Hi friends, here is a thread dedicated to the QSC Touchmix. The Touchmix is QSC's first entry into the world of portable mixers. it comes in 2 sizes; a 12 channel mixer with 8 inputs (4 of which are combo 1/4-XLR) along with 4 auxiliary outputs and a 20 channel mixer with 16 imputs and 10 auxiliary outputs. Other than that, they are pretty much the same.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Aor8pKjXzE[/youtube]

I have been eyeing one of these for a while after things did work out with my 10 channel Yamaha mixer. These run $899 at GC, but you can find them on eBay for about $700 US. Make certain you are getting the power cable, wireless dongle and carrying case as those are all included in the most recent rev of the product.

Would love to hear people's thoughts on these. Oliver, your testimony is really enough for me as I am a big fan and I know that you have a lot of experience in the professional audio - any additional notes are appreciated. Cheers!

The forum on QSC's website is very interesting. Check it out here:

http://forum.qscservice.com/viewforum.p ... 45922dd14e

These are great... I have two QSC K-12's and the K-sub. I run my basses, Stick and Roland HP-20 Handsonic through it, and the sound and ease of operation is amazing!

Are you open to discussing other mixers, or are you sights locked?

Thanks for the responses. I confess, I am a little hesitant about this decision, but based on my requirements, there are very few, if any, other options.

REQUIREMENTS
The size of the mixer must not exceed 9" deep x 12.5 inches wide x 2 inches high.
The mixer must have at least 6 inputs.
There must be at least 2 "instrument level" inputs.
There must be at least one auxiliary out.

OPTIONAL
They inputs can be XLR, 1/4 or a combination of both. 1/4 inputs are preferred.
Onboard reverb would be a nice to-have.

Stick - Mixer
Inputs into the board are simple - 2 instrument level inputs, one for the bass and melody side coming directly from the instrument.

Mixer - Pedalboard
Channel 1 will be sent to AUX 1 and then directly to the pedalboard
Xotic SP Compressor -> DB instruments M440SE
The M440SE then splits the signal into the channels A and B
Channel A (Primary)
The primary channel feeds into a Strymon Lex and comes out stereo, with the low rotor in the right channel and high rotor in the left channel into a Pigtronix Echolution 2 Ultra Pro Delay. The Ultra Pro feeds to channels stereo back into channels 3 and 4 of the mixer.
Channel B (Ambient)
The ambient channel feeds into a Boss PH-3 and then into a Strymon Big Sky Reverb pedal. The Big Sky feeds two channels stereo back into channels 5 and 6 of the mixer.
Mixer to Powered Speakers
The mixer feeds Left and Right channels to the powered speakers.

Some additional requirements on my setup, not necessarily the mixer, would include being able to run a pair of full range speakers for both the melody and bass pickups, as opposed to isolating the input of the bass and melody inputs. Also, the melody side is setup in stereo.

The Touchmix provides the routing options, which makes it the most desirable option. However, it is exceptionally expensive relative to what I was prepared to spend. Upsells on the board are the onboard compression and reverb (and I believe there is a noise gate = win) as well as the option to accommodate additional inputs if required (if I am gigging out with Gina and need mics for voice, percussion or prerecorded tracks). It is approximately .6 inches wider than my requirements, but upon checking it at GC this last weekend, having it hang .3 inches off the top and bottom of the board are not an issue, but it does not allow enough room for the Echolution delay. So, I may end up trying a solution with JUST the m440SE and the QSC Touchmix - that is the dream, but we'll have to see how their onboard effects stack up to the Big Sky.

I could use a smaller more inexpensive mixer, but then I would be running 4 - 6 cables from the pedalboard to the mixer. Other options I am considering are the Yamaha mg06x, but I was less than satisfied with the 10 channel mixer as it added some noise, despite trimming gain inputs and turning off pedal compressors.

Gene,

There is a noise gate on each channel.

The effects are nicely tweakable.

I also hesitated between the TM8 and TM16. Finally went for 16 and am very happy. The 16 is not that bigger than the 8. You pay 400 $ more (your wife's gonna kill me for this) but the extra 8 inputs are very useful for live recordings and the 6 aux outputs are also a huge bonus, in terms of routing (IEM dedicated mixes, outputs to FOH, monitors, a.s.o). You can record 16 mono tracks, plus 2 stereo tracks, plus the board's stereo mix: actually 22 tracks on a lightweight SSID drive.

Check it out

Come on Gene!! Do it! Do It live! Do it NOW!!!

Sounds cool. The Touchmix 8 has plenty of what I need and would fit on the board. I may do the Guitar Center rental and then find it on eBay for $200 less.

Yeah, I am pretty sure it's heading that way...

Something I have had to realize is that when playing live it should be in mono. I know that it can be in stereo but unless all the audience is in the middle of the room they may be losing a lot of the notes/information. I LOVE pingpong delays because they give so much room and space to a single note but in a live situation a person one one side may not even hear some of those delayed notes on the other side. Light panning might be okay but I've gone mono for live and record in stereo.

Stereo in live situation can be done but it can add headache and really need a good sound guy for it.

About 20 years ago I was at a George Clinton concert and the guitarist had a pan pedal and was panning his solo left and right but from where I was standing towards the left, it sounded like he was just using a volume pedal and it was pretty annoying...

If you go mono you can use a smaller mixer.

Just my thoughts...

How about live stereo up and down? One speaker cab high overhead and the other on the stage floor. Unless there are balconies, the audience would hear the same from everywhere in the room.

Granted, our ears are on the left and right, but we easily perceive sounds from above and below. (BTW, how do we do that?)

You want sound separation without upsetting your bass/melody balance at each side of the room? Why not try "vertical stereo"?

I haven't had that experience yet (just in my head). Instead, I pan bass and melody strictly to the center and my swirley "pad" sweetener effects to extreme left and right.