Behringer X32 Producer

We recently upgraded to the X32 producer from our old peavey desk, this was a huge upgrade for us so we looked at a number of desks, the reason we chose this desk was because for the price, it was the best on the market.

We went for this desk rather than the X32 compact because, although the X32 compact has stribble scrips,it doesn?t fit into a standard size rack housing which we needed.
The preamps in this desk are phenomenal, loads of headroom, and everything is crystal clear through the front of house.

Having 32 fully programmable channels is brilliant, having the ability to use one vocal channel for front of house with reverb on it, and being able to use another vocal channel for monitors with no reverb is fantastic. We also set it up so that there is a main guitar channel in the centre, with 2 more guitar channels panned left and right, with a slight mismatched delay on those channels to give a more 3D sound, and 2 kick drum channels, one has more bottom end and compression than the other, so we can mix those two channels depending on the individual room, to take out the boominess of the kick drum you sometimes get.

Having individual parametric equalisers on each channel is great, as is the ability to put a 32 band GEQ on separate channels.

The RTA is fantastic when trying to EQ channels, as it gives a clear visual indicator as to which frequencies need boosting and cutting.

We also use 5 separate monitor mixes, with compressors and equalisers available on each of these channels.

We use our desk with the X32 mixing station app, using a separate router, this makes it very easy to do front of house sound, and to control monitor mixes while not right next to the desk.
The desk is very straightforward to program as well, selecting the source and destination for each channel takes only a few seconds once you?re used to the desk.

Having separate DCA groups and busses as well is brilliant, 8 DCA groups and 16 Mix Busses are very useful ? we use 7 DCA groups for a variety of things. We also use 2 Mix busses for the drums ? the ability to put a compressor on the mix buss for the whole drum set rather than on individual drums gives a much more defined and punchy mix.

Overall this was a fantastic purchase and I would recommend it to anyone looking to upgrade their current desk to a digital desk, there is a bit of a learning curve to it but it?s a fantastic tool once you?re able to use it properly.

This is my first experience of a digital sound desk so it has taken me some time to explore all its functions and capabilities - which are very extensive. Fortunately I bought it about 8 months before start of the music festival at which I plan to use it. The more I get to know, however, the more impressed I am. Obviously I cannot see inside but as far as I can judge the build quality seems very solid and reliable and I have experienced no problems during the 4 months I've had it - and during which I have left it switched on almost continuously as a soak test. The only criticisms I have are, firstly, the screen size which, on the Producer, is a compromise forced by available space and cost. However, its ability to drive a PC or laptop with a much larger display overcomes this weakness. My other criticism is of Behringer themselves who seem to have put all their effort into product design leaving very little for customer service. I could not believe that such a complex product could be put on the market without a comprehensive User Manual. The only manual I could find was one for the 32 channel X32 which differs from the X32 Producer in a number of areas. And this after the Producer has been on the market for a couple of years! Also, when I tried to register my X32 on Behringer's website there was no mention of the X32 product range. After contacting Behringer they did allow me to send the necessary details so that it could be registered manually but, in spite of several emails, they have never confirmed that they have done so or provided any reference number.
Putting these frustrations aside I also bought the S16 digital snake to complement the X32. This works like a charm so I now have 16 inputs from the stage plus another 16 on the desk which I can use for radio mics, front-of-house mic, CD player and so on. I have read a number critical reviews of the X32 but, for me and for anyone else needing an easily portable sound system for small to medium events, I cannot think of any other product that scores so highly in terms of price and functionality.
I should also mention the X32 Mixing Station Pro app which costs next to nothing and allows one to control the desk from a tablet or smart phone and, in some ways, is almost easier to use than the desk itself. Five stars to the genius who designed this one!

It's got all the same features as the big brothers, except no scribble strips.
Same sound quality and mic pres, same expansion options, works with the adat or madi cards, and can link up to the NEW sd16 (available first now at Thomann!) via cat 5. Best thing is it rack mounts perfectly in an SKB mixer case for taking out on the road and links to my iPad mini via an Apple airport for crowd based mix tweaks :)

The only thing missing from all the X32 range is the ability to do multitrack recording to a USB stick, but on the plus side it does have stereo recording direct to USB and you always have the option to use an iPad via USB and multitrack recording in Cubasis or hook up your PC or Mac via USB and record in a DAW. I'm also considering using the LR16 recorder via the adat expander card and some DACs, but that's going to me more rack gear!