Are my mixer requirements impossible?

The Lounge Other Gear
#1

I’m trying to find a mixer with the following requirements, but it doesn’t seem to exist. I’d really appreciate any suggestions or lateral thinking.

  • 16+ channels. Most of my inputs will be stereo, but mono channels would be fine.
  • at least two Aux, ideally four that I will use for stereo external hardware FX
  • Multi-channel USB for all tracks (24bit)
  • Sub £1000
  • Preferably 2 Hi-Z /D.I. inputs

The problems I keep hitting is that all the mixers I look at include at least a couple of stereo channels, and they always get summed before being fed to Aux, meaning they can’t be used to a send stereo signal to stereo effects. Seems like this is the standard for some reason. That, or they only send the master out via USB.

I don’t want much from the mixer itself as I really just want to be able to set levels, mutes, and do some basic EQ. I plan to use the setup for jamming and record into Reaper when I have something I like and EQ etc there.

Any help really appreciated.

[EDIT]

  • Yamaha MG16XU - only 16BIT, aux on stereo channel summed.

  • A&H Z18 - only 16BIT over USB. Not multichannrl over USB

  • Soundcraft signature - less than 22 has only four USB ours. 22 has multichannel but stereo channels are summed to aux

  • Zoom L20 - No aux

  • Mackie Onyx - only 4 channels USB

  • Mackie ProFX - only 4 channels USB

  • Tascam Model 16 aux on stereo channel summed

  • Korg MW-1608 - only 2 channels USB

  • Zoom Livetrack L-20 - only 4 tracks USB

#2

Soundcraft 22 mtk ticks i think ticks all those boxs except perhaps the summing issue you mention.

2 Likes
#3

Thanks Yeah. There are quite a few that would do apart from the summing which is a deal breaker for me.

#4

i think you’d have to up your budget and go for something like the qu16

2 Likes
#5

Have you ever thought of using a Behringer XR18 in conjunction with a Xtouch controller unit.
Maybe not wgat you would think of first but I use this comba and like it very much.

1 Like
#6

I think the sound craft could work, you could use the sub groups for your stereo effects and avoid the summing

1 Like
#7

Thanks for the suggestion. So you use the XR18 as an interface and the Xtouch to control your DAW?

#8

For mixers that are mostly stereo you’re better looking at DJ mixers, but getting a good one for under £1000 will be a challenge, especially if you need 8 channels (6 would be fine though).

I think studio mixers have some catching up to do on the stereo-front it’s something I’ve struggled with too, which is why I ended up with my PX5. I got a great deal on mine used (basically brand new) sub 1k, I have 5 stereo channels which is enough for me.

1 Like
#10

Thank you. Had not considered DJ mixers at all. Seems like there is such a big hole in market for people who use a lot of stereo and want stereo returns.

3 Likes
#11

Have you looked at the Presonus StudioLive range? They’re really flexible in terms of routing, you can send pretty much anything anywhere as the sends are freely assignable

1 Like
#12

Thanks. So basically treat the Group as an aux, send other channels to it, and use its dedicated outputs to route to the hardware FX? That’s a nice workaround.

#13

Yep I spent a good while on the hunt. DJ mixers have other advantages depending on how you use it - mine has a killer multimode filter and effects that are performance oriented built in - and it makes everything I run through it sound better. A&H especially make great gear. Multitrack over USB is also pretty standard for the more expensive options.

But it’s not cheap unfortunately :sweat_smile:

Our boy Dave Mech has some good videos covering a few DJ mixers and how he uses them with Elektron gear.

3 Likes
#14

Thanks. Pretty sure I looked at those and they had the same limitation - stereo channels are summed when sent to Aux.

#15

Ah. Looks like you can, but only on the much more expensive Series 3 range.

1 Like
#16

Yeah I’m sure my older blue SL32 will do it. I can’t speak for the smaller channel count mixers but I thought they all had the matrix facility.

Failing that setting up a subgroup as described further up the thread should work.

1 Like
#17

I think this ticks the majority of your requirements.

Do the 6 monitor outputs that you can send different mixes to not get most of the way to your aux requirements? They do have to be in headphone mode for each jack to be stereo though I believe.

2 Likes
#18

Difficult to find stereo aux/returns in the price range. PlayDifferently Model 1, for instance, has 6 stereo channels, 3 stereo sends, but no digital audio and costs 3 times your price limit.

Otherwise, on the digital side, I would have recommended a (used) A&H Qu Pac. It has 4 mono and 3 stereo sends, but no dedicated returns (they need to go into regular inputs). On the mixer itself, there are 16 physical mic/line mono ins (which can be combined into stereo channels), and 3 additional stereo line ins. (With a stage box, the mixer can process a total of 32 mono (to be linked as stereo) and 3 stereo channels). - I got mine new for 1200 EUR a couple of years ago, but just realized that prices have gone up quite a bit recently.

1 Like
#19

Wow. That’s actually perfect. I think I went gear-blind after reading through so many manuals. It has six monitor outs which can receive signals from all channels.

2 Likes
#20

I’ve not used one personally but I’ve been in the same situation of never finding the mixer/interface that quite does what I want, so I’ve looked at just about everything at some point in the last 5-6 years.

As far as I can remember in headphone mode those outputs are stereo, and in monitor mode they’re balanced mono. There’s definitely a few users of the L Trak series on here as well so worth checking for threads and posts and asking some users if they think it will work for your situation. I think I read one thing that said the levels from those outputs was uselessly low but I find that hard to believe.

1 Like
#21

Damn it. Not perfect. It’s only 4 out over USB. Which is baffling.