Karaoke Forums

I'm a new KJ starting out and although I would "LOVE" to purchase a Mackie 12 mixer, it is out of my price range... can anyone recommend something with high quality but not such a high price? Thanks a bunch!

Have you loked at YAHMAHA? I am using a YAMAHA system and I love it!

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Where do we go, where do we go now?- GNR

Look at the Behringer Eurorack 1832FX Pro, price around $229, 6 mic channels, 4 stereo inputs, onboard effects..... it's A mixer with lots of features

Depends on what your price range is. I looked at a Mackie 808 the other day and really liked it. Have a buddy that has a new catalog from another mfg, that I'm going to check out before making a decision, but really did like that one.

Behringer 1832 best value and features for the money dont know how a mackie could be any better

Mainly the components, pre-amps, & overall sound quality in general. Pay for good stuff, that's what you get!
Pay for junk, that's basically what you get. Behringer falls into that catagory. They use cheap components which wear quick &/or fails altogether. Their pre-amps aren't as clear & tend to distort faster if driven to overdrive (which can tend to happen in karaoke, especially without a compressor). Pay for quality the first time & you generally won't go wrong.
I know some of you swear by them (which is partly why I gave them a 2nd look), but everyone that I know (including myself) that have used them have had nothing but bad luck with them. Kind of rate them a little higher than VocoPro because while their stuff sucks, it doesn't break the bank when it goes bad like VP!

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I've heard the neg's before, but I'm very pleased with my Behringer DX-1000. Yeah, it was marketed as a DJ mixer, but it works for me.

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Sounds Great! Entertainment
Bartlett, Illinois

the 2 best priced and MOST reliable for the money are the Mackie & Yahama Mixers. Now if ya want a "get ya by" mixer and quality isn't an issue than Behringer will do. Alesis also has a small rack mixer too, but I don't know it's price.

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Brian D.
(BHB)

which Yamaha mixer(s) do you recommend? Thanks everyone!

Am I missing something here? The Behringer 1832 costs $230.00. The Macke DFX12 costs $240.00. If you go into your music store, you surely can get a better price. For a person starting out it seems that the Mackie would be the route to go. I had one experience with Behringer and the mixer was noisy and would not reproduce any high frequencies. The cabs were the heaviest 12" cabinets (made out of MDF) I had ever lifted. I promptly returned it all and never looked back. Quality always wins over bells and whistles.

I too have been guilty of buying something because it offered so much for so little money. I have learned the hard way that there is a trade-off. Quality! In the long run it is cheaper to buy what you really want in the first place. If it is out of reach get less features, but stay with quality. If you cannot live with less features save up.

If you check with some of the on-line retailers that offer "b" stock and open box items, you will see a lot of Behringer and Nady gear. There is a reason why people return them.

That's my experience. Others have had great success with Behringer stuff.

Yahama makes an MG series.. not a bad mixer at all..

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Brian D.
(BHB)

Sometimes it's not a bad idea to grab a good "used" board. I happen to have two Gemini KM707's. One on my rack, and one," just in case"!
What I really like about this particular board is the three mic channels with independent treble, bass, and echo. Plus it has an onboard key controller, reverb, and surround capabilities. More importantly, Gemini really stands behind their products. Unfortunately, Gemini at this time doesn't make a true KJ mixer, but I have been in contact with them and word is they might be getting ready to blow VOCOPRO off the planet. Don't buy a VOCOPRO board. Bottom line is, They're junk. I had purchased a model 7000 and the digital key changer jumped all over god's creation. I finally got them to admit that there was a problem (I have the emails to prove it) but they didn't think it was "significant enough" to warrant a re-design of that particular cicuit or replace the chip. Needless to say, I returned the unit, and will NEVER buy or even consider one of their products again.

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It's a wonderful life!!

Well, I use a Mackie 408 S (which I recently found out has been discontinued). I have had it for 3 1/2 years and only recently did I have one of my channels go dead on me. I continued to use it for several more weeks (minus 1 out of 8 channels) and then I started to look around for another Amp/Mixer. Since I am comfortable with my Mackie, I managed to find a 2nd 408 S unit and bought it. Then I brought my original one into the shop for repair. Now I have a spare unit (in case of emergencies).

Anyway, if you can still find it, the Mackie 408 S has been listed for as low as $650 on the Internet. The next model up is the 808 S (of which, the lowest I've seen it listed for was $800).

I own 2 "junk" Vocopro boards. My kj6200 I used for 3 years and is still working fine and my kj8000 I have been using for the past 2 years 5 nights a week. Never failed me. I actually love them. Never had a bad experience with the company. Fried my first kj6200. Returned it and they replaced it with a new board and gave me 12 SC discs for my inconvenience. One mans' junk is another mans' treasure, I guess. !

If you want an education on how VOCOPRO reacts to a problem, I've got some very interesting emails from them. Like I said, I tried a KJ7000, Had all the "bells and whistles" a KJ could possibly want or need, however, the digital key changer would not stay "fixed" on ANY cd+g. I have proof positive, via their own emails, that they knew there was/is a problem with that PARTICULAR model, but did not receive enough complaints to remedy the situation.(At the time, the board had just been produced) If you're having luck with models other than the KJ 7000, more power to you, but the bottom line is, the one I got was junk, the next one was junk, and they're(VOCOPRO) is junk for the way they "investigated" the situation. I'd be more than happy to share the correspondence between their techs, local reps, and their area reps and managers. No beef with you, BUT, I"ve been DJ/KJ for over 16 years and NEVER had a situation like this with a company I "attempted" to do business with. My personal opinion is what I passed on to the individual based on EXTENDED
interaction with VOCOPRO.

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It's a wonderful life!!

Yep, any VP i've ever worked with has failed. Everyone that i've talked with that has owned/used them has had bad luck with them as well. I'm sure there are a handful of people that has had better luck & that's great.
My opinion is they are overpriced & unreliable - you can get much better quality & reliability for less $$ - especially when it comes to their players.

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Hey, did I hit a nerve? I'm assuming, Donny B., that your post was directed to me? I don't doubt anything you said about your bad experience with Vocopro and I'm sure you don't doubt what I said. You expressed a personal opinion and I also expressed mine. An exchange of views and opinions is good. My previous post was nothing more than my opinion and the telling of a prior experience that I had. I wouldn't ever call into question someones opinion or their experience.

OK time to toss out my final blow to this thread..
Just go out to the local music stores find a "USED" mixer that fits your budget that all the channels work on and buy it.. My best advice is
STAY AWAY from DJ mixers and purchase the small live mixers. 8 to 12 chain size for your budget. If ya can afford a NEW one do it. I tend to sell off mixers all the time that are not older than 1 -2 years old quite often.
I just have been hanging to alot of equipment lately.

Good luck.

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Brian D.
(BHB)