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Finding the right mixing console for your home studio could be a challenge, and it’s also kind of a big decision for a music producer too. Not only because it may be expensive, you also need to be very specific in knowing what kind of feature that would be needed for your music production workflow.
Do you need one just to be sited at your studio? or are you gonna bring it around with you for gigging and live sound usage? Do you need an USB interface?
There are many factors to consider, is there really a best mixer for home studio? In this article, we handpicked 5 mixers that could be a good fit into this category for you, so let’s get down to it..
Our Recommendation of Best Mixer for Home Studio
| Image | Product | Feature | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
|
TOP Pick
 
|
Yamaha MG Series
|
Best overall on this list. It comes with an ultra low noise great quality preamp. Very affordable price. | Check Price |
|
Trending
 
|
Allen & Heath Zedi Series
|
Great looking and high audio quality mixer plus audio interface. | Check Price |
|
TRENDING
 
|
Art Pro Audio Tube Mix
|
A unique classic looking tube driven fully featured mixer. | Check Price |
|
TRENDING
 
|
Behringer Xenyx Q1202USB
|
A budget portable mixer with all the essential features you need. | Check Price |
|
TRENDING
 
|
Tascam Model 12
|
A powerful hybrid mixer. A DAW controller, standalone recorder, and SB interface, all in one device. | Check Price |
1. Yamaha Mg Series
Yamaha is a well known Japanese brand with a wide range of products and services. They are reliable, ease to use, great quality with a very affordable price. Though they may not be the best in all aspects, they still define what an industry standard should be. You will hardly go wrong with a Yamaha product.
The MG series mixers is one of the best mixer for home studio. Down in this product line there are 6, 10, 12, 16, 20 channels for you to choose from. I think the MG10XU and MG12XU would be the better choice for a small home studio setup. Yet, eventually it all depends on how many channels you need, and how you are going to use this mixer.
Each one of those has two different flavors. The ‘X’ stands for effects and ‘U’ simply represents the USB interface. In this case, the MG10XU would be a 10 channel mixer that comes with built-in effects and USB audio interface. So make sure you get the right one and don’t be confused by that.
The ultra low noise preamp is also one of the biggest selling points for these mixers, followed by many great features. Such as the 3 band EQ, high pass filter, 26db pad, phantom power, one-knob compression, 24 built in effects, and mic-standing mounting at the back. They have pretty much got you covered.
The only drawback I found on this mixer is that somehow the recorded signal with the USB Interface is fairly low. I tried to look on the internet if it’s an issue that only happens to my device, but there seems to be quite some people talking about the same thing as well.
So I supposed that’s Yamaha default setting to lower down your recorded signal for some reason. It’s not a deal breaker, just that you may have to turn up the signal of the audio file after recording. Other than that I’m quite happy with using this mixer, this is undoubtedly an all rounded great mixer.
2. Allen & Heath ZEDi Series
Allen & Heath is a big name in the audio industry, they are kind of in a higher price range than Yamaha. Many professional audio engineers use their mixing console in the studio as well as live sound settings.
The Zedi series has a bunch of compact, great looking, and affordable hybrid mixers. Giving you all the benefits of analog mixing plus a high quality audio interface in one unit. The individual is based on individual cards on each channel, this is something you would often find in high-end mixers.
Down into this new line of mixers, we have Zedi 8, Zedi 10, and Zedi 10X to choose with. They all come with an exceptional preamp as well as the guitar DI high impedance jack inputs. Allowing guitarists to plug in their instrument straight into the mixer without the need for a DI box.
The Zedi 8 comes with 2 mic/line inputs, and 2 stereo inputs, while the 10 has 2 additional mic inputs on it. The ZEDI 10X comes with on board studio quality digital effects, from reverbs, delays and special multi-model FX. The versatility of these units, makes them one of the best mixer for home studio.
3. Art Pro Audio Tube Mix
This beautiful 5 channel tube-driven compact mixer with the old school view meters and the wood panel sides, has a very classic look to it.
The amplifier simulation function makes it sound more natural when you plug your instrument directly in. There are also two auxiliaries that could be assigned to the main mix out. Giving you better separation than if you were to use the actual left and right out.
Something I find unique about this mixer is the tube assign button feature here for you to warm up your instrument before you record. Great for adding some natureness to your sound.
And of course it’s a fully featured mixer as well that comes with +48 phantom power, usb interface, 3 band EQ, pan, etc. All the essential features that you would expect from a portable home studio mixer.
I love the retro design and functionality of this small mixer here, it’s definitely worth taking some time looking into it!
4. Behringer XENYX Q1202USB
Behringer is known for its decent product with a much affordable price. I have a smaller mixer down in this line, it sounds great and easy to use, definitely happy with it.
Here we are looking at the Xenyx Q1202USB which has 4 mic/line inputs with Xenyx crystal clear mic preamp, 4 stereo inputs, great 3 band british EQ on channel 1 to 4, phantom power, FX send per channel for the external effect processors.
Nothing very fancy on this mixer but It has pretty much covered all your needs for a small studio mixer that you would be looking for. What makes it one of the best mixer for home studio?
If you are on a tighter budget and looking for a decent mixer with a reasonable price, you should definitely give it a shot by considering this remarkable mixer for your home studio setup.
5.TASCAM Model 12
The model 12 is not your average mixer, on the surface level it looks like a fairly decent mixer. It has got EQ band for each track, built in effect, 12 ins/outs, digital compressor etc.
This is also USB interface, standalone recorder, and a DAW controller all in one device. The unit comes with pro grade built-in ultra HDDA mic preamps for channel 1 to 6, they sound warm, and beautiful.
As a multitrack recorder, it allows you to record and playback with 12 track recording right on the unit to an SD card. As an USB audio interface they include 10 input channels and main mix left right bus that can be input into the computer.
As a midi controller it lets you seamlessly integrate your music production workflow, such as the solo, and mute button on each channel, and more.
This unit also has a 60 millimeters fader to enable precise adjustment, hi-z on every channel. The only drawback I found on this mixer is that It has a global phantom power to the entire board, you cannot individually select which track of phantom power, that’s kind of a bummer.
Other than that this is still one of the best mixer for home studio in my opinion. Great for music producer and content creator, and the amount of ways that you could configure this board to your exact needs is endless.
What’s next?
So it all adds up to this, getting a best mixer for home studio is exciting but it may not be an easy task. We hope you will find this article helpful for you in making your final decision on the right mixer for your studio.
If you would like to see more articles like this or you have any topic suggestions, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to subscribe to our newsletter and Youtube channel for more great stuff on the way.
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