Your best bet would be to go to a local music store with a decent reputation for selling good merchandise. I'm not sure where you're located, but in America chain stores like Guitar Center are good bets.
You ask about used mixers - unfortunately things like volume / fader tracks are the things that wear out and go crackly or even cause intermittent sound. I really wouldn't buy a second-hand one without being able to put it through its paces. Plug something into each input and try out all the controls - eq, channel gain, channel fader, any aux sends - and check that there are no crackles or loss of signal when you adjust them. To be able to hear problems, you need ideally to use a continuous sound such as a flute / organ - then you will spot any problems quickly. You would need some time (at least a minute or two per channel) to try out all the controls on the desk. Only then would I consider purchase - and to be honest, I don't think I'd ever buy a used mixer.
...so if you are detemined to buy used, buy from somewhere where you can try it out and take it back if any faults appear in the first week or so - ie, NOT ebay!!
I only buy new from music stores but I own a lot of second hand gear. Musical gear is like a car. As soon as it leaves the shop it's worth less than 60% of the original. I think one should take the posters location into account, there's not a lot around where she lives plus Craigslist for the GTA is a very good self regulated buy and sell place. Gear falsely advertised rarely happens and is pounced on by the community when it does. Only an idiot buys a piece of gear without checking it out first and only idiots put crap/stolen gear up for sale on Craigslist around here. In all the years that I've used the list I've never heard of a single stolen item going up for sale around the GTA, that's not to say that it hasn't happened though. Gear is so cheap (and better) these days for young musicians starting out anyways.
Hi guess who!!
WHAT are powered mixers? I am clueless,unless they are some sort of music gear[what's the word?????????].
Anyway you will hear more from the dump ox later.
Stay Dialed.........Dialed.hehehe,
Fiddle95[aka LAME-O [SP????] ]
in a PA setup for playing at a club, you have basically a power amp, speakers, crossovers, and a mixing board.
For a small set up like for a folk group, you can use a mixing board with a power amp built into it. It just saves you having to carry around and set up another piece of gear.
As I said, I like the powered speakers with built in crossovers (crossovers make sure the low signals go to your big speakers and the high frequency signals go to your tweeters)
then all I need are the two powered speakers, a small mixing board, and cables.
Lots of variables... how many channels do you need, how many will play, how many inputs will each person need. How large an audience, do you need effects beyond simple bass, treble and reverb, what's your budget, how large is the place you play in, what are the acoustics like.... will you need just a bit of a boost or way more?
You can get by really simply and have crystal clear sound or you can get very complex which sometimes may make matters worse....depends who is running it and how experienced they are etc. There is a bit of a learning curve in the beginning but it's not rocket science on a small set up.
We've run most of our IAANJ concerts thus far using my portable Peavey Escort setup, it was about $639 new and is a workhorse. We have a medium to large hall, high ceilings can hold up to about 120 people. We try to maintain a natural acoustic sound as much as possible, which this system allows with brilliant sound, even just running at 2/3 of its capacity, never have used it 100% capacity yet, but need a boost in volume for a packed hall, and some EQ, some performers like more reverb that others, or bass or treble. The only drawback was that it has only four inputs, which made it necessary to sometimes get ahold of a second mixer to piggyback onto it. A bit of a pain, but do-able. Also the RCA connections are on a so called fifth channel, so you can record off the PA of plug in a CD player to play music between sets if you like, but it's not a real channel for instruments or mikes.... so be careful to ask, when something says 5 channel or whatever, that all are capable of being used for a mike or pickup. Just good to clarify that.
The IAANJ is about to buy an in house system, and there is a pretty tight budget, but still i would only buy new, warranteed, and preferably locally, at a place that is also an authorized repair center that will honor the warranty. The salesperson worked with our budget and while there was nothing in the store in the price range ready to go, he put a package together to order (which I can try before I buy, which is a great comfort) that comes out to a little over $700 (mikes/stands not included, we'll get them down the line and use mine in the meanwhile), it's a name brand, Peavey, I am quite happy with Peavy products, powered mixer, 8 channel, phantom power (in case travelling musicians bring their own condenser mikes which they often do) which I think is important to have just in case. No bells and whistles on the effects we will never use, just the bass, treble and reverb.
if anything goes wrong with this, it can get back to the shop in 20 minutes and they fix it within days, or if you have a concert, they will get it ready on time. There is a FIVE year warranty, Peavey is, they say UL rated, passed a bunch of good tests! Don't ask, I don't know what they are... but it's a little more security. Shipping these systems for repair is nasty, even just the mixer, will cost a mint to ship... powered mixers are very heavy. Musiciansfriend.com is a good bunch too, with good prices and usually free shipping, and you have 45 day returns allowed, inn case you can't buy locally. I looked there first, and the store that is local actually put together a better system for our needs for the same price. It pays to ask.
So that's my two cents... before you buy used, which is risky, and no recourse if it goes bad, find a big music shop and don't just look at's what is on the floor. Tell them what you need and what your budget is. Get the warranty, and find if it can be repaired in house, and how quickly, usually preference is given to working musicians, so ask about that too.
These systems do sometimes break if lugged around enough. My Escort has one speaker that likes to not work right.... I think I finally have it fixed for good though, learned to fix non powered speakers myself and always carry the phillips head screwdriver just in case....pretty straightforward, usually just a wire that comes loose in bouncing around in the car. The mixer, I would not attempt fixing it.
I can't praise the Escort enough though if all you need is a simple four channel mixer and two good speakers. It all snaps together as one unit. The only extra you need to carry is a bag of mikes and stands. Actually it does have room inside for four mikes,,,, so the stands are extra. Event he speaker poles snap into the case.
I had a chance to buy one used, right before I got mine, but figured it unwise to save $150, especially not knowing why the person was getting rid of it. The warranty is worth it. The worst thing is finding it's not working right before a gig.
Some larger music stores carry used gear, maybe they warranty and repair it, so worth asking about that too. I looked and the savings were not so great honestly.
Well, we were looking for a 16 channel board. We use about 7 to 8 voice microphones, 1 piano, 4 fiddles, and a guitar. Our gigs are generally pretty small, 100 to 200 people on average. And no, we don't need all the effects. We are willing to pay a fair sum knowing the size of the machine, also it will probably last us quite a while, so the money will hopefully be well spent.
Sounds like you have quite a few people performing and would need 14 / 16 channels. That's not going to be cheap to start with, and if you are thinking of (maybe in future) using foldback speakers, make sure it has enough aux sends. But at the beginning of this thread you were asking about a "used" mixer, then you say you are prepared to pay a "fair sum". Not sure what you mean by that, but it seriously sounds to me as if you need to do your research now.
Why not find someone who is in a similar-size band so you can get a feel for the pros and cons of the equipment they chose? We're a 7-piece and have about 19/20 channels in use - we bought a mackie which has 6 aux sends and even that's a tiny bit limiting. It just about works for us. There is probably not one perfect solution for what you want.
I'd echo also what Iris says above - it's the pits if your gear doesn't work just before a gig. Are you really willing to risk the consequences of that?
Thanks,
Well originally we were looking for a slightly used one. But after discovering maybe we shouldn't, we decided against that. We were looking at the name mackie, is it a good name? We had one that we wanted to buy, but we live in Canada, and they only ship to the states. So ........... our dilemma!!
I'm sure others will have opinions, but we had a Soundcraft desk before we got our Mackie, and the Mackie sounds better and has loads more flexibility. I was a bit skeptical about the whole business of desks "sounding different" but the Mackie is way more forgiving of bad fader settings and... yes, does produce a better sound! And that's more important if you're relying on amplification, since the amplification is a crucial part of your band's sound. We bought the Mackie also because of the number of foldbacks we could set up: without foldback, often the audience could hear us way better than we could hear ourselves, which is a recipe for musical disaster! We did as it happens, buy ours over the web but only after a great deal of research into quality / channels / no of outputs, etc.
PS our Mackie isn't powered - so we have separate amps for the main speakers and bass bins. But having said that, we think it's absolutely great and it's really helped the quality of our performances.
powered mixers?
powered mixers?
Hi,
What would be the best place to buy used powered mixers? To perform Irish Music!!!!!
Thanks,
Dialed
# Posted on August 9th 2008 by Dialed4Life
Re: powered mixers?
Craigslist. Although I'm sure many here are of the opinion that Irish music sounds much better unamplified.
# Posted on August 9th 2008 by Patkiwi
Re: powered mixers?
I was thinking cake mixers
# Posted on August 9th 2008 by bazouki dave and the real tooty flutey
Re: powered mixers?
Your best bet would be to go to a local music store with a decent reputation for selling good merchandise. I'm not sure where you're located, but in America chain stores like Guitar Center are good bets.
# Posted on August 10th 2008 by rob_handel
Re: powered mixers?
if buying a powermixer i would suggest the Dynacord Powermate models..
# Posted on August 10th 2008 by S.Doherty
Re: powered mixers?
You ask about used mixers - unfortunately things like volume / fader tracks are the things that wear out and go crackly or even cause intermittent sound. I really wouldn't buy a second-hand one without being able to put it through its paces. Plug something into each input and try out all the controls - eq, channel gain, channel fader, any aux sends - and check that there are no crackles or loss of signal when you adjust them. To be able to hear problems, you need ideally to use a continuous sound such as a flute / organ - then you will spot any problems quickly. You would need some time (at least a minute or two per channel) to try out all the controls on the desk. Only then would I consider purchase - and to be honest, I don't think I'd ever buy a used mixer.
# Posted on August 10th 2008 by Mark Harmer
Re: powered mixers?
...so if you are detemined to buy used, buy from somewhere where you can try it out and take it back if any faults appear in the first week or so - ie, NOT ebay!!
# Posted on August 10th 2008 by Mark Harmer
Re: powered mixers?
I agree with Mark Harmer, thats why I suggested a good music shop over something like CraigsList, where there are no guarantees on products.
# Posted on August 10th 2008 by rob_handel
Re: powered mixers?
I only buy new from music stores but I own a lot of second hand gear. Musical gear is like a car. As soon as it leaves the shop it's worth less than 60% of the original. I think one should take the posters location into account, there's not a lot around where she lives plus Craigslist for the GTA is a very good self regulated buy and sell place. Gear falsely advertised rarely happens and is pounced on by the community when it does. Only an idiot buys a piece of gear without checking it out first and only idiots put crap/stolen gear up for sale on Craigslist around here. In all the years that I've used the list I've never heard of a single stolen item going up for sale around the GTA, that's not to say that it hasn't happened though. Gear is so cheap (and better) these days for young musicians starting out anyways.
# Posted on August 10th 2008 by Patkiwi
Re: powered mixers?
I prefer to use powered speakers, not a powered mixing board.
It's still a compact rig. I use a 14 channel club style mixing board and two JBL powered cabinets, and two speaker stands.
I can plug everything into the board, and then plug the board into the speakers, and I'm done.
so I use JBL powered speakers. I've had mine for about 7 years now. Rock solid and never any problems.
# Posted on August 11th 2008 by Nate Ryan
Re: powered mixers?
Hi guess who!!
WHAT are powered mixers? I am clueless,unless they are some sort of music gear[what's the word?????????].
Anyway you will hear more from the dump ox later.
Stay Dialed.........Dialed.hehehe,
Fiddle95[aka LAME-O [SP????] ]
# Posted on August 11th 2008 by Fiddle95
Re: powered mixers?
Sorry that would be 'dumB' not 'dumP'
Later
# Posted on August 11th 2008 by Fiddle95
Re: powered mixers?
in a PA setup for playing at a club, you have basically a power amp, speakers, crossovers, and a mixing board.
For a small set up like for a folk group, you can use a mixing board with a power amp built into it. It just saves you having to carry around and set up another piece of gear.
As I said, I like the powered speakers with built in crossovers (crossovers make sure the low signals go to your big speakers and the high frequency signals go to your tweeters)
then all I need are the two powered speakers, a small mixing board, and cables.
# Posted on August 11th 2008 by Nate Ryan
Re: powered mixers?
Hey Christine,
Well a powered mixer is the sound board that all the microphones and speakers get plugged into. No, your not dumb!! Welllll.......... (just kidding!!)
Always,
Dialed
# Posted on August 11th 2008 by Dialed4Life
Re: powered mixers?
Lots of variables... how many channels do you need, how many will play, how many inputs will each person need. How large an audience, do you need effects beyond simple bass, treble and reverb, what's your budget, how large is the place you play in, what are the acoustics like.... will you need just a bit of a boost or way more?
You can get by really simply and have crystal clear sound or you can get very complex which sometimes may make matters worse....depends who is running it and how experienced they are etc. There is a bit of a learning curve in the beginning but it's not rocket science on a small set up.
We've run most of our IAANJ concerts thus far using my portable Peavey Escort setup, it was about $639 new and is a workhorse. We have a medium to large hall, high ceilings can hold up to about 120 people. We try to maintain a natural acoustic sound as much as possible, which this system allows with brilliant sound, even just running at 2/3 of its capacity, never have used it 100% capacity yet, but need a boost in volume for a packed hall, and some EQ, some performers like more reverb that others, or bass or treble. The only drawback was that it has only four inputs, which made it necessary to sometimes get ahold of a second mixer to piggyback onto it. A bit of a pain, but do-able. Also the RCA connections are on a so called fifth channel, so you can record off the PA of plug in a CD player to play music between sets if you like, but it's not a real channel for instruments or mikes.... so be careful to ask, when something says 5 channel or whatever, that all are capable of being used for a mike or pickup. Just good to clarify that.
The IAANJ is about to buy an in house system, and there is a pretty tight budget, but still i would only buy new, warranteed, and preferably locally, at a place that is also an authorized repair center that will honor the warranty. The salesperson worked with our budget and while there was nothing in the store in the price range ready to go, he put a package together to order (which I can try before I buy, which is a great comfort) that comes out to a little over $700 (mikes/stands not included, we'll get them down the line and use mine in the meanwhile), it's a name brand, Peavey, I am quite happy with Peavy products, powered mixer, 8 channel, phantom power (in case travelling musicians bring their own condenser mikes which they often do) which I think is important to have just in case. No bells and whistles on the effects we will never use, just the bass, treble and reverb.
if anything goes wrong with this, it can get back to the shop in 20 minutes and they fix it within days, or if you have a concert, they will get it ready on time. There is a FIVE year warranty, Peavey is, they say UL rated, passed a bunch of good tests! Don't ask, I don't know what they are... but it's a little more security. Shipping these systems for repair is nasty, even just the mixer, will cost a mint to ship... powered mixers are very heavy. Musiciansfriend.com is a good bunch too, with good prices and usually free shipping, and you have 45 day returns allowed, inn case you can't buy locally. I looked there first, and the store that is local actually put together a better system for our needs for the same price. It pays to ask.
So that's my two cents... before you buy used, which is risky, and no recourse if it goes bad, find a big music shop and don't just look at's what is on the floor. Tell them what you need and what your budget is. Get the warranty, and find if it can be repaired in house, and how quickly, usually preference is given to working musicians, so ask about that too.
These systems do sometimes break if lugged around enough. My Escort has one speaker that likes to not work right.... I think I finally have it fixed for good though, learned to fix non powered speakers myself and always carry the phillips head screwdriver just in case....pretty straightforward, usually just a wire that comes loose in bouncing around in the car. The mixer, I would not attempt fixing it.
I can't praise the Escort enough though if all you need is a simple four channel mixer and two good speakers. It all snaps together as one unit. The only extra you need to carry is a bag of mikes and stands. Actually it does have room inside for four mikes,,,, so the stands are extra. Event he speaker poles snap into the case.
I had a chance to buy one used, right before I got mine, but figured it unwise to save $150, especially not knowing why the person was getting rid of it. The warranty is worth it. The worst thing is finding it's not working right before a gig.
Some larger music stores carry used gear, maybe they warranty and repair it, so worth asking about that too. I looked and the savings were not so great honestly.
# Posted on August 12th 2008 by irisnevins
Re: powered mixers?
Well, we were looking for a 16 channel board. We use about 7 to 8 voice microphones, 1 piano, 4 fiddles, and a guitar. Our gigs are generally pretty small, 100 to 200 people on average. And no, we don't need all the effects. We are willing to pay a fair sum knowing the size of the machine, also it will probably last us quite a while, so the money will hopefully be well spent.
Thanks everyone for all you suggestions!!
Dialed
# Posted on August 12th 2008 by Dialed4Life
Re: powered mixers?
Sounds like you have quite a few people performing and would need 14 / 16 channels. That's not going to be cheap to start with, and if you are thinking of (maybe in future) using foldback speakers, make sure it has enough aux sends. But at the beginning of this thread you were asking about a "used" mixer, then you say you are prepared to pay a "fair sum". Not sure what you mean by that, but it seriously sounds to me as if you need to do your research now.
Why not find someone who is in a similar-size band so you can get a feel for the pros and cons of the equipment they chose? We're a 7-piece and have about 19/20 channels in use - we bought a mackie which has 6 aux sends and even that's a tiny bit limiting. It just about works for us. There is probably not one perfect solution for what you want.
I'd echo also what Iris says above - it's the pits if your gear doesn't work just before a gig. Are you really willing to risk the consequences of that?
# Posted on August 17th 2008 by Mark Harmer
Re: powered mixers?
Thanks,
Well originally we were looking for a slightly used one. But after discovering maybe we shouldn't, we decided against that. We were looking at the name mackie, is it a good name? We had one that we wanted to buy, but we live in Canada, and they only ship to the states. So ........... our dilemma!!
Dialed
# Posted on August 18th 2008 by Dialed4Life
Re: powered mixers?
I'm sure others will have opinions, but we had a Soundcraft desk before we got our Mackie, and the Mackie sounds better and has loads more flexibility. I was a bit skeptical about the whole business of desks "sounding different" but the Mackie is way more forgiving of bad fader settings and... yes, does produce a better sound! And that's more important if you're relying on amplification, since the amplification is a crucial part of your band's sound. We bought the Mackie also because of the number of foldbacks we could set up: without foldback, often the audience could hear us way better than we could hear ourselves, which is a recipe for musical disaster! We did as it happens, buy ours over the web but only after a great deal of research into quality / channels / no of outputs, etc.
# Posted on August 19th 2008 by Mark Harmer
Re: powered mixers?
PS our Mackie isn't powered - so we have separate amps for the main speakers and bass bins. But having said that, we think it's absolutely great and it's really helped the quality of our performances.
# Posted on August 19th 2008 by Mark Harmer