Unsung hero of budget mixers - Sony MXP-390
I have spit blood on this thing and cursed it to hell and back just using it as a sub-mixer for my hernia inflicting monsterous TOA console. But now I am in a predicament where I have to use the 390 as my main mixer. So after much much cursing of unseen Gods I actually took the time to learn the ins and outs of this machine in excrutiating detail. It is a rather well-endowed signal summer if you overlook the pesky RCA connectors. In my new setup I have found that with the exception of channel inserts I can use this thing in a very similar way that I used Old Rex. I never knew this before but the external inputs on the group channels are pre-monitor. I've never seen a block diagram of the thing so how was I supposed to know. This lets me use those inputs to hook up compressors as inserts to the groups! Holy hell! That is pretty damn nice IMHO. Too bad there still aren't inserts for the input channels. Oh well.
Channel EQs are fucking evil on this beast. Two, yes count them, 2 swept mids per mono input channel and one swept for the stereo channels. These EQs are evil because they have so much boost they can overdrive like mad. It isn't a pleasant overdrive but still that is ALOT of boost in terms of normal EQ functionality. These suckers can sculpt sound in rather brutal ways.
The mic pres are a little secret I have learned already. They actually don't sound bad. See my track Fall Apart for example. The pres give a glassy sound. Like too glassy for most mics. Of course you have the EQs form hell to tame that glassiness if it becomes overwhelming. In particular I find the glassy sound of these pres to be flattering for male vox with a dry sounding condensor mic.
Yeah 4 FX sends and four MONO returns. I know, lets hunt down the engineers of this thing and string them up for crimes against common sense. Hey thats what the stereo input channels are for. Problem solved!
Here's a nicety I never considered. The input channels have a rotary switch for selecting the input source. On channels with mic inputs that is option one. Then you have unblanced line and balanced line plus mic and mic with phantom power. The not-mic-input-having channels give you the option of phase reversed balanced. The point is, you can attached two sources to each channel and switch between them with the slector knob. SO in one position you can have say an instrument and the other position an output from your firewire interface or tape deck as an example. For me I'll be loading most channels with my many synth sources on one position and then the next position the many outputs form my sampler and drum machine. It doubles the inputs for non-linear music recording and saves lots of patching.
Now combine this last feature with a patchbay and it really pays off. A patchbay helps with the RCA connector issue too.
Also the monitor matrix really fucking rocks! It used to just aggravate and confuse me to no end but now that it is all I have available it really is a well designed system and super-flexible once you learn it.
So this machine doesn't deserve half the venom I have sent its way. If you find one in good condition and need a mixer built like a tank this ain't such a bad choice. Now that I am no longer comparing it to my big console I really see its true abilities.