[Wally]

While trying to weigh up what I should do about mics and things for
recording my piano meanderings, I've been looking at the Soundcraft EPM8
mixer...

http://www.soundcraft.com/product_sh...product_id=136

It would give me mic preamps with phantom power, and I could incorporate it
into my home MIDI activities. With the latter in mind, the EPM8's stereo
inputs are a plus (computer line out and an external sound module). I also
noticed that it has two aux outs, and thought that one of those could be
used to add some reverb to the final mix (I want to keep the computer mix
fairly dry so that I can experiment with different reverb settings).

So, I had a look at the manual to study it in more depth, and I can't seem
to find any aux returns. I kinda expected to find some because my little
Fostex portastudio had an FX send and stereo return that I used to add
reverb. My experience with mixers is very limited, so I'm a bit bemused. Do
I add reverb by sending each channel's aux out to the reverb, and taking the
reverb's output back in via another channel pair? Should the computer and
sound module go into channel pairs with the reverb returning to a stereo
channel? Are the stereo channels effectively the aux returns? Something
else? :-)

As an aside, how do these budget Soundcraft mixers rate? Non-professional
home studio use for recording my own music. I'm attracted to it partly
because I'm assuming that Soundcraft means it will have decent audio and
build quality. It also has what seem to me to be the main features of a
'proper' mixer (bearing in mind my limited experience) with a
straightforward layout. I like the fact that all of the mono channels are
mic inputs. I welcome the lack of on-board effects.

Does this seem like a sensible choice? Any others worth considering in a
similar price range? (EPM8 - 150ukp, EPM12 - 230ukp)


--
Wally
www.wally.myby.co.uk
Call me a saint, call me a sinner - just don't call me... late for dinner.