cheaply and very badly constructed. The last Phonic board I opened (admittedly not the model being discussed) had such a ropey power supply that a live to chassis short was inevitable...and dangerous. I wouldn't touch Phonic after seeing that.

Bob

I can’t comment on the desk that you opened up but mine has served me well over the past 2 years as a small format live desk with all the associated rough handling that comes with being taken out to gigs. The sound quality is good but not as good as my other desk and the built in effects are useable. I even used it to record a few demo songs for a band I work with. You can check out the quality of the firewire recording at www.myspace.com/thedivinesecret . Most of those songs were recorded on just the phonic desk and my laptop (apart from rizzla which was recorded in a studio not by me). I also have a few live recording somewhere if anyone wants any.

I know its been said (a couple of times) but yeah I'd seriously look at the allen and heath R16, and yeah they will be showcasing it at PLASA if you can get there.

Not the best mixers out there, but about as good as your going to get for the cash, good pre amps, nice eq's, 16 channels of firewire, what more could you want?!

Tom