A New Mixer

jahrome wrote:I have to disagree. If you are looking at anything as an investment...save your money. Most products you buy today will not hold its value including AD/DA converters and preamps. Most of these items on the market can be purchased half-price second hand.

i have to dissagree... AD/DA loose value because they get REPLACED...

Preamps don't get replaced... New colors are added... ie there is no replacement for a NEVE, SSL, API, etc... If you purchase a preamp, chances are it will hold most of it's value unless you buy some wishy washy $500 crap...

If you are comfortable buying pre-owned high end gear - GO FOR IT! That is the best value for your dollar AND it should not depreciate much more then what you paid.

Cheebs_420 wrote:sounds good.

i was looking at the mackie usb mixers.

im still undecided
but i will drop at least a grand when the time comes
ive wasted time with cheap **** ie beringer, and its always ****

spend that $1k on an RME Multiface 2 or save a few more and join the Metric Halo peeps... either unit will really make you happy.

jahrome wrote:If you really want a more professional sound, digital is the best way to go. When it comes to analog gear, you get what you pay for. Analog mixers under $1000 are really not that great for recording (better used for PA systems) while digital mixers in the same price range are more superior sonically and have more features.

C'mon! Jah, you cant say that, its a bit of a broad statement isnt it? Well, you can say that - all I mean is that analog vs digital is personal preference isnt it?
For a more modern radio edit sound then I totally agree with you, but if you want some warm sounding sounds then surely analog is the way to go. And normally most peps want that did sound (brrr) but I'd imagine most of you breaks peps would want the classic analog?

It doesn't matter why AD/DA converters lose value. The fact is they do lose value so I wouldn't look at it as an investment from that stand point. A $2000 Avalon preamp can be purchased for nearly half its price on the second hand market. I did recommend buying a quality converter instead of a cheap analog mixer.

Neve and SSL are really not options here. The creator of this thread is looking for something to replace his Behringer mixer for under $1K. Analog is really not the way to go in that price range. You get what you pay for. You are not going to get that sound by cutting corners and buying a cheap mixer. He realized that by buying the cheap Behringer.

yeah, i went to sound school in LA..
here i **** with the neve, ssl 4000 and 9000, oxford, yamaha o2r

all of those... id love a SSL, but **** i cant drop half a mill..

so yeah, thats where im at

jahrome wrote:I did recommend buying a quality converter instead of a cheap analog mixer.

AGREED.
I still think buyig a mixer is not the best route though. People who buy mixers usually need 8+ channels of PREAMPS for drums, vocalisists, etc... Homeboy just needs more I/O for his computer which he can get with a decent AD/DA in his asking price... PLUS it will be a step up in quality from his MBox...

can my mbox and a halo co exist in my computer and still let me mix in pro tools? i love the fx from my diamond bundle with my pro tools, but i do want at least 8 i/o so i can link up my 8 out on my MP and get each sample on its own track for final mixdown in pro tools when i get to that stage

on another note, i had no idea mpc's were so easy to use. im in love already and its only been a week

Cheebs_420 wrote:can my mbox and a halo co exist in my computer and still let me mix in pro tools? i love the fx from my diamond bundle with my pro tools, but i do want at least 8 i/o so i can link up my 8 out on my MP and get each sample on its own track for final mixdown in pro tools when i get to that stage

I'm not a 100% here but I believe if your MBox has TOSLINK you can run the 8 channels of the Metric Halo digitally to your MBox this way. If not, you have to squash it down to 2 digital channels via SPDIF or AES/EBU.

got it. guess ill cross that bridge when i get to it

I would NOT buy the sMackie. Please consider almost anything else.
why not a Fireface 800?? It has nice mixer software and you can record in real time all 8 outs.

asmara wrote:I would NOT buy the sMackie. Please consider almost anything else.
why not a Fireface 800?? It has nice mixer software and you can record in real time all 8 outs.

this is a good idea as well...