StudioMaster DigiLive 16

[Robin D]

My 40+ year old 12 channel Samick mixer has begun to let me down. I've replaced numerous faders etc over the years, but now it really needs all of them done and a lot of the pots as well. I can't complain, its more than earned its keep.

 

I'm looking at replacements for the small amount of personal and voluntary things I do where there's no desk.

 

Key factors are:

Physical size and weight. (I'm a lot older than when I bought the Samick!)

Must be able to handle at least 12 channels.

I'm a fader man so really want a physical fader. Had a good go with an X-air but struggled with a touch screen interface.

Also done a far bit with a Yamaha LS9, so am familiar with motorised faders, layers etc.

 

I'm tempted by the Digilive 16, but have been unable to find one to 'have a play'. Reluctant to order one only to return it if no good. So, anyone got one, who can provide some useful feedback and comment. It 5kg and small footprint, it clearly fits the size and weight criteria.

 

Realistically I'd want to spend well under a grand.

 

Thanks Robin

[S&L]

My 40+ year old 12 channel Samick mixer has begun to let me down. I've replaced numerous faders etc over the years, but now it really needs all of them done and a lot of the pots as well. I can't complain, its more than earned its keep.

 

I'm looking at replacements for the small amount of personal and voluntary things I do where there's no desk.

 

Key factors are:

Physical size and weight. (I'm a lot older than when I bought the Samick!)

Must be able to handle at least 12 channels.

I'm a fader man so really want a physical fader. Had a good go with an X-air but struggled with a touch screen interface.

Also done a far bit with a Yamaha LS9, so am familiar with motorised faders, layers etc.

 

I'm tempted by the Digilive 16, but have been unable to find one to 'have a play'. Reluctant to order one only to return it if no good. So, anyone got one, who can provide some useful feedback and comment. It 5kg and small footprint, it clearly fits the size and weight criteria.

 

Realistically I'd want to spend well under a grand.

 

Thanks Robin

 

thoughts:

1. I don't have any direct experience of the studiomaster but it's a chinese 'no brand' mixer from what I understand and the same mixer is badged by thomann at a cheaper price. and of course anything from thomann comes with 3 year warranty - I get the feeling if you dig around there will be others.

2. I completely understand how you feel about having physical faders and I would agree that it's much more intuitive to operate than a tablet based mixer HOWEVER I think you have to look at the alternatives with a better track record. and that means tablet based.

3 the market iz starting to be flooded with tablet based mixers - so much so that people now expect you to have this solution in your pocket and the flooding of the market with these mixers has (arguably) been responsible for the latest behringer price drop meaning an xr18 now weights in with a more impressive pedigree and feature set at half the price of the studiomaster.

4. there is obviously a disadvantage in that you have to run with a router if you want to be truly wireless and all the 21st century faff that entails but I was called to run a tech rehearsal recently on one and worked it with a laptop and mouse via a solid cable cat5 connection - to be honest the fader control was a lot smoother than by tablet and within an hour it was no different to mixing on the more heavily featured x32 - a bit odd but verynear the real fader experience. very very similar sound quality to the x32 too.

 

if you handed me a studiomaster digimixer for free, yes I would take it and I would find a use for it occasionally

if you gave me the money? I would look at the other gear and warranties out there and buy something at half the price such as the xr18. or even an x32 rack, now available at the same price as the studiomaster.

if you have the budget and simply must have physical faders I would look at the qu16 or the x32 producer - both small and formidable for the money - both with proven pedegrees.

the biggest problem I forsee with a 'no name' mixer like the studiomaster badged one is even if it lasts for 3 years - are the parts going to be available in year 10 - I suspect you will still be able to get a qu16 repaired 10 years from now - I doubt the chinese manufacturer will still be turning out spares for the studiomaster in 10 years.

[Turbo Guy]

My 40+ year old 12 channel Samick mixer has begun to let me down. I've replaced numerous faders etc over the years, but now it really needs all of them done and a lot of the pots as well. I can't complain, its more than earned its keep.

 

I'm looking at replacements for the small amount of personal and voluntary things I do where there's no desk.

 

Key factors are:

Physical size and weight. (I'm a lot older than when I bought the Samick!)

Must be able to handle at least 12 channels.

I'm a fader man so really want a physical fader. Had a good go with an X-air but struggled with a touch screen interface.

Also done a far bit with a Yamaha LS9, so am familiar with motorised faders, layers etc.

 

I'm tempted by the Digilive 16, but have been unable to find one to 'have a play'. Reluctant to order one only to return it if no good. So, anyone got one, who can provide some useful feedback and comment. It 5kg and small footprint, it clearly fits the size and weight criteria.

 

Realistically I'd want to spend well under a grand.

 

Thanks Robin

 

thoughts:

1. I don't have any direct experience of the studiomaster but it's a chinese 'no brand' mixer from what I understand and the same mixer is badged by thomann at a cheaper price. and of course anything from thomann comes with 3 year warranty - I get the feeling if you dig around there will be others.

2. I completely understand how you feel about having physical faders and I would agree that it's much more intuitive to operate than a tablet based mixer HOWEVER I think you have to look at the alternatives with a better track record. and that means tablet based.

3 the market iz starting to be flooded with tablet based mixers - so much so that people now expect you to have this solution in your pocket and the flooding of the market with these mixers has (arguably) been responsible for the latest behringer price drop meaning an xr18 now weights in with a more impressive pedigree and feature set at half the price of the studiomaster.

4. there is obviously a disadvantage in that you have to run with a router if you want to be truly wireless and all the 21st century faff that entails but I was called to run a tech rehearsal recently on one and worked it with a laptop and mouse via a solid cable cat5 connection - to be honest the fader control was a lot smoother than by tablet and within an hour it was no different to mixing on the more heavily featured x32 - a bit odd but verynear the real fader experience. very very similar sound quality to the x32 too.

 

if you handed me a studiomaster digimixer for free, yes I would take it and I would find a use for it occasionally

if you gave me the money? I would look at the other gear and warranties out there and buy something at half the price such as the xr18. or even an x32 rack, now available at the same price as the studiomaster.

if you have the budget and simply must have physical faders I would look at the qu16 or the x32 producer - both small and formidable for the money - both with proven pedegrees.

the biggest problem I forsee with a 'no name' mixer like the studiomaster badged one is even if it lasts for 3 years - are the parts going to be available in year 10 - I suspect you will still be able to get a qu16 repaired 10 years from now - I doubt the chinese manufacturer will still be turning out spares for the studiomaster in 10 years.

 

 

All of the above....

 

Behringer x32 Producer is now only a couple of hundred quid more if you want faders.....

 

But as said I'd be looking at Tablet mixers as the feature set and quality would be better (Midas MR18 for instance and comes with 10 year warranty)

 

 

[themadhippy]

Do the new studiomaster products include the white noise generator that there older products were famous for?

[Bazz339]

Doesn't anyone yet make a fader bank that will interface either with the controlling laptop/tablet (USB?) or the various mixer rack boxes?

 

I have asked this before but it would be so useful to have a bank of faders and use the laptop/tablet for anything more twiddly, particularly in situations where it is desirable to limit access to functions.

[sandall]

My 40+ year old 12 channel Samick mixer has begun to let me down.

I'm looking at replacements for the small amount of personal and voluntary things I do where there's no desk.

Key factors are: Physical size and weight. (I'm a lot older than when I bought the Samick!). Must be able to handle at least 12 channels.

I'm a fader man so really want a physical fader. Had a good go with an X-air but struggled with a touch screen interface.

If you've managed 40+ years with analogue, & you are looking for something for low / no budget jobs, do you actually NEED digital? If you need repeatability them maybe, but for one-offs maybe not. I'm also of an age where everything is twice the weight it used to be & most of my jobs are rig-it, busk-it, strike-it, so where there is no desk I use a mixture of small Soundcraft & Mackie desks.

I have a similar problem with modern lighting desks. I NEED faders (& physical mutes), not touch-screens & layers. I would love to have snapshots for gigs where the bands sound-check in random order, but I can't justify the cost of a QU16, when the very nice (small & light) EPMs & MPMs are a small fraction of the price (they are also at least designed in the UK. E2A: as is of course the QU16).

[Turbo Guy]

Doesn't anyone yet make a fader bank that will interface either with the controlling laptop/tablet (USB?) or the various mixer rack boxes?

 

I have asked this before but it would be so useful to have a bank of faders and use the laptop/tablet for anything more twiddly, particularly in situations where it is desirable to limit access to functions.

 

You could go for a Behringer X32Rack and an X Touch interface..... but then you are getting into the same cost as the X32 Producer

 

 

 

[Robin D]

Thanks good people. Lots to think on there. I quite like the idea of the X-Touch interface, but it does put the cost up or the Producer.

 

However, the producer and the analogue desks mentioned are all on a bigger footprint which is a bit of a pain in at least one venue I visit, plus I tend to travel in our motor-home so both size and weight can be an issue given the limited payload! I'd really like something similar to @bazz339 suggestion of a separate surface with faders. The X-Touch looks good, so maybe that with a x32 rack is the way forward.

 

Hmmmmm. Decisions.

[timsabre]

X touch is really intended as a multitrack recording controller and has some limitations for live use. There are some good discussions on the behringer forum about using it as a live surface for x32.

[dosxuk]

I have one of the XTouch Extenders which I use with my XR12 and another XR18 for doing live streams. A load of cobbled together software in the middle and it actually makes quite a nice surface. I'm using the Rec button as a page select, giving me 4 fixed fader pages and 4 assignable pages which can contain faders for inputs / outputs or aux send levels. Got all the other buttons, meters and scribble strips hooked up.

 

If I had the time I'd put together something releasable but I'm no where near at the moment. Point being the hardware is out there for a decent price, it just needs software writing.