New Budget Desk

[Stewart Newlands]

Go for the Midas, the A&G eq's do naff all, they are rubbish

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I think that's more than a bit of an exaggeration (as the owner of two A&H's and one Soundcraft).

 

Yes, A&H and Soundcraft are cheap and cheerful compared to Midas, but few engineers would moan at having to use one, unlike other budget mixers such as Mackie and Behringer. And I'm not a fan of the ergonomics of the Venice either.

 

But I have no problem with anything made by A&H, Soundcraft or Midas, and they will all do you well - the decision comes down to the feature set you need and your budget.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

We went with the GB8 32 and I have to say it is proving a good choice. It is an improvement on the GB4, and easy to find your way around more than quiet enough for our needs and it is nice and light to carry.

[Paul J Need]

One word - Midas!

[ianl]

I looked at this recently and bought a GB8 and am very happy with it

 

I compared the Midas Vienna, A+H GL3300 and Soundcraft GB8 which are all 8 bus

 

and in less depth the Midas venice, GL2200, GB4 which are all 4 bus

 

so my coments are more for the 8 bus but a lot is stilll relevant to the 4 bus

 

Midas: most expensive (by a long way), bigest, more spaced out, not many more features for the money but a slightly better build, paying for name?

 

A+H: middle price wise, ok, felt it was a bit old, stereo channels were an option to replace mono so if you bought a 24 with 4 stereo you only got 20 mono , they've bought out a new range to replace it

 

Soundcraft, latest design, cheapest desk, built in psu with socket for backup psu, small light easy to use, sort of a high quality spirit using better quality parts

 

 

I decided the midas was too expensive and the soundcraft was better for me than the A+H and slightly cheaper

[Mark Payne]

Here is a hint.....

 

Look at the price point of the new A&H GL2800 (8 Buss, 10 Aux, 4 Matrix) and have a think for 5 mins.......

 

If I were you I would be ordering one before Sept 1st 2005.

 

You have been warned.

 

PM me or call me at SF for more info (0118 969 0900).

 

Cheers

 

Mark

 

PS we will have cased second hand GL2400 and GL3300's avail as we move to GL2400 and GL2800's.... Also right now we can get the last of the new GL3300 and GL4000 at great deals. As I said PM or call me.

[northernaudioman]

Soundcraft have just launched the MH2 which looks like a lot of desk for the money ( making some assumptions on cost )....maybe worth a look or a call to check on price!

 

My vote for audio quality and reliability is with Midas despite the quirky layout of the Venice. In terms of facilities the A&H's are great ( the ML's seem very good value and the EQ is much better than the old GL's ) although I've had some really bad experiences with A&H of old which still taint my view of them - but the folks at A&H were always good at sorting any problems out in reasonable time. I had a GB4 on demo and it seemed like a nice board - EQ was OK, wasn't noisy, nice facilities - I guess they keep cost down by having them made in China - which can prove a problem long-term for spares and service.

 

My personal view is that any engineer will be happy with any of the above as long as it works and is well looked after. I'd much perfer to have a 10 year old desk in great working condition that has been lovingly cared for than the latest whatever that has an inch of dust on it with scratchy pots and faders.

 

In your situation I'd buy the A&H and spend any extra cash on good cabling!

[williamjones]

Digital boards are very nice, compact, lots of stuff built in and most people can work on them with a little instruction :(

 

I would second the comment on the Yamaha O1v 96, this is the baby brother to the DM1000, and IMO would be a better purchase than the 328, they retail for about £1200 but I'm sure its possible to get them for much less ;)

 

It also makes it nice and easy for if you decide to invest in a DM / PM series console at a later date as the Yamaha interface is more or less standard across these boards.

The studio manager software is also another nice feature, pre-programming your entire input/output patch and naming all the channels etc ready for a show and then loading it into the desk 5 minutes after arriving is very useful and saves a lot of time.

 

Just another thing, remember to add the potential cost of a flight case to any desk you consider buying ;)

[Chubby]

Nice bit of shameless self-pubilicty on behalf of the S/F by Mr Payne ! :(

I'm sure there is something in the rules about that.

Anyway Budget desk's

The Alan & Heath GL2800 is a great desk for the money and 10 auxes means you could use it as a monitor desk in the future if you upgrade to a slightly more expensive / fully featured front of house console at a later date.

I have just ordered a 40 channel version from Alan & heath which I have been told will not be available till September as the demand for these desks is far out stripping supply !

This isn't a problem as we intend to use it for our am-dram hires which happen over the christmas season but worth checking if your need is more pressing.

 

we also have three of the Midas (budget) range of desks the Venice,Vienna and the Siena.

These are fantastic desks that are very quiet and do sound better than the Alan & Heath desks which we have (GL3300 & ML4000).

Ok the baby venice has smaller faders and is a little cramped to look at however none of the enginners who have used it have ever had any thing to say about it other than praise for the eq and overall sound of the desk. Although if you intend to run monitors from FOH then the venice can be a little lacking in auxes.

 

I guess it's down to the market in which you intending to operate. Small local events which you are mixing then go for the Alan & Heath everytime. Event which you are supply the PA and meeting bands spec's and riders with visiting engineers think long and hard about the midas or Soundcraft options.