Recommend me a small/cheap mixer

[culturejam]

Mixing boards are something I've mostly ignored or avoided my entire life. 

As a consequence, I don't know much about them. What I do know comes primarily from using my old Tascam 424's in-built mixing functionality. It seems like a lot has changed over the past 10 years or so in the world of small and inexpensive mixers.

I will be getting a mixer in the very near term. I want to do better pedal demo recordings, and maybe some fun silly song projects. For mics, I have a SM57 and Sennheiser e609, so I feel like I've got that covered. I will be outputing to either Garageband on iPad or Reaper on a laptop. I also have an iRig Pro. I will not be using the mixer for any live performances.

So what would you guys recommend for a mixer? My budget is "as low as possible that will adequately get the job done", although I'd be willing to kick in a bit more for something that makes the overall process easier/faster/more convenient.

[culturejam]

I guess maybe a good starting question would be: Do I even need a dedicated mixer?

Could I use a mic preamp with multiple inputs to accomplish the same thing?

[oldhousescott]

I know we all tend to poo-poo Behringer stuff, but really, it's ideal for just this thing. They have several sub $100 models (some around $50 or so) with one or two (or more) mic preamps and simple high/low eq. Some even have USB with built-in converters that probably don't suck for what you're wanting to do. You'll get a nice, strong headphone output that way, and it will double as an audio interface.

[stecykmi]

scott makes a pretty good arguement. if you like the idea of a mixer that doubles as an audio interface, there are other boards on the market. makie, soundcraft, allen & heath all make comparable products.

[jtn191]

I agree with Scott too. An audio interface allows you to record multitracks at the same time. But if you're only looking to record two tracks, you could use any mixer--pan one track left, one right--and the stereo outs become track one and track two.

I'm selling my Tascam FW-1804 which is a Firewire interface (ports most commonly found on macs). It's a considerable step up from the M-Audio Fast Track Pro I had before. I'm trying to sell it for ~$150. I feel like it's a pretty good deal since the newest US-1200 is $200, same # of xlr inputs but fewer digital inputs.

http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=15782.0

[lincolnic]

Yeah, you're looking for an audio interface, not a mixer. Even if you got a mixer, you'd still need an interface to get your audio into your laptop - if you're only working with two mics at most, then a mixer would just be an unnecessary middleman. Most interfaces have two inputs anyway. Since you're recording digitally, you'll be mixing in your DAW anyway.

jtn191's FW-1804 looks like a good deal. At $150, that's probably a lot better than what you'll get elsewhere for the same price.

[miter53]

I have a Behringer Eurorack UB802 I've hardly ever used. $25 plus shipping. PM me...

[Morgan]

I have some sort of Behringer 2-channel mixer with a USB output that works great for pedal demos and track by track building of songs on a DAW. I choose to not worry about this stuff too much and just go with the cheapo Behringers.

I have a Behringer Eurorack UB802 I've hardly ever used. $25 plus shipping.

I'll happily take that off your hands if CJ doesn't want it. I could really use it for acoustic gigs.

[rullywowr]

I just got a Tascam US-366 and optional RC3F foot switch and couldn't be more pleased. Lots of I/O and the foot switch makes it easy to record play and stop. I like the fact I can use external preamps with it no problem. The preamps in the unit sound really clean as well.   Great value for the dough.

[peAk]

I prefer Mackie boards because I like how the each mute button also functions as an alt bus. I use this for recording to the DAW all the time.

As soon as I want to record something plugged into the board, I mute that channel, in then mutes it through the main board, sends it to an alt bus which is directly connected to my PC audio interface. No feedback loops.

The small Mackie boards are top notch, with great preamps, and really affordable.

[culturejam]

Okay, so if I get a small board like the Behringer or Mackie (http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/402VLZ4/), what's the I/O setup?

Two mics into the mixer, and then use the headphone out into either iRig or the sound card?

[rullywowr]

That would work but I feel that you are much better off getting a small two or more channel interface...this allows you to tweak the balance, panning, eq, etc all day long post recording.

[culturejam]

This Alesis cheapie looks perfect:
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MultiMix4USB/

2 XLR inputs and it has USB output. Not much in the way of frills, but I think it would do what I want.

[peAk]

This Alesis cheapie looks perfect:
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MultiMix4USB/

2 XLR inputs and it has USB output. Not much in the way of frills, but I think it would do what I want.

Looks pretty good. My only issue is the 16bit/44.1

Is this the highest it will record?

[culturejam]

I can only assume that if did have a higher mode, they would have listed that it instead.

This looks to be another option:
http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-Xenyx-Q802USB-Audio-Mixer/dp/B008O517IC/ref=sr_1_3?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1401716516&sr=1-3&keywords=behringer+mixer+usb

Good old Behringer.