Yamaha EMX512SC Powered Mixer  

Great features for a mixer of this size. I especially like the dual function compression knobs that raise the output level as the compression is increased. The YS processing also makes the head sound  larger than it is.

Here's the problem. This mixer has a defect. It could also just be a cheap quality part. It has an internal relay switch for the power on and off. The pushbutton power switch is connected to a relay that fails after frequent use. The company I work for has purchased 3 of these powered mixers, one after the other (first one was a EMX 212). They all failed the same way. The relay stops working. The power comes on for a split second after you push the button then the relay disengages, no power. However, this only occurred after rigoruous use. The heads were used 6 days a week for 4 hours each day with different groups of duos and trios using them throughout the week. The first two failed after one year. (after warranty expired). The last one failed after just 4 months.

The features for the price of this mixer are a pretty good value if you are not counting on using it constantly.

This powerd mixer has a great sound, good effects and plenty of output power. But I'm marking down significantly for reliability and the poor service we received from Yamaha when we sent the second one in for repair. They held it for 9 months before they finally told us it would be better to purchase a new one than pay for the repair, adding that the defective relay was addressed and is no longer a problem.. which turned out to be untrue. We are moving on to Peavey.

I've been using the Yamaha EMX 512 for about 8 years now, and this mixer can take what ever you want to throw at it.  I use this with 2 Peavy 115's, and two 12' monitors for live shows.

DJ: For DJ gigs, it's all about the power and the EQ.  For big shows, I barley turn this up to 4 or 5, and it crushes.  I've used this unit for proms, clubs, weddings, it's still going strong.

LIVE SHOWS:  I love the fact that this unit has two seperate channels for so I can do a separate mix in the monitors.  I usually run 4 speakers at once with this unit, (2 for the mains, 2 for monitors) and I still only need to turn it up to about 5.  (Going past 6 will start to peak).  It has decent effects, I love the Delay on this.  The only thing I wish this unit had was an auxillary imput, so I could utilize a compressor...

The most important thing that your should know about this mixer is that it is made for war!!!  You cannot kill it!!!  I've had beer poured on it, dropped it, bumped it, scratched it, this mixer is made for gigging and I wouldn't even bother writing this if I didn't believe in it.  If you want a high powered, quaility mixer, there is no other alternative.

This is a relatively basic powered mixer which doesn't have all the bells & whistles that a flat console with sliders will offer.  But it's very functional and words great as either a practice PA or small venues.  Plenty of power with two 500 watt amps.  Clarity is great if you take the time to dial in the right tone controls for each channel.  Only one effect can be used at a time, but for the price and considering the overall quality of the PA, it's still a great buy.

Quality is virtually unmatched for this price range.  Yamaha is a respected name and they don't put out any garbage.  As noted above, clarity of channels and tone you can achieve is very good.

Try to find this on sale or wait for a sale to come around.  The price is kind of a lot to pay for a basic powered mixer, but in this case, you're partly paying for the Yamaha name.  It's kind of like Gibson guitars....if you want the quality you have to pay for it.  It would be nice if the price were less, but that's life.

Overall I rate 9 due to very high quality standards, and the ease of use.  Price is a bit high for a basic model like this, and it lacks some extras that the larger flat consoles have, but it's still a very nice PA for this price range.  I use it for practice and also as a backup at shows in case our regular larger one should ever experience any problems.

Incredibly easy to use, transport, and set-up/break-down.  8 channels of XLR inputs all with 3-band EQ, 2 RCA inputs available, Speak-on and 1/4" speaker outputs, built-in effects, easy to use EQ's for monitors and mains, plenty of power, and it's only 17 pounds!

Yamaha - the name says it all...

This seems like a great deal, I actually got it for about $80 less having bought it as a condition 1 used product from MF.  It said there were scratches on mine and there aren't any that I can see so I lucked out big time.  Even at the cost of getting it Brand New I still highly recommend it.

All of the features I listed basically give it praise.  I bought this to downgrade from a HUGE PA that I used to use; 2 racks with separate amps, eq's, FX processor, crossover, and rack-mount surge supressors, cables galore, and a huge 24 channel (no more than 8 needed anyway) unpowered mixer.  It was extremely expensive, hard to set up/break-down, and it took a whole trailer to haul it all.  No longer do I have to deal with all of that with this single unit.  It has all that the 2 racks and unpowered mixer have and is about the size of a printer!  I use this with 2 Yamaha A15 speakers and Sound Bridge floor monitors and it sounds awesome! It makes gigging so much easier.

Was very pleased with the EMX512SC mixer. It performed great in all situations, even when much was demanded of it. Hats off to Yamaha for packing all the versatility into this affordable package of power and control.

Used it first to power two Yamaha BR-15 cabinets for 4 vocal mics, an acoustic/electric guitar, and a keyboard. (the choice of XLR and 1/4 inputs helped out). My use of it grew to fully loaded with vocal mics, keyboard, several guitars, and still had a channnel left to run our MP3 players for house sound during down time, and song checks during practice. The output from it was later split between the BR-15's as mains, and the monitor output to a seperate power amp which ran 4 BR-12 monitors. This mixer held up to some pretty heavy rock practice usage and never showed any weakness as long as you didn't ask for something it wasn't designed for.

This unit allows you to sufficiently control the level of main output, monitor output, and on-board effects on each channel, as well as fine tune each channel's equalizer to avoid feed back or sound quality issues. Great control and versatility for such an affordable product.

The only small "downside" noticed was in the effects area, which was a little disappointing. But most guitarists and vocalists have their own 'special" effects blends that just can't be matched by the level of effects built in to this mixer. So, perhaps we were expecting a bit too much from it. We just relied on our off-board effects for those who desired more than it could deliver, and everything worked out fine.

Overall, very satisfied with Yamaha's quality level, as evidenced by our subsequent purchase of other Yamaha P.A. gear, and instruments. Only wish the effects were of higher quality, but guess you can't have everything at this price level!

Awesome value for what you pay here.

Highly recommended for practice, and small venue usage for all types of music and bands.

Of course, if you're like us, you're not going to be able to run your entire drum kit through this board alone, along with vocals and guitars! But if it's just a practice or a small venue, acoustic drums wouldn't likely need to be amplified.