Karaoke Forums

Last night at my show, my mixer went bye bye. I've had a problem with it for only about a week, one channel at a time went bad, (couldn't mix right, soft sound, noise, etc). But last night it just finally "went out". I've owned this mixer for about 3 1/2 years, so I'm not too displeased at all. It actually did a great job just until the last week when it decided it had enough. I'm sure it has something to do with all the bouncing around in my trailer and tons of use. Yes, if you are thinking back, it's a Behringer Xenyx 1832FX, and I know some of you are going to say "SEE! I told you so". But, honestly? 3 1/2 years isn't bad out of a mixer is it? I have KJ friends who have gone through Mackie, Yamaha, Crate, and other boards just as fast as I did mine. So, I'm OK with it. I did have a backup board with me, only took less than 2 minutes to switch out, and only about 30 seconds to tune in.

Going to look at some new boards today. I saw a used older Yamaha MG16/6 for sale for 200 bucks, going to look at that one. Maybe ?? If I had time to order what I needed, thats the route I would take, just don't have time to wait tho. Wish me luck!

If your Behringer has served you well, why don't you take a look at their new replacement model. It's got built in compression and a built in USB audio interface. From what I've read, Behringer has upped the quality and wants to be taken seriously. Their new line of stuff looks really promising. I'm waiting for their new subs to be released in Sept.

Anyway, check it out:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Behringer-X ... 1512169.gc

Hey !! that sound like something I would say
IF you liked the sound and features of your old Behringer you won't be able to find anything even close for the money. feature for feature still your best buy.

NOW before you all jump up and down ....... I know there are better mixers out there that cost more. OP seemed to be satisfied with his original purchase.

Actually, I was going to do that very thing. Yep, I have already looked at the new line of Behringer boards. They look pretty good. In fact, I have a place that I can get the Xenyx 1832FX USB for about 220. Just waiting for him to get to work to see if he has one in stock. That is a strong possibility too. But I have also been considering switching over to a Yamaha board. Only real problem, the one I like is too small (MG124CX) and isn't rack mountable without some modifications, and the MG166CX is over my budget at this point in time.

So, there you go. I think you just decided for youself. And at that price ($220), it's a no brainer. I mean hey, I like Yamaha stuff too, and they do make great equipment (if you have the money for it). But, dollar for dollar considering all the features you're getting, the Behringer is a steal.

I have a Yamaha MG16/6FX that I've had for 6 years x 2 gigs a week = about 600 shows and counting.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy the 16/6 board you saw for sale used as long as all of the channels work. Great board!!

In fact, just as a side note. I have THREE pieces of equipment that I bought on day 1 of my first karaoke show in August 2004 that I still have in use. Everything else I own has either been broken and replaced or upgraded. If you are ever looking for high quality, dependable equipment, you have my testimonial on these three:

1) Yamaha MG16/6FX mixer
2) Yamaha P5000S amp
3) Shure SM58 mics

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C Mc
KJ, FL

GRRRRR, is all I can say. Nobody has the Behringer board I was looking for in stock within a 200 mile radius of me. The guy selling the Yamaha MG16/6 board is over 3 hours drive from me. Oh, the drawbacks from living in the sticks!! Looks like I might have to live with my backup board for a while. It works fine, just is older and now if something happens,,, grrrrrr. I hate this feeling!

where do you live ?

I live in a small town in Utah, an hour away from any city of any size, but even the larger cities don't have what I am looking for. I called GC, and they don't carry what I am wanting. And the guy I know has to order everything these days, his inventory is almost zippo.

Depends on how it was treated. 3 1/2 years is terrible in my book for a mixer that's been properly used, transported and protected. By way of comparison we have a Ramsa 4424 that's 18 years old and still functions perfectly (expect for the occasional dirty pot which is cleaned simply by exercising the knob). My Mackie CFX-12 is 5 years old and has no problems either. The O1V I use is almost 10 years old itself and exhibits no signs of trouble. We have 2 Mackie 24.4VLZ consoles that both still function fine with the exception of one channel strip that's been dead for 5 years. Both are 8 years old at least and the one with the dead channel strip (Ch 16) has been abused and mis-treated every way imaginable. I could go on and on about all the concert class boards that have put on 10 years or more and are still rolling but that wouldn't be as fair of a comparison given the price points at play.

IDK, I guess this just goes to show what a throw away society we've become. Ten to fifteen years ago a mixer going belly up after 3 1/2 years would be unacceptable and it would be going in for repair, not simply dismissed and replaced. Sure, for what you pay for a Behringer desk, I guess it's not that bad, but considering you can get a Yamaha that sounds better and will last much longer for less than $100 more, I'm thinking it'd pay for itself just in terms of durability.

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DJ Tony
Let It Rip Karaoke

Tony, you are correct here. We have become a "disposable society" for sure. In this case, electronics have become cheaper and cheaper. So when something does go bad, it's much easier to justify to just replace than repair. Same can be said for the higher end stuff too. But with the more expensive gear, we can justify repairing first, because the replacement cost is just out of reach most of the time.

Take your typical home DVD player or even a VCR. When VCR's first came out, some of them cost well over a thousand dollars, many of those first ones would still be in operation today if not for the creation of DVD. Hence, when DVD players first came out, a good one would cost over a grand, but now you can pick one up at Wally World for 49 bucks. So when the 49 dollar unit stops working, you just toss it and buy another 49 dollar unit. Same can go for our sound gear. Only big difference is, you wouldn't want a piece of equipment to fail in the middle of a professional show. But thats exactly when any of our equipment goes bad, in the middle of a show. It won't go bad while sitting in a box in your trunk or anything.

As far as durability, I may seem a little cynical, but I don't believe the new lines of equipment can be compared to the older models. Like that old fart on the corner says,,'They just don't make 'em like they used to". And I agree. I don't think the newer models will last as long as the old stuff, they just have better features and, yep,,,,, are disposable.

Oh, quick question for some of you guys,,, Is 200 bucks too much for an older model Yamaha mixer? Model is MG16/6 FX. Only been used a handful of times. The owner is in a band, and they use a larger board for their band. This board has just been hanging around for the "just in case" which never happened. Give me your thoughts?
Thanks.

double post,, sorry,,, stew pud inter-web gremlins,, hehe

I'd take the "only been used a handful of times" Yamaha over the new Behringer anyday, but thats just me.

200 bucks sounds about right.

Mojo

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"It looks just like a Telefunken U47 !"

4 years on my 16/6 and not a single issue. something i stated in a different thread, while i worked at GC i never, in 9 years, had any yamaha piece go bad that wasnt blatantly abused. behringer we had to test each one as they got delivered and send about half back (didnt work right out of the box). and i am in agreement as well, 3 1/2 years is (to me) unacceptable for any piece of equipment. if you can get the yamaha, absolutely do it.

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Paradigm Karaoke, The New Standard.......Shift Happens

I know several that work at GC & other local music stores that say the same thing about Behringer and about 1/4 of that with other brands combined.
Agree with the other that recommended the Yamaha. 3 1/2 years isn't a great track record.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

Just got home from my 8 hour road trip. Yep, I took the long drive and bought the Yamaha. That will be tomorrows project, to hook it up and see what it can do. But, as far as looking at it, and testing it out at the guys house, it looks very promising.

And in response to the comments of 3 1/2 years isn't that good? That one I really can't say for sure, but I have a friend who has been a KJ for almost 20 years and has gone through 7 different boards. None of them are Behringer. They were Mackie, Yamaha, Crate, and now she has an Alesis for one set up and a Peavey powered mixer for another. So, if she is any sort of bench mark for durability of mixers, then mine is right in there too with the Behringer. In 6 plus years of hosting, this was my second board. And I still have my first one, the one I now use for my backup. And it still works too. And yep, it's a Behringer as well. It just is a smaller board that doesn't have all the features I use with my current rig.

You know what, there's always going to be better. Is there better than that Yamaha board? Of course there is. Let me say that I've used Behringer products for 10 years. I've used their, mixers, amps, speakers and mics. Maybe I'm lucky but I've never had a problem with any of their stuff. I've also used gear from Yamaha, Mackie, QSC, and many other brands so I'm not partial to Behringer.

But I do feel that Behringer gets a bad rap. I'm happy with them and what you get for the money. Now, with all the problems and recalls that Toyota has had lately, I'd still buy a Toyota over any american made car any day. Some of you will get it.

Just want to say, good luck with the Yamaha. It's a fine piece and I hope it serves you well.

Thanks Alan, I'm pretty excited to add it to my rig. Hope my neighbors will forgive me after I set up the gear in my front yard tomorrow,,