What mixer to buy?

Err, probaby the Fosters factory. They make Fostex, Alesis, 80% of everyone else’s stuff. Kind of the Samick of the electronics world.

Quote (Bubbagump @ Mar. 14 2005,16:04)
Err, probaby the Fosters factory.

Any relation to "Keeblers"? :p :p :p

TG

Foster They’ll make just about anything you want if you provide a spec and the cash.

Dude, send them the specs for a hardware “Kaboomifier”… then retire in Fiji.

TG

Hmm. Gear i’d like to have:

1. Kaboomifier.
2. Raunchificator.
3. Mellowdian.
4. ?

Tom, you forgot the “Intunibendafier”. For those guitar bends that don’t quite make the target note… personally, I NEED a TALENT utility. Hardware OR plugin…

TG

Betcha you can some heavy bottom end in your “mix” with that phoo! :D :D

TG

I had one of those old reel to reels with the “eye” and I sold it on ebay for about 25.00, oops!
I have been using an old cassette deck with two mic inputs, JVC kd-a11. I ran from the dect to the computer, seems to have good sound.
What is all this smoke I hear about high resolution digital compatible preamps on sliders?
What about a good old fashond Soundcraft board?
I have a good solder gun and I am not afraid to use it.
I want the best sound I can get, but I am on a buget.
Thanks for all the input.
PS. The Mod 360 pictured above looks like it is too expensive, but I am sure it rocks.
Come to think of it I have a couple of good used mixers around the kitchen and a can of frozen concentrated mixer in the freezer.
You guys finally made me laugh!

Is it just me or does the likes of Berry, Alto, Phonic etc... look like they came out of the same factory? They are certainly in the same price range and some models look ALMOST identical. Makes you wonder....... ???

Nope, it's not just you...
Quote (gtr4him @ Mar. 14 2005,18:21)
Tom, you forgot the "Intunibendafier". For those guitar bends that don't quite make the target note....

Oh, that IS a pet peeve - why is it that so many guitarists can't get the bend all the way there? Makes me cringe.
Quote (Rhythmking @ Mar. 14 2005,21:19)
What about a good old fashond Soundcraft board?

What Soundcraft board? ???
Quote (TomS @ Mar. 15 2005,08:23)
Quote (gtr4him @ Mar. 14 2005,18:21)
Tom, you forgot the "Intunibendafier". For those guitar bends that don't quite make the target note....

Oh, that IS a pet peeve - why is it that so many guitarists can't get the bend all the way there? Makes me cringe.

Auto-tune works well on pitchy guitar solos.

(Sometimes)

:;):
I think what I need is a mixer or preamp with about 16 channels in and out.
This is not true. What you need is a mixer with however many input channels you need (which may be 16), and "channel inserts" on each channel. With your MXB1002, you have inserts on the two mono channels. Using those plus the line outs gives you 4, which still isn't enough, so clearly this isn't enough of a mixer (but it might be handy as a monitor mixer, combining the output from your computer and the new mixer to drive your speakers/headphones, without any chance of direct feedback loop).

Frankly, though, I looked at the manual for that item online and it's the worst mixer manual I've ever seen! All other Berry mixer manuals I've seen have lots more info, plus (VERY IMPORTANT!) a block diagram.

I like having a true 4-bus mixer with MUTE, which is hard to find in mixers these days. (Many mixers that call themselves "4-bus" have a main and alt bus. The alt-bus-assign button for each channel can be used as a mute if you're not using the alt bus, but no good if you are!)

I use the 1/2 bus for my monitors, and the 3/4 bus to drive two inputs on my soundcard. The other inputs I feed from individual channels using the channel insert. This way I can quickly assign any input or submix of inputs to the soundcard using the 3/4 bus, but most stuff is recorded directly using the channel inserts.

IIRC, the Yamaha MG16/4 looked like the best mixer for a home recordist with computer-based DAW, or it might have been the 16/6. Both of those are within your budget.

Meanwhile, plan to begin a neverending search for good mike preamps. I don't think there's a "one-size-fits-all" mike preamp, any more than I believe in a singe mike for all purposes. For a recording with lots of tracks, it's good not to use the same mikes and mike preamps for all tracks, to avoid a "buildup" of the characteristics of the mike/preamp combo. And a very good preamp will wake up sounds you didn't know were buried in your old SM57's! You may even find you use the Berry preamps, they're really not bad at all.

Thanks learjeff, glad to see someone actually read the original post and understood my situation.
Your advice is good, and with the 2 delta card preamps I have six.
I have a good old tape deck with 2 more if I need them.
I will try using 4 and 6 this weekend on a live recording.
Thanks to all for the great ideas.

You can actually use even more mike preamps on your Berry mixer, using aux sends. Thanks to the really truly horrible documentation I can’t be more specific (did I say “UGH!” yet?) but I think you should be able to use all 6 preamps on the berry – though not very conveniently.

In the long run you’ll probably be happier with a mixer. But it’s always best to use what you have while planning the next steps!