Zoom L-12 -Channel Mixer - Powered

This is a great music tool for a musician. You can use it so many different situations, and it does a good job in all of them. Here are some examples of how it can be used, and how it performs in those situations both good and bad.Practice:You can plug in a number of different devices to pull material from to work on. I use it to rehearse to songs playing from spotify on my computer connected VIA USB. I can adjust the volume of both the source music and my practice so I can easily isolate problem spots. You can also set aside trouble spots to share with your teacher when you run into problems.It has a built in metronome so you can practice in time, and see how your timing is while you work on different passages.Rehearsal:This thing really rules in a low volume rehearsal situation where everyone wants to use headphone. It has 5 independent aux sends to 1/4" headphone jacks. This gives everyone the ability to hear exactly what they want to. It has built in effects so the singer can have a little bit of reverb on their vocals.All that, and you can record your rehearsal to an SD card both as individual tracks and as a summed mix. The recording feature is super simple. Just select the tracks you would like to record, arm, and record. Throw a large SD card in the unit, and you will be set for weeks of rehearsal. It's also easy to listen to what you just recorded and sort out what happened as a group in different parts of a song.Writing:I will often get an idea in my head. With this it's as simple as come in, turn it on, start recording the idea. I can go back and add tracks from other instruments after I get the basic idea down, and I can even do these to a click. you could use it to stand alone record, but it's editing features are great, so you just drop the files into your computer and work within your favorite DAW.With the built in metronome you don't have to worry about having your computer turned on to be able to track some stuff and be able to drop it right into the computer in time later.Recording:With a built in recorder, and the ability to plug directly into your computer with 12 inputs and one sum, It provides great tools to work with. I play drums, and use an electronic kit to record. I can plug in the individual sends from my drum brain right into the unit and trick like I was at the studio.Super hack record your whole recording session directly on the device as a safety in case there are any issues with the computer recording, or a perfect solo that you didn't hit record for. Zero latency monitoring is great too.Live:I think it is probably more of a sub mixer, but it can do a whole show if you don't have too many instruments. If everyone is using in ear monitors it gives them up to 5 different mixes for that. it has XLR as well as balanced 1/4" outputs for speakers.You can record the whole show and come back and mix it later at home, or directly on the mixer. It has decent live effects and compression to make your show sound great coming out of your main speakers.Rehearsals:I had to go back and add this after my initial review. I feel like this is another area where this really shines. With the pandemic in full swing playing music with other people can be very difficult while trying to maintain social distancing. I have two rehearsal situations currently that I'm using this for.The first is a group where we are all in separate rooms and communicate via microphones. At my station I have my L-12 and mic up my drums with it. I send a stereo mix of the drums to another L-12 in the house via two XLR cables. I get a headphone signal from the other L-12 with a mix of all the other instruments. I can sum that, my drums, and a click in my L-12 and hear and record everything that happens while controlling my drum mix to the board.The second group rehearses outside with me in a garage. In this situation I mic all the other instruments directly and use 4 mics on the drums. This allows me to hear everything that's happening outside the garage, and record all the songs we play. I setup a template inside of Logic Pro X so when I get home I can copy the stems from the SD card and drag and drop them into logic with no real need to mix them since the levels and effects are already set. This results in great recording for all members of the band to review when we get home.Trouble spots:There aren't many trouble spots on this unit, and I'm still giving it the highest rating due the fact that for its issues it still does way more than just about anything at its price point.1) The compression always writes to the recording and it's not a great compressor.2) The Preamps aren't great, but they're usualable3) The file naming system is okay, but pretty close to impossible to change. (Changing a long file name with a click wheel is not how I want to spend 5 minutes on every recording)4) The faders aren't motorized (you have to set the faders whenever you switch mixes)5) No individual stereo or mono pairs for monitor out in live situationThis is a tool I can definitely get behind. At this or any price point there isn't much else on the market with all of these types of capabilities in a reasonably sized package. I have, and will continue to recommend this to my friends and peers.

I bought this to replace a Korg D888, which developed a problem with one of the output jacks after many years of service.The Zoom L-12 is a significant upgrade on the Korg in many respects; the ability to record to an SD card is much more convenient than the onboard HDD of the Korg (even after I had upgraded it to an SSD). The 5 separate headphone mixes and 9 scene memories for mixes provide incredible flexibility. I have yet to use this in a practice or gig setting. Still, even in my home setup, it allows me to feed my bass guitar (via FX pedal) into the desk and then take a bass-only output mix to feed a bass amp (with DI input, which you need if feeding an amp from one of the headphone outputs on this desk). And the mix used for that is saved in a scene, so it can be instantly recalled after switching to whatever mix(es) I may need for a practice/gig setup.The onboard recording is super convenient; I have not used it extensively yet, but one thing missing (compared to the Korg) is the ability to bounce tracks on the desk. Given the ease with which a project could be transferred to a computer (via SD-card sneaker-net), this is not a huge omission, though it could be good to see it added via a firmware update in the future, maybe. (I have no idea if they have plans to do so, but it seems like it would be possible).It may not be suitable for everyone and there are many more options in the mixer/recorder space than when I got my Korg; the Zoom L-12 ticked all my boxes and was by far the best "bang for buck" proposition.Do your own research, but this should definitely be on your list of candidates (or the smaller/bigger siblings, the L8 or L20).

This mixer has replaced my focusrite interface and old peavey PA mixer. You can't beat having an audio interface and mixer in one. My band rehearsals are sounding better than ever and we love that we can record to my computer and play live simultaneously!