Digital mixer opinions?

[Grant Bunter]

I've never been in a band where someone didn't have a problem working out a part of a song.

For me it was Powderfinger's (Baby I got you) On my Mind. I kept on rushing the bridge and it didn't flow. It got better with time. Of course the best it ever went was my last gig with that band...

While Paice is a bit easier to get than some of Bonham's playing, sometimes it's as simple as (at least for a drummer) to count in 16ths rather than 8ths (one e and a 2 e and a etc).
Just make sure he's working on it at home as well...

[Jools4001]

Well, I did it! Just placed the order for the X32 Rack.

I must admit that I'm much more nervous about this purchase than usual. Normally, it's "Whoooohoooooo, get that courier truck here right now" but in this case I'm still wondering whether I've done the right thing, mainly because...

In my usual style the solution is over-specced. In truth, something like a Presonus 16.0.2 or a Mackie DL1608 would've been more than adequate for my current band's needs. However, at £1150 it's just a couple of hundred pounds more than the Mackie (at £950) or Presonus (£850), but I get twice the channel count, much more horsepower, more flexibility, more scalability, much more sophisticated recording possibilities which gives us the ability to market ourselves better, get bigger gigs...and it gives me room to grow into it if required...but I'm still niggling that I've ordered something with a level of sophistication that I will never need.

Because of this extra sophistication...The X32 has a much steeper learning curve than either the Mackie or Presonus, so whereas both of the latter seem pretty much 'plug and play' I think that, for me at least, the X32 is going to need quite a bit of homework to get the best out of it.

It's a Behringer. I'm not a Berry hater, I already have a feedback eliminator, a dual 32 band graphic and a DEQ2496 in the rack...but none of these things are 'mission critical', each of them or even all of them could be bypassed and the show would go on. From all the feedback on various forums the acquisition of Midas and Klark-Teknik and the incorporation of their technologies into the X32 has helped Berry to really raise their game with this device in terms of reliability and, most importantly, it's supposed to sound good. It also has a 3 year warranty so...but it's still a Behringer, still a relatively untried form factor and it feels like a bit of a leap of faith.

Not least, even though it's competitively priced for the feature set, it's still a fair chunk of change for me and not the sort of cash I can just take a chance on...but I ordered it from Thomann in Germany who have good customer service that I've tested before and they have a 30 day no quibble return policy....so, we'll see...

[doncolga]

Well, I did it! Just placed the order for the X32 Rack.
It's a Behringer. I'm not a Berry hater, I already have a feedback eliminator, a dual 32 band graphic and a DEQ2496 in the rack...but none of these things are 'mission critical', each of them or even all of them could be bypassed and the show would go on. From all the feedback on various forums the acquisition of Midas and Klark-Teknik and the incorporation of their technologies into the X32 has helped Berry to really raise their game with this device in terms of reliability and, most importantly, it's supposed to sound good. It also has a 3 year warranty so...but it's still a Behringer, still a relatively untried form factor and it feels like a bit of a leap of faith.

I've had Behringer gear since about 1995 I believe (a compressor) and had only one issue in all that time. I've had three mixers, two compressors, three power amps and they all worked fine except for one compressor. Oddly I've experienced more trouble with other brands that are supposed to be more reliable.

If I were to buy a digital mixer today, the X32 rack would be near the top of the list. Keep us posted on how you like it.

[escapemcp]

[Chris_Allen]

I'm looking forward to lots of pictures and feedback.

[Bruce Weldy]

I'm looking forward to lots of pictures and feedback.

Pictures are fine, but nobody wants feedback out of their new mixer.....

[Tom Smit]

[Chris_Allen]

I found this youtube video of a guy fixing an LED on his X32 - the content of the video is immaterial but it does give you some good close up shots of the internals.

Having had the DDX3216 in bits for cleaning a few times, it looks like Behringer really have moved forward quite a lot. You don't get a good look at the manufacturers and models of some of the chips unfortunately.

[Tom Smit]

Thanks, Chris. It also gives some hints on repairs. (check out his vid on "electronic repair a dying art").

[dswpro]

I don't think of my X32 as a "Behringer" as much as a Midas. It certainly sounds more like a Midas.
BTW, just gave the 2.x firmware a run this weekend. I like many of the features. Not sure if they are relevant to the Rack unit as the iPad app is not working with 2.x yet. The effects sound better, there is a pitch-shifter (finally) and the RTA behind the EQ is really sweet.

[Grant Bunter]

^ Funny you say that. I've never heard or even seen an X32, but it certainly displays a lack of attention on Behringers part to not have IPad access with V2 firmware when it did have it previously. I'm sure the company struggles to understand why it doesn't do better overall performance wise at times...

[Chris_Allen]

Just found this one too, I think I'm sold on this mixer!

[dswpro]

Now I have to try the 50 Hz oscillator gated by the kick drum, sweet.
I think the Version 2 I-pad software will follow soon, they probably wanted to put the V2 console software out there before the NAMM show a couple weeks ago. There is an independent Android app which talks to Version 2 ROM but does not have the neat RTA EQ or blue dot on the gate and compressor curves.

[Bruce Weldy]

Here's a trick I use when running sound for rock bands.....

I send all the drums to the mains as usual, but I also select a sub group and send them there too. I then compress the hell out of the sub group - 8 to 1. The sub group is directed to the main output.

When there is a drum fill or an intro like Highway to Hell, I slam the sub fader up - the drums don't just get louder, they get fatter. It's not the same at all as just putting the drums on a sub group and turning them up. I can bring it up quickly then take it right back out. It really adds dynamics and is easy to do.

The fader stays all the way down until I need it - then hammer it - and back out.

Try it.

[BrentEvans]

Here's a trick I use when running sound for rock bands.....

I send all the drums to the mains as usual, but I also select a sub group and send them there too. I then compress the hell out of the sub group - 8 to 1. The sub group is directed to the main output.

When there is a drum fill or an intro like Highway to Hell, I slam the sub fader up - the drums don't just get louder, they get fatter. It's not the same at all as just putting the drums on a sub group and turning them up. I can bring it up quickly then take it right back out. It really adds dynamics and is easy to do.

The fader stays all the way down until I need it - then hammer it - and back out.

Try it.

This works for lots of things. It's particularly popular for vocals... again the sound is "fattened up" but amplitude doesn't rise too much. The only thing you have to be careful of is feedback, as you're raising gain without increasing volume.