As someone who never mixed on a console until serving at church 4 years ago on an x32 and then switched to the Wing, I found the Wing to be easier and more intuitive than the x32 in the initial setup. The x32 may be more like an industry standard workflow, but as just some guy off the street, the Wing was much easier to learn routing and setup. I think it's non traditional, but I'm not a traditional user.
I agree fully on that. The X32 and his Midas counterpart the M32 are not at all user friendly. I'm used to mix on Soundcraft Performer, A&H Avantis and SQ range and these are examples of how easy it can be. When I see the YT video's of the Wing, I can only conclude that it is certainly an improvement over de X32 and M32
I don’t usually leave comments on videos but this mixer is the best purchase I have ever made in a long time. I am so impressed with the design of the mixer and the flexibility and quality sounds built in. The only thing I can say is that they could have had a default setting where when I turn the mixer on it easy to use out of the box. You do have to set it up initilly but once you are done that’s it. No other console in this price range or even more expensive comes close. I strongly disagree with almost everything said in this video.
That’s because they’re Church people posing as mainstream audio bros. Their only real complaint is that it’ll be difficult to have multiple volunteers (i.e. unpaid casuals) using this which makes sense, of course it would. But for a home project studio used by a musician that needs a mixing hub for all their gear? Sounds like a great fit to me. Tons of features and I/O. Who cares if your Church Lady doesn’t know how to pull up a template when she switches it on lol.
Mark, that is a very respectful and kind way to disagree. I wish more people would learn that we can agree, disagree and learn from one another without being insulting.
If you spend $3,000 on a console other than the WING in 2021, you are misinformed and wasting money. LOL JUST KIDDING. This video triggered me so I'm gonna trigger people with this comment. But on a serious note, it took me about a month to understand what Behringer was trying to do with this console. I agree at first it took me a day or two to get a hang of configuration and wrapping my mind around the sources/channels workflow. Frustrating at first but once my mind was able to shift with the new paradigm of this board, I love it. Now I've used it for 4 months in a week to week church setting and I think you get sooooo much more value out of this console than others in the same price range. More buses, crazy amount of plugins, autotune works fine for live vocals, etc. We haven't experienced any of the screen glitches. But wouldn't surprise me if there are some lemons. Would love to hear your opinion on this if you used it in a real-life situation for a few weeks. It's almost like it needs 2-3 months of getting used to this consoles new paradigm. And I don't think that's because it's poor UI (although there are some room for improvements). I think it has more to do with how they've innovated the workflow that requires a new mindset.
Lee is right about this one, Jake. Sorry man. If I was the only one running the board, I’d probably love it too. But our church has too many volunteers who would not take the time to really learn it. Most of the volunteers I know only adjust faders and if something went crazy I need them to be able to fix it quickly. Thanks for the honesty Lee
@Lee Fields we should collaborate on something soon. I’m not saying it takes 2-3 months to get the board function smoothly on Sunday but for me it took that long for its GUI to sink in. Not because it’s a bad GUI but because I think it’s actually better, but new and different. Completely disrupts competing consoles. I just don’t want people buying an M32 or X32 over a WING in 2021. Lol.
After watching this, I still want the WING over our 32sx. =) ChurchFront rebuttal from church perspective? Basic setup videos explaining new workflow and patching paradigm?
I appreciate your perspective Jake,we just got ours and I’m exited to dive into it and learning enough to teach our volunteers.We are upgrading from a Yamaha LS9 which we have been using for more than 6 years.I look forward to your in dept tutorials as well.Thanks Lee for your perspective.
I think what Lee is really saying is that this isn't a bad board to get sounding good. It is the fact getting there is difficult because the ui. And in the budget range of this console, most church's are having volunteers running the board and they need simple. Lee is a professional doing this for a couple decades now and it took him a long time to get into everything. Volunteers need something simple and straight forward. Plus Jake, you say it requires a new mindset for the work flow. Again that takes time for volunteers to learn and get used to. Thats why I would suggest another console. I had a church I was consulting with who was wanting to buy the Wing. I convinced them to get the sq7 and they are in love now. They had a 48 analog board and jumped into the sq7 and was able to pick it up in the matter of a few hours. That was key for them to get going becuase I could not be there evey Sunday to run sound and train for them.
I’ve found that the upgrade in sound quality is immense compared to the x32, plus the ability to have multiple stereo channels has made the console an absolute dream to work on. Maybe it’s because I watched a fair few videos before buying it, but I found the interface really simple to get to grips with- and now that I have all my sources patched, it’s actually easier for volunteers to do patching than before because there are so many more inputs and ways to patch them (for example sometimes we run click from the drums, sometimes from the keys- I have the click channel on the board setup to get the input from the drums, but then you tap the alt button and it will use the click input from the keys)
I found it totally different, it’s much easier to get up and running Compare to a digico or Yamaha sq, as well as QL I wish you have screen shots in the video to explain the the problems u were facing
We own at our Church the Wing console. After you get used to gui it's very easy to use. And you forgot to mention one big advantage of the console. Every input and output can be stereo so lets say you can have 12 stereo busses for in ear and 4 buses for effects.
I appreciate your honest review on this. Although the thing I kept thinking the whole time was: this sounds exactly like the early reviews of the X32. Now, back then, the next closest console in feature set was 10X the price and that just isn’t the case any more. It will be interesting to see how this product develops on the software front. GUI’s can change, so I think it has a lot of potential still.
Interestingly, anecdotally, patching has been EASIER and more intuitive for a number of our newest volunteers to learn on the WING than on the M32 series we use everywhere else. As tempted as I would be to move toward the TF series or similar in the price range, moving all our stage boxes over to a new console ecosystem is where it gets crazy. I’m sad to say that Behringer had us a little trapped with either an M32 or WING for the foreseeable future. Great review, great training content, and - as always - great perspective on tech through the lens of stewarding well as we glorify God. Thanks MxU team for your hard work on all this!
I am an avid Digico user. And our main auditorium setup is with a soon to arrive Q5 with for Fourier and an sd12 for broadcast with Klang for Monitors. I purchased a wing for our college ministries mobile rig. The mobile rig was already integrated with all behringer and Midas stuff. And it’s a rig we use 10 Times a year. I knew the wing capabilities were higher on paper than just about everything in the price range. I’ve spent the last 4 days or so diving deep into the console and learning it and I have to say I agree and dis-agree with Lee. I needed a mobile console in a $5000 price line that was going to be able to have the flexibility of a Digico. To be able to do virtual sound checks, separate in-ear processing, and waves superrack performer. This was the only option that fit the bill out the box. And once I got it setup, it was super fun to mix on! I was able to re create my Digico template on a behringer and control waves as well via midi and I came out with a mix that I was actually really happy with. Crazy world! But the navigation and difficulty it took to figure it out is just out of this world. Overall, I think the wing is the perfect option for the situation I described. But to a small or mid size or even larger church that doesn’t have an audio or systems engineer with the experience to build from scratch, I would for sure not recommend this console. And if you have someone with the experience, then you probably have the budget to be in Digico territory 😉.
I haven't used this console a ton, and generally do so as a volunteer at my church. I generally mix on an SQ at another campus but sometimes will fill in, and OMG I absolutely love working with the wing. Granted, I also love using reaper, and play with linux so maybe I'm just used to complex systems with tons of customizability but this really delivers in that area. I feel like you could set the wing up to be used very differently depending on what you are trying to do, and the customizable routing allows for so much more flexibility than I've had with other consoles in this price range. While I will agree that it is initially confusing, I feel like this is one of the most flexible and customizable boards I've ever used and I just love that about it.
Yes, it does. You have to invest in designers who think differently from just the development team. There is a reason why Apple generally has some of the best designs on the market. They spend a lot of money on it.
They packed so much that they thought it was glorious to have......NO ULTRA NET!!!!! That was enough for me to not upgrade our X32 to the Wing. And Yes! It's a volunteer's nightmare.
Yeah I noticed issues with the screen at a Guitar Center also. Thanks for your honest opinion. I remember their 32 channel analog mixer, the Mackie clone, blowing up. My experience usually cheaper products but not durable.
We’ve using the Wing for half a year now, and I have to say I love it. It’s true that at first it can be a bit intimidating and hard to setup, but once you learn it this thing it’s a beast. You should not compare it against other consoles in the same price range, but to something that offers similar features. Those professional level consoles are also not so easy to learn.
Definitely hard to get going. But as we said, once you're in it and learn it, it's not too bad. The onboard compressors and EQ are great. If you already have it and love it - keep it.
1) you‘re right: no manual, touch screen issues with the first shipping consoles (solved by now), complex console because of a lot of routing/setup flexibility, not recommended for volunteers or technicians who just want to rent it for a day 2) you are partly right: point to point routing on a X/M 32 is difficult on the console, ok on the EDIT app on a computer and impossible on the iPad app. Once you get the concept of sources and the benefit of naming them first before you route them to a channel you will understand how much faster it works on the WING. It is also much easier to rearrange channels during the the setup process if sudden changes during setup with the band occur (I have another keyboard/ also an acoustic guitar….. you get it) how many times did you setup a console before the gig according to the technical rider of the band but still got confronted with the need of additional channels for a musician on during sound check. On the WING you easily can move channels by reselecting sources (getting the names from the sources) to get an extra channel inserted in your original line of channels.
I agree, setup was a pain but it did not take long to re-train my brain and once that was done this thing packs a lot of bang for your buck in here. I mix 3 services a week on this console for the past year and I would not want another board in this price point now that I have it dialed in.
I’ve mixed on a Wing only once. My church just upgraded to the Wing from an X32. I struggled with the routing too, but once you get the hang of it, I think it’s completely fine. There are still a whole bunch of things I need/want to figure out, but I’d assume that’s true for pretty much any console. Honestly, what bothers ME about it are the following things: - Slow fader motors - 16 faders in the left section would have been nice - IMO useless section to the right of the screen (working on the touch screen is just faster for me; wasted real estate on the physical layout of the console) - Scribble strips aren’t colored like on the X32, and the colored LEDs have a host of very similar colors -> only gonna use a few of those, and that doesn’t leave many to choose from - Is it just me or is there no way of quickly resetting an individual EQ band??? On the X32 I used that all the time! - I don’t like the way the encoders feel. Start and end of movement feels very mushy and forces me to watch values on the screen without being able to really feel what I’m doing - Very occasionally, the touch screen won’t register when I push something. Not a deal breaker, but it does slow you down sometimes. But when I consider what I get in the console, it’s a HUGE win. The number of stereo busses, being able to create multiple levels of busses (e.g. a bus for snare top and bottom mic, sent to a drum bus) and number of effects slots - that in itself warrants the upgrade for me and no console in the price range can even begin to compete with that. It allows for ssso much creative freedom. =)
I agree 100% with you. Although knowing now what I can do with it I am convinced I do not regret diving into the Wing. Yes, It was a very frustrating take-off as it took me days maybe even a couple of weeks studying it on my own without a band present just to get a decent understanding and manageable workflow with its layout and endless layered menus. But it is for sure a monster machine in a compact package with endless options and features that will make a world of difference in your mixing performance once you learn it.
Lee, thanks for taking the time to do the review. However at times I found myself questioning how much time you put in with this console before videoing this series. Felt like you missed some important stuff like the ability to reorder the signal path by channel. Also missing the ability to have buses as channel inputs, meaning that FX don't need to be inserted on the bus and you can have FX return channels. All in all I think you did a good job of unpacking the features of the console though. It is a challenging console since there is so little documentation. As much as I love working on this console it pains me to say this console is not for everyone. The Wing is so customizable that it can be easy to get into the weeds. However, this is also the best part of this console. The ability to setup a workflow that is exactly what you want. The Wing is a new way of doing digital mixers. Will be interesting to see if it takes flight.
@Lee Fields Thanks for the response. I must have missed where you covered reordering the gate, compressor, eq, and insert in a channel strip. I had a few interruptions while I was watching the videos. Thanks again for creating this content.
We have had one for 10 months at this point. Since I am on stage every week my perspective is different. I think at times it is easier to patch sources and channels with the copilot app. Our experience has been good since I (The Worship Director) can be setting stuff up for people on stage and taking care of in-ear mixes all from the stage and then all the volunteers in the back have to worry about is the actual mixing. Also the GUI now from even 10 months ago is pretty different. I don't see any reason why they wouldn't keep dialing in improvements. All that being said...we do have to send ours in for a screen issue...
Thank you so much for an honest review. Our church uses an Allen & Heath GLD-112 from FOH and GLD-80 for Live stream. They are great and easy to teach volunteers but still have a lot of features found on more expensive consoles. We are planning ahead towards replacement. Can you do a video on -the Allen & Heath Avantis
We have an SQ6 for live stream, I believe we are updating our FOH Venue Profile to a DLIVE S5000. Should be good and should work well on a new Dante network 😀
The dlive is an amazing console. I have the c3500 at FOH. The dyn8 gives you 4 band multi and compression and 4 band dynamic eq. It's awesome. Plus mulitple options of compressors per channel. It's great!
If you’re starting from scratch it’s actually easier to learn the Wing. It makes a lot of sense and it’s intuitive. Yes, it’s a different concept of what you might’ve used to if you own(ed) any other console in this price range. It’s way more customizable and that’s an advantage. Been using it since it was introduced and I’m not looking back (coming from a StudioLive 32). If I had to say any negative things about it is the lack of proper show control. Behringer says it’s on the way… BUT WHEN???
I had to set one up in a studio during 2020 and the client was ready to ship it back because of the routing options. I just set another one up a few months ago at a church and found it to be a bit cool. I knew a bit around it from working with a x32/installing x32s all the time. I think the preamps should've been installed in case you didn't want/don't have the stage box . I think the effects and processing is amazing and all but it is a bit to get it to a work flow kind of usage.
I agree the documentation is awful/non existent. However after a good few evenings with UA-cam I managed to set it up before the band arrived (the day before to be honest) and it worked as expected immediately. Our volunteers who use it on a Sunday only and don't program it loved how easy it is now I set it up. After our previous Roland VM 7200, even though we are using Behringer stage box, the sound is superb. Not tried the pitch corrector yet, but the compressions are so easy to set up and sound great with very little work. I can even do my 80s favourite of gated reverb for the drums! Yes it took work to learn, but I prefer lots of options as we can simplify the work for the volunteers and they all think they're experts. (OK I program computers for a living).
Thanks for the honest in-depth feedback! As we believe with every opinion of ours, they're just ours! So we're glad you have found a way to enjoy it and get a killer mix with the WING! If you and your team want in-depth training for volunteers/future volunteers, check out our series on the WING on MxU NOW! app.mxu.rocks/
MFC, My start with the Wing is similar to yours. I watched a bunch of videos before purchasing the Wing. Once it arrived it was easy to setup and navigate due to the foundation the videos provided. We use our Wing consoles primary for broadcast. I am a fellow software engineer, so perhaps that has something to due with understanding the setup and workflow of this console.
It's a fantastic console. It's changed the way I work. For the price it's an incredible value with so many features. I mean a ton of features. You had a bad screen. Behringer's biggest mistake was not including a manual or having a real one anywhere.The learning curve is steep but the sound is great.
That's valid! We're glad you had a good experience with it. As we said, it's not the worst console ever made and nobody should buy it...it's just something we wouldn't want to throw to volunteers and say "go learn it" because of all the issues on the startup. But if you are killing it with the WING, more power to ya! If you need any more WING training or want to grow your WING knowledge, we have a whole series on it on MxU NOW!
Ok, I'm a totally blind tech, so there's much of the Wing I have to memorize, like switching functions of the encoders, etc, but with a bit of sighted help, the thing was so easy to set that I hated going back to the traditional way! We got sources named, gain staged and configured as we plugged them in using an iPad, then did hands on channel assignments with the desk, and things were up and running in no time! Also, I'm a 1176 guy, so installing one on all my vocal channels was ridiculously cool. Usual learning curves training volunteers, but this is their first digital console.
Everyone will have different experiences with this mixer. I find that when people have backgrounds working with certain types of gear, they bring their expectations and workflow to the table when trying new gear. This goes for new computers, cameras, smartphones, and even mixing consoles. I hated working with Mac OS at first because I came from a Windows background. Everything seemed backward and not well thought out on the Mac. Now looking back in hindsight, it was me not wanting to adapt to different concepts and workflows. Not saying the Wing is a flawless mixer, but I think once the workflow becomes muscle memory, things start to make more sense.
This video is great. Aside from the screen issues, it sounds like this is better suited for permanent installations (that don't change very much), with a static crew to run it. I passed on this, simply because is it a 48 channel mixer. a $3500 mixer for 48 channels or $4500 for 64, and a more intuitive interface? I will gladly purchase the other. Thanks for the honest feedback
If there is one thing that I can say about Behringer, it's that they will probably roll out updates to the firmware that will improve the GUI over time. They kind of throw it out there as a working model but it's really a beta test and they will take the feedback and use it to improve the console over time. At least that's what they have done in the past with their other products. The one thing that makes me hesitate to get this, is 2 things. Stability and dependability. I have serious doubts about the stability of this with that big touchscreen. That is something that is hard to implement and make 100% stable, and that's why you usually only see them on higher end more expensive consoles. But it's so common these days, maybe they can pull that off. This thing looks like they spent all the money to get it to do all this cool stuff, and makes me doubt the build quality and if it would stand up to the abuse of being on the road and set up and tear down over and over for gigs and then also use it in the studio.
So let's say i want a mixer for my project studio,and need a digital brain for a hybrid system..Turntables/records...analog/digital synths...hardware samplers...bass and lead guitars...would you recommend the Wing???
We’re still looking to replace our X32, and I find your review very nice and honest. What would you then recommend over the Wing for the same price range without giving up too much of its features?
I own one for personal use. I agree with you. You have to go into it forgetting all you know about routing. Once you work it out in your brain it makes sense. Not going to lie it can be challenging but for me the power I have available nothing at this price range can complete. At least to me. Training volunteers to do the routing in a stressful use would be a nightmare. I love mine but also as I said I am the only user and for studio use only.
I haven’t watched the video, I don’t have time to. Just tell me what I need to know; does it sound good?! It cant be harder to learn than a DM1000, can it?
Avantis is currently what I'm pushing for my church to upgrade to. Wing was actually my Plan B in case Avantis was too much for the budget. Feel better now about wing not being my first choice. Just didn't seem like the best we could do.
Just put in the Avantis at my church. It's the easiest and most intuitive console I've ever worked on. I had volunteers up and running on it within 15 minutes of me showing them the workflow and the setup and patching just works and is so smooth. The customizability is perfect for our needs. Gives you customization where you need it, while keeping it simple and easy to use. Not to mention it sounds absolutely incredible.
@@paulnumrich5225 yes we love it! there is just one thing that is bothering me, the direct out routing - i want to be able to choose where in the chain i want the direct out to flow from for each channel, not a global preference!
This Wing is hard to use because its CUSTOMIZABLE to an extreeeeme! Soemthing that the m32 x32 lack. The features and options, the routing, the processing engine, the ins and outs, the degree to which you can route this compares somehow to high ends digico SDs and for the price you're paying its peanuts. The more i use this the more i find amazing features. Yes it will take you some time to set it up, but once its running its a beast. The whole concept of the WING is closer to working in a DAW where you have control over almost everything.
I have to say, I think you are right on the money. I have used all the consoles you mentioned in that price range and currently own an M32 and an SQ7 as well as the Wing. While it is very powerful and is feature-rich, I find it very un-intuitive and difficult to learn and setup.
Thanks for this review. I am considering this console based on the I/O. We are just out of inputs and busses on the X32. It sounds like this might not be the answer, but 48 stereo inputs for $3K is hard to find.
You'll need a stage box to get anywhere near that channel count, and might as well go for the Midas DL, the 16 channel Midas DL is $1000 Canadian right now on Amazon. The Midas DL32 channel stage box is on sale at Long and Mcquade for $1689.00 Canadian. Something you have to consider when buying the Wing. One last edit: If you own the X32 you could always use its' preamps into the Wing as extra channels via AES50 port. Making the X32 your stage box so to speak and saving lots of money from having to buy an external stage box.
The ultimate takeaway here is, a professional is giving his honest opinion on why this may not be a good idea if you are starting fresh or upgrading your church system. Lee said himself that there was cool features with it and that mixing on it was fine; however, if you can't quickly dive into a menu to fix an issue promptly...not only are you hindering yourself, but you are allowing your decision of a console be a possible distraction for the service. As audio engineers & techs, whether it be volunteer or paid, we must make the best decisions that allow volunteers to easily train and operate systems we are expecting them to run. It's just like choosing the correct PA for your room...you want what's right for your room, not what reviews said or what ___ church has. Remember, it's not about us, but rather us making the most distraction-free environment for the lost to find Jesus.
My opinion is that it is more complicated than the competition to get your head around and setup, but that once it is setup, it can be really quick and nice to use (you can also set it up to be horrible to use). How often does the routing and main setup actually need to be changed? I just have that all as fixed, and we use channel presets to "move" any channels about as needed (the Wing has the best channel presets of any I have come across, as you can save things like DCA assignment and any inserted effects racks in a neater way). On the X32, I used to just use the faders and custom controls as I preferred the ipad interface for the rest. With the Wing, the screen interface is great IMO, doesn't take more than about two touches to get to anything that you are likely to want on a normal Sunday. I spent a while looking into the interface of this, the SQ, TF, Studiolive and the Soundcraft Si before choosing one of these, based on the UI and how it works. I would say as long as there is someone at a church who understands the intricacies and looks after the setup etc, then it should be pretty easy for most to have a good go at mixing after a brief introduction. Edit to add - the routing is very hit and miss, as in some people really click and like it, and others really can't get it, I reckon there could be a psychology experiment in there about different brain types or something lol! It makes perfect sense to me, and I had ours routed in all of about 10 mins (mixing AES50 and local ins, card ins for virtual soundcheck, AES, local and aux outs etc), but I know lots of people find it makes no sense at all
@@E4S65 I’d recommend the Yamaha TF or QL route especially if you can’t go for the CL series, I use a Allen and Heath SQ6 right now that personally not a fan of in terms of work flow.
Biggest issue is that it is made by Behringer. Not only did they try to jam pack it and make a totally new workflow for mixing, but they then jumped ship. Support and reliability are more important to me than a plugin. I want to be able to call a rep and ask them a question, or get something fixed if it breaks. Behring right now doesn't even have a supply chain! They are missing every important thing that it takes to make and sell a good product. I give a couple years until they are out of business and everyone who bought one of these will be regretting their discussion as it breaks. (Midas pro series RIP).
I think you underestimate the difficulty of good UX design - it is VERY difficult, and costly to design good UI. Most of your complaints seem to be around the UX and work flow and this is improving with every firmware update. Don't forget that the X32/M32 got a complete UI overhaul way after it was released - I'm no fan of Behringer's business practices, but on these low cost consoles I think they have done and continue to do an amazing job. Fair critique of the console - I love it personally. The display bug you encountered is well known - they had a bad batch of touch screens. Behringer replace this regardless of the status of your warranty. It's a real inconvenience sending it away - fortunately we got ours during Covid and were not impacted by having to send it back. I have heard mixed reports on the speed of the repair, but ours was done super fast - we had it back in 10 days. As far as the autotune goes, I am so happy it is limited - people who use it as a part of their standard workflow annoy me. I have used it on occasion - it is subtle and will only make a bad singer less bad, but in my opinion authenticity is more important than perfection.
Also, the reason we chose the Wing over the alternatives that, as an experienced mixer I would have preferred, is that it is similar enough to the X32/M32 that our volunteers had no issue getting up to speed. Also, the amount of UA-cam content for the X32/M32 is huge and I was confident that the Wing would follow that trend. Also, we got to leverage our existing Midas AES50 infrastructure. Our original upgrade choice was the M32, but the richness of features of the Wing made it an easy pivot.
Lee, did you play with the PSE source extractor plug-in at all? That alone, built-in, has almost made the WING worth it for us to naturally tighten up some of our pastor headsets and host handhelds.
If it takes a good amount of time for a seasoned or even professional sound engineer to get used to it I don't want to have to train new volunteers on it.
Hi Jacob. Sorry to hear that you are having screen issues. Please submit a Technical ticket on our Community and we get the issue fixed for you. community.musictribe.com/pages/support
Yeah Behringer desks seem like they're designed more by software engineers than audio engineers. The features are there, but the system is not organized in a way that accounts for how audio engineers actually operate in the real world. A Technical Director or Head Sound or whatever the job title, should be able to hire a new technician with a general knowledge of mixing consoles but who has never used the particular console they have in their venue, and teach them the console specific idiosyncrasies in an hour or less. It should never take anybody who knows audio more than a little bit an hour to figure out the patch screen, that is not acceptable. There is no reason for it to be so complicated you can't work it out in five minutes, I know because I can usually work it out in five minutes on other consoles!
I need between 48-64 ch Inputs and already have the whole ecosystem from Behringer (Multicores, P16s, M32, etc.). Do not see an easy way for me to switch.
Definitely agree with the general synopsis. It feels like it needs a lot of pre-programming like some of the higher-end consoles (like DiGiCo) before you're up and running, but it doesn't have the same intuitiveness. With the amount of hate that the Midas Pro series got for its GUI, I felt like you could still be quick with it once you got the flow (which for me came very quickly). It feels like the Wing's GUI just has a lot of unnecessary clunkiness.
As someone who runs an SQ weekly and has also used the wing on several occasions, I would pick the wing every single time. I love customizability and being able to play with on-board effects, and the SQ just doesn't do that too well. That said, the SQ is very good if you don't want to play with on-board effects much and really just need good sounding preamps and a simple aesthetic that is quick and easy to train.
Well that’s 6:54 of my life I want back. Thanks for the complete lack of information you just gave us. Not one specific thing did you demonstrate, that was totally unhelpful other than I now understand you don’t like it. Are there other things you don’t like? Perhaps the color olive green is not to your liking, oh wait I was specific. Never mind.
Go to other consoles. You guys you keep complaining to good things and to bad things. You even complain to God a creator of universe. Ok Curry on your complaints….
This video is from a course all about the Behringer WING. Start watching for FREE here: app.getmxu.com/playlists/7be39c47
As someone who never mixed on a console until serving at church 4 years ago on an x32 and then switched to the Wing, I found the Wing to be easier and more intuitive than the x32 in the initial setup. The x32 may be more like an industry standard workflow, but as just some guy off the street, the Wing was much easier to learn routing and setup. I think it's non traditional, but I'm not a traditional user.
I agree fully on that. The X32 and his Midas counterpart the M32 are not at all user friendly. I'm used to mix on Soundcraft Performer, A&H Avantis and SQ range and these are examples of how easy it can be. When I see the YT video's of the Wing, I can only conclude that it is certainly an improvement over de X32 and M32
I don’t usually leave comments on videos but this mixer is the best purchase I have ever made in a long time. I am so impressed with the design of the mixer and the flexibility and quality sounds built in. The only thing I can say is that they could have had a default setting where when I turn the mixer on it easy to use out of the box. You do have to set it up initilly but once you are done that’s it. No other console in this price range or even more expensive comes close. I strongly disagree with almost everything said in this video.
Thanks for sharing! Agree to disagree 👍🏼
That’s because they’re Church people posing as mainstream audio bros. Their only real complaint is that it’ll be difficult to have multiple volunteers (i.e. unpaid casuals) using this which makes sense, of course it would. But for a home project studio used by a musician that needs a mixing hub for all their gear? Sounds like a great fit to me. Tons of features and I/O. Who cares if your Church Lady doesn’t know how to pull up a template when she switches it on lol.
Mark, that is a very respectful and kind way to disagree. I wish more people would learn that we can agree, disagree and learn from one another without being insulting.
I agree that it is a real improvement to the M32 and X32. The most user friendly console for me are those of Allen & Heath
Always great to hear unfiltered critiques.
If you spend $3,000 on a console other than the WING in 2021, you are misinformed and wasting money.
LOL JUST KIDDING. This video triggered me so I'm gonna trigger people with this comment. But on a serious note, it took me about a month to understand what Behringer was trying to do with this console. I agree at first it took me a day or two to get a hang of configuration and wrapping my mind around the sources/channels workflow. Frustrating at first but once my mind was able to shift with the new paradigm of this board, I love it.
Now I've used it for 4 months in a week to week church setting and I think you get sooooo much more value out of this console than others in the same price range. More buses, crazy amount of plugins, autotune works fine for live vocals, etc. We haven't experienced any of the screen glitches. But wouldn't surprise me if there are some lemons.
Would love to hear your opinion on this if you used it in a real-life situation for a few weeks. It's almost like it needs 2-3 months of getting used to this consoles new paradigm. And I don't think that's because it's poor UI (although there are some room for improvements). I think it has more to do with how they've innovated the workflow that requires a new mindset.
Lee is right about this one, Jake. Sorry man. If I was the only one running the board, I’d probably love it too. But our church has too many volunteers who would not take the time to really learn it. Most of the volunteers I know only adjust faders and if something went crazy I need them to be able to fix it quickly. Thanks for the honesty Lee
@Lee Fields we should collaborate on something soon. I’m not saying it takes 2-3 months to get the board function smoothly on Sunday but for me it took that long for its GUI to sink in. Not because it’s a bad GUI but because I think it’s actually better, but new and different. Completely disrupts competing consoles. I just don’t want people buying an M32 or X32 over a WING in 2021. Lol.
After watching this, I still want the WING over our 32sx. =) ChurchFront rebuttal from church perspective? Basic setup videos explaining new workflow and patching paradigm?
I appreciate your perspective Jake,we just got ours and I’m exited to dive into it and learning enough to teach our volunteers.We are upgrading from a Yamaha LS9 which we have been using for more than 6 years.I look forward to your in dept tutorials as well.Thanks Lee for your perspective.
I think what Lee is really saying is that this isn't a bad board to get sounding good. It is the fact getting there is difficult because the ui. And in the budget range of this console, most church's are having volunteers running the board and they need simple. Lee is a professional doing this for a couple decades now and it took him a long time to get into everything. Volunteers need something simple and straight forward.
Plus Jake, you say it requires a new mindset for the work flow. Again that takes time for volunteers to learn and get used to. Thats why I would suggest another console.
I had a church I was consulting with who was wanting to buy the Wing. I convinced them to get the sq7 and they are in love now. They had a 48 analog board and jumped into the sq7 and was able to pick it up in the matter of a few hours. That was key for them to get going becuase I could not be there evey Sunday to run sound and train for them.
I’ve found that the upgrade in sound quality is immense compared to the x32, plus the ability to have multiple stereo channels has made the console an absolute dream to work on.
Maybe it’s because I watched a fair few videos before buying it, but I found the interface really simple to get to grips with- and now that I have all my sources patched, it’s actually easier for volunteers to do patching than before because there are so many more inputs and ways to patch them (for example sometimes we run click from the drums, sometimes from the keys- I have the click channel on the board setup to get the input from the drums, but then you tap the alt button and it will use the click input from the keys)
I found it totally different, it’s much easier to get up and running
Compare to a digico or Yamaha sq, as well as QL
I wish you have screen shots in the video to explain the the problems u were facing
We own at our Church the Wing console. After you get used to gui it's very easy to use. And you forgot to mention one big advantage of the console. Every input and output can be stereo so lets say you can have 12 stereo busses for in ear and 4 buses for effects.
Of course - it just takes a while to get used to it. That is a nice feature, though.
I appreciate your honest review on this. Although the thing I kept thinking the whole time was: this sounds exactly like the early reviews of the X32. Now, back then, the next closest console in feature set was 10X the price and that just isn’t the case any more. It will be interesting to see how this product develops on the software front. GUI’s can change, so I think it has a lot of potential still.
Thanks, yeah that's a good point. It just seems like they tried to fit too much into one affordable console.
Interestingly, anecdotally, patching has been EASIER and more intuitive for a number of our newest volunteers to learn on the WING than on the M32 series we use everywhere else. As tempted as I would be to move toward the TF series or similar in the price range, moving all our stage boxes over to a new console ecosystem is where it gets crazy. I’m sad to say that Behringer had us a little trapped with either an M32 or WING for the foreseeable future.
Great review, great training content, and - as always - great perspective on tech through the lens of stewarding well as we glorify God. Thanks MxU team for your hard work on all this!
In some ways teaching someone who has no previous experience in routing could be a huge plus.
I totally agree that patching is so much easier on the Wing than the m32 series. going back to the m32 makes me so angry now.
I am an avid Digico user. And our main auditorium setup is with a soon to arrive Q5 with for Fourier and an sd12 for broadcast with Klang for Monitors.
I purchased a wing for our college ministries mobile rig. The mobile rig was already integrated with all behringer and Midas stuff. And it’s a rig we use 10
Times a year. I knew the wing capabilities were higher on paper than just about everything in the price range.
I’ve spent the last 4 days or so diving deep into the console and learning it and I have to say I agree and dis-agree with Lee. I needed a mobile console in a $5000 price line that was going to be able to have the flexibility of a Digico. To be able to do virtual sound checks, separate in-ear processing, and waves superrack performer. This was the only option that fit the bill out the box. And once I got it setup, it was super fun to mix on! I was able to re create my Digico template on a behringer and control waves as well via midi and I came out with a mix that I was actually really happy with. Crazy world! But the navigation and difficulty it took to figure it out is just out of this world.
Overall, I think the wing is the perfect option for the situation I described. But to a small or mid size or even larger church that doesn’t have an audio or systems engineer with the experience to build from scratch, I would for sure not recommend this console. And if you have someone with the experience, then you probably have the budget to be in Digico territory 😉.
I haven't used this console a ton, and generally do so as a volunteer at my church. I generally mix on an SQ at another campus but sometimes will fill in, and OMG I absolutely love working with the wing.
Granted, I also love using reaper, and play with linux so maybe I'm just used to complex systems with tons of customizability but this really delivers in that area. I feel like you could set the wing up to be used very differently depending on what you are trying to do, and the customizable routing allows for so much more flexibility than I've had with other consoles in this price range. While I will agree that it is initially confusing, I feel like this is one of the most flexible and customizable boards I've ever used and I just love that about it.
Glad you're loving it! There are some good features and hey, more power to ya if you're killing it!
Watch our series on MxU NOW on the WING! app.mxu.rocks/
Just a FYI from a software engineer, good design ABSOLUTELY cost money. Project hours = $$$ and often compromises are made.
Mechanical Engineer seconding this
Yes, it does. You have to invest in designers who think differently from just the development team. There is a reason why Apple generally has some of the best designs on the market. They spend a lot of money on it.
They packed so much that they thought it was glorious to have......NO ULTRA NET!!!!!
That was enough for me to not upgrade our X32 to the Wing.
And Yes! It's a volunteer's nightmare.
I'm waiting for the "M32C" rack mount equivalent to the wing, I want the dsp, I don't really care about having faders or that "iffy" touch screen
same here!
Yeah I noticed issues with the screen at a Guitar Center also. Thanks for your honest opinion. I remember their 32 channel analog mixer, the Mackie clone, blowing up. My experience usually cheaper products but not durable.
The screen issue is known, needs to be sent out for free replacement.
Yeah, the screen was so buggy.
Thanks Lee For Giving us your HONEST opinion. 👍🏽💯
We’ve using the Wing for half a year now, and I have to say I love it. It’s true that at first it can be a bit intimidating and hard to setup, but once you learn it this thing it’s a beast. You should not compare it against other consoles in the same price range, but to something that offers similar features. Those professional level consoles are also not so easy to learn.
Definitely hard to get going. But as we said, once you're in it and learn it, it's not too bad. The onboard compressors and EQ are great. If you already have it and love it - keep it.
Certainly right. If you ever had to mix something for the first time on a Digico, I think the wing is easier
I appreciated the review. This guy makes some good points. Would love to hear from the perspective of a pro mixer and not church beginners though.
1) you‘re right: no manual, touch screen issues with the first shipping consoles (solved by now), complex console because of a lot of routing/setup flexibility, not recommended for volunteers or technicians who just want to rent it for a day
2) you are partly right: point to point routing on a X/M 32 is difficult on the console, ok on the EDIT app on a computer and impossible on the iPad app. Once you get the concept of sources and the benefit of naming them first before you route them to a channel you will understand how much faster it works on the WING. It is also much easier to rearrange channels during the the setup process if sudden changes during setup with the band occur (I have another keyboard/ also an acoustic guitar….. you get it) how many times did you setup a console before the gig according to the technical rider of the band but still got confronted with the need of additional channels for a musician on during sound check. On the WING you easily can move channels by reselecting sources (getting the names from the sources) to get an extra channel inserted in your original line of channels.
Lol. True. Setting up from Scratch is very frustrating. Once you overcome that stage, you are good.
I agree, setup was a pain but it did not take long to re-train my brain and once that was done this thing packs a lot of bang for your buck in here. I mix 3 services a week on this console for the past year and I would not want another board in this price point now that I have it dialed in.
I’ve mixed on a Wing only once. My church just upgraded to the Wing from an X32. I struggled with the routing too, but once you get the hang of it, I think it’s completely fine. There are still a whole bunch of things I need/want to figure out, but I’d assume that’s true for pretty much any console.
Honestly, what bothers ME about it are the following things:
- Slow fader motors
- 16 faders in the left section would have been nice
- IMO useless section to the right of the screen (working on the touch screen is just faster for me; wasted real estate on the physical layout of the console)
- Scribble strips aren’t colored like on the X32, and the colored LEDs have a host of very similar colors -> only gonna use a few of those, and that doesn’t leave many to choose from
- Is it just me or is there no way of quickly resetting an individual EQ band??? On the X32 I used that all the time!
- I don’t like the way the encoders feel. Start and end of movement feels very mushy and forces me to watch values on the screen without being able to really feel what I’m doing
- Very occasionally, the touch screen won’t register when I push something. Not a deal breaker, but it does slow you down sometimes.
But when I consider what I get in the console, it’s a HUGE win. The number of stereo busses, being able to create multiple levels of busses (e.g. a bus for snare top and bottom mic, sent to a drum bus) and number of effects slots - that in itself warrants the upgrade for me and no console in the price range can even begin to compete with that. It allows for ssso much creative freedom. =)
I agree 100% with you. Although knowing now what I can do with it I am convinced I do not regret diving into the Wing. Yes, It was a very frustrating take-off as it took me days maybe even a couple of weeks studying it on my own without a band present just to get a decent understanding and manageable workflow with its layout and endless layered menus. But it is for sure a monster machine in a compact package with endless options and features that will make a world of difference in your mixing performance once you learn it.
Lee, thanks for taking the time to do the review. However at times I found myself questioning how much time you put in with this console before videoing this series. Felt like you missed some important stuff like the ability to reorder the signal path by channel. Also missing the ability to have buses as channel inputs, meaning that FX don't need to be inserted on the bus and you can have FX return channels. All in all I think you did a good job of unpacking the features of the console though. It is a challenging console since there is so little documentation.
As much as I love working on this console it pains me to say this console is not for everyone. The Wing is so customizable that it can be easy to get into the weeds. However, this is also the best part of this console. The ability to setup a workflow that is exactly what you want.
The Wing is a new way of doing digital mixers. Will be interesting to see if it takes flight.
@Lee Fields Thanks for the response. I must have missed where you covered reordering the gate, compressor, eq, and insert in a channel strip. I had a few interruptions while I was watching the videos. Thanks again for creating this content.
We have had one for 10 months at this point. Since I am on stage every week my perspective is different. I think at times it is easier to patch sources and channels with the copilot app. Our experience has been good since I (The Worship Director) can be setting stuff up for people on stage and taking care of in-ear mixes all from the stage and then all the volunteers in the back have to worry about is the actual mixing.
Also the GUI now from even 10 months ago is pretty different. I don't see any reason why they wouldn't keep dialing in improvements. All that being said...we do have to send ours in for a screen issue...
I LOVE honest reviews. Thanks!!
Thank you so much for an honest review. Our church uses an Allen & Heath GLD-112 from FOH and GLD-80 for Live stream. They are great and easy to teach volunteers but still have a lot of features found on more expensive consoles. We are planning ahead towards replacement. Can you do a video on -the Allen & Heath Avantis
That’s called “Ghost Touch.” It’s a major factory defect in the screens that Behringer has put out a recall on.
We have an SQ6 for live stream, I believe we are updating our FOH Venue Profile to a DLIVE S5000. Should be good and should work well on a new Dante network 😀
The dlive is an amazing console. I have the c3500 at FOH. The dyn8 gives you 4 band multi and compression and 4 band dynamic eq. It's awesome. Plus mulitple options of compressors per channel. It's great!
If you’re starting from scratch it’s actually easier to learn the Wing. It makes a lot of sense and it’s intuitive. Yes, it’s a different concept of what you might’ve used to if you own(ed) any other console in this price range. It’s way more customizable and that’s an advantage. Been using it since it was introduced and I’m not looking back (coming from a StudioLive 32). If I had to say any negative things about it is the lack of proper show control. Behringer says it’s on the way… BUT WHEN???
I still believe and hope that they'll introduce X32 MK2 with a touch screen, 96kHz and a bit better everything - next market killer.
For the moment I think the Allen & Heath consoles are the guiding examples of userfriendlyness combined with excellent quality
Honesty from a pro is what is essential.
I had to set one up in a studio during 2020 and the client was ready to ship it back because of the routing options. I just set another one up a few months ago at a church and found it to be a bit cool. I knew a bit around it from working with a x32/installing x32s all the time. I think the preamps should've been installed in case you didn't want/don't have the stage box . I think the effects and processing is amazing and all but it is a bit to get it to a work flow kind of usage.
What Microphone are you using Sir? it sounds excellent!❤️ Thanks for the video
I understood the wings gui in less than 10 min
You perfectly explained the last year for me with this console… frustrating… at least I’m not alone. 😭🙌🏼💯
Can you not setup presets? A way to recall a "base" initialization to skip those frustrations in the beginning setup?
I agree the documentation is awful/non existent. However after a good few evenings with UA-cam I managed to set it up before the band arrived (the day before to be honest) and it worked as expected immediately.
Our volunteers who use it on a Sunday only and don't program it loved how easy it is now I set it up.
After our previous Roland VM 7200, even though we are using Behringer stage box, the sound is superb. Not tried the pitch corrector yet, but the compressions are so easy to set up and sound great with very little work.
I can even do my 80s favourite of gated reverb for the drums!
Yes it took work to learn, but I prefer lots of options as we can simplify the work for the volunteers and they all think they're experts. (OK I program computers for a living).
Thanks for the honest in-depth feedback! As we believe with every opinion of ours, they're just ours! So we're glad you have found a way to enjoy it and get a killer mix with the WING! If you and your team want in-depth training for volunteers/future volunteers, check out our series on the WING on MxU NOW! app.mxu.rocks/
MFC, My start with the Wing is similar to yours. I watched a bunch of videos before purchasing the Wing. Once it arrived it was easy to setup and navigate due to the foundation the videos provided. We use our Wing consoles primary for broadcast. I am a fellow software engineer, so perhaps that has something to due with understanding the setup and workflow of this console.
It's a fantastic console. It's changed the way I work. For the price it's an incredible value with so many features. I mean a ton of features. You had a bad screen. Behringer's biggest mistake was not including a manual or having a real one anywhere.The learning curve is steep but
the sound is great.
That's valid! We're glad you had a good experience with it. As we said, it's not the worst console ever made and nobody should buy it...it's just something we wouldn't want to throw to volunteers and say "go learn it" because of all the issues on the startup. But if you are killing it with the WING, more power to ya!
If you need any more WING training or want to grow your WING knowledge, we have a whole series on it on MxU NOW!
Ok, I'm a totally blind tech, so there's much of the Wing I have to memorize, like switching functions of the encoders, etc, but with a bit of sighted help, the thing was so easy to set that I hated going back to the traditional way! We got sources named, gain staged and configured as we plugged them in using an iPad, then did hands on channel assignments with the desk, and things were up and running in no time! Also, I'm a 1176 guy, so installing one on all my vocal channels was ridiculously cool. Usual learning curves training volunteers, but this is their first digital console.
It was the desk I was going for...BUT! .. Presonus StudioLive 32 S For me this integration is good with their software in DAW mode..Studio use only.
Until you have a more complex session…than it’s buggy as hell. Been there, done that and have the T-shirt… never again…
Yes! Our early videos roasting it are slightly justified haha! Although, after time, we still have one. It has it's purpose and sounds fine.
The routing is so flexible
Everyone will have different experiences with this mixer. I find that when people have backgrounds working with certain types of gear, they bring their expectations and workflow to the table when trying new gear. This goes for new computers, cameras, smartphones, and even mixing consoles. I hated working with Mac OS at first because I came from a Windows background. Everything seemed backward and not well thought out on the Mac. Now looking back in hindsight, it was me not wanting to adapt to different concepts and workflows. Not saying the Wing is a flawless mixer, but I think once the workflow becomes muscle memory, things start to make more sense.
If you didn't get used to the GUI it doesn't mean it's bad.
This video is great. Aside from the screen issues, it sounds like this is better suited for permanent installations (that don't change very much), with a static crew to run it. I passed on this, simply because is it a 48 channel mixer. a $3500 mixer for 48 channels or $4500 for 64, and a more intuitive interface? I will gladly purchase the other. Thanks for the honest feedback
If there is one thing that I can say about Behringer, it's that they will probably roll out updates to the firmware that will improve the GUI over time. They kind of throw it out there as a working model but it's really a beta test and they will take the feedback and use it to improve the console over time. At least that's what they have done in the past with their other products. The one thing that makes me hesitate to get this, is 2 things. Stability and dependability. I have serious doubts about the stability of this with that big touchscreen. That is something that is hard to implement and make 100% stable, and that's why you usually only see them on higher end more expensive consoles. But it's so common these days, maybe they can pull that off. This thing looks like they spent all the money to get it to do all this cool stuff, and makes me doubt the build quality and if it would stand up to the abuse of being on the road and set up and tear down over and over for gigs and then also use it in the studio.
So let's say i want a mixer for my project studio,and need a digital brain for a hybrid system..Turntables/records...analog/digital synths...hardware samplers...bass and lead guitars...would you recommend the Wing???
We’re still looking to replace our X32, and I find your review very nice and honest. What would you then recommend over the Wing for the same price range without giving up too much of its features?
@Lee Fields Hi Lee. A huge fan from Port Harcourt, Nigeria
I own one for personal use. I agree with you. You have to go into it forgetting all you know about routing. Once you work it out in your brain it makes sense.
Not going to lie it can be challenging but for me the power I have available nothing at this price range can complete. At least to me. Training volunteers to do the routing in a stressful use would be a nightmare. I love mine but also as I said I am the only user and for studio use only.
Honestly I’m more interested in knowing this... what mic were you using in the video?
Earthworks icon pro!
Okay great to know. It sounds very good
I haven’t watched the video, I don’t have time to. Just tell me what I need to know; does it sound good?!
It cant be harder to learn than a DM1000, can it?
Avantis is currently what I'm pushing for my church to upgrade to. Wing was actually my Plan B in case Avantis was too much for the budget. Feel better now about wing not being my first choice. Just didn't seem like the best we could do.
make sure you go ahead and get the dPack plugins with that Avantis as well!
@@dustinthiessen Totally! I want Dyn8
The Avantis if fabtastic and the workflow of these consoles (as the SQ and D-Live) is second to none
can you do this with the Avantis from allen and heath?!!!
This^
That would be really great. Currenly looking at Avantis for next upgrade. I think Avantis is a real disrupter in its class.
Just put in the Avantis at my church. It's the easiest and most intuitive console I've ever worked on. I had volunteers up and running on it within 15 minutes of me showing them the workflow and the setup and patching just works and is so smooth. The customizability is perfect for our needs. Gives you customization where you need it, while keeping it simple and easy to use. Not to mention it sounds absolutely incredible.
@@paulnumrich5225 yes we love it! there is just one thing that is bothering me, the direct out routing - i want to be able to choose where in the chain i want the direct out to flow from for each channel, not a global preference!
This is a very honest review on the wing.....
This Wing is hard to use because its CUSTOMIZABLE to an extreeeeme! Soemthing that the m32 x32 lack. The features and options, the routing, the processing engine, the ins and outs, the degree to which you can route this compares somehow to high ends digico SDs and for the price you're paying its peanuts. The more i use this the more i find amazing features. Yes it will take you some time to set it up, but once its running its a beast. The whole concept of the WING is closer to working in a DAW where you have control over almost everything.
Well said ☝️
I have to say, I think you are right on the money. I have used all the consoles you mentioned in that price range and currently own an M32 and an SQ7 as well as the Wing. While it is very powerful and is feature-rich, I find it very un-intuitive and difficult to learn and setup.
100%. We also have a training on the M32 on MxU NOW and we much prefer that console over the WING.
I had no issue with finding the flow on the Wing. It was infinitely more understandable than the Pro series when I first used that console.
Nice sounding and looking mic at least. What’s the model of that boom arm?
Great review! I love your opinion. thanks!
Talk to drew. Its the best bang for your buck
Thanks for this review. I am considering this console based on the I/O. We are just out of inputs and busses on the X32. It sounds like this might not be the answer, but 48 stereo inputs for $3K is hard to find.
You'll need a stage box to get anywhere near that channel count, and might as well go for the Midas DL, the 16 channel Midas DL is $1000 Canadian right now on Amazon.
The Midas DL32 channel stage box is on sale at Long and Mcquade for $1689.00 Canadian. Something you have to consider when buying the Wing.
One last edit: If you own the X32 you could always use its' preamps into the Wing as extra channels via AES50 port. Making the X32 your stage box so to speak and saving lots of money from having to buy an external stage box.
The ultimate takeaway here is, a professional is giving his honest opinion on why this may not be a good idea if you are starting fresh or upgrading your church system. Lee said himself that there was cool features with it and that mixing on it was fine; however, if you can't quickly dive into a menu to fix an issue promptly...not only are you hindering yourself, but you are allowing your decision of a console be a possible distraction for the service. As audio engineers & techs, whether it be volunteer or paid, we must make the best decisions that allow volunteers to easily train and operate systems we are expecting them to run. It's just like choosing the correct PA for your room...you want what's right for your room, not what reviews said or what ___ church has. Remember, it's not about us, but rather us making the most distraction-free environment for the lost to find Jesus.
Find Jesus? I want to be able to find the FX send easily
Have you reviewed/tested the Allen & Heath SQ series? I’m interested in knowing your thoughts on it.
My opinion is that it is more complicated than the competition to get your head around and setup, but that once it is setup, it can be really quick and nice to use (you can also set it up to be horrible to use). How often does the routing and main setup actually need to be changed? I just have that all as fixed, and we use channel presets to "move" any channels about as needed (the Wing has the best channel presets of any I have come across, as you can save things like DCA assignment and any inserted effects racks in a neater way).
On the X32, I used to just use the faders and custom controls as I preferred the ipad interface for the rest. With the Wing, the screen interface is great IMO, doesn't take more than about two touches to get to anything that you are likely to want on a normal Sunday. I spent a while looking into the interface of this, the SQ, TF, Studiolive and the Soundcraft Si before choosing one of these, based on the UI and how it works. I would say as long as there is someone at a church who understands the intricacies and looks after the setup etc, then it should be pretty easy for most to have a good go at mixing after a brief introduction.
Edit to add - the routing is very hit and miss, as in some people really click and like it, and others really can't get it, I reckon there could be a psychology experiment in there about different brain types or something lol! It makes perfect sense to me, and I had ours routed in all of about 10 mins (mixing AES50 and local ins, card ins for virtual soundcheck, AES, local and aux outs etc), but I know lots of people find it makes no sense at all
What microphone are you using?
I would like to hear a comparison Wing vs (M32 or X32) + Waves Rack and soundgrid
The lack of true scenes and user defined keys for scene recalls is a complete no go for me.
I almost completely agree, this is our primary pain point with ours currently.
Didn't realize it doesn't do that. More Inspiration for us to go towards Allen & Heath for our next upgrade
@@E4S65 I’d recommend the Yamaha TF or QL route especially if you can’t go for the CL series, I use a Allen and Heath SQ6 right now that personally not a fan of in terms of work flow.
wanted to get one for a theater but the lack of a go button alone was enought to nix that,
M32 Is The Way To Go.
We are the ones who sent that back to Amplio. 😂😂
Have you done anything on the yamaha tf3?
Biggest issue is that it is made by Behringer. Not only did they try to jam pack it and make a totally new workflow for mixing, but they then jumped ship. Support and reliability are more important to me than a plugin. I want to be able to call a rep and ask them a question, or get something fixed if it breaks. Behring right now doesn't even have a supply chain! They are missing every important thing that it takes to make and sell a good product. I give a couple years until they are out of business and everyone who bought one of these will be regretting their discussion as it breaks. (Midas pro series RIP).
I think you underestimate the difficulty of good UX design - it is VERY difficult, and costly to design good UI. Most of your complaints seem to be around the UX and work flow and this is improving with every firmware update. Don't forget that the X32/M32 got a complete UI overhaul way after it was released - I'm no fan of Behringer's business practices, but on these low cost consoles I think they have done and continue to do an amazing job.
Fair critique of the console - I love it personally. The display bug you encountered is well known - they had a bad batch of touch screens. Behringer replace this regardless of the status of your warranty. It's a real inconvenience sending it away - fortunately we got ours during Covid and were not impacted by having to send it back. I have heard mixed reports on the speed of the repair, but ours was done super fast - we had it back in 10 days. As far as the autotune goes, I am so happy it is limited - people who use it as a part of their standard workflow annoy me. I have used it on occasion - it is subtle and will only make a bad singer less bad, but in my opinion authenticity is more important than perfection.
Also, the reason we chose the Wing over the alternatives that, as an experienced mixer I would have preferred, is that it is similar enough to the X32/M32 that our volunteers had no issue getting up to speed. Also, the amount of UA-cam content for the X32/M32 is huge and I was confident that the Wing would follow that trend. Also, we got to leverage our existing Midas AES50 infrastructure. Our original upgrade choice was the M32, but the richness of features of the Wing made it an easy pivot.
Lee, did you play with the PSE source extractor plug-in at all? That alone, built-in, has almost made the WING worth it for us to naturally tighten up some of our pastor headsets and host handhelds.
If it takes a good amount of time for a seasoned or even professional sound engineer to get used to it I don't want to have to train new volunteers on it.
They may have to redesign it to make it more use friendly
it was the reddit comment for me hahahahaha
We’ve been having screen issues as well. It mutes channels by itself to of a channel is selected.
Hi Jacob. Sorry to hear that you are having screen issues. Please submit a Technical ticket on our Community and we get the issue fixed for you. community.musictribe.com/pages/support
Put this together with Dante you’d probably never get a signal in,through and out
Cover the latest Presonus Studio live
You had to read the manual of this console before start to use it so that gonna give you a different user experience
Yeah Behringer desks seem like they're designed more by software engineers than audio engineers. The features are there, but the system is not organized in a way that accounts for how audio engineers actually operate in the real world.
A Technical Director or Head Sound or whatever the job title, should be able to hire a new technician with a general knowledge of mixing consoles but who has never used the particular console they have in their venue, and teach them the console specific idiosyncrasies in an hour or less. It should never take anybody who knows audio more than a little bit an hour to figure out the patch screen, that is not acceptable. There is no reason for it to be so complicated you can't work it out in five minutes, I know because I can usually work it out in five minutes on other consoles!
I need between 48-64 ch Inputs and already have the whole ecosystem from Behringer (Multicores, P16s, M32, etc.). Do not see an easy way for me to switch.
Behringer is worst with user manuals or lack of.
Definitely agree with the general synopsis. It feels like it needs a lot of pre-programming like some of the higher-end consoles (like DiGiCo) before you're up and running, but it doesn't have the same intuitiveness. With the amount of hate that the Midas Pro series got for its GUI, I felt like you could still be quick with it once you got the flow (which for me came very quickly). It feels like the Wing's GUI just has a lot of unnecessary clunkiness.
We definitely feel similarly!
The Wing is a great console but it is unnecessarily large.
We have the SQ Series (sq6 for FoH and SQ5 for Broadcast) an they were great!!
As someone who runs an SQ weekly and has also used the wing on several occasions, I would pick the wing every single time. I love customizability and being able to play with on-board effects, and the SQ just doesn't do that too well. That said, the SQ is very good if you don't want to play with on-board effects much and really just need good sounding preamps and a simple aesthetic that is quick and easy to train.
This video has been brought to you by Yahama inc. and Allen and Heath - thank you for watching.
Auto-Tune on a Bass Guitar 😅
actually yeah. I use it all the time when recording to keep bass notes tighter just in case.
Well that’s 6:54 of my life I want back. Thanks for the complete lack of information you just gave us. Not one specific thing did you demonstrate, that was totally unhelpful other than I now understand you don’t like it. Are there other things you don’t like? Perhaps the color olive green is not to your liking, oh wait I was specific. Never mind.
You didn't say anything about the sound quality and pre amps ya bozo.
Go to other consoles. You guys you keep complaining to good things and to bad things. You even complain to God a creator of universe. Ok Curry on your complaints….
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