Ashly LX-308B 8-channel Stereo Line Mixer Reviews

I built a home studio a few years ago and have amassed an overwhelming amount of vintage and analog synthesizers. I spent big on an interface, but still had limited input capability with all the synths I wanted to be able to track during creative sessions. I did tons of reading and came across this mixer. It checked all the boxes as far as build, quality, and flexibility. Yes, it did cost a bit more (even second hand prices are more than other mixers), but after having it for a year, I can confidently say I'm sold on this. I was worried initially that it would affect how my Prophet 5, Yamaha CS30, JD-800, MiniMoog 79, old Rolands, and other legends sounded when routed into the mixer. I tested it up and down with all sorts of tests and digital tools, and I'm satisfied that this is as transparent as my snappy ears can hear. It sounds amazing and I've even recorded straight through it (even though I prefer an outboard chain direct to interface) with astounding results. 8 stereo channels works well for me now, but I'm planning to add another so everything can have a home routed to the interface and not have to worry about moving things around. The ASHLY has alleviated the inconveniences in my studio and perform as well as I could ask for. If you're an electronic musician and need something dependable, made in the USA, and top-performing for your instruments, I highly recommend this unit!

This rack mixer was precisely what I was looking for in my home studio. It's a rack mixer, and takes 8 stereo inputs from a variety of sources. Personally, I use it to hook up 8 of my keyboards -- in stereo -- and send the master signal to my DAW/audio interface and thus my studio monitors. In other words, I mix the levels from my external synths and drum machines on this unit, get it balanced, and then record it as audio in one stereo channel in my DAW, or play it through my studio monitors and jam out with my friends and family. It's solidly built, and the controls on the front are easy to tweak to musical perfection. You can mute the channels you aren't using, which is a fantastic feature that keeps noise out. It's a quiet unit, and I haven't experienced any noise or hiss when using it, especially (as noted before) when I mute the unused channels. The stereo LED meters are bright, and they are definitely useful at keeping an eye on your overall levels. Having all of my keyboards and synths plugged into one unit and then routed to my DAW keeps everything neat and tidy in my small studio. I am a big fan of this mixer and absolutely recommend it.

I had tried to save some money in my studio by opting for a Samson SM10 line mixer to get all my keyboards into a stereo preamp...horribly noisy. Just got this Ashly one instead. Huge upgrade. Dead quiet. If you're just playing small club gigs live, this may be overkill, but if you're using it in any type of professional recording environment, this unit is highly recommended.

We bought two of these to mix the audio in a 13-station computer-music lab, and they've been wonderful. Easy to install, easy to use, reliable, they sound great, and they're flexible enough that we've never had any trouble no matter what speakers or amps we connect them to.
I would give it a 5 rating, except that after a couple of years the controls started to get very noisy. They weren't difficult to clean--pull the top off and spray the pots with de-oxidizer--but it did mean pulling our whole rig apart to get them out. I would have expected that the pots would hold out longer than this--I have a rotary-control mixer from TOA that's over 30 years old and has never had problems with noise.

I've used this Ashly as a keyboard, etc. mixer for about 8 years. It's clean, quiet, and totally reliable. I haven't ever used the first two channels' mic switch, so I don't know how well it works.

First of all, I'm only not giving this unit 5/5 because there's not much to be 'blown away' by when a unit like this does what it's supposed to do. Having said that, this is a vast upgrade from my previous mixing solution.

The majority of my mixing is done in the computer these days, so I had all my external gear, plus the output of my internal RME card going through a patchbay into a Tascam TM-D1000 with a MOTU 2408 Mkii providing the extra 8 digital channels via TDIF. Outdated technology, I know. My main issue for switching was due to the amount of noise coming from both the Tascam and the MOTU, which after a while really started to grate at me.

After only using the Ashly for about 2 hours, the difference is huge. Every channel is clear and clean and even on ramping the stereo outs to the max, there is very little noise/hum/buzz/etc overall.

$569 is a good price for a solid unit like this. It took me a while to settle on the LX-308B, due to looking at more expensive and also cheaper options, but I feel I made the right choice for my setup and what I wanted to spend.

I'm a professional house of worship keyboardist with a 5-unit live midi rig (RD-700 + four other modules/keyboards), so I need something to mix down all my keyboards into one stereo feed for the house feed. I know most people use a cheap (small-format) Be******r mixer to combine all their stereo keyboards, and I confess I too did that for some years. But you never realize how much life those things suck out of your sound until you get something of good professional quality like this Ashly. Maybe the average end user can't tell the difference, but when you're using the same sounds all the time you'll be able to tell a difference in them when you change to this mixer. I've owned one for about ten years and I still love it.

The Ashly has more than enough inputs, handy on/off, panning (good for correcting those patches that just lean to one side...). The tone is extremely transparent, the noise level is way quieter than the built-in mixers on Roland amplifiers I've used before, and the TRS ins and outs are perfect for keyboard rigs. I use a TRS to XLR cable to pipe the feed directly into a snake, but I still like the TRS on the unit because it's easier to plug/unplug in the back of a crowded rack. I've also plugged a Line 6 Pod into one of the channels when I had to switch between instruments, which worked great.

Live Tip: I set the "stereo" output to go to house, and send the "buss" output to my in-ear mixer. That way when I need to audition a sound, I just press the "stereo output mute" button (with handy red indicator light) which mutes the send to the house but not my in-ears.

I love the sound quality, the simple, small form factor, and the ease of use, and the high headroom/high gain potential, but beware the high output levels of the buss sends, anything in the yellow on my meters (with stereo output knob at 12 o'clock) clips the Soundcraft and Yamaha house/monitor boards. The only thing I wish it had is a little routing flexibility, so I could put my monitor mix in channel 8, route it only to the front headphone output, and use that as my monitor feed - then I could get rid of this blankety-blank Be******r board I'm using for my in-ears.... That's the only reason I can't give this review 5 stars! But even without the routing, it's an almost perfect feature set for a live keyboardist. My first unit of ten years was severely damaged in a tornado, so I'm back for another. Guess that answers the "would you buy another one" question!

Disclaimer: In my rig I use a fadermaster and a MIDI footpedal to control individual fade outs, swells, etc., by MIDI. I highly recommend doing that (or using a controller keyboard with similar functions) instead of trying to control each keyboard live with knobs on this unit, they are not really meant for changing levels smoothly, though I suppose you could do one at a time pretty smooth. I think the knobs have more friction, to make sure you keep your preset levels. Which for my purposes is great!

We are primarily a MIDI based studio with a lot of rack and other synths and keyboards. I have two of the Ashley LX-308B units (probably going to add a third) chained together. All I/O is TRS and balanced. There is not to much too them - simple operation, transparent sound, mute button (lit) and a pan pot. Made in the US and worth the money. A really nice solution for high level devices.

joel in Dallas

I bought this unit around a year ago from Sweetwater Sales Engineer Mark Thompson (Nice guy, knowledgeable and helpful.) After using a couple of budget grade mixers from Boss and Behringer for the first 10 years of my experimental electronic music venture (started when I was 15), I decided to completely revise my recording/live rig.

I needed a new single space, stereo, rack-mount mixer for my synths, drum machines and sampler. I was looking to save space in my studio setup and also have something compact I could use in a live situation. I was hesitant at first to shell out $450 on a new Ashly mixer when Behringer makes a model that is similar to the LX-308B for around $100. I first bought the Behringer model (RX1602) since my table top Behringer mixer was still working fine and I figured the sound quality was decent enough for a hobbyist composer/club musician running mostly line level devices through. I was wrong.

The Behringer RX1602 was harsh sounding compared to my old MX1604 Behringer board. It also seemed to roll off the bass frequency in the lower regions. To top that off I was having quality control issues with this new Behringer product (which I'd never had with a few other Behringer pieces I own). I had to return the first unit I bought because the right channel had a lower overall output signal than the left channel. Same with the second unit I got which was returned for a full refund.

After looking at similar models made by Rane, Samson and Rolls I decided on the Ashly and Mark, my Sales Engineer reassured me I would not be disappointed. What a grand decision that was! I was always spending the extra money on the instruments rather than sound reinforcement/recording and cables etc.... which I considered to be kind of boring. What a mistake that was! In conjunction with swapping out the mixer I also swapped out all my old standard cables for premium grade Monster Cable keyboard and patch cables. Suddenly all my synths and outboard gear sprang to life in a psychedelic, three dimensional sonic orgy! What a difference the money makes! The sub outputs are also a nice feature. The mains go into my Mbox and the subs feed my MPC-1000.

Bottom line: If you have lots of synths and drum machines etc. and are looking to improve your sound quality while keeping your rig compact and simple, I doubt you could find a better mixer than the ASHLY LX-308B. Also, Ashly gear is manufactured domestically, which gives me warm fuzzy feelings. If you're thinking about purchasing this mixer don't forget the moster cables!