Rack-mount mixer for on stage monitoring

[Brett - K A L I S I A]

So here is the deal:

- 6 musicians on stage (drummer, bass, 2 guitars, keyboard, singer)
- each one will have in-ear monitors, wireless for some of them

What we need and a searching for is a table that can be rack-mounted on top of a flight case (for accessibility), with a send for each musician (so that's a minimum of 6 if they all are mono... but maybe some of the musicians will want stereo) and the ability to change volume on those quickly and conveniently on-stage while playing (don't trust monitoring guys when the music is too complex, haha).

What else can I say? The sends should be post-eq if possible... Not decided on the number of channels, will probably depend on what's available on the market and the price, but will more than likely be more than 12 channels.

You guys have any suggestions or experience?

Thanks a lot.

Brett

 

[Soundlurker]

If I'm not mistaken Soundcraft's M series should be pretty good for the job. They can be rack-mounted and have sends as well as direct outs.

 

[Brett - K A L I S I A]

Thanks man, will inquire on those promptly

 

[Brett - K A L I S I A]

They don't have enough sends, and their Soundcraft Monitor 2 is way out of our league price-wise ($ 6000 for the smallest one).
Any other suggestions people?

 

[HeadCrusher]

http://www.mackie.com/products/onyx1640/index.html
Rackmount, 16 channels, 6 aux.
By far not ideal but it seems to be a good choice price/feature-wise. Maybe some musicians could share the same mix so you could have three stereo after all.
I've been searching for something like that for quite some time as well but I couldn't come up with anything better...

 

[elmuchoescadawg]

They don't have enough sends, and their Soundcraft Monitor 2 is way out of our league price-wise ($ 6000 for the smallest one).
Any other suggestions people?

something like this is a start. http://www.mackie.com/products/1604vlz3/


http://www.mackie.com/products/1604vlzpro/


Youve got 4 actual aux sends you can use and then you can get a 5th mix in stereo from the left right bus..

http://www.soundcraft.com/product_sheet.asp?product_id=52

This one has 10 monitor sends but might not be rack mountable but Im sure you can still sit it on top of your rack case and probably find one pretty cheap.


http://www.mackie.com/home/showimage.html?u=/products/onyx1640/images/1640_top_lg.jpg

Also just found this... 6 auxes plus a stereo bus should you need it and rack mountable

This one might be worth a look as well

http://www.peavey.com/products/browse.cfm/action/detail/item/116191/16FX(TM).cfm


Youve got 4 pre fader aux sends and a stereo mix bus so thats 4 mono mixes and one stereo. Also youve got 2 post fade auxes so you could try and use one of them for a monitor mix. This one could be good because its rack mountable and has 3x DSP engines in it. One over the L+R mix and then 2 more that you can either send 2 from the post fade auxes as a ahrd wired option or you can set one engine so its not fed my the aux and it can then be used as an insert giving you a compressor with EQ and reverb for example on an insert on the main vocal. (yeah I know you wouldnt normally run a reverb on an insert but in this case its making the most of your resources)

 

[Razorjack]

Not sure about rackmounting but this is the best, most affordable option for a dedicated monitor mixer. Allen & Heath WZ3 12M

6 independant stereo mixes, built in 16-Channel mic splitter

This is the unit I aim to get for us when we are running our own monitoring rig.

It's about £1300, not super cheap but an amazing unit.

 

[Brett - K A L I S I A]

Thanks a lot guys, I'll check those promptly

 

[Brett - K A L I S I A]

So far it's down between:
- Allen & Heath WZ3 12M
$2000 in the US (approx. 1400&#8364 or 2000 € in Europe (Thomann)
- Mackie Onyx 1640
1300€ in Europe (Thomann)

Although it's more expensive, my preference goes to the A&H: 6 stereo mixes (6 mono on the Mackie), has a built-in splitter, and is obviously thought and made for this very use.

 

[HeadCrusher]

Wow, the A&H looks great! And according to Thomann it's rackmountable as well! Seems like the number 1 choice if you have the money.

 

[Brett - K A L I S I A]

Yes, I went through the whole manual, that's exactly what we need, so... Will have to convince the money holders
Some other nice possibilities I found were an APB Pro Rack (more expensive actually) and a Crest, more expensive too.

 

[elmuchoescadawg]

Yes, I went through the whole manual, that's exactly what we need, so... Will have to convince the money holders
Some other nice possibilities I found were an APB Pro Rack (more expensive actually) and a Crest, more expensive too.

You know who owns crest these days?

Im supirsed I didnt think of this one myself...

 

[Brett - K A L I S I A]

Does it start with a P and end with eavey?

 

[elmuchoescadawg]

Does it start with a P and end with eavey?

Shhhhhh but remember you know where I live

 

[DivisionByZero]

We're using a Phonic MU-2442-X in our rack live for mixing and monitoring (with in-ears).
http://www.mcdiffusion.fr/produits_detail.asp?IDcat=76&IDsouscat=84&IDproduit=1265

I think it's a very nice and solid mixer. No idea whether it contains as much outputs as you need.

 

[Brett - K A L I S I A]

It unfortunately doesn't, but thanks

 

[HeadCrusher]

I just found this: http://www.heartechnologies.com/mb/mixback.htm
Maybe this might be an alternative too. Unfortunetaly I couldn't find it's prize..