Soundcraft FX16ii Reviews

5.0/5.0 based on 2 customer reviews

Sweetwater Advice

Carson McClain

The new "go-to" live sound board for churches, small venues, and live bands. If you can't find the brand you are used to, the Soundcraft is the way to go. Direct outs, FX, 4 aux sends, 16 mic pres, it just has everything. This board has a ton of great features that a professional or an apprentice can utilize at anytime.

Ron Daniel

I became interested in the FX16ii while searching for the most inputs available in a 10U footprint. What sold me was the sheer number of great features: Lexicon effects with tap tempo (vital for running live sound), direct outs of all 16 channels (perfect for multi-track recording of a live gig), three Aux channels for monitor mixes, and of course, Soundcraft quality and sound! The FX16ii is logically laid out for easy learning and quick setup, so it integrated into my live sound system immediately with no down time. Also - unlike many rack-mountable boards - the rack ears are INCLUDED. I couldn't ask for more!

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Customer Reviews

Russell Ruderman
from Hilo, Hawaii
March 31, 2011 Music Background:
Gigging musician, live sound engineer

Great sounding mixer!

Fantastic warm mic preamps. The EQ is very powerful and the effects are high quality. Great, intuitive layout, solid feel. Great flexibility. For example, Aux 2 can be pre- or post-fader for use as a second monitor mix or for effects send. 4 aux sends plus sweepable mids make this a very capable unit.
The knobs are a bit too crowded for my fingers in some areas, but I guess that's the tradeoff for a lot of functionality in a small footprint. It's a good tradeoff.
I have had many mixers and this is a good middle ground between the complexity of a digital mixer and the cheap sound of some other small mixers. I added an outboard EQ and it's ready to go.

Gary Perry
from Marion, NC
February 20, 2011 Music Background:
Home studio, Soundman for gospel music group.

Real world review

I've owned Mackie 1604, 1642, Peavey and Behringer boards. The Soundcraft FX16ii blows them away for either small scale multi-tracking or live sound. 100mm faders, numerous routing capabilities, and excellent preamps. I use to think Mackie had the best EQ's, but the EQ's on the FX16ii are great. Just a slight adjustment boost, reduction,or sweep of the mid's and you hear an immediate and detailed change in sound. The Lexicon reverbs are nice if you spend some time learning about adjustments to reverbs and are more than adequate for live sound. With the features this board has to offer along with 16 mic inputs it is a great deal if you're looking for a small format mixer with lots of bells and whistles. Unless you just want to look impressive with a bigger board and have money to waste on one, give this board some serious consideration. I'm glad I did!