Sound In Gloucestershire Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 Hello, im looking to buy a new desk in the next week or two, its only got to be a little one! Itll initially be used for Karaoke, so ill be plugging in 4 mics (3 vocal, one for me) a laptop (via line input) and one other line input. As far as Karaoke is concerned, I will NEVER be exceeding this!! now thinking ahead, id like something thats capable of doing basic vocal PA's as well, although I cant see the requirements being that much different (aside from quality). I wont be using sends/returns/aux right now, but could be using them in the future, but on board effects is required (just a basic decent reverb) One product that has caught my eye is the Alesis Multimix 8 USBhttp://www.alesis.com/multimix8usb20Its got 4 mic channels, 2 stereo channels and built in effects, so it will do the job...for £97however from looking at this mixer, I see things which I dont like and things I will miss1) Sliders! - karaoke singers need to be kept on a short leash volume wise and a slider is much easier to grab at short notice than a knob2) Very easy to accidentally switch the Phanton Power button3) Odd power cable, not good for backups etc4) Runs on Jackoutput, everything I have it XLR, means I have to carry spares of a "different cable" as opposed to having a big pile of XLR to XLR cable now the peeve list are merely peeves and I could "make do" but id like to address some of them of course. The budget isnt £97, it can be higher, but only upto approx £200. I understand this isnt the usual high level of blue-room stuff, but I want professional opinions! Any help is appreciated, thanks Just to add what ive been looking at so far Obvoiusly the Alesis number above, although ive managed to talk myself out of that one I think!Ive gone down the brandnames that I know do this sort of price range, if ive missed any out, please let me know? Mackiehttp://www.reverb-store.co.uk/product-detail.asp?prod=3161Mackie 1402 VLZ3 Mixer £229 http://www.mackie.com/products/dfx12/index.htmlMackie DFX12 Below £200 but doesnt appear to be in the country just yet?if im honest this looks a great little deskPeaveyPeavey PV10http://www.peavey-eu.com/pop_product.php?f...UK&key=1738£145Seems to fulfil the requirements, but not so sure about the quality? Anyone got experience of this range of desks? Allen and Heath, bit out of price range for now Behringer - im afraid to look? Or is it worth considering? Samson??http://www.playrecord.net/recording-equipm...r.p1020189.htmlLooks too good to be true, but I know NOTHING about this company, anyone had experience? OK I THINK IVE FOUND ONE Alesis Multimix 12R £155 Its all the benefits of their 12U model but squeezed into a 3U Rackmount, ideal as I can put this into a traditional "mixer" style case and have easy access to the back! thoughts??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Pearce Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 Absolutely tons with faders well within budget on thomann. Linky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndenim Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 I borrowed a Behringer ub 1204fx from a mate of mine, to do a karaoke in a house, (my mixer was too big) it was perfect.Not sure if you can still get 'em though. http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d174/977stinkytinky/UB1204FX_P0160_Right_web.jpg A concurrent post has been automatically merged from this point on. Looks like a thomann copy here. http://www.thomann.de/gb/the_tmix_mix_1204_fx.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tolley1466 Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 I borrowed a Behringer ub 1204fx from a mate of mine, to do a karaoke in a house, (my mixer was too big) it was perfect.Not sure if you can still get 'em though. http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d174/977stinkytinky/UB1204FX_P0160_Right_web.jpg That was the mixing desk in the "recording studio" when I went to High School ;). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sound In Gloucestershire Posted January 10, 2009 Author Share Posted January 10, 2009 whats the quality like John, or were you not able to tell? Some of the venues I do are quite big, upto 300 people and about half of the singers are semi professional (dont ask about the rest haha) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Pearce Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 The small behringers aren't bad. Not amazing, bit noisy if you crank the gain. EQ is often 3 band fixed mid and can be a bit useless tbh.However, you've paid £100 for it... You might be better off looking on ebay for a second hand soundcraft or perhaps at a push a mixwiz, though I doubt you'll find one for under £200. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndenim Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 TBH SIG it was ok.I mounted two full range cabs (peavey impulse 200's) on sticks, and ran it off an ax 2500. The eq is only 3 band off pots on each channel, but it did the job well.Nice smooth faders for a Behringer. What mics have you got for the ahem, singers?Karaoke sound does not have to be as good as a live band, just keep your finger on the mic fader, ready to drop it if you get some plank shouting, "JOHN, JOHN, GET US A PINT IN MATE!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sound In Gloucestershire Posted January 10, 2009 Author Share Posted January 10, 2009 the mics are the next purchase, but they will be decent ones, as I said earlier, half the singers are semi pro theatre types who know how to hold a microphone and make the system sound good, we dont talk about the other half ** laughs out loud ** I have 11 years experience of presenting karaoke, however I was working for another company, so now getting my own kit! (and want to do it properly). Hence why I want faders and not knobs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tolley1466 Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 How about a Soundcraft Spirit Folio F1?8 mic ins, 3 band eq with sweep mid, Phantom, the usual... Loads on eBay for under £100! Linky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sound In Gloucestershire Posted January 10, 2009 Author Share Posted January 10, 2009 ive made so many edits to the first post, its getting confusing ** laughs out loud ** basically the one that caused me to go AHA BINGO was the Alesis Multimix 12R for £155 its a 12 channel desk compacted into a 3U Mixer with the inputs on the rear8 mic inputs2 stereo line inputsits got slidersits got effectsits got XLR out2 auxno stupidly placed phantom switchiec euro power input, so pretty standard with lots of my other kit only disadvantage is the lack of eq (only hi/low) with being 3U mixer, I can probably put it into an 8 U mixer style case (desktop) and leave the karaoke mics and cables in the back for ease of setup! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndenim Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 Sorry, not trying to patronise you SIG, just my attempt at humour. Recommend the above, a nice little mixer, much better pre amps than the behringer, and if my memory serves it has built in lexicon effects. What mics are you going to get SIG?I recently bought 3 sennheiser e825's for £50 each from maplin, the semi pro singers seem to like their warmth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tolley1466 Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 What mics are you going to get SIG?I recently bought 3 sennheiser e825's for £50 each from maplin, the semi pro singers seem to like their warmth. Do you want me to get your coat? ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndenim Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 What mics are you going to get SIG?I recently bought 3 sennheiser e825's for £50 each from maplin, the semi pro singers seem to like their warmth. Do you want me to get your coat? ;) I already have it on and am halfway through the door..... Do you mean to say these mics are no good tolley? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berry120 Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 I've seen the smaller soundcraft consoles go on ebay for well under £200 sometimes - F1's and perhaps even a smaller SX if you're lucky. The sound quality will be much better than the behringers. I've used some of Samson's stuff (not the desks though), it's not an unheard of company but like Behringer it's pretty firmly at the budget end of the spectrum. Can't comment on the Alesis desks as I've never come into contact with one. That said, it's not really the sound quality of the B's that worries me, for what you're using them for I wouldn't have thought it'd be too much of an issue. They can be a bit hissy if pushed and cold sounding, but they'd do the job fine. What does worry me more with them is the reliability - I've had more than one give up on me - one got so hot inside it just gave up, and the other gave out absolutely nothing but hiss after a while. Neither was the model shown, but I've been a bit weary of using them without backup since for anything that's vaguely important. On the contrary, I've never had an issue with the soundcraft desks I've used. So on a practical level, if you do go for a cheap Behringer, perhaps it'd be worth getting a second just in case it gives up? The price is probably at the point where you can ;) EDIT: Hate to break it to you John, but the e835's are cheaper than that here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sound In Gloucestershire Posted January 10, 2009 Author Share Posted January 10, 2009 £2 less but £6 postage???? using google shopping, y ou can get them for as little as £30 off some unknown uk websiteor £40 like a reocgnised shop like andertons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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