Thought I'd share why I'm making the move to the DL32R.
My current mixer-related equipment for our 4-piece band includes:
- A Road Runner mixer hard case with:
- Mackie 1604 VLZ 4
- Furman PLC-8C
- DriveRack PX
- dbx 215s dual equalizer (for eq'ing the 2 monitors)
- XLR patchbay
- A Road Runner 6U hard rack with:
- A Furman PLC-8C
- 4 dbx 166xs dual compressors used for 4 vocal mics and 3 drum mics
- Lexicon MX200, used mainly for reverb on vocals...but also the occasional cool effect
- A Pro Co RoadMaster 16XLR x 8XLR 150' snake
It's been working great, but had some drawbacks:
- Only really had 2 monitor sends. One to me (guitar/vocals) and one to the primary singer (vocals). The drummer's monitor was hooked to the send from the singer's. That has presented a few issues, but we've been able to work around them...still, I'd like to be able to give the drummer a different mix.
- We have reached the limits of a 16-channel mixer. For the last gig, each of us had a mic (4), we had 3 mics on the drum kit (7), I split my guitar signal between 3 amps and all 3 are miked (10), we have a drum machine that we use for a few song intros (11...but I'd like to run it in stereo), acoustic DI (12), bass DI (13), talkback mic (14) and I dedicated to channels to the singer who opened for us (16). For the next show, I'm bringing my keyboard and I'll want a mic at that...so that's 3 more channels. We've also discussed the idea of micing the drummer to enhance the sound a little bit. That would be 5 more mics on the kit. And if you count wanting to run the drum machine in stereo, we're really talking about 9 more channels...and now we've pretty much filled up a 24-track assuming it has a separate talkback.
- Equipment is heavy
- Equipment takes up a lot of room
The thought of having to somehow upgrade to more channels was frustrating. Why didn't I spend an extra $200 to get the 24-channel in the first place?!? Well, that would have been a larger snake too. And what do I do now? Sell my mixer and case to by a more expensive one that still doesn't really give me everything I need? And what about the snake?? This could easily get a lot more expensive than it already was. And it was going to be heavier and take even more space in the van.
Then I ran across the DL32R again. I had no question that it works...but now that I was faced with this upgrade issue, it made too much sense:
- Assuming I sell my mixer, the case, the 4 dual compressors and the snake for decent prices...the switch should either be a wash or result in extra cash
- I can run all the monitor sends I need!
- It'll take far less space. I can fit everything (DL32R, DriveRack, Lexicon, Power) into single rack case.
- Quicker setup and teardown.
- Both the singer and myself can do our own monitor mixes
- 32 input channels!
- I can dedicate the Lexicon to weirder effects
- Soundcheck our band, save settings, have opening act perform then recall our settings
- No more running back and forth between the stage and the mixer during setup and rehearsal.
- The prospect of a multi-track recording of the gig without buying extra equipment.
I could go on and on.
I downloaded the software on my iPad and played with it for about 30 minutes before pulling the trigger. I was honestly blown away with how intuitive it is. I was worried about how our mixing dude would be able to handle it, but the fact that you can create view groups will make it much much easier.
I can't wait to play with this thing.
