Still struggling to find that one good mixer for my electronic music setup.

[RABid]

When Roland announced the Aira MX-1 Mix Performer I thought "Wow! Gotta have that. An 18 channel mixer that does everything I want!" Then it came in and reality hit. What a mess they made of the input channels. 4 stereo channels with normal inputs. Good, but only 4? 4 USB stereo inputs that also do MIDI, but AIRA devices only, with only one being capable of providing USB power. WHAT! 2 channels for the phono input. Useless for me. Oh, and 2 channels for the coxial digital input. Have to buy an adapter if I want to use those channels. There are a few people out there with the right mix of devices that could make use of it, and they love it. For the rest of us it was painful to deal with, and it suffered a painful death. What could have been a great product was quickly discontinued.

 

I then decided to go old school and picked up a couple of the Ashly LX-308 1U rack mount mixers with 8 stereo input channels. That's right, every channel allows stereo input. This thing is a dream, and well made. They have since been replaced by the 308B which makes the older 308 easy to find on Ebay. I now have three. But, I do sometimes miss the use of a fader, or being able to adjust the EQ for a channel. All you have is on the 308 is a combo knob for each channel with volume and pan, and a mute button per channel. The one big thing missing is effects sends. This is actually pretty critical. That shoves the LX-308 to sub mixer status.

 

So, I like being able to mix 8 stereo devices, I like saving space, I need effects sends. Any suggestions?

[The Real MC]

Rane SM82 or SM82s.  No longer made but easily found.  My studio system has three, my stage system has two.  If you opt for the SM82 make sure it has the lump-in-the-middle power supply.

[RABid]

Had not noticed the Rane before. The price is right and it does have a send for each channel.