Soundcraft Signature Series

h4ndcrafted · Post by **h4ndcrafted** » Mon May 02, 2016 10:59 am

Very tempted by these, wish there were more thunderbolt options available on mixers

JosefK · Post by **JosefK** » Mon May 02, 2016 11:23 am

did you feel the signal level into Ableton or your DAW was very low. And you had to significatly boost the gain in order to get a usable level?

mousegarden · Post by **mousegarden** » Wed May 04, 2016 2:43 am

Kalerne wrote:I have a Soundcraft Signature 12.
Something is really upsetting me is when I turn it off, after a few seconds, it sends to the loudspeakers a short and ugly noise. I looks like it comes from the onboard fx because at the same time the leds of the fx turn on. And actually those fx are quite crappy.
Otherwise I enjoy it, but still not sure if I prefer it to my old mackie 1402...

Mackie are still the default leaders in cheap small mixers, as far as audio quality is concerned, in my book anyway. Soundcraft lost the plot ages ago, I've tried, and owned a few of their mixers in the last few years, they have a sound similar to Behringer mixers, harsh, metallic, not good, may be OK for sub-mixing duties, but nothing more than that.
I'm just being honest here, if you want a good small format mixer, with great mic pre's, and a good no nonsense sound, you still can't beat Mackie.

peripatitis · Post by **peripatitis** » Wed May 04, 2016 5:06 am

Mackie are ok, but they are not allen heath, and indeed soundcraft stand a lot lower from these two (not that mackie or allen heath are mixers to write home about)

GovernorSilver · Post by **GovernorSilver** » Wed May 04, 2016 6:35 am

The new Allen & Heath ZED mixers look promising for my modest needs.

Except... only one send bus.

autopoiesis · Post by **autopoiesis** » Wed May 04, 2016 9:48 pm

Kalerne wrote:And actually those fx are quite crappy.
Otherwise I enjoy it, but still not sure if I prefer it to my old mackie 1402...

Just curious, what are you comparing the FX to that led you to the opinion that they're crappy? And how would you say the preamps compare to the ones on your Mackie?

Kotteri · Post by **Kotteri** » Wed May 04, 2016 9:54 pm

The price differential between the signature and the MTK is only $100! the multitrack functionality then must be an afterthought.

mousegarden · Post by **mousegarden** » Thu May 05, 2016 1:33 am

The routing flexibility and general facilities like aux send's etc on Mackie mixers beats the competition hands down, if that wasn't enough, they then still manage to deliver a good sound quality with no obvious issues. Allen and Heath are good, but lack facilities, Behringer have good facilities, but sound bad, Soundcraft have neither. It's a shame, because years ago I owned a Spirit Studio, and a RacPac, and they sounded superb, it's only lately that Soundcraft have begun to cut the cloth too thin.

Neo · Post by **Neo** » Fri May 06, 2016 6:40 am

Some other options for multitrack recording capable mixers...

Allen & Heath MixWizard WZ4 14:4:2
6 auxes, 4 subs, nice eq, 100mm faders and yes it has channel inserts
also has eq defeat
$1000

Mackie Onyx 1640i
6 auxes, 4 subs, a few more channels than the mixwizard
$800

Allen & Heath GS-R24
Has everything. Awesome but expensive
$9000

AdamJay · Post by **AdamJay** » Fri May 06, 2016 8:30 am

Careful on the Onyx.
Mackie has abandoned support past Windows 8 and OS X 10.8
http://mackie.com/live/onyx-driver-compatibility

Also, add $299 for the A&H WZ4s for the "optional" multi-channel USB 2 interface card

Zube · Post by **Zube** » Sun May 08, 2016 5:14 am

I don't mind Mackie products, they generally sound good. I prefer Soundcraft EQ and faders though. I went through all this the last few months. Tried a bunch of different things and I disliked both the newer Mackies and Soundcraft. I bought an older used Soundcraft and kept my current I/O. Unless you're getting into the deep nitty gritty of cabling quality and length, the differences are not that big and come down to personal preference. For my workflow I like to have the mixer separate from the io (so if a job requires 4 channels or less I am not required to bring a big board onsite)

I didn't notice much of a difference between them besides the EQ and onboard FX. I didn't notice much difference between the pres, There is something about older Mackie EQs that just sound poor to me. Just my preference. Mackie FX onboard though was much better sounding. Both are way better than anything Behringer makes. I stay far away from anything Mackie make that connects to a computer, or has motorized anything,though. There's a long history of non support and I wouldn't rely on one as a long term (5 year+) solution.

continuum · Post by **continuum** » Sun May 08, 2016 9:56 am

As a counterpoint, I have had a Soundcraft GB2R for a few years and it is very clean and quiet with far more features than any Mackie at the same price point. The closest competitor is the A&H 14:4:2 for hundreds more, and I've had a few of those, and would put them on equal level.

placidhouse · Post by **placidhouse** » Sun May 08, 2016 4:29 pm

continuum wrote:As a counterpoint, I have had a Soundcraft GB2R for a few years and it is very clean and quiet with far more features than any Mackie at the same price point. The closest competitor is the A&H 14:4:2 for hundreds more, and I've had a few of those, and would put them on equal level.

oh man, glad you sounded off. i absolutely love my gb2r. was a massive step up from the mackie i was using.

adolfgottmann · Post by **adolfgottmann** » Sun Sep 11, 2016 11:51 am

So, has anyone had the opportunity to check audio quality on a Soundcraft Signature MTK? Is it harsh and metallic as someone suggested?
Right now I'm trying to choose between a 12MTK or a Mackie Onyx 1220i .
To be honest my heart goes with the Mackie (soundwise, sure, but I like the look and size way better), but the lack of support scares me.
So, the obvious choice would be Soundcraft, but never tried one and I hear many saying that might not be warm or even transparent.. I'm stuck...help a guy out, will you?

Scot Solida · Post by **Scot Solida** » Sun Sep 11, 2016 12:11 pm

I've only done one proper mix wit hmy 22 MTK, as discussed in two other threads. I didn't find it to be harsh or metallic. It doesn't sound like a high end board, but neither does it sound bad to me.

autopoiesis · Post by **autopoiesis** » Sun Sep 11, 2016 2:50 pm

I have a SoundCraft 12MTK and was formerly using an A&H ZED 12FX. The preamps and EQ sound comparable to the ZED's, but I'm not an audiophile who can make extremely fine-grained subjective distinctions of warmth. I definitely have no sense of a metallic timbre imparted to any sound routed through it.

I think it's a really fantastic board for multi-tracking while having faders and EQs and pretty useable FX all at hand. Some of the pots feel a little wobbly to me and it's only there that I see the bargain cost of the product on display -- in all other regards it punches well above its $ class.

adolfgottmann · Post by **adolfgottmann** » Sun Sep 11, 2016 3:19 pm

Thanks, really helpful!

mistershifter · Post by **mistershifter** » Sun Jul 23, 2017 10:04 pm

I have a Soundcraft 12 MTK arriving tomorrow. I use Ableton Live, and I've been using a Focusrite Scarlett USB audio interface up until this point. I have a couple of questions that are really stressing me out, as I'm having trouble figuring it out on my own.

Should I completely remove my Focusrite USB audio interface from the setup now that I have the Soundcraft MTK 12? I'm currently running my powered studio monitors out of the monitor outs on the Focusrite Scarlett, and it's been very convenient in terms of controlling headphone and studio monitor levels for Ableton, and just my general computer audio from OS X (YouTube, iTunes, etc).

If having the Soundcraft 12 MTK makes keeping the Focusrite interface unnecessary, what is the optimal way of hooking up my studio monitors to the Soundcraft mixer to I can monitor my Ableton projects, and also hear my computer audio?

mousegarden · Post by **mousegarden** » Mon Jul 24, 2017 7:42 am

One positive thing about owning a Soundcraft is that you'll immediately have a much nicer EQ than any Mackie owner!

GovernorSilver · Post by **GovernorSilver** » Mon Jul 24, 2017 6:28 pm

I'd been wondering how well these work with iPads. Apparently well enough to work with Auria:

http://auriaapp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=13011

I'd been pondering how to eventually integrate my Octatrack, Cocolase, Moisturizer and string instruments into a mixer-based setup - with iPad FX and synths on top of all that. I could keep my humble Mackie with its single aux bus, and go with junction/splitter pedal and effects loop pedals.

Or I could get something like the Signature MTK 12 with 3 aux busses - put the OT on one, the Cocolase on the 2nd, and the Moisturizer on the 3rd, and not have a bunch of signal routing pedals to set up before every rehearsal/gig.

mousegarden · Post by **mousegarden** » Tue Jul 25, 2017 4:29 am

GovernorSilver wrote:I'd been wondering how well these work with iPads. Apparently well enough to work with Auria:

http://auriaapp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=13011

I'd been pondering how to eventually integrate my Octatrack, Cocolase, Moisturizer and string instruments into a mixer-based setup - with iPad FX and synths on top of all that. I could keep my humble Mackie with its single aux bus, and go with junction/splitter pedal and effects loop pedals.

Or I could get something like the Signature MTK 12 with 3 aux busses - put the OT on one, the Cocolase on the 2nd, and the Moisturizer on the 3rd, and not have a bunch of signal routing pedals to set up before every rehearsal/gig.

How do you get on with recording on the I pad? The thing that always puts me off is getting music off it.

GovernorSilver · Post by **GovernorSilver** » Tue Jul 25, 2017 6:31 am

mousegarden wrote:
GovernorSilver wrote:I'd been wondering how well these work with iPads. Apparently well enough to work with Auria:

http://auriaapp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=13011

I'd been pondering how to eventually integrate my Octatrack, Cocolase, Moisturizer and string instruments into a mixer-based setup - with iPad FX and synths on top of all that. I could keep my humble Mackie with its single aux bus, and go with junction/splitter pedal and effects loop pedals.

Or I could get something like the Signature MTK 12 with 3 aux busses - put the OT on one, the Cocolase on the 2nd, and the Moisturizer on the 3rd, and not have a bunch of signal routing pedals to set up before every rehearsal/gig.
How do you get on with recording on the I pad? The thing that always puts me off is getting music off it.

Most of my iPad recordings were the result of trying out stuff using Audiobus for inter-app audio routing, with Audioshare in the recording slot - just ideas that I liked and wanted to save for later.

I do have a couple of recordings using Cubasis, which works more like a desktop DAW. Love using finger touch to work the transport controls, faders, etc. - always disliked being forced to use a mouse w/ desktop DAWs. Roland Duo Capture EX was used as the audio interface.

Regarding the Soundcraft MTK, my interest is really more with integrating IOS synths and FX apps with my hardware for live shows. Apps that I like include Animoog, iSEM, iDensity. Also getting more into Audulus 3.

mousegarden · Post by **mousegarden** » Wed Jul 26, 2017 5:22 am

GovernorSilver wrote:
mousegarden wrote:
GovernorSilver wrote:I'd been wondering how well these work with iPads. Apparently well enough to work with Auria:

http://auriaapp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=13011

I'd been pondering how to eventually integrate my Octatrack, Cocolase, Moisturizer and string instruments into a mixer-based setup - with iPad FX and synths on top of all that. I could keep my humble Mackie with its single aux bus, and go with junction/splitter pedal and effects loop pedals.

Or I could get something like the Signature MTK 12 with 3 aux busses - put the OT on one, the Cocolase on the 2nd, and the Moisturizer on the 3rd, and not have a bunch of signal routing pedals to set up before every rehearsal/gig.
How do you get on with recording on the I pad? The thing that always puts me off is getting music off it.
Most of my iPad recordings were the result of trying out stuff using Audiobus for inter-app audio routing, with Audioshare in the recording slot - just ideas that I liked and wanted to save for later.

I do have a couple of recordings using Cubasis, which works more like a desktop DAW. Love using finger touch to work the transport controls, faders, etc. - always disliked being forced to use a mouse w/ desktop DAWs. Roland Duo Capture EX was used as the audio interface.

Regarding the Soundcraft MTK, my interest is really more with integrating IOS synths and FX apps with my hardware for live shows. Apps that I like include Animoog, iSEM, iDensity. Also getting more into Audulus 3.

Thanks, I'm also looking for a good compatible two channel interface for my pad. Have you checked out Thumb Jam, that's amazing, also TC-11.

GovernorSilver · Post by **GovernorSilver** » Wed Jul 26, 2017 9:44 am

ThumbJam is great. Still one of the best UI . The dev always seems to be on top of things. His DrumJam app is also good. TC-11 is also great.

There are some great effects apps as well - anything by Amazing Noises and Apesoft for example.

My current interface for iPad is a Roland Duo Capture EX - 2 audio channels, and MIDI I/O - so yes I use it as a MIDI interface too. It's stable and does what I expect it to do. However, to integrate iPad effects app with my hardware, I have to plug the Roland into my mixer's one aux send bus.

For example, if I want to run my Monologue through Gliderverb or iDensity and Cocolase (hardware sampling delay) at the same time, I'd need a splitter/junction box and a mess of cables - because mixer has only one Aux Send. The money I'd spend on the junction box, effects loop switchers, etc. would almost pay for a Soundcraft 12 MTK, which in theory should give me up to 12 channels of USB audio to the iPad. Of course if I use all 12, I'd have no analog channels available - but that's a fair design compromise.

mikmanner · Post by **mikmanner** » Fri Dec 08, 2017 5:56 am

Got the Signature 12 yesterday, plugged it in and set Cubase up and have realized that all the inputs via USB come in Pre-channel strip and fader, meaning panning, EQ, volume etc has no effect on the incoming recording. Is this a standard way of doing things? I was hoping to record multi-tracked performances for editing later.

I guess I can just take the master stereo out and record that as well as the multi-tracked inputs and edit between them all...

MUFF WIGGLER

MUFF WIGGLER

Soundcraft Signature Series