Main Mixer?

[Richard Ragon]

My main mixer right now is a SD 442.  I actually use it on my cart or bag depending on the gig/location.  Been thinking of getting a dedicated cart mixer.  Macie or Onix looks good.  Not sure if I'm ready to jump into a 'pro' mixer, and at 8k to 20k seams like a huge jump too me.  Cooper would have been my first choice, but if they are discontinuing them... Perhaps looking into a PSC maybe.

The Macie or Onix, is there someone out there converting these to 12v?

[ProSound]

Richard,

Audio Developments makes a great mixer are there are so used for great prices

http://www.gothamsound.com/main.shtml?page=ugmixers

Or a Copper 106+1

[chriskellett]

It really depends on what you are doing with it, TV? Movies? Spot work? Routing has become the biggest issue for me in the past few years, I would have trouble going back to a standard mixer at this point.  I love my Cameo II so much because of the flexibility to put any input anywhere on my outputs and the flexibility of assignments and monitoring, this despite some of the other shortcomings.  When I need to replace it ( soon, I am afraid ) I am looking at the Yamaha boards that seem to gaining some steam with location mixers.

[Jeff Wexler]

It really depends on what you are doing with it, TV? Movies? Spot work? Routing has become the biggest issue for me in the past few years, I would have trouble going back to a standard mixer at this point.

I agree with this, certainly the part about routing flexibility being the biggest issue. None of the traditional analog boards, with the exception of the Sonosax, even come close to providing the routing functions available on the digital boards. I am still getting by with my Cooper 208 but I don't really do a lot of jobs where complex routing is needed. I still resist the idea of using one of the digital mixers (with the Yamaha being the main contender of course) for all the reasons I have stated before. The Yamahas are attractive as well because of cost --- something which is achieved by mass market use and huge installed base in the music world. If some company could produce a mixer which was sort of a cross between what was best about the Cameo and the best features of the Yamaha (DC power of course, small footprint, etc.) it would probably cost more than the Sonosax.

Regards,  Jeff Wexler

[RPSharman]

I use the Mackie 1642 VLZ3, and I really love it.  It has LOTS of routing options and great features for an analog board, one of which is relatively low power consumption @ 3A/12v.  I use an inverter and my PSC Powerstation (4A supply with 33aH battery back-up) to power this, and my PSC Cart Power and a Pelican battery power everything else.  And it's not HUGE like the Yamaha or Onyx.  It also has new styling that makes it look more professional, if that sort of thing matters to you.

There are just so many questions to ask, and they have all been asked and answered in previous thread about the same topic.  Do you cable to your boom, or are you wireless?  If you are wireless, then your preamps are in that system, so a top of the line board is a waste of valuable resources, in my opinion.  And so many people are using wireless boom to a Cooper.  I would bet that if those people were starting out today, they would not spend the money on a Cooper or Sonosax.  I would bet that a cable to my Mackie would sound cleaner than a wireless to a Cooper.

I mixed a movie on which an Academy Award nominated post mixer did the post.  He praised the quality of the sound to the post supervisor and the producers.  None of the sets were EVER quiet enough that the "quality" of my mixer would have made any difference.  It's really about mic placement and consistency.

Just my opinion.  Buy the Mackie and use the extra money for other cool bits!  I'd love to own a Cooper or Sonosax or other sexy and expensive board, but these days it's too hard to justify the expense.

Robert

[Philip Perkins]

My main mixer right now is a SD 442.  I actually use it on my cart or bag depending on the gig/location.  Been thinking of getting a dedicated cart mixer.  Macie or Onix looks good.  Not sure if I'm ready to jump into a 'pro' mixer, and at 8k to 20k seams like a huge jump too me.  Cooper would have been my first choice, but if they are discontinuing them... Perhaps looking into a PSC maybe.

The Macie or Onix, is there someone out there converting these to 12v?

Lots of folks using both the older Mackie 16xx series and the newer Onyx.  I like them both, have done lots of work on the former.  I used to have a smaller Mackie board that was converted to run on 12VDC, but I understand that the guy who did it (Forrest of Alternative Audio) now works @ COffey and no longer does the mods.  Otherwise--inverters.  There is a big hole in the mixer market right now between full up analog location boards like Sonosax and prosumer gear like Mackie.  I'd advise you to take some test drives--and remember that w/ Mackie or Yamaha a replacement is as close as your local music store.  I found with my Mackies that I had to build up a lot external stuff for routing, talkback etc etc, and ultimately wasn't thrilled with using them on a cart for dialog (music was ok).  The Onyx is pretty big for a cart--not as big as a Yamaha digital board but getting there.  There are used Coopers around--the 106 is a very compact great sounding console...that used would sell for as much as 5 Mackies would cost.  PSC made two mixers that used to be in the "less than Cooper" zone (M8 and M6), but they discontinued the last of the M6s about 2 years ago.  (I have and like the M6, in a highly modified form, but it is an acquired taste--it is a somewhat unique device.)  But PSC is great about supporting and modding their stuff, even LONG after the initial sale (I got my M6 used).  I had an Audio Developments mixer for MANY years and like the sound, but service and support in the US has always been minimal.  The latest development in location mixers seems to be no mixer--using Deva's Mix12 or Cantar's Cantarem.  If I was in the market for a new recorder I would certainly consider going that way.  (Scott Farr has a pretty complete blog on the setting up of his cart w/ the Aaton stuff.)  Big savings in power usage, weight and space.

I had always hoped that Sound Devices would make a version of the 442 that had a remote fader panel, like the old Filmtech mixers.....    Remember that some of the stuff that makes the 442 so great: transformer in and out, input and output limiters, connections for camera snakes, slate mic, multiple return monitoring are really only available in Cooper-level analog "cart" mixers--with Mackies you kind of have to figure a lot of that stuff out for yourself.

Philip Perkins