First use was in my band's rehearsal studio (3 female vocals, 3
keyboards and electronic drums going thru 2 Mackie SR1530 speakers and
one Mackie SRM450 floor monitor). I'll be using it at a club in San
Francisco this weekend doing sound for 3 live bands, and will report
back on that experience later, but I wanted to experess these first
impressions upon replacing my Mackie VLZ Pro with the Allen & Heath
PA12:

Amazing difference!

1) the vocals sound SO much better. The 2 SM58s were noticeably
improved, but the BIGGEST vocal improvement was on the one crappy mic
we have (the kind with an on/off switch). The crappy mic sounded
better than the SM58s did thru the Mackie 1402 VLZ Pro. The channel
EQs on the PA12 are SO wonderfully functional compared to the Mackie
EQs, and I attribute at least 50% of the qyuality in vocal sound to the
EQ, the other 50% to the preamps.

2) the only internal effect I played with in the PA12 was the
Slap+Reverb for the vocals, and it sounded great. MUCH better than the
exact same type of slap/verb effect I had been getting from an old
outboard ART unit that was used with the Mackie. I knew having
internal effects would be a convenience factor (less stuff to haul
around) but at least for the vocals it is actually a really good effect
(for our style, anyway, which is post-punk / electro / new wave).

3) the overal mix was much more ... well defined on the PA12. Every
sound had a place, and there was a place for every sound. It didnt
sound MUSHED together, which was not a description i would have
previously used for the mix I got from the Mackie, but now that I hear
what is possible I can see the Mackie-based mix for what it was ... all
the sounds crammed together into a tight wad of gunk.

4) I paid $699 online at Sam Ash!!!! Free shipping!!! Blows away the
Mackies in that price range.

Steve
www.branemedia.com