Mixer for Production

A

Alyosha33

Member
Hey guys,

I'm going to be shooting a digital feature on an HVX in the next few months and I'm going to have to be buying all new sound equipment. What do you all feel is the best mixing board for around $1000? Also, would a field mixer such as a Wendt be acceptable?
 
Alyosha, there are lots of different options for you. Oleg/Exile/George's suggestions are always excellent, and his options give you a "baggable" mixer that you can use for ENG style work.

I use a Mackie 1202 right now. This gives me the flexibility of up to 12 inputs of various types (though only 4 XLR/phantom powered). But, it is not battery powered, so you will always need power for it.

On another group, people have been talking about the Yamaha mixers. These are starting to make their way into "professional" feature production and cost significantly less than the standard Cooper and/or Sonosax mixers.

Another thing to consider is who is going to do your post mix. If you're going to do it yourself, you may want to look at a mixer like the Mackie Onyx series, with the added firewire option. You can then use it on location, as well as with your DAW.

Phil
 
good suggestion if you work with ac power , if not you will need dc to ac converter and about 2/3 33 amp batteries to keep it alive for production day .
 
Also there is a battery powered Behringer mixer that was talked about on the CAS site and has gotten some decent recommendations from seasoned pros. It's phantom power is low so you may need to use a separate inline power supply if that's an issue for you, but the mixer is under $100. I did not like the only PSC mixer I ever used so ... Sound Devices also makes mixers that would cover you but they are not cheap. Rolls also makes a field mixer that looked interesting but I hear rumors that it's noisy, which should be a deal breaker.
SK
 
Noiz, I have the Behringer 1002 (it was the first mixer I had). I thought it was fine until I went to the Mackie. Then I understood why people call it a noisy mixer. With the Mackie, it was like there was nothing there. I cannot recommend the Behringer to anyone (and no, I don't consider myself anywhere near as experienced as a CAS member...but with the experience I had, I'd say pass). If you really need a battery operated mixer, go with a used Shure FP series. I picked up a used FP42 for a good price on eBay, and while it is not as quiet as my Mackie, it is still silent compared to my Behringer.

Phil
 
also tried the behringers... dont like them at all and wouldnt recommend them. phils right, when you try a mackie afterwards, you never want to touch that behringer again. :)

my film school somehow got tricked into buying 4 of them last year. we had them for about 2 weeks, everyone complained, and now they just have SD stuff.

I think they gave the behringers to the music department... heh heh, silly live performers.. :)
 
Interesting. I hadn't used one myself, though I almost bought one the other day. The person I heard say they were OK I have a lot of respect for so I wonder if it might have to do with gain structure? If he was using a much hotter mic or using it for wireless and going in line level that would probably make a difference. Sounds like I would not be happy with it, I find the Shure's to be a bit noisy. I wonder if you could wire the Mackie for battery power ?
SK
 
Frankly, Behringer mixers suck. They are really noisy.

Wendt mixers are also VERY noisy for an expensive field mixer. For $1000 I'd get a Mackie Onyx 1620. They are actually a lot less than $1000, but are AC only, and are kinda big, so you would need a sizable cart to put it on.

-Dave
 
I can second the Yamaha suggestion... great sound at a small price, with a few fewer FEATURES than the Mackies (direct outs, etc)... but probably not features you'll need in sound-for-video field production. I use a 16/6FX on big productions; but the 10/2 is pretty popular and has the same sound quality. You may want to jump up a level to one of the ones (12/2, maybe) with faders instead of knobs if that suits your mixing style better. And, yes, you need some AC...
 
So, would I be better off with a field mixer or something more like a Mackie? We only have 5 ext. locations which will take up about 3 days shooting time. However, if since the Mackies aren't battery powered, this could pose a problem (no generator). Clearly the Mackie gives more control and have less noise. What is a writer/director/producer/dp/editor/hand holder to do? Ha, well if my investor backs out nothing! Because then I'm like Spike Lee says he would have been if "She's Gotta Have It" didn't work out...selling tube socks on a street corner in Brooklyn!
 
okay so why can 99 dollars buy you a great yamaha but it takes 1000 dollars to get a good sound devices 302? what gives? i don't get the math.
 
why dvx cost 3g and cina alta 110( with lase) , basically they do the same

grate yamaha cost more and there is more musicians out there:-)
not the same product - not the same customer market
 
Alyosha33 said:
So, would I be better off with a field mixer or something more like a Mackie? We only have 5 ext. locations which will take up about 3 days shooting time. However, if since the Mackies aren't battery powered, this could pose a problem (no generator). Clearly the Mackie gives more control and have less noise. What is a writer/director/producer/dp/editor/hand holder to do? Ha, well if my investor backs out nothing! Because then I'm like Spike Lee says he would have been if "She's Gotta Have It" didn't work out...selling tube socks on a street corner in Brooklyn!
Click to expand...

as ai said you can go for mackie ounix - but you will need rent some dc butteries and invertor for few days -
 
Basically, the Sound Devices units are intended for a much more specific use and a smaller market. You wouldn't want to strap the Yamaha on your body somewhere like you can the SD units. But most Yamaha customers wouldn't want to do that. So, there will always be fewer SDs around, and less economy of scale. I won't say a word about typical film industry pricing.
 
Also... before even THINKING about an inverter... see what the output of the mixer's power block is, and just try to supply that as DC.
 
in a word, yes.

and people may very well disagree with me and be totally right, but i think the sound devices pre amps are better than low-mid range mackies. keep in mind also that these mixers will do T powering, line up tone, have adaptable display and metering systems, feature input and output limiters and in general are "purpose built" machines for digital video production.

these are features that a lot of "music-centric" AC power mixers wont have because they werent designed for it, so its not quite JUST a portable mixer, althought it IS that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top