Soundcraft Ui24R

I purchased this mixer specifically because of the ability to control it from my tablet or phone. That feature alone makes sound checks a one-person operation when adjusting levels. Before purchasing I carefully read reviews of this and the larger UI16 model and was well aware of potential WiFi problems. This model has some range issues that are easily resolved by connecting an external router or a booster antenna. I tested mine with a HomeScreen Dual Band TouchScreen Wireless Router just to see if it worked, and the manual also addresses the issue by recommending a booster antenna. For me it was range only and not dropouts, which is not nearly as bad as some reviews portrayed this mixer. The idiosyncrasies can be a little irritating, though. For example, navigating almost always leads you back to the bootup screen. That makes it clumsy when you are getting accustomed to it, but is not a show stopper for me. Also, the manual has some errors. The URL for the mixer given in the manual is incorrect. Fortunately when connecting to it with my phone or tablet and a Chrome browser I got a message that led me right to the mixer and I bookmarked it. The URL of my mixer is h.fb dot com, which resolved to facebook dot com if I join the mixer's router to my home network. That can be irritating. However, I prefer to use this as a standalone network that uses the mixer as the only router and network. That eliminates that issue, but I did want to mention it if you are using this in a studio and want to integrate it into a larger network. One final note about WiFi. I prefer to do a sound check, set levels and then don't mess with the mixer during a performance. I do the same with conventional mixers, so the potential WiFi drop out may actually be occurring, but I am unaware of it because of my approach to sound. In fact, after setting levels I shut down my tablet or phone, and often switch back to my main network router. If, on the other hand, you are the sort who is constantly tweaking levels (or have a sound engineer managing it during your performances), the WiFi issues others complain about may be a showstopper for you. Do heed the complaints and factor them in. Just because I have not experienced them does not mean they do not exist. However, if you are like me the possible WiFi issues are not as important. Plus there are workarounds that can eliminate them that apply to all WiFi routers and repeaters. If you are still with me, the features of this mixer are incredible. I'm still learning what this mixer can do and each step become more impressed. One very nice feature is channels 1 and 2 are Hi-Z and have amp modeling. That means this mixer, a pair of 12" powered speakers, and a pair of Mackie SRM150 s or a pair of BEHRINGER EUROLIVE B205D s as monitors , and mics are all you need for a coffeehouse or small venue gig. It took me a good day to get familiar with most of of the capabilities thanks to the well written manual. I am not saying that I have mastered them, but I am now aware of and can use them in rudimentary ways. You can shape your sound is a plethora of ways that boggle the mind. Do be aware that the screens displayed on a tablet are a lot richer and better laid out than on a phone. In some cases if you access this from a phone it will take multiple screens to display what a tablet can on a single screen. I tested the displays on both a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 phone and a Samsung Tab Pro 12.2, and there is no comparison. I highly recommend using this with a tablet! Although this is supposed to have cross-platform access, I was unable to connect to it from an old Windows XP machine using the recommended Chrome browser. The manual lists some limitations with respect to browsers and operating systems so if you have old gear you may need to upgrade to get the best results. For my phone and tablet both were running the Lollipop version of Android, so there were no problems. Bottom line: if you are dynamically managing sound in a studio or live setting this may not be the ideal mixer because of possible WiFi issues and other idiosyncrasies. On the other hand, if you are the sort who sets levels and then leaves them alone for the duration of a performance this mixer may be a dream come true. Honestly, the way you use this can make the difference between perceiving it as a one or a five star mixer. Please ask questions in comments if you need additional information because for me this is a keeper and I am gaining experience with it daily.

Thought it was time to move into the world of digital mixing so I did some research and decided on the Ui12. The name Ui12 is a bit misleading, but almost all mixers these days count every input in their channel count. This unit has 8 channels with 4 having combo jacks for xlr and 1/4" input. there are 2 rca jacks that act as a stereo pair (channels 9 and 10) and a usb jack for plugging in a flash drive for break music or backing tracks (channels 11 and 12). unit has 2 aux outs for monitors, 4 if you assign the 2 headphone jacks as aux outs (cool feature). Channels 1-8 all have gain control, 4 band eq, dynamics including compressor, de-ess , and an rta! Effects include several reverbs, delays, and choruses.All very usable. Also has built in feedback suppression which I have not used yet but nice to know it is there if you need it. Channels 1 and 2 have digitech guitar modelling built in so you can gig without an amp if you choose, super nice feature!!!Can be used wirelessly with just about any device that has a web browser and can read htlm5. I have used this with a windows laptop, android tablet, Ipad, and my Samsung smartphone and all worked flawlessly. Some have had problems with connectivity,but I replaced the tiny antenna that came with unit with an 8 db aftermarket antenna I bought here on amazon and get great signal out past 50 feet from the mixer. Far enough for any gig I use this mixer for. I use this mixer mainly for acoustic groups I play with, duos and trios mainly, so I have no problems with lack of channels. If you have a full band I might step up to the Ui16 which has 4 more inputs and recording capabilities. I run this mixer into a LD systems maui 28 and the sound we get is outstanding! Clear and articulate with little or no background artifacts, as long as you have clear idea of how to properly set gain structure. Overall I am more than pleased with my purchase, Soundcraft has stuffed a whole bunch of cool and useful items into this mixer for about the same scratch as a decent 12 channel analog board, but the Ui12 will do things an analog board can only dream of. If you are looking to step into the world of digital mixing and don't have a few grand lying around to throw down on a mackie, qsc, or yamaha, then you should have a look at the Soundcraft Ui series. These mixers are awesome!

For inexplicable reasons, known only to the design staff at SoundCraft (and SM Pro Audio, the original designers of these mixers) the little 8 channel version is not intended, (apparently) to rack mount. This is of course insane. Many, if not most times, I would want to rack mount this little buddy. If you drill through the rubber boot on the end, you will find that the actual holes are already through the metal, you just need to drill through the rubber. • Just like the Ui16 12 channel, and the Ui24 20 channel, the mixer functionality is nearly flawless, my biggest complaint is the MIX/GAIN pages use the same button, which is confusing for some users. The internal MP3 player is terrific, and the EQ and limiting on each channel, each subgroup, and each output are indispensable ! • The biggest shortcoming is the limited range on the internal hotspot, but this is easily fixed with an external wireless router.

*** See UPDATES posted after first week of ownership *** *** See MORE UPDATES after multiple events *** *** CLARIFICATION: This is NOT a digital mixer....it is a digitally controlled (via an HTML 5, web browser) analog mixer. This mixer does not convert analog program data to digital program data except for use with a USB stick. For a true digital mixer you can be sure that the price is much higher and may not work as well for live events due to delays introduced by D to A and A to D conversions. *** *** 2017/06 *** I have run into reliability problems while using one computer with this unit. This was an old computer with no recent reload. Normally all of my gig computers are cleaned and reloaded at least once a year, with all BIOS updates, hardware drivers and operating system updates applied. This one had not been in about 6 years and twice I had some problems with the browsers on this computer crashing the mixer. Switching to another computer solved this problem. This should be a problem handled in the mixer's software and should not cause a crash, but I am putting the info here for your consideration. Using my up to date computers I have not had any problems for a while. *** I have just purchased and plan to use this mixer an a live event this week. Overall I love the capabilities/features, small size, light weight and spectacular SOUND QUALITY of this unit. *** 1st UPDATE: This mixer is great for live and events/functions but I agree with some other posters about there being too much background hiss/noise for Studio work.*** *** 2nd UPDATE: My most recent event was a bit of a nightmare due connectivity problems with the Hotspot. At this particular event the Hotspot range was VERY short, maybe about 20 feet before connection would be lost when using a tablet and a laptop. I suspect a contributing factor to this problem was WIFI access point on an adjacent WIFI channel in the same room. I didn't have time to try changing the channel on the Hotspot to see if that helps, but I'll be in the venue again in the next few months and will try that then. Other things I've noticed: Be very careful when "hot plugging" microphones/other devices in/or out regardless of fader level of the channel being plugged in or out. Sometimes making or breaking the connection to the mixer resulted in a loud pop, again regardless of the fader position of the channel being changed. I've also had some problems with RF interference between the mixer and a Sennheiser wireless microphone receiver (yes, receiver!). Moving the units further apart fixed this problem, but be aware since there may be issues if they are mounted close to each other. I'm thinking the mixer could benefit from being in a case that provides better shielding. *** *** Update 5/2/2017 - I have solved the problem with the hotspot by turning it off and mounting a 5Ghz wireless access point and small network switch in the Gig box with the mixer. I had always planned to connect to the main control console via Ethernet anyway so I added the switch for that and just added in the access point. Having the access point, especially at 5Ghz actually makes the wireless pretty usable! Over the last few months I haven't had any crashes requiring a hardware reset, but the upcoming months with be busier, so will be putting it to the test again. Overall I'm still pretty satisfied with the mixer despite the pitfalls. *** Major positives: - Sound quality! (See Note/Update above ref Studio Use) - Small Size / light weight - Superb flexibility for control for this type of device - MANY features built in to software that would otherwise require an external box to perform - Pretty well thought out user interface - Good User Manual Missing feature I would like to use but am unable to use on this mixer: *** UPDATE: For those who sometimes need to send a STEREO OUT to different monitors/speakers Etc, YES this device CAN DO IT! For old fashioned people like me that are used to using (lower cost) hardware mixers there is usually only one place to PAN inputs Left or Right. BUT on the Ui16 (and probably the Ui12) you have to pan not only the Main Mix L/R, but also individually pan each input on the Stereo linked SUB OUT channels on their setup screens as well. This was my issue. Panning on the Main Mix screen does NOT have any effect on the Sub channels. This does create an extra setup step for each pair of Sub Output channels. It's way too simple of course, I just never thought of that. Soundcraft Support pointed it out. *** ORIGINAL PARAGRAPH -- Ability to send specially tailored STEREO outputs to the AUX OUTPUTS. Despite there being options on the menu to link two AUX OUTs together for stereo channel separation and this capability being listed as a feature in the manual it does not actually work with the current firmware release. AUX OUT Channels joined using STEREO LINK only have matching MONO outputs. Where this is mixer is largely software defined I suspect this can be fixed in firmware. -- End of ORIGINAL PARAGRAPH I was concerned with speed of the micro web server/browser interface keeping up with HTML5 UI updates, especially where we are trying to monitor live sound on multiple meters and multiple devices simultaneously. I am happy to say that for the most part there is a just a slight delay when using a wireless connection with encryption. I intend to use an Ethernet connection at my primary workstation and other wireless devices during setup/troubleshooting. With Ethernet connectivity the browser updates are very fast. Taking into consideration what this device is and it's other capabilities the positives far outweigh the negatives. Others have commented on resilience of the mixer's IP control connection. As part of my testing I have left the laptop on and connected to the mixer for 30 hours without losing connection. While trying to test this resilience I have been running this mixer -with the latest firmware - and have lost connection twice. One may have been due to a power surge/anomaly, not sure about that. The second was after I loaded down the laptop I was running the UI on by trying to run multiple other applications, making multiple internet requests and essentially trying to crash it. At the time it crashed I was connected with the laptop via Ethernet and an Android Tablet via the wireless hotspot. When it crashed it took both interfaces down (halted UI updates, attempted to reconnect and displayed an error message) and required a hardware reset (power cycle) on the mixer to restore the connection. So, I was able to successfully to crash the mini server, but only by "trying to make it happen" by doing things I would not be trying to do during a show. So obviously something CAN happen to crash the mini-server, but it should be the exception rather than the normal. Again, this can be cured with some intensive software troubleshooting followed by a firmware update. There obviously are some features still in the works, such as capabilities of the mysterious HDMI port on the unit. I'm looking forward to seeing what the future brings. When you can add new major features simply by plugging in software the platform becomes very flexible so long as software authors pay attention to detail. This platform is a good start and I plan to keep this mixer and hope for firmware updates bringing fixes and new features.

Received as described.

Replaced a Behringer X-Air 18 that was having issues after 10 years. This has enough inputs for our band and seems very durable (survived a fall when I dropped it after a gig). I like the iPad interface better than the Behringer app. Simpler to use, very intuitive and responds well. I also like the USB input for playing canned music off a stick between sets. All in all, 2 thumbs up.

As you will see in many other reviews, there are many good and bad things about this mixer. However, my product review is 1-star because this product is UNRELIABLE, thus unacceptable for professional use. Cons After extensive research and testing of the mixer, I too have confirmed that the connectivity to the mixer is unreliable. In fact, the mixer stopped responding to me at my 1st event a few hours in. I had both direct Ethernet and WiFi connectivity initially, however when it stopped responding, I was completely unable to control the mixer. This is a FATAL FLAW! Fortunately, the mixer continued to work based on the latest configuration, however I was in the middle of an event and unable to do anything...turn on channels, mute channels, adjust the volume, etc. Second to this issue is the other common complain about noise on microphone channels when you increase the gain. To some extent you have to gain the microphones, so this is a product issue, not a user issue, however I overcame it by minimizing the gain amount and using a gate to cut out the noise. I can live with this 2nd issue, but I can't live with the 1st issue. Pros The mixer is cheap (low cost) and you get an amazing amount of features for the price point. HTML 5 access to the GUI interface from any web device...LOVE IT! And it was VERY RESPONSIVE. The connectivity, when it works, is very vast as well. I have tons of great things to say about software, features, interface, etc. Overall however, I think this is a worthless product due to the fatal flaw. You will either have to stick with an analog mixer (almost all which have excellent reliability, mostly differentiated by quality and features) or just pay more and get a better digital mixer, especially when your main goal is to have a mixer that consistently works.

Soundcraft Quality and portability - the best.