"Waaaaaiting is the hard-est part..." man has that refrain been on my mind as I wait for my stick.

So having researched the hell out of various semi-portable combo amps and such, I thought I'd take a step back and look at even smaller gear since I travel a lot and just need something to practice with and not have the sound totally suck.

In looking at all the positive reviews of the Roland Street *cube* models (where '*' is a wildcard), I discovered this thread discussing the Behringer Europort MPA40BT

Great price, great weight, nice reviews from some stickists. Something I could see easily traveling with me every week as I get started. But it has no phantom power, no headphone output, no loop or pedal inputs, no effects, etc.

So whereas I was looking at some combo amps as starter travel units with minimal effects and EQ, the Behringer PA has none so I'm thinking a cheap mixer is what I need.

I'm just looking for any currently sold (the Alesis S-6 recommended a couple of times isn't) mixers that will provide the best bang for the buck, preferably under $100, acceptable up to $150, and will take signal directly from the railboard (with 48v phantom power) then go to wherever I want it to go (PA, enother effects processor, etc).

So what are your votes for best bang for mixer buck with this railboard and no-frills PA amp setup?

I have no idea what I might want beyond the basics of reverb effects and similar stuff (I'm not an electric guitar player). It'd be great if it had, or could loop in, other effects (including sound loops through the mixer so I can listen to it on headphones), down the road. But I'm not expecting much, just looking for your personal favorites that will work well in the above scenario.

Absolute minimum requirements:
- 2 channels input (for bass/melody stick signals) and output
- 48v phantom power
- Headphone out

Except for the headphone out, I can probably get the input/output/phantom from a $24 device.

I'm hoping for more in going to $100+, including (if possible, this is where the "bang for buck" thing is very subjective):

- 3 or more independent channels input and output
- 3 phantom powered xlr inputs (one for microphone), so I can use two XLR inputs from stick and one from microphone
- Reverb and other basic effects
- Additional flexible input/output connectors (e.g. RCA, etc)
- External effects loop capability
- Sound loops

It's okay if I outgrow this thing once I earn some chops on the stick, and I'm sure my wife would be happy to use the Behringer Europort MPA40BT as a wireless bluetooth speaker for her iphone in the kitchen, so I'm guessing I won't be disappointed with that one way or the other. (I'm not that impressed with her tiny Bose bluetooth iphone speaker, what crappy sound, can't believe it's a Bose).

Hopefully the mixer will serve as a minimal connector-adapter, phantom power supply, and signal relay if it becomes otherwise obsolete.

I'm also considering some hardware only mixer-alternative gizmos like the Presonus Audiobox 22VSL, but that's pricier than I want for this starter setup, and I don't relish involving my PC's in the process at this point. I need more practice on the stick and less poking at bits on my screen.

Gotta say, you stickists must be an extremely patient lot. I'm not even expecting that long of a wait for mine, and it still feels like I might have dreamed ordering it. Anybody know if the awaited batch of R-blocks is in yet?

Thanks,
- Dave

Would you mind clarifying what you mean by "hardware only mixer-alternative gizmos?" That confuses me because a computer audio interfaces is the antithesis of "hardware only."

Your mention of listening to "sound loops" via headphones leads me to ask two more questions:

1. What do you mean by "sound loops?"
2. Would you object to using headphones rather than a speaker?

As I have said before, getting the speaker right will cost more than any other single element of your rig (even if you build it yourself): it is best to wait until you need one. I know both that statement and my second question are things we have discussed in the past, but your creation of this thread makes me think you might have different responses now.

Cheap mixers will feature woeful EQ frequencies for instrument usage, as well as effects which offer no control parameters other than volume. If I was forced to choose such a mixer, then I would probably get a Mackie Mix12FX. Again, this is false economy.

Regarding patience, I live in nearly constant pain: this has made my patience almost infinite, though it does not necessarily benefit others because my body is using up so much of it.

Sorry, wasn't very clear.

On hardware-only gizmos, I mean I'm mostly looking for suggestions that do NOT involve a pc in the way that the Presonus Audiobox V22, V44, and related gear does.

On sound loops, I mean that ability (directly in the mixer, or if the mixer has the capability to do the effects loopback, to record a few bars and loop it. It's low priority, but it nice if I can manage it (with external box if necessary) and still listen through the headphone output on the mixer.

On headphones, I plan to use both. Wearing headphones too long kind of grinds on me, so headphones only is not what I want. Besides, it will be easier to regale my family with my masterpieces of poor execution and apparent tone deafness if I have a speaker. Who knows, it may also be a valuable tool for keeping the neighbors away.

...

Can't rave enough about my little Yamaha MG06 mixer. Beautifully clear and deep with very nice mic preamps with 48V phantom power. Also has very nice, though elementary, reverb/ delay built-in. For a measly $100

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MG06

Marty

That is one mic channel short of meeting the requirements, which of course means he would need the MG10; getting effects with that necessitates buying the MC10XU, however, and its price is really getting away from the specified budget.

No disrespect intended, I just want to illustrate how jdt's requirements intersect with the market.


EDIT: jdt, would you like me to give you a breakdown of the mixer market with regard to prices and features?

I 100% agree on the Behringer stuff, and I'd add Alesis.....

It's interesting to see how polarizing the Behringer views are, since some people have said nice things about their products in this notes forum.

So, in the sub-20lb portable busking (or in my case practice) setup, any favorites besides Roland Cube models?

Meanwhile, thanks for pointers on the mixes. This is all starter kit for me and to meet my travel/practice goals, so the bar isn't set too high. When the day comes that I eliminate my weekly travel perhaps then I'll be ready for sound in the weightlifter class.

Marty: The MG06 mixer appears to meet my minimum requirements, so I'll definitely put that in the candidate list.

Rob: No need for a breakdown, I appreciate the offer but I don't want to bother anybody too much with my noob requests for starter gear. I'm was just looking for the "oh I liked that with my stick" responses like Marty's from the folks in here. I've noted your Mackie suggestion too, certainly more bang for the buck it appears.

Thanks all for the suggestions (including good and bad reviews of Behringer stuff).

Gotta say, the Mackie Mix12FX looks like a very nice thing spec-wise for my min requirements + wishlist items at $112. They appear to have a sense of humor too, both in their video intro materials and also in the device manuals.