MostlyToast
Offline
Arizona

If there is enough interest I may start building some mixers. After looking at many mixers and their features I have come to realize that there really isn't a cheap, small, active mixer available. There are the Behringer Xenyx mixers that I have seen mentioned on these forums from time to time but there inputs are weird and require a stereo to mono splitter for use with stereo devices. So what I'm wondering is if the community would be interested in something similar that would be smaller and cheaper while having a similar amount of inputs.

I haven't actually built one yet but I am almost certain I could get about 3-4 stereo inputs (1/8 in. jacks) with volume control into a metal enclosure that is about the size of a gameboy. Are there any features that anyone would be interested in having added to the design? Should I change the amount of inputs? Do people prefer 1/4 in, 1/8 in, or rca inputs/outputs? Should there be more than 1 output? Would you guys prefer it to be powered by 1-2 9v batteries (depending on the op amp) or a dc input. I'm really just wondering what people are looking for in a mixer. I can't add too many features as that would require a larger enclosure and increase costs.

I may start building some in January if enough people show interest. I'm not doing this to make large amounts of profit as I am hoping to charge less than the price of a xenyx 502 ($45) but I can't confirm a price at the moment. I'm going to guess that I could probably charge about $35-$40 + shipping for a 4 channel active mixer. I'm not looking to build custom mixers for people as I hope to cut costs by ordering parts in mass quantities. I can't build large amounts of these mixers at the moment as I don't have large amounts of money to spend. I may post a design mock up with measurements tonight or tomorrow.

You can leave a comment here or pm if you have questions/suggestions.

TL:DR - I might build some small 4 channel active mixers for around $35-$40 if enough people are interested. There is no guarantee that this will happen and I can't promise anything.

bitjacker
Offline
Alive and well in fucksville

crossfaders?

MostlyToast
Offline
Arizona
bitjacker wrote:

crossfaders?

Do you mean for left right panning or for fading between the inputs. I could do either, or both. I'd have to start looking at other enclosures though.

Limitbreak
Offline
Arizona

I'd love to see what they look like!

nitro2k01
Offline
Sweeeeeeden

Just a word of warning. Making a mixer is "easy". Anyone with reasonable electronics skill can do it. The hard part is making it well, which means both decent audio quality, and mechanical durability. The second of which is especially important for equipment that will be used on the road. I don't mean to insult you, but just make sure you don't produce duds.

MostlyToast
Offline
Arizona

Thanks for the warning. This isn't official yet, more of a discussion to see if it's worth investing time and money into. I have a lot of testing to do and I'm not sure how these will turn out. I don't intend on selling them if they aren't durable and/or have good sound quality. I intend to use an opa2134 for the op amp and polyester film box caps for anything that sound will pass through. Sound quality shouldn't be an issue but that is part of the reason I still need to do testing and actually build one of these.

Here is the the original mock up and a dmg shell for scale. I could also post the current schematics but its basically a cmoy amp with multiple inputs.

infradead
Offline
Tacoma WA

price is way to cheap imo.

berhinger have economy of scale on their side, don't short yourself for design.

infradead
Offline
Tacoma WA

price is way to cheap imo.

berhinger have economy of scale on their side, don't short yourself for design.

kineticturtle
Offline
Matthew Joseph Payne

what i nfradead said. I'd pay well over $45 for a well built mixer like what you're describing.

I have one of these that my dad gave me:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Furman-SM-3B-XL … 1238685125

I keep coming back to it because it's so compact and it already has balanced XLR outs on it, but I rarely use the mic input, and I never use the ducking feature, and I wish it had an aux send/return. It takes 9v power which is super convenient, my pedal supplies can run it - BUT it's center + so I have to invert most pedal supplies. I'm also not a huge fan of the rackmount-style layout, but that's incidental.

So with that in mind, here's some things I'd love to see:

• stereo aux send/return
• the option of battery or DC operation, ESPECIALLY if you could squeeze it down to 9v so it would work with pedalboards/standard 9v battery.
• balanced outputs! ideally male XLR, but I realize that's a space issue.
• RCA ins - that's the best combination of space occupied and mechanical strength imo.

aaroneow
Offline
Montana

This sounds really cool. I'd love see one be made.
The mixer I'm using now is huge, and the size is starting to get a little annoying.

TylerBarnes
Offline
Dallas, Texas

I used to have a set of those furmans. they are great. They were all connected using ethernet cables, and they were our on stage personal mixers for our in ear monitors.

Brother Android
Offline
TX

I'd like one. I'd pay more than $40. I don't think anyone would fail to understand if your handmade mixer couldn't beat the price of something that's made in a factory in China somewhere.

PleaseLoseBattle
Offline
Clermont-Ferrand, France

I dig that. I'd be very interested by one of these, and be ready to pay the right price for it. I'm actually looking for a little one for my live shows, and since there's no rush, I'll be following your project.

bitjacker
Offline
Alive and well in fucksville
MostlyToast wrote:
bitjacker wrote:

crossfaders?

Do you mean for left right panning or for fading between the inputs. I could do either, or both. I'd have to start looking at other enclosures though.

you could do both by plugging both rights to one channel(or not)? I have not really figured out the fader on my km202, i just know its nice to fade one nanoloop to another to interrupt the repetitive nature. it is really useful with nanovoice because it gets dull so quick.
I have been trying to wire up a little passive mixer with a crossfader, but i am stuck on connecting things. I have 2 ins and 1 out a 36k fader and some 47k resistors.... wish someone could take a look at it so i can get it working. I know it sounds excessive to need 2 crossfaders, but you can do some really cool stuff with them.

infradead
Offline
Tacoma WA

feature creep is bad guys.

sandneil
Offline
MostlyToast wrote:

there really isn't a cheap, small, active mixer available

3-4 stereo inputs (1/8 in. jacks) with volume control into a metal enclosure that is about the size of a gameboy.

have you seen the ART stuff? they do a lot of small utility thingies

heres a cheap small active mixer with 3 stereo inputs & volume control in a metal enclosure that is about the size of a gameboy

http://www.thomann.de/gb/art_powermix_i … a3306c4d1b

anyway cool idea justwanted to save you from potentially reinventing the wheel