Should you buy a digital mixer?

In this video we will ask the question 'Should you buy a digital mixer?'

We will discuss the pros and cons of buying a digital mixer for your church and find out if it is the right step for you? We will look at the mixing desks but we will consider digital stage boxes too and the benefits of a digital stage box vs analogue stage boxes too.

0:00 - Intro
2:20 - Is a digital mixing desk better quality than an analogue mixing desk?
2:26 - Does a digital mixer give you more connectivity?
3:04 - How big is a digital mixing desk?
6:49 - How do you control a digital mixing desk?
8:27 - How do you install a digital mixing desk?
9:27 - How easy is it to switch to a digital mixing desk?
10:42 - How much does a digital mixing desk cost?
12:16 - Digital stage boxes.
14:24 - How to setup complex audio networks.
16:24 - Should you buy a digital mixing desk?

[PluggedinAV]

Thanks everyone for your comments. I have had one comment come up many times on this video (some put more politely than others) and maybe I need to address it quickly. So I made an assumption when making this video which is that on this channel I make videos about CHURCH TECH. Now many of you are absolutely right, if I spend tens of thousands of pounds on an SSL or something similar it will be better than most other mixers but not many churches have that kind of budget. Most churches are looking at mixers for under £10k and probably the vast majority are looking under £5k. Also, most churches are doing live sound rather than studio engineering. Now when we apply these factors, I stand by what I said, a digital mixing desk is the way to go. I have never heard an analogue mixer (for under £5k) that sounds anywhere near as good as a digital one.
I hope that clears that up.

A huge thanks to everyone who has watched this video. Do you think I should make an update for 2022?

[brianlebrun]

I've been an analog guy since the '80s. That changed 2 1/2 years ago when I started running an A&H SQ7 in church. My personal mixer for my performances was a Mackie analog board. About 2 or 3 months ago I found a Presonus 16.4.2 AI and it's a game changer. Last night's performance had me using my old board plugged into a house system. I control the mix and they control the volume. I used the Mackie since it's a lighter, smaller footprint and I don't need the bells and whistles. The biggest difference I heard was in the tonal quality or lack of in the monitors. With the digital board I can control all aspects of tone in everything whereas in the Mackie it's fairly limited. The only issue I had switching to digital was reaction to what I was hearing. With an analog board I know exactly where to go to fix an issue but with the digital board I had to think first and then react. That's changed in a short amount of time. No regrets at all switching.

[timbeaton]

Well, I bought an Allen & Heath QU 16 in 2016. Never looked back!

[DenseStarburst]

This channel is heavily slept on. The abundance of information in every video is so valuable. Please keep it up :)

[asilva_media]

at my church we have an A&H avantis for front of house and a sq6 in broadcast, slink is really awesome compared to what we had before!

[joesalyers]

It depends on the desk. I use Digital mixers for live work since it gives me flexibility for monitor mixes but most digital desks have a super slow workflow, but the size and weight make it more practical to use them for live music. But in my studio I still use a large format console for tracking. I use the Soundcraft MH2 which is a 48 mono 4 stereo 56 channel desk with 10 to 18 monitor mixes depending on what I need and a 4 band EQ with variable high pass filter. It gives me a ton of mic preamps and I can work way faster since each channel is right in front of me. I have direct outs on each channel which can be recorded Pre EQ or Post fader depending on which you want. Also a good analog console will impart some mojo to the track being captured. Now I personally like my digital mixers I have the Presonus Studio Live 32S and a rack mounted Presonus series 3 24R as well as a Midas M32. Both of those digital desks are great for live work since I don't need a cargo van to take them to live events. But in the studio they just slow you down in the studio in my opinion compared to an analog desk with similar specs. But each have their benefits and downsides. But in the budget area under say $2000 you should just get a digital mixer. For Live music digital will be better, but in the studio it's a different story. If you are tracking bands the ability to capture everything correctly at the source is a huge benefit, plus good analog EQ is really hard to beat even with the newest digital technology. So their are Pros and cons to both and it's up to you which one you shold get because only you know what kind of setup you want.

[aungkhin]

Really valuable comparison pointed out. Thanks.

[derkhedemann]

what most analoge mixing console factory manufacturers still don't understand. is that most home studios don't want a mixer with the input and output on the top but just on the back side.
it can't be that difficult to build the input and output at the back. and with the on and off switch and the 48 volt phantom power at the top of the mixer.
so you can hide those ugly cables nicely and neatly.

[XIIMonkeysMusicGroup]

I just upgraded my digital Allen & Heath QU-16 to a PreSonus 32R. Loving the flexibility!

[kvmoore]

Years ago, I went for a Tascam M3700 32 channel analog console to a Tascam DM4800 all digital console and never looked back. The audio quality of the DM4800 was superb!!! I could really hear the difference in my recordings.

Because of the fact I had to move into a smaller space more recently, I no longer have room of a console. As a result, I've sold the DM4800 and upgraded to a more streamlined and more flexible computer-based system with new MOTU rack hardware interfaces/DSP mixers, which I am very happy with.

I will never go back to an anolog mixer for studio use, of course, unless I was rich enough where I could afford a multimilliondollar studio facility and a nice new state-of-the-art SSL console. However, that's not the case.

[XIIMonkeysMusicGroup]

My church has a tiny budget. I'm selling them my QU-16 at a discount, and upgrade from their current analog Soundcraft 12 channel mixer, the sale is going through the red tape now.

[Pharesm]

I ended up with an SQ5 mixer, which I bought for a concert tour, and it arrived right when Covid started and concerts were no more a possibility. Without concerts and income, the operator didn't stick around, and ever since I've tried to figure out the routings - really not needing more than the 16 tracks that have faders. But even those 16, I could not figure out how to route them to my DAW... I likely misconfigured it to the point where it needs a reset :p

Maybe you can make a video explaining the more basic operation of the SQ5?
I still can't use it and considering a Tascam Model 16, which is a digital mixer with a surface that looks and works like an analog mixer... Obviously, the audio quality is not going to match the high end circuitry and FX capabilities...

[danielho]

Thank you for your overview. I agree on 90% of what you say. I only disagree with the sound quality. My church upgraded from a $700 Yamaha analog mixer to a $2500 TF3. The sound engineer needed 2 years to get the sound from a 3/10 to 7/10 (on my scale). It took me 2 months to get the analog board from a 5/10 to an 8/10. The fact is that it takes much longer to get the sound "dialed-in" on a digital board than on an analog board. With a standard 4-knob parametric EQ, I can get the sound dialed-in in 30 seconds max. With the digital board, it takes about 3 min. I am also disappointed that newer sound engineers don't rely on their ears and instead look at the iPad and assume everything "looks good" instead of "sounding good".

[elpretochines]

this video convinced me to purchase a digital mixer. i have an analogue mixer, yamaha mg10ux and i love it but i believe going for digital is a good move. what is the best affordable digital mixer in your opinion? i'm currently looking at "Presonus StudioLive 16.0.2 USB", "Behringer X32 Compact
" or "Allen & Heath Qu-16 Chrome
"

[derekholife]

We upgrade from an gl2800-840 to an sq7 and we didn’t find a noticeable increase in audio quality. The biggest thing added is effects and the ability to create scenes between different services. A proper setup imo shouldn’t have a difference in analog vs digital sound quality. The main pro is added creativity in workflow and the ability to do some cool digital things. Training older volunteers between analogue and digital can be very hard.

[FuturoAnacronico]

digital mixers are great for live situations, but for recording or mixing, nowadays you have many choices that dont make them really a must have. DAWS and audio interfaces are super low latency these days.

[Zazquatch]

How about home studio setup? is it worth it. I like the layouts on the Presonus Studio Live III series as well as the Behringer X32 and Midas 32M. The Behringer WING is a big but very price worthy. Using these both as recording as well as DAW hands on controllers.

[michaelrice]

About the quality thing i find that a good analog desk with give your music a great amount of depth and width to your music that you cant get out of all digital. Also it gives your signal some nice harmonics that will really smoothen out that digital sharpness and adds some nice warmth. So while you say the digital sounds better it does, but its so sharp and precise that its often displeasing to the ear. Thats why we see all these plugins that come out trying to emulate old hardware and console sounds to try and give that warmth and smoothness but it is definitely not there and like is said the depth and warmth you get just running it through the desk is something the computer can not even come close to emulating!

[Mtaalas]

x32 producer costing what it doies, it's a no brainer to go digital. x32 really is an awesome piece of kit for it's price even if it's not the shiniest or the best sounding out there... Wing is already a SERIOUSLY great piece of kit for any use... though more expensive.
They just increased the channel delays to 500ms max for version 1.12. that makes it really serious piece of broadcasting equipment...

[undercrownhiphop]

I do reggae so I need good spring reverb, tape delay, analog delays, good multi band distortion for bass and side chain compressors. What digital desk has these in the best sound quality?