small portable mixing desk

[wixel]

didn't know wether i should put this in "synthesizer" board or this one. but here goes;

i'm looking for a small, sturdy, portable mixing desk that travels easily. it needs to have at the very least 4 (mono)jack inputs and possibilites for XLR / RCA as well. most importantly, it has to work well with sends. preferably 2. and especially pre-fader.

right now i have this old yamaha mg10/2 which would have been perfect, though it sends are always distorted. it seems like the sends knobs are way too sensitive, it's practically useless. since i was planning on getting a second mixer anyway, it is of less importance. - if the mixer has good pre-amps i'm twice as happy.

i know i could google all this, but figured that the 12k peeps probably have the best answer.

[StephenVitiello]

didn't know wether i should put this in "synthesizer" board or this one. but here goes;

i'm looking for a small, sturdy, portable mixing desk that travels easily. it needs to have at the very least 4 (mono)jack inputs and possibilites for XLR / RCA as well. most importantly, it has to work well with sends. preferably 2. and especially pre-fader.

right now i have this old yamaha mg10/2 which would have been perfect, though it sends are always distorted. it seems like the sends knobs are way too sensitive, it's practically useless. since i was planning on getting a second mixer anyway, it is of less importance. - if the mixer has good pre-amps i'm twice as happy.

i know i could google all this, but figured that the 12k peeps probably have the best answer.

If you only need 4-channels, the littlest Mackie would work, don't you think?

http://www.amazon.com/Mackie-402-VLZ3-Premium-4-Channel-Ultra-Compact/dp/B00132EJJW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1333729033&sr=8-2

or

http://www.amazon.com/Mackie-802-VLZ3-8-Ch-Compact-Recording/dp/B00132EJKG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333729033&sr=8-1

[taylordeupree]

might be hard to find RCA inputs.. unless you get some sort of "DJ" marketed board... XLR won't be a problem for mic inputs...

mackie's probably your best bet in this category.. hard to beat for their prices.. while it's not "high end" by any means, there simply isn't much better quality in this format.

maybe a small soundcraft

but it's 8 channel minimum i think

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/EFX8/

[mfischer]

i have the 802 vlz3 and it is pretty damn solid.
i wish it had two effects sends but other than that i have no complaints
i would say it is a good buy.

[billygomberg]

i have the 802 vlz3 and it is pretty damn solid.
i wish it had two effects sends but other than that i have no complaints
i would say it is a good buy.

+1.  I finally picked one up last year and it's been a pleasure to use.

if you really need the 2nd send, the mutes do function as an alternate buss.

yeah it's about 2x the price of the Behringer  equivalent but for real I'm kind of an adult now, might as well have the adult versions of things...

[wixel]

thanks for the answers! didn't know mackie was the best for price/quality in the lower price range.
sends are important though... so i'll be looking around some more.

and don't worry billy, based on the experiences i've had, i won't be buying behringer again..

[billygomberg]

my recollection from mixer shopping is that once you get into 2 or more aux sends you get into much bigger mixers or you have to buy Behringer:

http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/UB1204-PRO.aspx

or this Yamaha:

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MG124c

I have a 16channel Yamaha in the "home studio" that I gigged with a bit (this was before they slimmed the form factor).  It's a good mixer.  I can't comment on this specific model except that it does have the two aux sends you are looking for.

[jórgos]

No, not Behringer. In my school we had some Behringer units such as dynamic processors and one controller and they always broke down. I do not recommend Behringer especially the low budget products.
On the other hand i have worked with Mackie's mixing desks and i have only good things to say. Personally i use Mackie Onyx 1620i and it's really great! but it is not really a portable gear.

[moize]

First decent pay check and I am buying a Mackie of reasonably/useful size again, I would recommend the same.

Mackie are certainly not 'high' end I agree, but I always feel that a huge selection of my old favourite records where made using them :)
And indeed they are good for that price range.

I don't wanna turn it into a hating Behringer, but having started with a nice Mackie 24VLZ many years ago, I sold this for a need for space, studio condensing etc and decided to try out these Behringers…I know I can hear you all cry now, trust me I cried too.

I had 4 Behringers of the same model in the first 3 months while they attempted to find one that worked, which they never did. I ended up exchanging it for the 1st generation Tapco, (Mackie) although this wasn't working well either after sometime, a run of bad luck. I still have that small Tapco actually for feedback bits.

Now I have a second generation Tapco, still works fine although not great sound, certainly not the Mackie sound I remembered.

I did buy another Behringer for my partner…I know I know, thinking a smaller one can't possibly break, I was wrong.
We still have that smaller Behringer, it still is crackly and sometimes the panning pots double up in strange ways, its really horrible to use.