Need a new Mixer for my keyboard rig, Soundcraft or A&H ?

[Waynester]

Hi Guys - i`m over here in the UK

 

i play about 120 - 150 gigs per year in my Bon Jovi Tribute Band https://www.facebook.com/bongiovitributeband

 

i run all my 2 keyboards and sound modules into my current desk

(a Soundcraft ES) in Stereo, then send a left and right XLR from that to FOH, thats it!

done that for years and years, never had any moans or problems with sound engineers at gigs or festivals etc

desk cost me about £280 back in 2008 i think, its served me well!

 

but now, the ES desk is beginning to play up, slight crackling on a few of the inputs, and when i wiggle the cable gently, sound goes on and off, and yes i have tried new cables

the pots are all still fine, none of em are giving me issues, just the inputs GRRRRRRRRR

 

was going to get it repaired, but having for 8 years, probably not worth the cost?

Soundcraft emailed me this, which i think is an OUTRAGEOUS pee take!

 

Wayne

We could take a look at it for you but there is no standard service as such - we would just test the desk and fix any issues we find while it's here. Our labour charge is £65/ hour + VAT. But without investigating it's difficult to say how much it's likely to cost. Once it's here we would get back to you with an estimate before proceeding with any repairs. A refused estimate would be charged at our minimum fee of £97.50 + VAT.

 

Having said that a very rough estimate would be 3 or 4 hours to strip down the unit and replace all inserts and retest. Obviously, it depends on how many crackly pots there are but a couple of hours on top for those?

 

Let me know if you want to go ahead and I will book it on the system. Turnaround time of 5 days should be possible.

 

Best regards

Dave Bartlett

 

 

so, i have narrowed my choice down to a Soundcraft EPM12 or an Allen & Heath ZED14

 

have never owned A&H before, reliable? and is the ZED14 a better desk do you think?

have thought about Mackie, but not sure either

 

obviously want the best sound i can get

 

i`m no techy sound expert, so go easy on me! lol! ;D

[AnotherScott]

Considering Soundcraft's service prices, it sounds like you should consider their low end boards disposable. Though that's not really a knock on it at all... getting 8 years out of it, at 120-150 gigs a year, is a lot more than I'd expect you'd get out of a Behringer. ;-) So really, I wouldn't have any qualms about going for another Soundcraft. Your cost-per-gig on that unit was miniscule. And if you do get another Soundcraft, maybe you'd be able to scavenge the old one for parts if need be. Though I am kind of curious what A&H's service charges are. Still, both companies have excellent reputations for making quality gear.

[Delaware Dave]

How did you 'narrow down' one of your choices to an A&H yet know nothing about its reliability and don't know how it compares to a Soundcraft or even a Mackie? I think that if you were to list the features you are looking for and a price range the KC members might be in a better position to offer you advice based on that data.

[J. Dan]

I've never used the ZED's, but I can't say enough good things about the A&H mix wizzard, and I know their medium format mixers are well respected for FOH. I would have no reason to believe the ZED's wouldn't be good quality.

[Bobadohshe]

At least they were upfront and communicative about prices and offered a 5 day turnaround.

[J. Dan]

How did you 'narrow down' one of your choices to an A&H yet know nothing about its reliability and don't know how it compares to a Soundcraft or even a Mackie? I think that if you were to list the features you are looking for and a price range the KC members might be in a better position to offer you advice based on that data.

 

I think based on the plethora of mixer threads on here, he narrowed his list appropriately.

[Mark Schmieder]

Could have sworn this EXACT question/comparison came up within the past two months.

 

A&H has some new models out, and they get mixed reports. So even though they have a "house style" that is consistent, research each model individually.

 

Yamaha continues to make good bang-for-buck mixers that I would put above almost anything but A&H and even above A&H in terms of value for money spent and possibly ergonomics (but it's all what you're used to; the British approach to mixing is quite different from the American approach, which Yamaha follows).

 

It's always good to know whether you need a mixer for functional reasons alone, or for quality (audio, I mean, primarily) considerations as well. For keyboards, a line mixer is often more appropriate and more flexible for different routing needs.

 

Don't discount how important the precision of control is. My old Ashly LX308B line mixer was easy to set even though it had rotary dials vs. sliders, but usually sliders are a necessity for having any precision at all. Even there, many sliders have inadequate throw; regardless of their actual vertical traversaL range on the board.

[Aidan]

Into the fourth year with my Soundcraft EFX8. Continues to perform solidly. But I agree, certainly no point in sending it for a repair that's going to cost a minimum of half the price of a new one. That said, is there any chance A&H is going to last any longer/be cheaper to repair? Might be worthwhile zipping a question down to A&H service about ongoing costs/turnaround before making a judgment.

[Shamanczarek]

A band I play with just replaced their Mackie board with an A&H ZED series. Very noticeable difference in clarity and dynamics. I use a ZED for my keyboards and am very happy with it. Don't know about Soundcraft but A&H use a separate board for each channel rather than one as many manufacturers do these days. If a channel goes down on an A&H you can remove the suspect board and have it repaired while still being able to use the remaining channels on the mixer.

[orangefunk]

I have been using a tiny little Soundcraft Folio Notepad desk for about a decade or more... no problems whatsoever.. sound quality is okay too...

 

 

[Mark Schmieder]

A&H was recently sold, so there's a chance the QC might change as well as other stuff. See if you can find a dedicated forum for A&H that might track the post-sale situation. I forget who bought them.

[stillplaying]

At least they were upfront and communicative about prices and offered a 5 day turnaround.

 

Yes - made your decision easy for you although it sounds like you were halfway there - new one rather than deciding to hold on to what you've got.

 

What's your budget? These things can runaway with you.

 

At the end of the day, you need something for the gain and something you can use.

[Stokely]

As someone else mentioned, you may be able to use a line mixer. I don't gig nearly as much as you though, so in your case I'd be at least considering higher end (compared to what I might get). That said, when I use a submixer I use the Rolls mx28. I can't honestly say how the sound quality is compared to any other board, seems good enough for my needs. The main thing is: it's small and light, sits right on my bottom keyboard, or could be velcroed to my stand. No EQ, no aux sends, no inserts, just 6 inputs (3 stereo pairs).

 

For a larger mixer I'd want an internal power supply I think that uses regular power cables.

 

I'm not up on the rack-mount line mixers but if you have other rack gear I'd check into them (Rane etc) . Again assuming you can get by with a line mixer!

[CEB]

These 2 boards are really different. Important questions are:

 

How much rack space do you want to use for the mixer. The A&H is taller.

 

Do you want/need USB connectivity? Only the A&H has this.

How many Aux sends do you need? A&H has 4. SC has 2.

 

How many stereo inputs do you need? A&H has more inputs.

 

How will you rack it? Is the on and off switch being on the backside a big deal?

 

Yamahas have the power switch on the front of the board but I leave it on always anyway. When I turn on the Furman in my rack the mixer goes hot. Depends on how you operate the board. I would probably prefer the smaller profile of the Soundcraft but I run mono. If I ran stereo I would have to go with the A&H.

 

....But I use Yamaha. I like the size of it and how it fits on my on space rack shelf but I leave a free space above it for good measure. But that isn't a choice here.

[Mark Schmieder]

The Rolls is dreadful; terribly grainy. Doesn't take Golden Ears to tell. The guy who sold me his, had bad ears, and still could tell how awful it was. Only buy it if you're broke. Actually, don't even buy it then; get the A.R.T. line mixer instead (same price or cheaper, and far better audio quality and build).