Alesis Multimix 8 Line. 1u mixer for looping.

[andy butler <akbutler@tiscali.co.uk>]

Is this the ideal small mixer we've all been looking for?

Alesis Multimix 8 Line. 1u mixer for looping.
http://www.alesis.com/multimix8line.


Feature list and mini review.

features

All connections on 1/4 unbalanced jacks unless otherwise noted.
8 stereo/mono input channels,  vol, balance, fx send
*Stereo* FX send ( works with channel pan/balance, for each channel)
stereo FX return (with vol control)
Channel 1 switches to a mono microphone input, XLR, no phantom.
Main outs on balanced jacks with master vol.

..and some additional connections on *stereo* 1/4 in jacks
Monitor out...after master vol
Mix out ...before master vol
Input to main bus.
Input to fx bus.
(those last 3 are officially for daisy chaining 2 or more units).

Comments
1) stereo fx bus....that's very useful
2) seems well built, and sounds ok. Not noisy.
3) none of the controls has a 0dB calibration, which makes set up that 
much harder. ( the cheap Behringer
  stuff often has this). Not really a problem.
4) the mic input sounds good enough for live work with good full range 
response. Not for studio though, there's
  a distinctive quality/color to the transient response, and no 48V.
5) Mic pre-amp doesn't have an insert, and there's no way to make fx 
send pre fade. In simple terms
   this means you can't EQ the mic, or compress it. (and can't use my 
Vortex patches!)
6) the additional connectors  available give some scope for  extra 
routing, as long as you
    don't mind using Y-cables.
7) neither of the 2 additional outputs has an independent vol control, 
(such as would be useful for
   sending to Zoom H2 for recording)
8) there's no mixer schematic in the manual, it's printed on the top of 
the unit. Obviously
   when you rack the unit you no longer have the schematic which is the 
only way to see
   the mixer features at a glance.
9) Balanced outs means that you only need a couple of jack to XLR 
converters and
   you're able to say " I have my own DI box" to any sound engineer you 
encounter when playing live.
   This reduces their anxiety about how to deal with your complex setup 
to zero.
10) no official way to make sends pre-fade, which would make the unit 
much more usable.

Conclusion
Very nearly a neat way to route your looping gear, and add a microphone
with just a 1u unit.

If you don't need to use the mic-pre there's no real minus points to the 
mixer,
apart from lack of pre-fade sends.
Sound quality is easily good enough for live work.

Big disappointment is the implementation of the mic input. There's no way 
to
eq the mic, so unless you want a flat response, and have a dynamic mic that
will give that you can't really this mixer. Using with an SM58, for 
instance, will
just give you that unclear boxy sound which is normally filtered out at 
the desk.
So, probably ok for announcements that no-one understands.
I'm ok, I have a Sennheiser 421 which works very well for feeding assorted
acoustic sounds into the loops (on the fx send), but those aren't exactly
cheap.
Generally, anyone looking to add a mic to their setup ( or to remove a 
mic-pre
to save weight/space) is going to be frustrated.

Further investigation.
It must be possible to mod this unit so that there's a way to eq( or 
Vortex)  the mic.
but no service sheet available.

I emailed Alesis tech support, US *and* UK and was sent a pair of 
automated responses
promising a reply within 2 days....about a week ago.





andy butler