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jlaspina1
Published on 01/27/09 at 02:33
I purchased the Alesis Multimix 8 about six months ago and am so grateful I did. It has taken my recordings to the next level. I don't know where I'd be without it. The product does, however, have some setbacks, that may have been taken care of in the later models.
It is not a high quality, professional mixer, but if you are looking for a good piece of equipment to start recording to a computer with, this is your product. It's very easy to use, and as has not broken or shut down on me once. The three flaws I've found with it are that it 1) only lets your record 1 stereo track at a time; 2) it will only work if it is plugged into the computer before you turn the computer on and; 3) it was difficult to get the audio driver to work on my computer. These are minor flaws, but they are noticeable none the less.
The stereo recording flaw is alright because you can split up the tracks to go into the left or right channels, so you can really record up to 8 channels, on 2 separate tracks at time.
One more thing, which I believe may be fixed in the version that has a USB 2.0 connection, is that when you are recording over an existing track and want to hear live playback of what you're currently recording, there is a slight delay. This could also, however, been attributed to a slow processor or slow sound card.
Now for the technical questions:
This mixer is not rackable.
It has 4 main inputs for either 1/4 in. or xlr inputs. It then has 2 stereo 1/4 in. inputs as well. There is a headphone out, a stereo "main mix" out, and a stereo "control room" out.
There are high, mid, and low eq's for each channel.
There is an on board effect program that has 100 different effects, although most of them are chorus, reverb, delay, pitch change, or a combination of a few. And you can only use one effect at a time.
The sampling rate is a 44.1 to 48 kHz operation.
There is no automation supported.
The product includes Cubase, and it also works with just about any other recording program.
UTILIZATION
The configuration is fairly simple, it takes about a month of just fooling around with it to master it. All the functions are clear as day and the manual and online support makes everything much easier to learn if you have any questions.
SOUNDS
I did not notice any problems with the sound. I did not pick up any hiss from the mixer and the EQ was fine. The console appears to be transparent. The on-board eq's are kind of lame, so I'm marking it down a few points because of that, but everything else worked out ok.
OVERALL OPINION
I've used this mixer for about 6 months and my only problem with it now is that it wont work if the cable comes unplugged. You have to re-boot your computer to fix it. I would recommend the Alesis Multimix 8 with USB 2.0 over this version with USB 1.1.
I think that for the price, the mixer is alright, although, I might look for it second hand to save a little money, since it is built strong and has not broken on me yet.
It is not a high quality, professional mixer, but if you are looking for a good piece of equipment to start recording to a computer with, this is your product. It's very easy to use, and as has not broken or shut down on me once. The three flaws I've found with it are that it 1) only lets your record 1 stereo track at a time; 2) it will only work if it is plugged into the computer before you turn the computer on and; 3) it was difficult to get the audio driver to work on my computer. These are minor flaws, but they are noticeable none the less.
The stereo recording flaw is alright because you can split up the tracks to go into the left or right channels, so you can really record up to 8 channels, on 2 separate tracks at time.
One more thing, which I believe may be fixed in the version that has a USB 2.0 connection, is that when you are recording over an existing track and want to hear live playback of what you're currently recording, there is a slight delay. This could also, however, been attributed to a slow processor or slow sound card.
Now for the technical questions:
This mixer is not rackable.
It has 4 main inputs for either 1/4 in. or xlr inputs. It then has 2 stereo 1/4 in. inputs as well. There is a headphone out, a stereo "main mix" out, and a stereo "control room" out.
There are high, mid, and low eq's for each channel.
There is an on board effect program that has 100 different effects, although most of them are chorus, reverb, delay, pitch change, or a combination of a few. And you can only use one effect at a time.
The sampling rate is a 44.1 to 48 kHz operation.
There is no automation supported.
The product includes Cubase, and it also works with just about any other recording program.
UTILIZATION
The configuration is fairly simple, it takes about a month of just fooling around with it to master it. All the functions are clear as day and the manual and online support makes everything much easier to learn if you have any questions.
SOUNDS
I did not notice any problems with the sound. I did not pick up any hiss from the mixer and the EQ was fine. The console appears to be transparent. The on-board eq's are kind of lame, so I'm marking it down a few points because of that, but everything else worked out ok.
OVERALL OPINION
I've used this mixer for about 6 months and my only problem with it now is that it wont work if the cable comes unplugged. You have to re-boot your computer to fix it. I would recommend the Alesis Multimix 8 with USB 2.0 over this version with USB 1.1.
I think that for the price, the mixer is alright, although, I might look for it second hand to save a little money, since it is built strong and has not broken on me yet.