Alesis Multimix Firewire mixer

hambone1 · Post by **hambone1** » Sun Apr 03, 2005 5:24 pm

Anyone using one of these yet? I'm just about to buy an M-Audio Ozonic, but the new Alesis Firewire mixers look sweet.

Any info?

Thanks!

AdamJay · Post by **AdamJay** » Sun Apr 03, 2005 7:14 pm

i saw it the other day.
for $149 i hope you get more than you pay for. it all comes down to a/d converters and something tells me for $149 they can't be that good

i think they're shooting for the market of people who need a cheap line mixer, and figured they'd give them usb functionality with it to help set it apart.

so if you need a cheap line mixer, its a great deal! if you're just looking for an audio interface... there are better options me thinks.

hambone1 · Post by **hambone1** » Sun Apr 03, 2005 7:30 pm

$149 must be for the older USB mixers. The new Firewire mixers were launched at Winter NAMM.. not sure if they're out yet.

AdamJay · Post by **AdamJay** » Sun Apr 03, 2005 7:47 pm

sorry about that hambone1,
you are correct.

the firewire8 is going for $249, and the 12 is $399 which ain't bad.
it would be handy for incorporating hardware into an already heavily established software setup. i'd be curious to the input latency of the firewire models if anyone can chime in on that ?

hambone1 · Post by **hambone1** » Sun Apr 03, 2005 7:56 pm

I sold my Yamaha 01v and Mackie 1604 mixers. I was going to buy an M-Audio Ozonic and assign 'traditional' mixer levels/EQ/etc from Live to the Ozonic MIDI controllers and do everything through software (including vocal reverb) with the Ozonic audio outs going straight to powered PA.

That makes me a bit nervous, though.. the Alesis Firewire mixers look like a better solution, and I can keep my existing Kenton Control Freak Studio for MIDI control.

Is latency an issue if all I'm doing is playing 4 audio tracks from Live?

Isomer · Post by **Isomer** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 3:04 pm

I am considering purchasing the Alesis 12 USB mixer.

http://www.alesis.com/products/multimix12usb/index.html

But here is my main question: when hookep up to Live 4, will Live definitely recognize each channel and enable to me to have more than the 2 inputs my M-Audio Duo is currently allowing me?

bod · Post by **bod** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 11:30 am

the firewire mixers look really sweet, but i cant seem to find any details on the audio support from the firewire. does any one know how many audio ins and outs you get with these mixers?

the mackie onyx mixer only gives a stereo pair out, but 12 in's which doesnt help me, plus the in's are pre EQ's which seems odd.

The Hulk · Post by **The Hulk** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 2:53 am

Has anyone tried this thing with Live yet?

Clearscreen · Post by **Clearscreen** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 6:53 am

But here is my main question: when hookep up to Live 4, will Live definitely recognize each channel and enable to me to have more than the 2 inputs my M-Audio Duo is currently allowing me?

the way i understand it is that the usb version has several discrete inputs that show up, but you only have a single stereo output from your pc. apparently the firewire version will allow separate outputs as well, but it's still really speculation on that at this point..

if i were you i'd ask this question of alesis directly if you can't test one out in a shop.

i'd probably recommend waiting for the firewire version if you plan on using this realtime with any instruments too, as from experience usb doesn't really provide low enough latency if you intend to route the audio through live.

reptar · Post by **reptar** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 10:13 am

bod wrote:...the mackie onyx mixer only gives a stereo pair out, but 12 in's which doesnt help me, plus the in's are pre EQ's which seems odd.

That's what I thought at first, especially with how they're going on about how good the new eq is, but it makes sense if you're going to be recording a live gig, you might need to eq something pretty drasticly because of the room and that might not be appropriate for the recording. Also you'll get the cleanest signal straight after the pres.

pulsoc · Post by **pulsoc** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 8:31 pm

Surely someone has tried one of these out by now?

I am looking at it as an option for an audio interface.

quandry · Post by **quandry** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 9:55 pm

search the forums for many a comment by me helping a buddy set up an OLD mac ibook G3 with these. Bottom line is these things are great for the price--the latency on his old computer is great! As for the AD conversion--its the same as in the Alesis ADATs that were small studio staples for many years, ymmv and junks but it ain't bad, and definitely kicked the crap out ot the M-Audio 410 pres and AD in terms of sound quality without a doubt. For the price it simply can't be beat. We even set up a firewire hardrive on the other firewire port on the back of the Alesis--all is working very smoothly. I think the best price we found on the firewire 8 is $300--just checked froogle and thats the best they have listed. THe ONE caveat--no prelisten channel--this thing has a whopping 10 inputs at once, but on stereo outs for monitors and headphones--only one identical mix coming out, NO PRELISTEN. That might not work for people using the tempo click or other situations, but for his it was fine, and this thing is great. Go For it!

Ryan

dick nixon · Post by **dick nixon** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 4:11 pm

A friend has one in his basement. I haven't used it a lot, but I helped him set it up and we tested it out for a while.
He's not using Live, he was using cubase, now I think he's using Audition 2, but it's a pretty cool device.

There are missing mixer features (The prelisten already mentioned, and I don't think there's even a per-track mute), but for a cheap way to get multiple tracks into a PC, it's good.

pulsoc · Post by **pulsoc** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 4:29 pm

Ok I was thinking this would be usable as a midi controller and audio interface but it sounds like that is not possible. Too bad, that would be a kick-ass setup.

quandry · Post by **quandry** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 6:16 pm

no midi outs from these knobs, actually not midi I/O on this unit. That and the aforementioned lack of multiple outs (ie prelisten) are certainly the shortcomings. But I for one would be much happier with 10 ins and 2 outs as opposed to the 2 ins and 10 outs of something like the Firewire 410--who the hell needs 10 outs but only 2 ins?!?

Alesis Multimix Firewire mixer

Alesis Multimix Firewire mixer

Re: Live and Alesis Mixer