Alesis Studio 32

When it was running it was a nice board. The preamps are nice and everything is crystal clear. I loved having so many outputs.

Like I said, crystal clear. I used it for recording on to my computer. I don't have expensive preamps, but with some nice microphones I was able to get very nice, full sounding recordings. With the right gear it could have been beautiful.

Hell no! This thing crapped out on me via some unfixable problem that got worse and worse despite three trips back to the Alesis repair shop. It surged and fizzled and popped. All the lights would flicker and noise would appear on channels that weren't even on. It was possessed! Forget gigging with it. I've heard these are great boards, but this one almost gave me an ulcer.

Through a local dealer this thing made the trip back to Alesis three times for a total of over $500 worth of repairs with zero results. The company would not bend on their warranty despite the pleadings by the dealer that I was getting screwed. Fresh from the factory repair shop it had the same problem. When Alesis claimed there may be another charge I went at it with a wood chopping maul in the dealer's parking lot (absolutely a true story). I hope they sent it back to Alesis like that.

Like I said, I've heard good things about this mixer. Maybe this one was a lemon, but the company drained me mercilessly and drove me to violence. I've never done anything like that in my life.

The inline design is great, and the complete monitor section is cool as well. Ergonomics are where this board really shines. You can run 16 direct outs to tape, 16 returns back, 16 mic/line inputs, and a monitor send. Everything is adjustable seperately, with no co-dependencies. Excellent design ergonomically.

The preamps on this board are very good, comparable to other well-known brands. The monitor section is quiet unless you apply gain to the master - if you do that it hisses. Overall, it's a good board for live mixing or recording through the direct outs. I wouldn't use it to mix for production, use a DAW or a much better board for that.

This is where this board sucks. I'm on my second set of trim pots, and I've already have 2 that are pretty flaky. I also had the grounding circuits serviced/upgraded. This board has some serious long term reliability issues. I would be paranoid about using this for anything mission critical without a backup.

One good thing, because it has an inline design, you've got 3 different signal paths to fall back on if something fails. So it does have good redundancy.

I honestly believe that my Studio 32 is going to eventually get worse until it finally dies. I may be able to get some extra life out of it by replacing all the pots (again). But I might not bother.

Never dealt with Alesis directly. The previous owner I bought this from had it serviced by a dealer, and seemed to have good luck going that direction.

I've heard horror stories about people calling Alesis on this board and getting a response like they know it commonly has problems. YMMV.

I record several styles of music, mainly Jazz/Rock/Metal. I have used lots of other low to mid-range equipment.

I wouldn't buy another one of these if it was lost/stolen. I just don't trust the reliability of it.

It's not all bad. I really like the preamps. They are excellent for certain applications. And the inline design is awesome. I just wish Alesis would have built something more solid.

Plug right in and play. Fairly obvious to work out the basics and the manual covers the more in depth stuff pretty well.

Used at home as a studio mixer and out in clubs through a sound system. Sounds good in both situations but a little crackle on a few of the gains after a bit of time. I like lots of effects. Now I can use loads with no loss of quality (that I was able to notice).

Never had it do anything unusual. I rely on it every time I play a gig. It`s quite solid but GET A CASE for it if you get one because I dropped some kit on it and I`m now a fader short of 16-it works but the crackle is horrendous, but that was MY FAULT!

Never had to deal with them. My unit was second hand so I had no warranty. Like the website though.

I use it for producing, recording and playing banging Psychedelic Trance, Techno, Breakbeat and Ambient music. It is spot on. 16 aux returns! Amazing!

Pretty straight-forward if you're used to mixing. The whole 'inline' idea is tough for some.

This unit is flaky. Mine was initially defective and would transfer sound when the unit was off, but tap on it and it would go away. Or get louder. Same with effects sends/returns. The pres and EQ are not bad. Everyone I've talked to about it seems to have a problem with bad jack or grounding issues causing bleed between channels when using headphones or other ins and outs.

Got mine repaired easily, but (like many others' I know) mine still has crosstalk/bleed problems at times. BAD problems. I don't trust it.

Dealt with service center. They were great with a quick turn around.

This could be a great workhorse if Alesis could track down the issue that I (and many others) have with the bleed accross channels.

The studio 32 is easy to use and the manual is very helpful. It has adapted to many changes in my studio equipment lineup.

I have used the studio 32 in my home studio with lots of different equipment. It is quiet and has provided a quality product every time.
I've used it for rock, alternative, country, folk, and r&b styles of music.

I sent it in for service once under warranty and though it took a little longer than I hoped, it has been flawless since then. I only used it in the studio. I've had it about two years. Now I have a Mackie 32/8 also, so I will probably use the studio 32 more for remote recording with an adat or two.

The company has been fairly helpful and friendly. I've used several Alesis products. I also had a QS 8 keyboard repaired after lightening messed it up. They are not the fastest at service, but seem to get it right the first time for me.

Everyone in the family plays as well as many friends, again many styles. Dad 30 years, mom 35 years, self 10 years, sister 8 years. If lost or stolen, I might upgrade because the studio has grown. Love the good sound. I looked at many brands before I got this one. It was the best package in the price range. It was a good investment.

To me, ease of use and flexibility are key factors. I hate manuals, and they hate me. It's not that i don't like to learn, but i'd just rather do first and discover later. Sometimes that is good, sometimes it is bad. So what? So, i bought the board.

Glance at the manual first. The effects bussing is a bit confusing initially and takes some getting used to. Yeah, I yelled at the board a couple times, even considered selling it but it was me, not the board, who was at fault, and i soon realized that. The monitor channel on each track can also be sent to aux, so watch out. Other than that, it's a mixing board and is laid out rather well. Back pannel makes perfect sense and is easy, for me anyway, to find the jacks in the dark or with my arm reaching around counting holes with my fingertips...you know what i mean; when you can't see it, you can feel it.

comments about crosstalk on this board are ridiculous. more likely what is interpreted as "crosstalk" is actually washback from improper effects routing. This is a totally silent board, just as quiet as mackie. However, yes, the preamps suck. The preamps suck in most boards. The preamps suck in mackies, too, if you put them next to focusrite or sytek or even presonus. Of course they suck. If they didn't suck they'd be Neves. But the preamps in this board would be just fine for live situations, which is primarily what the board is designed for. It's the 16 direct outs that make it an exciting board for recording, and I built my entire studio around it and an Alesis HD24. All the jacks on this board are balanced/unbalanced options except the inserts. People who say they get noise are probably not connecting this board properly.

I've had no problem with it, but i can see where you have to be careful: the knobs. The knobs are tall and skinny, which means they can get caught on shirtsleeves or car interiors or other things that can bend them and rip them out. Make sure if you get one of these you keep it in a case. Also, the switches seem like they could give out if abused. I am really hard on my gear, so i worry about this kinda stuff, but if you are one who is gentle with electronic equipment, i am sure you'll be fine. Road wise this board is ready to go. It is well made, indeed, but i mean like i tend to PUNCH push buttons, just like i HAMMER my gas pedal in my car ... i am really rough on my stuff, but i am also concious of it. So far though the studio 32 seems to be able to take it. I have had it about two months now in heavy use and its holding up well.

Never had to use it. (knock on wood)

I paid a lot for it used at $600, but mine was pristene, private party, in the box mint (actually never used). New at time of this writing at zzounds online they are still like $899. People want to pay only $300 for it on eBay but that is ludicrous. it is worth the $600, and then some. It's well made, i feel it will never let me down, it's perfect for me. It is a true 16 channel in-line mixer, and if you've looked around you know that just finding 8 outs in a mixing board is a difficult task.

I am a drummer into contemporary music, mostly pop rock mainstream crap, but i like chick singers and twangly guitars and king crimson and jazz and reggae and blues and heavy KROQ stuff too so, i dunno. What do i play? what do you pay? (heh) But i am a producer now so really i bought this for that. I have built my entire rig around this board and an HD24 hard disk recorder. The rig is loaded with preamps as well, so again the preamp thing is not a problem. get the board used and buy an MP80 and you'll be set and better off than if you bought a mackie. what we do is we record to the HD24, then mix to ear on the studio 32, passing the effects send to the extra 8 tracks that the HD24 affords us. Then we dump everything to the mac and clean it up in digital performer for mastering. It's great because when we get to the computer, the main effects are already there in the mix, we just fade them accordingly. No tax on CPU. then we can add the plugin effects sparingly or use the MOTU outs for effects sends to the outboard gear. But this has nothing to do with the board. The board is good. Don't let those naysayers fool you. For the money it kicks ass. If you want to blow all your cash on a board, go ahead. Or you can buy this Alesis and spend the rest on stuff like mics and cables and effects and fuses and rack screws and patchbays and more mics and preamps and strings and tuners and shoes and rent and food and ....

My other gear? see here: http://www.mobosound.com

i bought this board because it had 16 direct outs on 16 channels. I have not compared it to allen and heath or soundcraft or anything else. I don't need to: i make a recording with it, i listen and guess what? no noise, no hiss, no nothing. Just pure clean sound. I get it to computer and, yeah there can be some artifacts here and there, but they are real easy to remove, and i am not so sure yet that it has anything to do with the board. In fact, I don't know what they are. But i tell you what; I challenge anyone (yikes) to PROVE to me that this board is garbage. If you can do that i will yank it out of my rig and give to you.

it helps me make (actually it helps me record) music, and that is all that counts.

The manual helps owners get familiar with the overall functions of the mixer quite well.

If you are used to high quality preamps, then you will hate the ones found in the Studio32. Another strike against this unit is the amount of crosstalk this system suffers from. During some sessions I have even experienced voltage spikes sent to tape and drastic volume increases without a fader's position ever physically changing. On a more possitive note, of mixers in this price range that try to offer so many things into a nice little affordable package the Alesis Studio32 seems to be on par with the rest of the manufacturers out there.

No. I have tried to depend on this unit, but it consistently fails me every chance it gets. Now keep in mind that I am coming from the more recording-oriented side of things. I have used it as a live sound mixer as well and it seems alright in that application. As for critical source recording, I wouldn't trust this unit as far as I could throw it.

My Alesis Studio32 mixer no longer works after 15 months of use and since it has lapsed 3 months over the warranty period, they will not fix it.

Overall I would have to say that this unit is an all-out terror. As I said before, I have owned if for 15 months and it has only left my domicile twice. Since it doesn't work anymore, I can rule out giving it points as a live sound mixer since the durability of the unit stinks. The Studio32 in my impression serves no purpose in the modern world other than an as something nice to look at.

Complicated. But no mixer with this many features could be made simple.

Excellent. Silent. Mixer produces no noise. Excellent for digital recording.

No problems so far. Had it about a year.

Haven't used them. OK website. Needs a better FAQ section.

The best analog mixer available at this price. Much better than a Mackie. (for recording) Many are turned off by it's complexity, but creating master quality recordings never was for the faint of heart. Until you decide to go all digital this is your mixer!

great manual,a lot of great tips for recording,inline monitors and direct out on all 16 channels

overall sound is good and quiet,the preamp are not impressive,

broke twice in 16 month,just a capacitor but was out of a board twice for a month.

good support ,they fixed it the second time for free as the warranty expired

it'a great mixer for home studio if you can afford a second one for back up, you also need to use it with a good mike preamp.I switched to Mackie VLZ 16 pro