Alesis MultiMix 16FIREWIRE 16-Channel Mixer with Firewire

8 high-gain mic/line inputs with phantom power, 2 stereo balanced 1/4 in. line inputs, aux send, stereo aux return, Cubase LE included.

Overall User Ratings

Overall:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * . . . . 6 out of 10

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"The best project studio interface on the market."

Overall:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * . . . . 6 out of 10
Support:
* * * * . . . . . . 4 out of 10
 
 
 
zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us.
Feature:
The Multimix has quite a few very useful features that are commonly found in larger and more comprehensive analog boards including 2 aux sends and returns and an alt 3/4 bus as well as the main mix out and control room out. These features combined with the 8 mic/line pre-amps and 4 stereo line pre-amps make for a very usable analog board that is not just a glorified interface. There are also two firewire ports that allow you to chain multiple Multimixes together for more ins and outs. Also you can use the 3 band EQ and actually record it into your sequencer. It is not just for live mixing as with the Mackie Onyx,(something that no one tells you even though Mackie touts it's fabulous Perkins EQ it's of absolutely no use when the unit is being used as an interface as well as mixer). Another advantage it has is that the firewire connections need no expansion card like the Onyx does. The knobs and faders on mine feel solid and not at all wobbly. The buttons press well and the mic jacks connect with authority. They don't feel tentative but they are simple to dissconnect with a light but definate pull. I do wish however that there were more busses on this board and that there were inserts. This is the one place were I feel there can definately be some improvement.

Quality:
I've had the Multimix for about 7 months and have no gripe with the quality of the hardware at all. Like I said before the knobs and faders are sturdy and don't wobble,(at least not on mine) and the buttons press well. The appearance is actually quite attractive with it's black finish and silver faders. It looka like a piece of high-end gear,(very sexy indeed). With care this piece could probably last indefinately. On the road I'm not sure that proper care could be given without a sturdy mixer case and attention to dust particles.

Value:
The Multimix is an awesome value for the money spent. It has the ability to get a person's pre-amp, analog mixer and ad/da converter situation in hand all in one resonably priced package, not to mention the fact that it cost half as much as the Onyx which is the only comparable boad in terms of quality that I believe there is to the Multimix.

Desirability:
In my opinion the Multimix is largely underrated. It is possibly the best entry to mid-level quality mixer in the market today. With the feature set and the flexibilty that it posseses it stands in line to be a leader in project studio gear. I love mine. I own higher-end gear for my professional studio but I can't bring myself to part with the multimix as a part of my project studio rig. It's a keeper with a sexy look and useful design. Every budget minded project studio owner could benefit greatly from owning a multimix and using it in their rig.

Sound:
The Multimix 16 is surprisingly good in sound reproduction for a piece of gear in it's price range. The pre-amps boost the signal well and give a straighforward sound. The ad/da converters are also good. They are clean and clear without being harsh and that's most of the battle with converters in my opinion. I had to go online and download the latest drivers before I could get it running the 1st time though. In combination with good mics and monitors, one will not be disappointed. Alesis has not held back on what matters as far as sound with the multimix. No, it is not top of the line but can produce acceptable results in average hands with an average rig and fantastic results are possible with skilled hands in a quality,(not neccessarily expensive)rig.

Ease of Use:
In the hands of an experienced engineer this board is a cinch. However, in the hands of a novice or beginner it can be intimidating. Fortunately the basic features are easy to learn with careful reading of the instruction book. Recording audio and interfacing with one's computer is easy and fairly intuitive. The instruction manual is not by any stretch of the imagination comprehensive. There are many features that are not clearly explained in it. Also there is a HUGE PROBLEM WITH THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE POWER ON AND OFF SEQUENCE. They tell the user to turn things off and on in the wrong order. I had to figure this out by myself after freezing my computer about 4 or 5 times. That is probably due to lack of testing or bad drivers or something but whatever the case know that YOU MUST TURN THE MULTIMIX ON AFTER YOU TURN YOUR COMPUTER ON AND TURN IT OFF BEFORE YOU TURN YOUR COMPUTER OFF! If you don't you will have problems to say the least. After I figured this out though I simply uninstalled the drivers and then re-installed them and started fresh. Proceed with caution.

Support:
Alesis is lame in customer support. I did call them about the freezing that I got from following the instruction manual's faulty directions on shut on shut off procedure. They were hard to reach due to time of business operations and they didn't seem to know much. They did however, give me the heads up on updating drivers at their website. That process was easy.

Overall:
All in all the Multimix is a useful good quality, pleasant sounding flexible analog mixer and audio interface. I'm confident that it has a bright future ahead in the world of project studio production.

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"What a pleasant surprise! Love it!"

Overall:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
 
 
 
zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us.
Feature:
Tons of features - nice way to mix a whole band for recording straight into the computer via firewire. There's a lot of inserts, aux sends, and event effects, to really have a complex setup/monitoring section.

Quality:
Seems pretty well-built - feels solid. Some of the knobs are plastic. So far so good.

Value:
One helluva value, combine a mixer, with a firewire interface for 600 bucks? yeah, a great bargain. I'm very happy with it

Desirability:
It's really amazing how far technology has come. I still remember the days when a 4 track tascam cassette recorder was a technological marvel and nowadays we have a mixer that will send 16 tracks of clean audio to a computer where you can tweak it with plug-ins to get a really great recording. Wow, if you stop and thinking about it, it's pretty amazing...!!

Sound:
I think this board sounds really good. The mic pre's are decent, although you might want to use a nice tube pre for fine vocal work. Having eq's pre firewire is nice- you can shape the snare and remove the low end if you wish, for example. We've been able to record our band and it has sounded really nice. Pleasantly surprised...

Ease of Use:
Given how complex it is - it's pretty easy to use. I downloaded the latest drivers from Alesis and have not had any problems on the PC - I was a bit worried about that after reading reviews of the drivers not working, but I have had zero issues with the drivers, they have worked flawelessly. I had more problems with getting my MOTU to work...Overall, it's easy to get a good sound.

Support:
No complaints, they update their drivers

Overall:
I am satsified and thoroughly surprised at this unit. I bought it thinking I would trade it in for a firepod if I didn't like it. but it has performed reliably and has sounded good. Good job Alesis! Along with the SR16, this could be another alesis classic!

2 of 2 people (100%) found this review helpful. Did you?

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"Amazing!!! Liberating!!! Pristine!!! Sexy!!! Ins/Outs/Options Everywhere!!!"

Overall:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
 
 
 
zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us.
Feature:
Summary: Amazing!!! Liberating!!! Sexy!!! Review: I own it and have run it through it's paces for over a month despite being very impressed with it's sexy looks and solid build, and it's amazing firewire 18 out/2 in just makes it the leader of the pack! The twin bus and multiplicity of channels and routing options are more than ample to achieve amazing studio quality results when combined with a quality tracking software such as adobe audition...buy it, install latest drivers and firmware update from website right off and you'll be off and running!

Quality:
It's probably the most impressive gear I own and I run an entertainment company; it's sexy, liberating and built to last!!!

Value:
Cutting edge and liberating. Experience it!

Desirability:
sleek, smooth faders, ultra sexy with all the inputs/outputs and routing options I yearned for!!!

Sound:
Cutting edge pro gear, liberating recording experience and the sound is pristine. When I say pristine, I mean ultra quiet including the mic channels - if I'm not making sound the meters don't move; and when I do I'm just so impressed I have to use the term pristine! The FX are so good I run always two vox channels simultaneously one with FX via main (use routing options to get this) and one straight noFX for later edit etc...I've got plugins, still the FX are sweet and if you can do both which this allows, you can't beat it! Kudos to alesis for a job very well done! Wow on this one!

Ease of Use:
Get the latest drivers and firmware update from website and install right off; it's a breaze...find your sweet spot with regard to settings for different applications and purposes. There are many options and you can do your overdubbing monitoring via mixer so if you can't get your latency super low for extended durations it's no bother!

Support:
Haven't needed any, not likely I will for years to come...it's just built very very well (it's the sexiest mixer you'll own as well) and after a over a month of putting it through it's paces it's rock solid.

Overall:
Solid metal built to last and with looks to spare; the knobs and sliders are perfect, stable and smooth. I've put it through paces for over a month run hard and it's rock solid! I'm confident this will be the center piece of my project studio for many years to come!

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"There is no other digital mixer in this catagory that will allow for 16 simulaneous channel recording. This is a very good deal"

Overall:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
 
 
 
zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us.
Feature:
No Accessories needed Here. XLR inputs are nice with onboard Phantom av available for each. The onboard effects unit is good, however it cannot be routed through the Firewire interface. This is the only drawback of the unit. There are times I do not with to use VST Plugins since they are sometimes havoc on my Nuendo based system. Allowing the onboard effects would be nice.

Quality:
Well Made. The unit does get a bit hot when left on. Finish is fine. Knobs are good quality and non-motoarized faders are fine

Value:
Yes. This mixer can encompass an entire Band, and has the ability to record 16 simultaneous tracks at once. Price is reasonable for what it is. I would love to see a 24 track model. I would buy this immediately. I think the 16 channel needs more stereo inputs. It has only 4 stereo inputs.

Desirability:
I like the non-flashyness of the control panal. I think the black / Gray chassie and Blue and Red knobs are just fine visually.

Sound:
Sound is well balanced. No noticable hum from power.

Ease of Use:
Easy to get a good sound. 9 times out of ten, I leave everything balanced as far as EQ. Never need to tweak unless I am using lower quality microphones. I look at EQ as strictly used when absolutely needed.

Support:
never had to use Alesis support.

Overall:
I've now used it for about 2 years. In the beginning, the drivers were still being tweaked. I still feel Alesis is still attempting to get the drivers right. As long as you understand there is support behind the product, then it is worth having.

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"Liked it. Sounded good and the price was right."

Overall:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Ease of Use:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Support:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
 
 
 
zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us.
Feature:
Recording multitrack audio. That's pretty much it. Where else can you buy a 24 bit 16channel audio interface?

Quality:
Good quality mixer. Feels study. I looked at the Phonic's. They looked and sounded cheap to me.

Desirability:
Looks pro and sounds good.

Sound:
Good clean sound that you'd expect from an Alesis mixer. The EQ's sound ok and I already made good recordings with it into Cubase.

Ease of Use:
Installed it on my Mac without any problems and Cubase saw it when I set up my channels. Pretty easy.

Support:
I got the update off the Alesis site. never talked to anyone on the phone. Didn't need to.

Overall:
The best purchase I made this year.

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"Its not the Drivers, its the manual!"

Overall:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Features:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Quality:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Value:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Support:
* * . . . . . . . . 2 out of 10
 
 
 
Feature:
Good features, i think it could have track inserts though and maybe a talkback function for studio use.

Quality:
This is a big step up from the USB mixer.

Value:
I think the board could be a little bigger and have a couple more features on it, but for what it is, its definately best budget mixing console you can get.

Desirability:
Mixer looks sweet.

Sound:
the sound quality is great, love the 24 bit audio

Support:
Alesis has the worse support ever. I have been trying to contact them for 3 days now and still no answer. Good thing i figured out how to properly power on/off the mixer. No thanks to the manual.

Overall:
This mixer is awesome, i would recommend it to anyone, just follow my advice when installing the drivers!

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"Hold off!"

Overall:
* * . . . . . . . . 2 out of 10
Features:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Quality:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Value:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * * * . 9 out of 10
Support:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
 
 
 
zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us.
Feature:
None of the features matter because the drivers suck and the tech help was worse. And it doesnt work!

Quality:
There again it dosent matter because you spend so much time trying to get the drivers to work you dont get to use the machine.

Value:
Not without better drivers!

Sound:
Pre amps sound good the two moinutes I got to listen to them.

Support:
I e-mailed them and tried to be specifc with my problem. They e-mailed me back and said they never heard of cakewalks Gpro3. And that was it.....................................

Overall:
I give it a 2 because it would be a nice live board I guess. The pre amps sound great.

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Alesis MultiMix Firewire Customer Review

Overall:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
Sound:
* . . . . . . . . . 1 out of 10
 
 
 
zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us.
Quality:
No Tech support and poor drivers.

Desirability:
poor drivers. hard to work with Windows. Unstable most of the time. crashes your PC. no upgrades for drivers yet, even though tech support is aware of the problems. They admitted to manual being written wrong.

Sound:
The worst. Poor TEch Support/ Bad Drivers/ Unstable in all ways. Crashes and burns. Buy something else. They are just in the development stage. Nothing works.

Support:
poor drivers

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"Drivers don't work!!! Forget about 16-channel recording!!!!!"

Overall:
* * . . . . . . . . 2 out of 10
Features:
* * * * . . . . . . 4 out of 10
Quality:
* * * . . . . . . . 3 out of 10
Value:
* * . . . . . . . . 2 out of 10
I Want It:
* * * * * * * * . . 8 out of 10
Sound:
* * * * * * * . . . 7 out of 10
Support:
* * * . . . . . . . 3 out of 10
 
 
 
Feature:
the board is nice but, you can't use it for 16-channel recording because the divers done work.

Quality:
board is good, but and that's why it gets a 3. The main selling point on this is the firewire. Doesn't work!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Value:
would be great if the firewire worked

Sound:
Sound from the board is good, but I can't get the divers to work.

Support:
no solutions to the driver problem.

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