Digital or Analog Mixer?

[Audioklinik]

What kind of Mixer does you use for producing techno? And Why?

[messyfuture]

i use a mackie 1604 and a yamaha 01v

most of my analog kit goes through the mackie along with all my outboard fx and that. Mackies sound great and have good headroom. with the mackie all the controls are there in front of you, it makes it alot easier to twist things up

the mackie then goes into 01v, digital desks are handy cause you can save your settings for the track that you are currently working on. Also you have built in effects compressoin delay. You can use it as a control surface for cubase its just not as hands on as an analoge desk, you have to hoke through screens and that

dont know which mixer i would choose if i could only have one :!:

[Basil Rush]

Do you find the 01v at all brittle and harsh sounding?

[messyfuture]

Do you find the 01v at all brittle and harsh sounding?

Hmmm, the sound that gives me has never really annoyed me to the piont that i've said to myself, better pop out and get something new. I love it to bits cause i've had it so long now and the price of them second hand is great now that the 01v96 has come out i picked one up for a mate who needed a digital mixer for a installition for £400 with the adat card in it. for the amount of features you get for price that is amazing.

back to the point :rambo:

by brittle and harsh do you mean the digitalness (if thats a word) of it, cause i know what you mean, but with most of my sounds coming via the mackie (only really my sampler and sound card going to the 01v) i cant really complain :lol:

[Basil Rush]

yeah, I guess I mean the digitalness of it, but I'm not sure that's the right word because some digital kit sounds wonderful ... but I guess we're hearing the same thing, it's a bit horrible if you're entire mix goes though it...

[RDR]

i use the o1x.

it is a bit digital sounding, but the linkage wih cubase rocks. its an awesome bit of kit and worth every penny, its the heart of my studio and has speeded up my production about 200%

[audioinjection]

i dont have an outboard mixer YET, i do all my mixing on the pc

but im thinking of getting a nice analog mixer, just for that analog color

[Jack]

i use analogue,
but digital would be so handy for saving. desk info.
I would love that feature on my desk.
Don't have to write down every aux send and eq etc.

[Jack]

And analogue eq kicks ass.

[MARKEG]

i use a mackie desk and i love it.. would really like the convenience of remembering settings though :)

[machina]

i use an allen & heath analog - would consider digital if it was more practical for playing live, but digital doesn't have the ease-of-use that analog does in the live situation - having to go through 3 screens to turn the mids down on channel 4 really shits me...

machina

[Komplex]

Combo of digital and analogue. Digital mixing in software then it goes out to the desk for more mixing along with the non computery gear.

[tekara]

guys ive had a very similar question to ask as well....

Im currently mixerless as i mix everything in cubase.

I have an Access Virus KC, SH-101, and Jomox Xbase 09, MOTU 828 for hardware, i sequence in cubase and the rest (bread and butter) of the studio is really the software synths....

Recently ive been getting the urge to find a hardware mixer of some sort.
Now i dont know if should invest in something like a MACKIE CONTROL UNIVERSAL and just get a control surface instead (im assuming i would have to go through the hassle of assigning CC#'s to knobs?), or getting a Mackie 1604 or some sort of Mackie Onyx mixer.

The reason why i am leaning towards an analogue mixer is because i like to EQ everything on board instead of opening 15 instances of Waves to do the same job.

On the other hand would it be too much trouble to get an analogue mixer just because of the so called 'analogue color' that hardware fanatics swear by? Would this mean that i have mix everything down in cubase and somehow bounce everything to my Mackie where it would get EQ'd, and then somehow bounce everything back? Would u guys be willing to do the same if in a similar position?

The reason why im so torn is because i have a MOTU 828 right now and that provides me with enough in/outs. If i get the Mackie mixer i would be basically patching everything through the mixer instead of the 828 and would feel that i am wasting money by using the 828 as a soundcard only.

PLEASE HELP! Any opinion would be greatly appreciated!

[RDR]

Have a look at the o1x

www.o1xray.com

it is my weapon of choice, and for 850GBP you get...

Mackie Control Surface (exactly the same protocol - and no, you dont have assign cc# to knobs, thats the point of mackie control)
16 channels out of the PC into the o1x via firewire
8 channels in (2 mic pre with +48v, 1 hi-z guitar input, and 5 line inputs)
SPdif in and out
2x midi out
2x midi in
Compressors and EQ on all channels
4 aux send
Grouping
2 32 bit yamaha FX processors.
Scene recall. Totall and instant (and i mean instant) recall of every paramter the desk has to offer (around 0.45 seconds)
Integration with Cubase through studio connections project. Cubase can access the yamaha's FX and a project in sx3 is saved with every setting on the desk integrated in the song file... :cool:

All running internally

will control

LOgic
Cubase/Nuendo
Sonar Digital performer
Reason 3

Downside

only has 4 outs.
you need to buy a firewire card for you computer
some people have found the drivers tricky. but that hasnt affected me...)

HTH... ;)

[fresh_an_funky_design]

i can't comment on digital mixers as i've never used one, but i got a mackie 1604 an its a really good solid mixer. Nice eq's. An its really versatile with 6 aux's. also its a nice size for playing live and for using at home. Personally i'd really recommend it as i've never had a problem with it

[tekara]

thanks for the quick reply guys....

much appreciated

dodgey im pretty interested in the 01x. Actually i was speaking to one of the guys at the dealershop and played around with one of them and it seemed really cool.

my only concern is my motu 828. How is the sound quality in the 01X compared to that of the 828 do you think?

The reason why i ask is because the 828 is basically my soundcard which i use to play back mp3's, play games. make beats etc...

would my 01x take care of all of that?

i may have to sell the motu!