Which digital mixer

[Lord Patchington]

Hi,

I have finally decided to take the plunge and embrace the brave new world of digital mixing for live performance. 

Just wondering I there is any particular desks to avoid or any good/bad experiences. 

It would be used mostly for events and live bands?

I've been looking at; 

Midas M32

Presonus studio/live 64S

Allen+Heath SQ6

So something around that price.

Any guidance is greatly appreciated

Many thanks

Anthony 👍

 

 

[Simon Lewis]

When this gets asked on the usual discussion groups, it triggers a tsunami of love/hate answers, principally from owners defending their particular choice of desk.

My take would be:

Presonus make a workable product with an impressive channel count. It's not generally favoured by "pro" engineers though.

The Midas is the "acceptable face" of Behringer, is fairly cost effective and most people know how to use it. However, a lack of touch screen and a company that appears to have dropped the idea of customer support means that whilst the product is good, after sales support isn't. It's also an older design, and although the Wing offers some interesting features, I'm not seeing that taking the place of X/M32s that much?

A&H are enjoying good press and good sales right now. I've had a couple of dead on arrivals in dLive and SQ, but these were dealt with extremely quickly and through real people who I could call (out of hours in one case) and get help. Most pro engineers will be happy to mix on an SQ if you hire out, and they represent probably the newest design of your choices.

If it were me, I'd go for an SQ6 without question.

[cedd]

There are Facebook owners groups for most desks these days. Join them and soak up the kinds of things getting raised as issues. Get a feel for the support people are getting. 

 

[david.elsbury]

5 hours ago, Simon Lewis said:

If it were me, I'd go for an SQ6 without question.

This whole post is an excellent response. Not that long ago I’d have said X/M32; but Simon is absolutely right. The SQ desks are more recent, and are competitively priced.

[Lord Patchington]

Many thanks 👍 

I'm goong to lpok further in to the A+H

I'll let you know what I decide.

[Simon Lewis]

Just for correctness, the DOAs were an SQ and an Avantis.... I did have a faulty dLive but that was after purchase but within warranty. It was sorted out but perhaps slightly more slowly as it occurred during the pandemic.

[J Pearce]

I'd suggest that a X/M32 is probably more fairly compared to the QU than the SQ. If you have the budget for the SQ then it's worth also looking at the Digico S21. I really like the S21 and find it a very powerful platform considering the size and cost.

I've not enjoyed a single Presonus desk that I've sat behind.

[Lord Patchington]

2 hours ago, J Pearce said:

If you have the budget for the SQ then it's worth also looking at the Digico S21. I really like the S21

Thanks for the info. I'll check the Digico out also.

[cedd]

On 9/2/2023 at 4:15 PM, J Pearce said:

If you have the budget for the SQ then it's worth also looking at the Digico S21. I really like the S21 and find it a very powerful platform considering the size and cost.

It's a console that has certainly interested me as I look at replacing my trusty Roland M480 (still a cracking desk - well worth looking at second hand, I've just outgrown it). My big problem with the Digico ecosystem though has been the lack of affordable stageboxes to go with them. It's like they brought out their budget desk and then just forgot the stageboxes to back it up. All other brands with 2 different price points of desk (Yamaha TF Vs QL/CL, A&H SQ Vs Avantis/D Live etc.) have kept a 2 price point stagebox setup too. 

I just need an SQ price point, 64 channel desk. It's that, or I'm buying two SQ's and casing them together! 

[kerry davies]

Why not PM the BR member "Big Dave" who is or was a Digico product specialist?

[Lord Patchington]

15 hours ago, cedd said:

It's a console that has certainly interested me as I look at replacing my trusty Roland M480 (still a cracking desk - well worth looking at second hand, I've just outgrown it). My big problem with the Digico ecosystem though has been the lack of affordable stageboxes to go with them. It's like they brought out their budget desk and then just forgot the stageboxes to back it up. All other brands with 2 different price points of desk (Yamaha TF Vs QL/CL, A&H SQ Vs Avantis/D Live etc.) have kept a 2 price point stagebox setup too. 

I just need an SQ price point, 64 channel desk. It's that, or I'm buying two SQ's and casing them together! 

Agreed,  the stage box is as much as the desk! A big put off.

[J Pearce]

There are various stage boxes you can use with the S21, at various price points. They're probably all more than the equivalent A&H, which makes sense as both Digico and A&H have the same parent company, and Digico is seen as the 'premium' brand.

Worth noting that you get 24 local ins on the back. 

[ninjadingle]

Also worth consideration is the upskilling to get used to digital if you and other operators are coming from an analogue background. Touchscreens are a godsend but so are physical controls that will feel familiar during the transition.

We've just switched to A&H from Soundcraft and while we're loving the flexibility the system gives us one thing we're missing is the fader glow Soundcraft have. Knowing if you're in LR, a Mix, a FX send or in GEQ fader flip is obvious with the coloured backlit faders, not as obvious on Qu or Sq and has caught me out a few times. That said I wouldn't go back!

[Stuart91]

49 minutes ago, ninjadingle said:

Also worth consideration is the upskilling to get used to digital if you and other operators are coming from an analogue background.

+1

I've specified Soundcraft for a couple of installations for exactly this reason - it seems to be really easy to make the transition from analogue. Having a full channel strip worth of physical controls is also a big plus. 

It's a shame that they're not as ubiquitous as the X32 family. 

[Alec]

There's nothing wrong with X/M32 and, at the price, simply can't be beaten.  Although old and no touch screen, they have the benefit of ubiquity and a number of third party apps.  A few things aren't user friendly.  An 11 year old design, but still perfectly functional - and CHEAP!

For a bit more, SQ is better in most respects.  My favourite bits - 48 channels, fully customisable layers, easy routing, proper stereo in/out channels.  My irks - useless scribble strips, stereo/mono assignments not stored in scenes (and I know why A&H say they don't do this), the cryptic file structure they use on USB, charging for additional FX.  Mind you, I cringe to see some of the fanatical A&H fans, saying how brilliant their (rather basic) QU is, or how fabulous their SQ sounds.

I've hated my few Presonus experiences.

I would once have recommended Soundcraft VI, albeit not their lower desks, but Soundcraft seem to have given up these days.

Digico never seemed to find much love for S21/31.

With all that, at the budget the OP is talking about, SQ would be a great choice.