Powered Mixers

I bought this about a year ago as part of a package (including speakers, mics and cables) from a major online merchant and I am very happy with it. This was by far a less expensive set up than equivalent rigs from other brands. Though I was at first afraid I would compromise quality for price, I am impressed with the product that I got for my hard earned dollar. The plastic knobs concern me a little but I use common sense and care when lugging my gear around and have had no troubles with the mixer. As for tone, it really sounds great with the on-board digital effects processor (super for vocals). With 250 watts per channel, it is surprising spunky for its small size and affordable price. It has 12 channels making it a versatile stand alone set up for smaller clubs and practice spaces. I use this with my cover band in small club settings for vocals and some slight instrument support and it works perfect. This powered mixer is well worth the money.

For the past 3 years, our troupe of entertainers have traveled the coast of Washington, Oregon and a bit into the top of California. We have brought with us this robust and rich sounding, easy to use mixer and amplifier combination. Yes, it's true that it does weigh-in at about 50 lbs or so but it is rugged, time tested and we believe it's worth the trouble of carrying it. Don't be confused that there are many "Power Station" models manufactured by Soundcraft. This is simply called 'Spirit Power Station-By Soundcraft' while the other nearly like it is named the 'Power Station 600.' The unit above is 245 watts per left and 245 watts per right channel as we understand it. It powers multiple sets of monitors and features a wonderful Lexicon brand effects mixer when we want to dial in one of several neat effects. This is helpful when you have a small room, you have a big room you want to sound smaller/tighter and so on. The original price was $1,600.00 but we picked it up second hand at a steal for $500 with our virtually new monitors/speakers and cables from a friend. The sides come off so you can mount it on a rolling cart, set it on a table, crate it or 'whatever.' Either way, it has rich, vibrant sound and an on board graphic equalizer which really works well for each speaker (Left/Right) and audiences always comment how clean and clear our microphones and sound system sound. Our group agrees we would make this purchase again if we had to.javascript:submitForm(); Add

I have a Powermate 1600 which is irreparable due to Dynacord Policy. I loved using this desk. Very user friendly, robust, huge power, all the inputs and outputs you could need, fantastic effects, I could rave about it for hours. The trouble is it has developed a fault and Dynacord will not release the schematic. Three different, highly reputable service engineers have told me that Dynacord are unique in not helping customers in this respect. This renders Dynacord products irreparable. If they had good customer relations I would recommend but I am forced to say do not buy.

Yamaha EMX 212S is a 12 channel powered mixer that is made for the road. The construction of this mixer is heavy duty and will last a long time. There are 16 digital SPX effects on it, echo, chorus, flanger, distortion, reverb, and a few other ones are on it. All of these effects can be added very quickly at the touch of a button. There are EQ’s on the main and monitor channels so you can get the exact sound you want or get out that feedback quickly. There are 12 input channels and 4 for microphone with phantom power. This whole mixer only weighs 22 pounds and is made for use every day. It have used this mixer as well as seen this mixer used for hour upon hours and it has never over heated or shorted out. I have seen it dropped and just about thrown and it has never stopped working. I am pretty sure as long as it doesn’t get wet it will work forever. If it doesn’t Yamaha stands by their products and I am sure they will not have a problem working with you to solve the problem especially with most of their products coming with a warranty automatically. The only thing that I didn’t like about this mixer is the amps and the humming that I would hear. I would not hear this all of the time just sometimes mainly after the mixer and speakers would be on for a long period of time. This could have been the speakers, cords, or any number of issues but it just seemed like the amps in this mixer would start to make the unit “hum” after a while. This didn’t happen often just sometimes and it really was not that big of an issue unless everything was completely silent. Overall, this is a perfect mixer for the road and it is affordable for any budget.

I purchased the Mackie PPM1012 in a package that came with 4 microphones and two monitors. The PPM1012 is a high quality but still compact mixer that has 8 mono channels and 2 stereo channels. It has a small supply of effects and some graphic equalizers. When I purchased this bundle it came with 12 inch PA speakers and 4 M4000 microphones. The whole package cost around 1500 dollars which I thought was a steal because the mixer and amp was amazing. I have used this in shows about 40 times now (not all mine) and every time it gets used there are no issues and the sound is great. It will all come down to which monitors/speakers you use with this mixer though because I have used some cheaper PA speakers with it and it didn’t sound as good even though the amp is good and provides a clean sound. Your speakers will be what delivers your good volume with low distortion though so do not just purchase the PPM1012 and think that no matter what speakers or mics you use with it will work. This mixer is easy to take around with us because it is compact but still packs all of the features that we needed to run different types of events and shows. Being that I am a part time crew man for some events I get the chance to work with a lot of different PA systems and set ups. This system is not for a huge show but for a medium to small sized show you will have enough channels to get all of the gear you have plugged up and ready to play. This mixer has a few effects on it, but it was nothing that would make me want to run out and buy it again. If I could do it all over I probably would have went with a mixer that had some better effects so we could have cut down on bringing in more gear for smaller shows.

The Yamaha EMX312SC is a dual 300 watt powered mixer. You will get a great sound with this mixer, I noticed the quality of the sound immediately the first time I used it. The compression on it is so easy to use, it is basically just one knob to use for compression and it will change the dynamics of your audio quickly. I really love what it does with bass; it gives the bass that punchy but still smooth sound that not a lot of mixer can do anymore. There are some effects on the EMX312SC too, chorus, flanger, distortion and reverb are just a few of them but I think there are about 15 total. They all sound great and are very usable, and the effects will be able to be used on each channel. This mixer is a great choice for a live show, there are a total of 12 inputs and 8 channels. This gave me just what we needed while we were using it. This mixer is not as portable as I thought it was going to be though. It was a lot heavier than what I expected it to be and if I had to use it a lot I think I would eventually want something lighter with the same specs. There are other mixers that have the same exact specs but are lighter. The knobs are made well and the LED meters are bright and easy to see in any kind of lighting. This is a professional mixer armed with phantom power and all of the bells and whistles you could ever need. Overall this mixer is great for live events and I highly recommend it. All of the mixers in this line from Yamaha seem to be pretty good. They are all basically the same just more or less inputs on each one. Great control and compression!

The thing to like most about this portable PA head is it's portability, weight, and definitely it's sound quality. The pre-amps are very clean and punchy, the eq's are fixed at intuitive frequencies, and this guy just looks cool! For some reason I just can't help but imagine some sort of vintage submarine sonar gear when I look at this guy! It's drawbacks are few but here they are: 1-the fan is loud! It's not going to be heard over the music but it's pretty loud. 2-it has a delayed power on function, so if you've already got mics hooked up make sure you either mute or turn the mains or the channels down before you turn it on! It comes in it's own little integrated rack case which is cool and the channels are quite clean even with extreme gain and the individual as well as the graphic eq's are engineered and balanced well. It's not hard to get a good sound from this guy! The price is only ever so slightly higher than the competition and you get cleaner pre-amps and great looks in return. Soundcraft is a very reputable company and this unit lives up to their reputation. As I've said the pre-amps are nice and clean and the eq's are well engineered. Also the actual power amp section is very clean as well! There is very little unwanted noise or hum from this unit and it's adequately powerfull to run even a pair of 1x15, 1x12 + horn tweeter rig! I've used many different portable PA heads and I've liked a good many of them but the Soundcraft has that extra little bit of cleanliness and quality that sets it apart from the crowd. It's a solid investment for the gigging musician or band!

The thing to like about the EMX88S is that it's portable, light, easy to set up and functional enough for those small room club/bar gigs where a full large scale PA is unneccessary or impossible. It's drawbacks are limited individual eq's, size and ease of adjustment, and limited channels. For the price these are suited well to the small room gig. If you really only need to get some vocal mics and maybe a quiet percussion mic running then this unit will be great. Also, if you are playing a very quiet gig, let's say with a harp, some acoustic guitar, bass, and some vocals as long as you have some decent speakers you'll be able to pull off a good balanced sound while running everything straight into the head, no guitar/bass amps needed. The individual eq's are lacking, even just a sweepable mid would be a huge improvement. However, the graphic eq for the mains/monitors is definitely helpful to subdue some of those unwanted low mid feedback notes and of course those evil high screeching feedbacks. Just as a thought, you can use the main direct out and run this into another EMX88S to run your monitors. Doing this you can utilize all of the power of one for your mains and all of the power of the other for your monitors! The overall sound quality these put out is not bad, not amazing, but definitely passable. Comparatively, these have enough power to run some pretty decent sized speakers and still acheive good sound indoors or outside. I've used the EMX88S, (a pair of them), with both of my gigging bands in small clubs for a couple years now and they perform as advertised. They have enough power to run nearly any smaller speaker set-up and overall deliver a clean sound. Depending on your needs and your average venue size the EMX88S could be a fairly sound investment!

For years Peavey has made powered mixers that are just all in one power houses. Play a BBQ, play a bar, the Peavey will offer all the power you need with a seperate power amp for monitors and mains. I wanted a ton of power without having to buy 10 million separate things that I'll forget at home or leave at the gig. The Peavey seems to be in it's own 'semi-pro' class. I spent $500 on this, but it has paid itself off with gigs. I can grab this, my laptop and some speakers and DJ a party. Throw in a guitar and a mic and you're ready for an acoustic show. 8 channels is perfect for a rock band. The EQ has red LED lights for each frequency that let you know which frequency is feeding back. Besides having 2 power amps you can also run a none powered monitor and main send if you have powered speakers or want to add more monitors. Many times I've plugged my bass into this and played smaller gigs without a bass amp. The preamps are So/So. But hey I've used some really nice boards with worse preamps. I wouldn't buy this to use the effects. They are a bit over the top. Think of that as a bonus more than a selling point. Rock solid! Peavey builds there gear to last. It's not pretty and most Peavey stuff weighs a ton, but there's a reason people still use the old Peavey stuff after all these years. Peavey is a solid go to system to get you and your band a good sound for almost any live or practice situation. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

While looking for a backup or replacement amp/mixer for our mains, I found this barely used unit from MHZ Studio on Ebay. After tossing a coin, I put in my winning bid at the last 5 seconds of auction close for $291.00US incl shipping. The obvious thing to like is that your mixer, amp, fx processor and EQ are already plugged into one another and sitting in a relatively light ( apx 40lbs), attractive charcoal color abs enclosure - so setup and troubleshooting time minimal. This unit sounds great!! A higher fidelity sound when set flat over various eq'd Peavey mixers we were using. It has 3 way eq on each channel, plus a separate 7 band eq for mains and monitors- Although we just run vocals and acoustic guitars on this unit - We drive Peavey SP5G 15" 2way mains( 250w rms@8ohm) with enough volume for small outdoor gigs and small (50 people)to medium size( 500 people max) venues - room dependent of course. To keep feedback down - we moved from an SM58 to an EV 967 vocal mic which seems to lack fidelity on our previous boards, but sounds great on the Yamaha. The unit has the ability to send to powered mains as well, so, you can use the internal power for monitors while sending to you powered mains or if you want to use a different external amp. The 68s has footswitch inputs for both fx on/off and tap. The Clip limiter is a good thing to have, but we have experienced times when the unit brick walls the mix when something like a heavy palm muted "chicka" sound is being put out by an acoustic guitar. The whole mix just drops out for a slit second. Bare in mind we were playing out doors with the mixer main volume set at 8 out of possible 10. To compund this issue - the built in FX don't offer a compressor/limiter. So you need to be cautious and have your absolute maximum input volumes in line so as not to engage the power amp output limiter. The FX section uses a rotary knob that points to microscopic print defining the effect number that has to be referenced via a chart of equal fontsize that sits above the knob. Haven't dropped it on the ground or in deep water -so I don't know if it will float or withstand impact - it feels solid and looks well built. For it's retail price point you get a great sounding portable powered mixer that will handle most acoustic act applications,and small venue band applications. Having a " band break" switch is cool so if you run pre recorded music between songs or sets - you can mute the mic and instrument inputs. This unit runs cool and doesn't consume excessive amounts of power. Having LED's on the EQ section with a feedback detection system like the comparable Behringer would be a nice addition as well as a discernable digital readout for the effects section. We love the sound the ease of use - good product. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Guitar Center $625. Small band PA Built in amps capable of running front of house speakers and 1 monitor mix. EQ on channel strip only boosts low end at 100hz, poor for kick drums. If you are using built in crossover the EQ boosts the low end in your midrange/high/full range speakers and not just your Subwoofer. If you plan to use the internal splittable amps for 2 monitor mixes, the built in graphic EQ does not work for monitor mixes. They should have done 2 smaller profile EQ's that could be assignes for monitors or mains. That way you could ring feedback out from your stage wedges. Construction and quality seem excelent. i have only had the unit 2 months. If you plan to use this board for a band PA for anything but practice it is OK. If you are going to use a sub, plan on using a real croosover along with it. If you are using it with a kick drum plan on a purchase of a seperate EQ to use in the insert to really make it thump. overall I think Yamaha has a great idea here but they need to make a few adjustments. Again, if you are using this in a church, speaking PA, or a band practice PA for mostly voice it will be an awesome aquisition for you. I tried to purchase it for a small band PA to cut down on what we had to bring to small gigs and it falls a little short in a few areas. I can say it is a better option with more features than any other powered mixer I could find in its price range. Allen and Heath make a similar product for almost twice the price but I have not tried it, yet. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought the unit online for $450. It is also advertised as the PMX3000 but the unit comes labelled as the PMH3000. I needed a low profile and light weight unit that I could use to mix to drive a sub and monitors in addition to stereo mains. The PMH3000 has many useful feature 1) Insert external effects jack on all 8 mic channels, useful for adding external noise gates/expanders/commpressors 2) Per channel prefade listen (PFL) for individual headphone soundcheck plus dB level check on the main soundlevel LEDs. 3) Two monitor and FX level mixers per channel 4) Built in effects unit is low self noise and lots of reverb and chorus effects 5) After Fade Listen (AFL) on output sliders for headphone monitoring 6) Mono output slider dedicated sub woofer 7) Main equalizer sliders have buitin LEDs to help pinpoint a feedback frequency The main speaker outputs are clean all the way up to the +10dB LED on main stereo out which is starting to hit 400w/channel into 4 ohms. LIGHT WEIGHT!! the unit uses a switched mode power supply in place of the normal bulky supply transformer. Easy to grab carrying handle This is not really a dislike but to get to 400Watts (as tested with a 4 ohm load resistor) the main stereo sound level must peg the +10 dB level LED (but not clip). 0dB on main stero out is about 40W/4 ohm and a safe upper level for headroom should be kept under 300 W/channel into 4 ohms which falls off to 150 W/channel into 8 ohms. An input channel has to be + 10dB on its PFL level check to generate these max speaker levels, needing condensor mics and pro line level sound gear. Otherwise think of the PMH3000 as having plenty of headroom! This unit does not have a "band break" swith to mute the mic channels. The main amps are very quiet when there are no input signals. The cooling fans are quiet. The attractive case is all steel. The Speakon speaker connectors are superior to 1/4" jacks but many people will end buying adapter cables. The PMH3000 is a versatile and lightweight unit. It doesn't have mind bending speaker drive but still has plenty of clean output and headroom for small to medium gigs. Behringer customer service confirmed that the unit can be used without connecting loundspeakers. The unit can double up as a low noise mixer with effects and two monitor busses. I give it a 4 only because the channels have to be driven to get to the rated output power, otherwise you get a lot of value for your money. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com