mixer

Allen & Heath ZED16FX & ZED18 announced

Seems our Cornish friends have been rather busy of late. Hot on the heels of the GLD Series announcement earlier this month, we're also excited about the two new ZED series mixers. They beautifully fill the gap between the original ZED14 / ZED12FX, and the larger framed ZED24 / ZED22FX.

If you've kept even half an eye on the Factory Sound story over the past dozen-or-so years, you'll have notice that Allen & Heath has always had a starring role. From back in the days when our fave little mixer was a GL2, which (after a couple of generations) became part of the Wizard-3 series. GL2000, GL2200 and more recently GL2400 have been a staple for the mid sized (24-32 channel) 4-sub group console, and all of these consoles have had great EQ and responsive Mic Preamps.

Since then, the introduction of ZED series has seriously shaken the tree from the bottom, top and now the branches in-between. ZED18 and ZED16FX were announced at NAMM 2012, and look to be headed to Australia sometime late in February - more updates as they become available.

Like all of the ZED series, there is a flexibly routable USB port on board, along with the right number of Aux sends for the frame size, and a grunty DuoPre mic input that does the job nicely. Optionally available rack ears make this one just the right size to slot into a little rig and carry it from show to show - or build it into a tight booth for your performance space. For more detailed info on the mixers, check ZED16FX (10 mono, 3 stereo, USB + effects) and ZED18 (10 mono, 4 stereo, USB).

Or go nuts and have a squiz at the whole ZED Series range. Nice one Allen & Heath.

Here's a ripper PA bundled deal - EV, Soundcraft and AudioTechnica

We love deals, as you've probably worked out by now. Sometimes we get some tasty ones put together by our suppliers - the importers of all this fine gear, and sometimes the deals are dreamt up by the manufacturers themselves. Usually though, this means that console is exactly what you want, but the speakers aren't quite what you're looking for - or vice versa.

BUT this time we've put the deal together, which means it's absolutely the best best gear we can squeeze into a price, no matter what the brand. We think this one is going to be very popular with bands, and some venues/entities that typically showcase bands, whether it be a school, PA rental company, beer garden, you get the picture.

Here's the deal: $7,854.00 worth of PA system (at RRP), for just $4920
Healthy discount you say? Yes - there's no use beating around the bush here. We've already done the hard work. You get 2 x EV powered subwoofers, 2 x EV powered top boxes, a Soundcraft 20ch mixer with effects, a couple of height adjustable distance poles to go between the subs and the mid-high boxes, PLUS we've thrown in a 4pc drum mic kit to really get the value for money ticking up.

Gear list:
2 x EV ELX118P powered subwoofers
2 x EV ELX112P powered 1000w 12" speakers
2 x K&M 21336 adjustable distance rods
1 x Soundcraft MFXi20 mixing console with effects
1 x AudioTechnica MB-DK4 drum mic kit (4 piece)

Not to put too fine a point on it, we are limited to just five (5) of these packages, as that's how many mixers we have allocated. The ripper Soundcraft mixer is set to be refreshed/updated/superseeded, and we've made sure there are some for these packages, before they all disappear.

So, just to reiterate - the RRP of this PA bundle is $7854, but we're letting them go for just $4920. Strictly while stock lasts. First mouse gets the cheese in this case.