Hey guys,

I am enrolling in a class to learn how to engineer, mix, ect....and I was looking around to find a cheap'ish digital mixer that would not only facilitate my personal, educational, and studio needs, but that I could turn around and use for mic'ing up the pit.  After reading around on a couple forums, I came across this:  [url=http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr02/articles/behringerddx3216.asp]http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr02/articles/behringerddx3216.asp[/url]

Also, here are some specs, found at: [url=http://www.musiciansfriend.com/document?doc_id=89535]http://www.musiciansfriend.com/document?doc_id=89535
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Behringer DDX3216 Digital Mixer Features & Specs:

    * 32 channels
    * 12 ULN (Ultra Low-Noise) mic pre-amps
    * 16 busses and 8 aux sends
    * 4 ? 1/4"; outputs assignable to any bus signal
    * Dynamic and snapshot automation
    * 17 ultra-precise, low-noise, 100mm motorized ALPS faders
    * Compressor/limiter, gate, 4-band parametric EQ, sweepable high-pass and phase reverse on all 32 channels; additional delay on channels 1-16
    * Additional compressor/limiter (switchable pre/post) and EQ for stereo main mix
    * 4 simultaneously operable effects processors with dozens of first-class algorithms, accessible from all 32 channels
    * Full MIDI implementation
    * SMPTE and RS232 (computer) I/O
    * PCM/CIA card slot for storage of automation and more
    * 2 option slots for ADAT1616, TDF1616, or AES808 cards

Everything seems promising and looks pretty sweet,  from what I can tell through posts on other forums about this product and I have found one for $600.  The one down side is, that I can tell anyway, is that there are no analogue I/O expansions currently available, but the device is set up for an I/O expansion.  But the one thing I found really interesting about this product, is the ability to create and store eq banks....which I think would be very helpful once going through and eliminating the hz that the instrument doesn't us. 

So, what do you mixing, audio, and tech gurus think about the DDX3216?  Is it a viable option?  What, if any, would be a con of this mixer?

Thanks for giving this a look....if you have ANY info, opinion, ect...please reply.

After going to behringer's website, I found out that this particular model has been discontinued.  I don't really know what that says about the quality, craftsmanship and such, but any feed back from tapspace readers?

I can't speak from experience. Salt grains required....

I haven't heard the greatest things about the quality of Behringer gear. I think it may be geared towards people on a budget, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Digital audio gear, however, is one of those areas where you often get what you pay for. Depending on how discriminating you want to be about it, it may be worth considering getting into something entry level and inexpensive, or more professional and spendy. It always seems like quite the balancing act as a musician on a budget.

Good luck!

Along the lines of what Jim was saying - the general opinion of Behringer gear is not great.  That being said, Behringer recently purchased ";Midas"; & ";Klark Teknik"; - two companies who have been, and still are major players in the pro audio/live sound market.  So it will be interesting to see where that goes. (Hopefully Behringer can integrate some of the quality of those companies into their gear, and still keep the price point low).

Anyway, I don't know how much this discontinued mixer costs, but here are a couple products that are popular, have a decent reputation, and are in the lower price range:

1) Yamaha 01V96VCM (usually under $2500)
2) PreSonus StudioLive 16.4.2 Digital Mixer (usually under $2000)

I have worked with both of these consoles, and in my opinion, the PreSonus sounds better: it has better preamps & processing.  However, the PreSonus does not have motorized faders whereas the Yamaha does.  And the Yamaha console can be used a controller for your DAW software.  So it depends on what you're looking for.

[url=http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/mixers/digital-mixers][b]Here[/b][/url] is a link to check out those consoles and some others.  I would suggest thinking in depth about what your needs are and how you plan to use your console since this can be kind of a big purchase.  And I would like to ";ditto"; what Jim said about getting what you pay for & balancing a budget.

Hope this helps.