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Sound:
I own this and use it for internet broadcasting - had been using a Yamaha MG12/4 for the same purpose but needed to pull it back to my studio for extra inputs. For the price, the MG102c has decent sound. Mic-pre's are useable but definitely inferior frequency response to those of the MG12/4. Same goes for the EQ although by a smaller gap of difference in comparison to the same unit - the real weakness is the noise floor, which is what really separates this smaller mixer from its bigger brother - although it is not terrible it is definitely noisier than the larger format MG mixers, especially on the high end. Generally the EQ is what aggravates this. Having said that, the MG102c is still quite useable, as long as some care is taken to apply EQ and gain conservatively. The built in compressor just plain sucks. Leave it off and rip the compression knobs off.
Overall good quality for such a low price.
Feature:
A pretty generous compliment of features for the price, but not ridiculously so. The MG102c generally gives what is really needed in a small footprint rather then packing in every little feature like Behringer tends to do. Less is definitely more when it comes to low cost mixers - the more that is added, the more quality suffers as cheaper parts have to be used to keep the cost down. Mute buttons on the input channels would have been nice. The 80Hz cut on the 4 channels with the mic pre's and inclusion of phantom power was a nice touch. 3-band EQ is useful but it's only offered on channels 1-6; 7-10 only offers 2-band hi/low. Not a problem for me as those particular inputs are perfect for inputting CD player decks or other line level playback equipment. Chassis is plastic, and the knobs are definitely of cheaper quality than of the knobs found on the more expensive MG-series mixers, but not to the point that they would easily break or get very wobbly. Again - useable. All I/O jacks are on the top of the mixer which is handle in the sense it's easy to patch it up but also a caveat as it becomes very easy for dust and other debris to enter open jacks. Leave it covered when not in use.
Ease of Use:
It doesn't get much easier than this if you are an experienced user of audio mixers. Pretty straight forward and everything is very clearly marked. The manual is maybe 15 pages long and very straightforward - so even if you know nothing about mixers you'll be able to use this mixer effectively in a very short period of time.
Quality:
The quality is what I'd call ok/useable. But don't kid yourself - This isn't going to be of superb quality at this price point. Most of the knobs are fairly solid - a few somewhat wobbly but you won't feel like knobs will break off when you turn them. They could have put in a master fader instead using a knob, there is certainly room on the front panel to do that. The input level and master knobs are, however, a good bit larger than the rest and should be ok as long as the mixer is kept clean. Chassis is plastic and a little bit flimsy - I wouldn't want to drop it. If it's going to be used on the road, definitely get a case for it and/or use the box it came to help protect it from being damaged and scratched up.
Value:
Good value for the price - but don't expect it to sound quite as nice as its bigger brothers. The best sub $100 mixer I've ever used, however, especially in the sense that the frequency response is pretty decent and albeit it a little noisy - it's manageable and isn't going to present a major problem. I have three Yamaha mixers, the RM800, the MG12/4 and this MG102c, and they all compare very well to their counterparts in the same class, and in general Yamaha is a very very good choice in the low cost compact mixer market. I personally wouldn't use anything else.
Manufacturer Support:
Never have called Yamaha for anything, ever. Never needed to. I suppose that's a statement that favors the build quality and functionality of Yamaha products.
The Wow Factor:
It's your basic "no-frills" 10x2 mixer that packs pretty decent quality and enough features to make it useful in multiple small format applications. I wouldn't call it sexy simply because I own superior mixers - but for the "my first mixer" crowd - it offers a lot and isn't hard to operate.
Overall:
This mixer serves my purpose for what I use it for - which is, broadcasting on the internet. It would probaly be useful for live DJ's as well as it does have 4 XLR mic pre's and enough inputs to run several CD decks, etc. It would be useful for field recording. It would be ok for a small studio setup on a tight budget. It will not however, be a good choice for applications that require a lot of simultaneous tracking and or/large format recording/mixing.
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