In need of a new mixer

[slash777]

Well last month I bought a crown xs 700 and some peavey pr 15 speakers, which is good, but the mixer we have is some cheap behringer $100 one. The mixer has been doing ok, but now pretty much all of the 1/4" inputs are crapping out, so we pretty much need a new one. I'm willing to spend around $500. The PA is going to be used for vocals only, but it would be nice to have around 12 inputs for when we need to put anything else into it.
I have been looking into Mackie, good?bad? what do you think? So pretty much I want someone to reccomend me something, or tell me if what I am considering is good.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Mackie-CFX12-mkII-Mixer?sku=634273

[fishbulb]

Mackie is definitely good, but they're expensive.

So this will be mainly for a live PA and you're not interested in recording with it? If not, Firewire/USB is not an issue and will give you more options.

[Fraggy]

dont go spend a bomb if
a) its for live vox
b) its for rehearsals not live shows.

[slash777]

this won't be used for recording, just live and for rehersals. so $500 would be too much? what would you reccomend?

[Laetus]

I have an old Soundcraft Spirit Folio mixer - 12 inputs.. Works very well and you can probably get a used one of those for less than the behringer you already have.

Remember - just because it's new, doesn't mean it's good. :)

[slash777]

I am not at all against getting anything used, but i want something thats gonna sound really nice, its not important for me to have too many inputs, its just a plus.

[slash777]

anybody?

[Fraggy]

well it is only a mixer, yes the more money you spend the better it is.
but if its for rehearsal and live (and lets face it, how often does you band use their OWN PA) then don't go breaking your bank for a mixer that wont be used to its potential. Get a high end behringer.... They are not that bad, and if it isn't being used for recording, you won't need the super duper preamps...

[The Chemist]

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Soundcraft-EPM6-6Channel-MultiFormat-Mixer?sku=630937

Soundcraft makes Great Gear. My first Console for recording was a Soundcraft Ghost LE 32.

[slash777]

ok, i guess $500 is alot to spend for what it is going to be used for. That soundcraft looks pretty good. If i get another behringer, will it crap out like the one i have now?

[Moseph]

ok, i guess $500 is alot to spend for what it is going to be used for. That soundcraft looks pretty good. If i get another behringer, will it crap out like the one i have now?

The reason Behringer is so inexpensive is because they don't use parts that are spec'd out to be as tolerant as the parts used by other manufacturers (amongst other things). What this means is that your chances of having some sort of failure are higher than with other companies with a better reputation, such as Mackie, Soundcraft, Crown, etc.

[poeticdrums]

The thing with cheaper consumer-based audio equipment (such as behringer) is that the life span of the equipment is more highly based upon how well the user keeps the equipment. If you're tossing around a behringer mixer in a van instead of putting it in its own case, it's almost guaranteed it is going to fail at least twice as fast as a more reputable company with poor user care. Okay okay, this is all common sense, but just thought I'd bring it up.

As with all consumer-level audio equipment, research should be done into the particular item you are interested in buying. Not all consumer stuff is crap, you just need to know what to look at. For instance, I bought one of those low-end behringer mixers that only has five mike inputs. I bought it two years ago so I could mike up my drums and practice with headphones on (cause I have my drums set up in my dorm room and it's ridiculously loud in there). The mixer has decent enough preamps to get away with practicing, and the EQ isn't half bad either. It's been lasting me very well too, especially considering I don't have a case for it and people are always trampling on it when they come into my room.

I bought it for 40 bucks used off ebay and I'm pretty damn happy.

Though another route you could go just in case you bought a higher-end behringer would be to buy separate preamps from presonus or a company like that and just run those into the mixer. That way you can have the lead vox use the really good sounding pres and the backups using the on-board ones.