Yamaha AG03 3-Channel Mixer/USB Interface For IOS/MAC/PC

Noisy

All of the inputs, outputs, and controls are all on the face of the unit, making it very easy to arrange and control everything. Cubase AI (the DAW that comes with it) is excellent and has a new set of how to videos on Youtube that are great. The mic stand mounting bracket (BMS 10A) is worth the extra $20 to keep it neatly off your desk/amp/whatever and easily accessible near by. This is a great beginner/novice unit and DAW that will take quite a while to outgrow, I hope...

Product arrived quickly and in excellent condition. However, it was not easy to set up and took 3-4 times through the instruction sheet to figure out all the AG03 offered and what might be applicable to my recording. After a day or so working with it, I discovered the mics I use are not sensitive enough to register a good VU signal and needs to have the fader and gain settings set to almost maximum. My mics are the Audio-Technica 2035 and Sterling Audio ST55, both purchased at GC. The signal to noise is excellent and registers in the -50 range even having the fade and gain turned up to near max. A mic pre amp for the AG03 is needed to get a great digital signal without the fade and gain maxed out. I would rate this a 5, but there is no preamp build in to increase the mic signal to the computer's sound card. If there was a preamp, this would be an outstanding product.

For my use, I found the AG03 to be very versatile for both recording voice over, but even better for podcasting where you need to mix sound from your computer.

I've been recording music for over 30 years, and know what it takes to achieve the best possible recording quality. All recording engineers go through a growing phase where, if they don't track with both compression & EQ going in, they will struggle while mixing. The ideal is to get everything as perfect as possible before the signal makes its way to the computer. This mixer allows you to do this, and does two additional things that none of the other USB mixers are providing: 1) 192Khz recording frequency, that's going to achieve higher quality recordings than ANY USB mixer recording at 44.1Khz. 2) Don't let the lack of knobs fool you, those little buttons labeled "compressor" and "EQ" have internal programmable parameters that include: 1) EQ - same multi band parametric EQ found in most DAW software based workstations; 2) Compressor - attack/release/threshold/gain - with a graph similar to the one that comes with Pro tools software. I am currently working with a vocalist to write, record, produce music. He lives about 30 miles from my location, and I want him to be able to track high quality vocals on his own (we can't always meet on a weekly basis). I have made this unit, along with the Shure beta 87a microphone, my recommended choice for him. Other USB recording devices have been considered, but none can come close to what this unit has to offer.

I've been recording music for over 30 years, and know what it takes to achieve the best possible recording quality. All recording engineers go through a growing phase where, if they don't track with both compression & EQ going in, they will struggle while mixing. The ideal is to get everything as perfect as possible before the signal makes its way to the computer. This mixer allows you to do this, and does two additional things that none of the other USB mixers are providing: 1) 192Khz recording frequency, that's going to achieve higher quality recordings than ANY USB mixer recording at 44.1Khz. 2) Don't let the lack of knobs fool you, those little buttons labeled ""compressor"" and ""EQ"" have internal programmable parameters that include: 1) EQ - same multi band parametric EQ found in most DAW software based workstations; 2) Compressor - attack/release/threshold/gain - with a graph similar to the one that comes with Pro tools software. I am currently working with a vocalist to write, record, produce music. He lives about 30 miles from my location, and I want him to be able to track high quality vocals on his own (we can't always meet on a weekly basis). I have made this unit, along with the Shure beta 87a microphone, my recommended choice for him. Other USB recording devices have been considered, but none can come close to what this unit has to offer.