Powered Mixer Questions

[Lazarus1140]

I "need" to put together a small (low powered PA) for practice sessions and small space venues like coffee houses etc.

My questions were partially inspired by Schecterplayer's thread.

I have thought about getting a small board with separate amp(s), but the convenience of powered mixers for my purpose is hard to overlook. I have found a Mackie 406M FR at a pawn shop for a very reasonable price.

Does anyone have experience with these? The only negative reviews I've found online concern their low power which I don't think should be an issue for me. I believe the 406M is 250W into 4 Ohms per side. Can anyone suggest alternatives?

Requirements:
4 XLR inputs minimum
Onboard Effects
Low Noise
Phantom Power
Decent Preamps

Speaking of phantom power, the Mackie unit I found only provides 15 V. Is that enough for a typical condensor mic?

Also, I'd rather have two monitor sends but that seems to be the preference that breaks the budget.

Also #2 - I prefer sliders for LEVEL control. The lower end Mackie stuff has regular pots.

 

[NecroPolo]

Re: Powered Mixer Questions

I have no experience with that Mackie but the first mixer+PA combo that comes to my mind is the Soundcraft Gigrac series. It is compact, powerful and has excellent sound quality. The other one that comes to my mind is the Yamaha EMX that some buddies of mine have for rehearsal, I think they have the 500W version. With its matching speakers, it is really articulate and clean in a band environment and pretty enough for a small concert, too. I can't remember the exact price but it was friendly as them guys said. None of them come with slider pots.

 

[SlyFoxx]

Re: Powered Mixer Questions

The 406 M should do you just fine. The higher power mackie units will give you a bit more volume but it more about clean headroom. Just like guitar amps, doubling the power is not that huge a change. If you have decent speakers you'll be fine volume wise. What speakers are you using? How and how many? Are you running anything to them with lots of low end like bass or keys?

Two monitor sends will be a tough find for under 500 bucks on a mixer head. I can't recall any I've seen. It's always one for monitor and one for the on board fx.

Forget about real sliders on a mixer head...I can only think of one instance and that's a 15 year old Alesis unit. For a static mix I like knobs anyway.

I've never had a problem running condensers with any mackie product.


Food for thought. I do a solo singer guitar thing and I've more particular about my sound and set-up than most. My rig travels a bit heavy and it takes a few more moments to set up but I find it well worth it.

With this set-up I've got much greater control over the fx as they get returned via channel strips. (I run reverb in one and delay in the other) I can vary the amount from song to song in just a second and with tap tempo on the front of the fx unit I can set up the correct delay times from song to song easily as needed. The channel mutes come in handy for nuking the fx for addressing the audience between songs.


The one thing I don't need is a separate monitor send for my wedge as I run the same signal to my wedge as I do to the mains. Each has its own 15 band EQ but I seem to get away with running things flat or very close to it most of the time. (Just use a good bit of roll off below 60 hz since I'm not doing anything that low in the first place.)


So tells us more about what you're going to doing with this rig.

 

[Lazarus1140]

Re: Powered Mixer Questions

So tells us more about what you're going to doing with this rig.

Ultimately it will be for my daughter's band rehearsals in her boyfriend's parents' house. In the meantime I want to set it up for a little jam at my house on the 19th.

I have no speakers. I have an old 4-12 guitar cab with Celestians and I was thinking about adding a jack and rewiring it to produce two pairs of speakers rated at 8 Ohm/per pair. Since we're only playing in my smallish living room one cabinet can face us all ... like you said, there is no need for two mixes. I doubt we will be much louder than I would normally sing unmic'd. I just like the idea of added effects and recognize the need to rehearse mic technique for blending harmonies.

Really, the bargain on the powered mixer is what is pushing me more than anything.