Any views on Soundcraft mixers

[Jon18]

I'm adding to the sound kit for my swing band and wondered if anyone could give me advice/thoughts/comparison of a couple of mixers

 

At the moment I have narrowed my choices down to

Soundcraft EFX8 or

Soundcraft MFXi 8

and I wondered if anyone could help nudge me in either direction

 

The EFX8 looks as though it will do the business in a basic way but I wondered if anyone thought that the extra outlay on the MFXi would be worth it.

 

The system will mostly be used for sound reinforcement and vocals and as well as the obvious quality of sound issues my main concerns are, robustness and ease of transport ( the car is already packed with music stands, LED light bars, powered speakers ( pair of DB 402 Ds), music, and a variety of bits and pieces and we don't want to add too much to the weight or take up much more room :-)

 

Sorry of this is all a bit naive but any help gratefully received.

 

Cheers

 

Jon

[Bobbsy]

Well, the biggest difference you'll find is likely to be in terms of flexibility of outputs. They're likely fairly similar in sound and build quality.

 

The EFX has only 2 Auxes and no groups; the MFX has 3 auxes and two groups.

 

It's really down to you to decide if the EFX has enough features but the MFX would let you have a lot more options when it comes to setting up monitors or IEMs or, perhaps, feeding mains and subs separately.

 

It's hard to advise without knowing the details of your band and its needs--but my personal view is to always try to leave a bit of "growing room" when I buy a mixer. I don't think I've ever bought a mixer and not wanted to use more features a few months later than in the original planning.

 

Bob

[Jon18]

Well, the biggest difference you'll find is likely to be in terms of flexibility of outputs. They're likely fairly similar in sound and build quality.

The EFX has only 2 Auxes and no groups; the MFX has 3 auxes and two groups.

It's really down to you to decide if the EFX has enough features but the MFX would let you have a lot more options when it comes to setting up monitors or IEMs or, perhaps, feeding mains and subs separately.

It's hard to advise without knowing the details of your band and its needs--but my personal view is to always try to leave a bit of "growing room" when I buy a mixer. I don't think I've ever bought a mixer and not wanted to use more features a few months later than in the original planning.

 

Bob

 

 

Thanks Bob

Just the sort of nudge I needed - especially about leaving a bit of "growing room" .

Rightly or wrongly we have tended not to use monitors or IEM at the moment for the smaller gigs where this kit would be used ( we have the experts in for the gigs where we do) but it would be good to have the options.

Cheers & thanks again

 

Jon

[Pete Alcock]

Dear John,

 

If you've narrowed down to those two and are certain you want Soundcraft, I'll respect that and there's no need to read on.

 

However, have you considered the Allem and Heath PA12? It's the same price as the MFXi but much better to use. You'd have longer faders, a much clearer and easy to use layout and much more flexibility. The monitor sends and FX returns are on faders too, just like a big desk.

 

Admittedly it's a little bigger, but when you're on a dimly lit stage trying to get your sound, you need all the simplicity and usability you can get. On the MFXi, the aux outs are confusingly above the stereo inputs and you have to look up which reverb you got selected on a miniscule table. On the PA12, LEDs show you clearly which effect you've got selected.

 

Just my 2p worth (and I've got one, and do swing bands all the time).

 

Pete.

[TimmyP1955]

How much more would a second hand MixWiz cost you? If it's affordable, I'd go that route.