FM134.

g_spirit 3/5/03 11:08 AM Page 58

REVIEWS > SOUNDCRAFT SPIRIT E12

Soundcraft’s Spirit E12

>
is one of a new range of
affordable analogue desks

SOUNDCRAFT SPIRIT E12

> SOUNDCRAFT HAVE LAUNCHED A NEW RANGE OF COMPACT ANALOGUE
MIXERS SO TREVOR CURWEN DECIDES IF THE SPIRIT Es ARE GOOD...
WHEREAS A MIXING desk was once soundcard with hardware synths and (essentially making the E12 a 16-chan-
£347 an essential item in any recording situ- effects units, but also affords the oppor- nel mixer), feeding into a stereo buss.
ation (and pretty much the nerve cen- tunity to record multiple simultaneous This is the largest of three similar desks,
INFO tre or heart of the whole studio), it’s live sound sources. its smaller compatriots, the E6 and E8,
Soundcraft E12
Analogue mixing desk
now quite possible for those with com- Among home recordists Sound- being equipped with less mono chan-
puter-based recording systems to do craft’s Spirit series have always been nels (six and eight respectively). There is
Price
£347 away with a mixing desk altogether, as one of the most popular choices of also the ES version that sports 10 full
Other models long as they have the necessary sound- compact mixing desks, and now the stereo channels alongside four mono.
E6 (6 mono ins): £253; card/audio interface connections to the company has launched a new range of
E8 (8 mono ins): £276; outside world, that is. four analogue desks, the E series. And Overview
ES (10 stereo ins, 4 This minimalist set-up can work OK, their raison d’être seems to be to pro- The E12 is actually a fine looking piece
mono ins): £382
but adding a small desktop mixer to vide high quality features in a package of kit with all the sockets and controls
Channels
the system can greatly increase the flex- that is extremely easy to use. On test presented on a solid metallic grey fas-
12 mono, two stereo
ibility. Not only in terms of interfacing here is the E12 which sports 12 mono cia with a curvaceous front that turns
continued opposite
both the inputs and outputs of the channels and two stereo channels, under to form a lip: great for grabbing

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SOUNDCRAFT SPIRIT E12 < REVIEWS

hold of and carrying the unit. The sides any stereo gear that outputs a line level INFO (cont.)
of the mixer are protected by plastic signal. Input to each stereo channel,
end cheeks that are easily removable, controlled by a single gain pot, is via a
LIVE USE Connections
12 mono input channels
should you wish to fit rackmount ears pair of balanced jack sockets (left and While every reader of FM undoubt- (XLR mic input, balanced
to fix the unit into your rack. right). Mono sources can be connected edly indulges in recording, many quarter-inch jack line
also play live gigs and the E12 is an input, quarter-inch
Power is supplied by an IEC socket by using the left socket only.
ideal portable mixer for this applica- unbalanced jack insert),
located underneath the machine leav- In common with the mono chan- two stereo input chan-
tion, whether solely for taking care
ing the rear panel completely clean. My nels, both stereo channels have the two nels (balanced quarter-
of the vocal mics or in a more com-
only reservation about the build qual- aux sends and the same high and low inch jack line inputs
prehensive role with instruments
(L /R)), two balanced
ity, and it’s a minor one, is that the EQ, but the mid-range EQ is absent. As miked up, connected via DI boxes or
quarter-inch jack aux
knobs attach to plastic, rather than the channel is stereo the pan pot directly to the line inputs. outputs, two balanced
metal splines, which would be more becomes a balance control. Solo and quarter-inch jack moni-
In a live scenario the main out-
likely to break if handled roughly or if Mute buttons and the fader are the puts would be the feed to the main tor outputs, two bal-
the mixer was dropped. same as for the mono channels. anced XLR mix outputs
PA amplifier and speakers while the
(L /R), two unbalanced
aux sends/outputs could be used in
quarter-inch jack mix
Mono channels Master section pre fader mode to send a signal to
inserts (L /R), two RCA
the stage foldback (monitors).
The E12’s mono channels each have All the output sockets are located at the phono playback input
three sockets at the top panel. First top of the master section. The console’s Alternatively, especially if a little (L /R), two RCA phono
record output (L /R)
up is an XLR mic input and phan- main output is via a pair of balanced reverb or delay is required on the
stereo headphones
tom power is universally XLR sockets and there is a pair of mas- vocal mics, one aux send could be
used for the foldback while the EQ Bands
switched on for all channels ter insert jacks for connecting any out- Mono input (+/-15dB)
other could be set to post-fade and
from a switch located in the board processors to be used across the used with a suitable effects proces- Low: 80Hz; mid (swept):
desk’s master section rather whole mix. sor to supply the effects. Extra fold- 140Hz - 3kHz; high:
12kHz; Q: 1.5 (fixed)
than from individual chan- The left and right monitor outputs back could be supplied from the
Stereo input (+/-15dB)
nel switches. Below the XLR are on balanced jacks and there’s also a monitor outputs to a separate
Low: 80Hz; high: 12kHz
socket is a TRS balanced jack stereo jack headphone output, and amp/speaker system although this
would be the same mix as that at Noise
line input suitable for connecting each has its own dedicated rotary knob (22Hz-22kHz measure-
the main outputs.
keyboards, drum machines, guitar amp for controlling the output volume. ment bandwidth)
simulators or tape/soundcard outputs. The aux outputs 1 and 2 also use A cassette, DAT or MiniDisc Mic EIN @ max gain: -
recorder can be connected to the 128dBu
An insert point for connecting any balanced jack sockets and there is a
phono sockets to record the gig. Mix @ max, faders down:
inline processors (such as compressors, pair of buttons, one for each aux, to <-85dBu
Between sets, in the absence of a
outboard EQ or gates) comes last in switch between pre- and post-fade DJ, this could be used to play a pre- Frequency Response
line. The send of this can be used as a operation. A set of RCA phono sockets recorded selection of music. 20Hz - 20kHz +/-0.5dB
direct pre-fade, pre-EQ output by using has also been included for connecting (mic/line input to any
a jack lead with ring and tip shorted a stereo master recorder, the playback output)

together so the signal path is just of which is routed by another pair of well laid out in a logical and unclut- THD + Noise
Mic gain 30dB, -30dBu
tapped and not interrupted. A single switches. The first switch sends the tered way. The colour coding allows for
input
gain knob at the head of the channel playback from the phono plugs to the quick identification of each knob’s Mix out, fader max @
controls the gain for both input sockets. main mix while the second switch function and the long-throw faders 1kHz: <0.007%
The EQ section is a three-band, four- routes the playback signal to the moni- make minute mix adjustments a much Dimensions
knob affair with high and low shelving tors and headphones, so overriding the easier task than with the shorter faders 528 x 452 x 95mm
and swept mids. The treble knob can default monitor and headphones feed. often found on budget desks. Weight
apply a maximum of 15dB cut or boost Overall output level is handled by a First impressions on the sound front 7.75kg
to frequencies over 12kHz, while at the pair of faders with a 10-segment LED are that the E12 may be budget but it’s Contact
other extreme the bass knob can apply bargraph meter indicating the level. also a clean sounding desk. The mic Soundcraft:
01707 665000
the same amount of cut and boost preamps are clear and clean giving a
Website
below 80Hz. There’s 15dB of cut or In use detailed sound without any undue
www.soundcraft.com
boost available in the mid range while To put the E12 through its paces, I con- noise. The EQ is also pretty good for a
the swept mid pot gives access to a fre- nected up a pair of new Yamaha MSP10 desk in this price range. The top and
quency range of 140Hz to 3kHz. Studio active monitors (reviewed on bottom shelving EQ seem spot-on in
The channel strip knob array is p36) to the monitor output and con- their choice of frequency; indeed, the
completed by the panpot and auxiliary nected the main outputs to a pair of top control used in moderation adds a
sends 1 and 2, each send globally
switchable to pre or post fader opera-
tion by a pair of master section < “The E12 may be budget but it’s a clean sounding desk. The mic
switches. Below this are a Solo button
(which sends a pre-fade signal to the
preamps are clear and clean giving a detailed sound without any
outputs), a Mute button, peak indica- undue noise. The EQ is also pretty good for this price range” >
tors and the 100mm channel fader.

Stereo channels inputs on my soundcard to record into nice sheen that works well on brighten-
The two stereo input channels are ideal Logic Audio. I then connected various ing up a vocal sound. Likewise the Bass
for bringing in the returns from a pair MIDI sound module outputs plus a knob is well-suited for adding a touch
of stereo effects processors connected couple of mics to the input channels. of extra weight to a kick drum. The
to the aux outputs or can be equally
put to use to bring in the outputs of
The most striking thing when first
using the E12 is that everything is so
mid-range EQ offers plenty of lee-
way for broad boosts and cuts but
>
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REVIEWS > SOUNDCRAFT SPIRIT E12

MIXDOWN
Anyone using an analogue mixer like
the E12 in conjunction with a com-
puter based MIDI and audio
sequencer has two main options
when it comes to mixdown.
The first option, which is perhaps
to use the mixer to its full potential,
is where the soundcard’s outputs
(stereo or separate) can be con-
nected to the mixer alongside the
outputs of all your sequenced hard-
ware synths. Hardware effects units
can be connected via the aux sends
with their outputs brought back into
the desk through the stereo inputs
and the mix set up physically on the
faders. The resulting stereo ana-
logue master mix can then be
recorded either to a separate stereo
recorder or back into the computer
as a new stereo audio file.
When it comes to mixing, how-
ever, many users of computer
recording systems like to take
advantage of plug-ins and the
sequencer’s automation and mix
internally. In this case they would
want to record all the outputs of
their physical synths into the com-
The colour coding of

> is especially useful when it comes to record each input source to a sepa- puter, so the analogue mixer would
>

pots and faders makes be used to monitor all the sound

the E12 simple to use to taking some of the low mid flab rate track. Ideally you’d need a desk
out of sounds. with several busses. There are sources while the track was being
put together and used to route
The mix of features on the E12 workarounds though. There’s the
those sounds into the computer to
affords it a fair degree of flexibility in (already mentioned) option of feeding be recorded, but not used to physi-
several working scenarios for both live the inputs directly from each E12 chan- cally set up the final mix. Oh, the
(see the Live use box on p59) and nel by using a lead from a channel agony of choice!
recording. In any recording situation insert point, but as the feed would be
the primary role of the mixer is to pre-EQ, you couldn’t take advantage of
allow all the sound sources to be heard the channel EQ when recording. new E-series desks if the number of
ALTERNATIVELY alongside each other as the song is con- Sending a single channel to the channels they provide suits your
Mackie 1402 VLZ Pro
structed, and with 12 mono input recorder is as easy as muting all the requirements better. The user with
(£502, 85%, FM92)
Mackie’s nearest equiva- channels and the two stereo ones other channels and sending the more sampler and synth outputs who
lent to the E series, it’s a there’s obviously a lot of scope for hav- remaining channel via its fader to the is less likely to use mic inputs would,
14-input (six mono, four ing several sources connected. main outputs. Alternatively the E12 can for example, perhaps be better off with
stereo) desk with three-
A typical scenario for someone be used to record single sources (or the ES model.
band EQ and a 75Hz
high-pass filter, two aux working on a computer system with even two single sources) while still The E12 sounds good, has a logical
sends, two stereo aux separate outs on a soundcard/audio monitoring all the music. This can be balance of features with nothing super-
returns and two- track interface might have, say, six soundcard done by connecting the aux outputs to fluous, is simple to use with everything
input /output. outputs, six hardware synth outputs the inputs of your soundcard and set- clearly laid out and accessible. On top
www.mackie.com
and a stereo hardware effects processor ting the sends to pre fader. The output of that, it’s very reasonably priced. FM
Behringer MX2004A connected while keeping a couple of from a single channel could then, using
(£212)
channels for connecting vocal mics. the aux send pot, be sent to the
A compact and low cost
The signal to be recorded can be fed recorder completely independently of
VERDICT Spirit E12
mixer featuring eight
mono and four stereo from the E12 into a computer sound- the channel fader, so the channel fader Build quality
input channels, two- card in several different ways. The first can be used alongside the other chan-
track input /output plus method is the most basic, involving nel faders creating a monitor mix. Value for money
two aux sends and two
simply balancing the sound of all the A variation on these methods could
stereo returns. Ease of use
www.behringer.com inputs which may consist of several send four separate sources to four sepa-
miked up and DI’d musicians or a rate soundcard inputs using the aux Versatility
Behringer UB1832
FX-Pro (£242, bunch of mics on a single drumkit, sends on two channels and the faders
7/10/9/7/6, FM131) and feeding it in stereo form from the (panned hard left and right) of another Sound/results
If you’re on a tight bud- main outputs to the recorder. two channels.
get and want an ana- 0 2 4 6 8 10
For anyone using an audio interface
logue desk with built in A compact, low-cost yet well-specified mix-
digital effects this got an
with several separate inputs, allowing Conclusion ing desk that’s equally suited to both live
FM Value award. recording to separate tracks of their I have no hesitation in recommending
and recording applications.
www.behringer.com recorder, the E12 is not the ideal set-up the E12, or for that matter any of the

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