Hi
I'm looking to replace my ageing PV14 mixer and I'm considering a Yamaha MG20XU. I play guitar and do sound in a 4 piece band and am looking to branch out into doing sound/PA hire too.
My requirements for a mixer are:
12 mic inputs minimum
2 monitor mixes
Basic built in FX (simple compressor is a massive bonus)
Phantom power
Max £500
Other than the above, I want quality sound over anything fancy or gimmicky.
Does anyone have experience with the MG20XU? Am I missing a trick by not going digital? 90% of the time I do the sound from the stage, but I do have a quality multicore and a friend keen to learn to ropes. Also, I want reliable control over the equipment and work on the basis of keeping it simple...and I don't want to have to buy an iPad!
Thanks
Ben
Comments
The old mixwizards are great desks - sound good and are reliable while being easy to use.
If you are confident with a desk and eq though, and know how and when to use compression and gates properly then I still think a digital desk makes life a lot easier - but for sure they aren’t for everyone.
I'm by no means an expert, but I do know my way around a desk. There are a few reason for the upgrade. Firstly, we're nearly maxed out on mic inputs, I'd like some basic compression for the drums and vocals, I can only do one monitor mix currently and I'd like to rackmount the mixer without having to buy overpriced rack ears for the PV.
Although I only recently bought the multicore (good price used) I can already see it being a headache in certain venues. I'm also in the process of upgrading to active Yamaha or RCF speakers with a view of reducing the amount and weight of gear we're carting around. Buying more rack gear is something I'd like to avoid if possible. Saying that, quality rack gear is very cheap now with everyone converting to digital.
Going digital is very tempting and I'm going to download the Behringer app to play with the interface.
Any additional thought?
Thanks
Ben
Slight tangent - what's the consensus on tens or twelves for tops. I'll always have at least one sub.
I also want to do away with wedge monitors. Using the XR18, what are you doing for monitoring? I was planning to stay wired and send the auxiliaries out to a headphone amp on the stage. Thoughts on wired/wireless? Cost and complexity are my concerns.
If youre going to venture into doing the sound for other people you might find you still need wedges - it’s rare I work for anyone that has in ears. They are great though - just run a bus out to either a wireless transmitter or a headphone amp. I really like using iem’s.
There might be a follow up question about mono or stereo - I just use mono mixes but a lot of people like stereo and some form of ambient mic blended in.
If you did go digital then each person can do their own monitor mix and that’s a big step forward imo as they are happier and it’s one less mix for you to sort.
Not a fan of the rest of it though, faders are awful, really cheap and there's a lot of crosstalk through the whole desk. I don't like the "on" button rather than the traditional mute buttons either. It's the opposite way of traditional desks. It's also quite a dark sounding desk compared to anything else I've used recently.
Personally for me the desk is probably the most important piece of kit a band has ... as intelligent use of a good desk is needed BEFORE you can get the best out of any PA system. Because of this the other 3 bands I'm in have been on digital desks for the last 6 years or so. The dynamic processing, available aux sends, quality of effects and remote control of FOH and IEM mixes make digital the only way to go now.
There's a lot of ways you can go down the digital route. I don't like surface-less mixers so I tend to favour things like the QU16 rather than the X18 or DL1608 etc.