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New desk?

PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2013 6:15 pm
by Kurt
I'm looking for a "new" mixer, I have a bit of a shopping list:
    32 mic in
    6 aux
    decent eq (4 Band?)
    8 groups (must be assignable to main out)

I'm thinking so far about Mackie 32.8, Mackie Onyx 3280, Ta@#$% M-2600
I've seen all of these sell on this forum over the years...

I know there's some A&H or Soundcraft desks that would fit the bill.

The Yamaha MG32 comes close but only 4 groups.

This is to replace a sickly Mackie VLZ 24.4 I am hoping to spend 2k max but toyed with the idea of a be!@#$%^& x32, from all reports (so far) quite a solid desk.

Any ideas/suggestions/offers?

Re: New desk?

PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2013 8:45 pm
by stosostu

Re: New desk?

PostPosted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 9:58 am
by gigpiglet
whats the budget?
have you seen the midas venice sale?

Re: New desk?

PostPosted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 11:50 am
by Wiz
gigpiglet wrote:whats the budget?
have you seen the midas venice sale?

what sale?

Re: New desk?

PostPosted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 2:18 pm
by Kurt
Budget is minimal, less than 2k would be preferable. I'm guessing that a Midas Venice on sale is still out of my budget.

The Amek is being sold with issues and I'm not very good at fixing stuff, I assume it would be difficult/expensive to get parts for too.

The M2600 in Sydney looks good. What are they like to mix on? Are they fixable if something goes wrong? There's also a Mackie 32.8 but it's in Melbourne and I don't know that I could convince the better half to drive down there to pick it up.

Re: New desk?

PostPosted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 11:46 pm
by stosostu
The Amek is being sold with issues and I'm not very good at fixing stuff, I assume it would be difficult/expensive to get parts for too.


Most electronic parts would be generic, but there would be hardware that might be difficult to source, then if you're not a fixit man it's probably gonna be more trouble than it's worth. They are a nice desk though.

The M2600 in Sydney looks good. What are they like to mix on? Are they fixable if something goes wrong? There's also a Mackie 32.8 but it's in Melbourne and I don't know that I could convince the better half to drive down there to pick it up.


Lots of different views on these. Personally, I quite like them and I have one in my studio. Everything is fixable if you have enough money, these are no better or worse than other desks of their vintage. IMO either of these desks would be preferable to the Mackie.

Re: New desk?

PostPosted: Mon Jan 21, 2013 2:46 pm
by gigpiglet
im not a fan of that series of yamaha.
not a massive fan of mackie either - but they do the job and dont (usually) break which the allen and heaths tend to.

are you touring it? or installing?
if space isnt a problem i have a big 44ch DDA Q2 that would meet your budget..

Re: New desk?

PostPosted: Mon Jan 21, 2013 4:28 pm
by Manning
Kurt - in my opinion desks are either "mid-range" or "pro grade".

Now DDA and Amek are towards the lower end of the "pro grade". They'd probably lose a shoot-out with a Neve or SSL console... but they are still miles ahead of the Tofts and Mackies of this world (and I'll refrain from using offensive words like be!@#$%^&).

So as someone who started out with a Mackie 32-8 (still have one in the store room) I'd strongly encourage you to look at Gareth's DDA, or even a troublesome Amek. 18 months ago I picked up a vintage Auditronics console from a T Rocker and it was the best decision I ever made. Yes I've had to get a tech out on more than one occasion, but whatever - quality is quality.

When you hear the difference between a mid-range desk like the Mackie and a serious recording console you'll know why my Mackie sits in the storeroom (we only keep it for when our ad hoc band decides to play a party).

Anyway just my opinion. Good luck.

Re: New desk?

PostPosted: Mon Jan 21, 2013 4:37 pm
by Kurt
Argh! Decisions decisions!

Here's why I'm lost...
The desk is for live shows, it's installed. Direct outs would be a big plus, these desks all have them I believe.

The Amek is an Amek.
I'm used to the way Mackies work and it has a meter bridge.
The Ta@#$% has stereo fx sends and a meter bridge.
The DDA desks look awesome.

I honestly don't know that people will hear a difference in desks listening to a metal band at 100+db. So for me the deciding factor will be features and work flow...

Re: New desk?

PostPosted: Mon Jan 21, 2013 4:44 pm
by Manning
Ah forget what I said then - I was talking in terms of installed consoles. I probably should have noticed the "Live Sound Forum" heading as well.

I know SFA about live :)

Re: New desk?

PostPosted: Mon Jan 21, 2013 5:16 pm
by Kurt
Me too!

Manning wrote:Ah forget what I said then - I was talking in terms of installed consoles. I probably should have noticed the "Live Sound Forum" heading as well.

I know SFA about live :)

Re: New desk?

PostPosted: Mon Jan 21, 2013 11:51 pm
by stosostu
IMO the Amek would give you the best bang for buck. If you could get it for less than $1000.00 then you have $1000.00 left in your budget to get a tech to check it out and fix it. From the description, it wouldn't need that much work anyway.

Re: New desk?

PostPosted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 8:33 am
by Kurt
After much internetting, question asking and soul searching, I'm taking a leap into the (huge!) unknown and buying Gareth's DDA Q2. It will take a while to organise rebuilding the sound booth to accommodate the monster but I'm very excited!

At the same time I'm hoping to upgrade my FOH set-up, from mis-matched boxes with 1" horns to a set of something with 2" horns.

Got feelers out for JBL 1400s and going to Smithies to look at EV Mongoose and AUstralian Moniter QMX double 12s.

Re: New desk?

PostPosted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 1:39 pm
by gigpiglet
id go mongooses over the AM boxes
no technical reason
just in all my years mixing in dodgy clubs around the country, mongooses (geese?) have always sounded pretty good.
and the AMs ive always struggled on

Re: New desk?

PostPosted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 1:50 pm
by Kurt
Any opinion on the old JBL boxes?

Ultimately price( or value for money) will be the deciding factor I guess but the more info I have the better the result. I hope.

Oh yeah, The Basement definitely qualifies as a dodgy club, but it will be a dodgy club with a huge console and too much PA.

Re: New desk?

PostPosted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 3:18 pm
by Kurt
Now looking at totally blowing the budget on a double MSR system.

Re: New desk?

PostPosted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 3:30 pm
by Manning
You won't be a fully accredited member of TRF until you've completely blown the budget on something.

Re: New desk?

PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 10:19 am
by jasound
Kurt are you talking about the Basement ex jazz club in Sydney cbd ?

Re: New desk?

PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 10:40 am
by Manning
I suspect he means the Basement in Belconnen ACT.

Re: New desk?

PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 2:59 pm
by Kurt
Yeah, Belconnen. Pretty sure every city has a bar called The Basement.