mixers

[benweblight]

I have been looking at this mixer:

Behringer UB1204FX

to replace my old out of date 8ch

its going at £140 new

I also like the look of spirit folios, can I pick thease up at £150- aswell? any other desks at that price a better bet (2nd hand or new?)

 

also, what are busses on a mixer?

 

occassional studio AND pa work

[benweblight]

add a few desks:

would be a bheringer ub1622fx

soundcraft spirit sx

yamaha mg series 16/4, 12/4

mackie vfx (or other)

 

which is best bet for me?

[James]

Do you have to shout ben?

 

Sorry but if you have such a limited budget then buy as much as you cen afford, remember that at this end of the market an extra £30 can make a difference in features, ie another handful of mic' pres, another aux, another couple of busses or another built in fx unit.

 

You will (whatever you buy) wish for more

 

If you want it for studio as well as PA look at Mackie first (Though it is a bit more expensive)

 

Also have a look at peavey.

[sticks]

a bus on a mixer is an output controlled by a fader that any channel can be routed to, these are often called groups.

 

a 16/4/2 mixer has 16 channels, then 4 busses, then the main stereo out. Depending on the manufacturer the busses can be completely independant of the main mix, or 2 may be permenantly routed to the mix. Be careful you read the literature carefully as sometimes a 4 bus mixer consists of busses/groups 1,2,3 and 4 and a main out or sometimes 1+2 are the main stereo out and 3+4 are independant (alt) groups.

 

busses are important for recording as a 16 bus mixer lets you record 4 tracks simultaneously, in live use they can be used to drive different amps but I've found are more useful to aid mixing, for example all the individual drum kit mics can be routed to groups 1+2 which is in turn routed to the mix, then if I feel that the drums in general are a bit loud I can easily bring the overal level down without affecting the balance.

 

hth.