Alesis Studio 32 16 Channel Mixing Board.
I originally purchased this board in 2000 to replace a hodge podge of mixing equipment I'd been using. This was the first "real" mixing console Id bought and I did quite a bit of research before purchasing it. The Studio 32 has a number of very attractive benefits at first glance. It has a very clean signal path and transparent preamps. Its aux channels and bussing sections offer comparible submixing and effects loop capabilities to boards in much higher price range. Speaking of price range, its the only board anywhere near its price point with a direct out on all of its 16 channels. The Studio 32 retailed for around $750. For that price you got a board with more features and a quieter signal path (I believe the Mackie I compared it to at the time was a 1604VLZ... but im not sure -- the tests were not controlled, but the Alesis performed with consitently quieter and more sonically transparent results) than the Mackie board in the similar price range.
Thats all the good news and the news was so good that I was fooled twice by this boards more attractive points. In the former paragraph I described the Studio 32 in the past tense because thankfully Alesis is no longer producing the board. The first time I bought this board it served me faithfully for 3 years... towards the end of that three years Id noticed some small defects... noise when turning the trim knobs... static when punching in EQs. The board had been through a heavy regiment of use and abuse and the defects were not consistent, so I assumed the problems were do to overuse and poor storage conditions. Before I was able to learn otherwise, the board burned with all my other equipment in a fire.
Because of my lack of concrete information about my own problems with the board and my impatience and lack of research beforehand, I purchased another Studio 32 when rebuilding my studio after the fire. This one I purchased used so the problems crept up more quickly. All the same problems. The primary issues start with static when punching in the EQs and turning the pots, primarily on the trim knobs. Eventually the preamps practically fail, only aggressive turning of the knobs will bring the preamps back and they slip out again right away. I stopped using the board completely before learning any more about the progression of its defects. I still entertained the idea of fixing the board and continuing to use it, but after doing alot more research than with either of my purchases of this mixer, I discovered that all kinds of other folks have seen the same problems that I did. Many of these folks sent the board back to the dealer for repairs and even to Alesis, only to get it back with the same problems cropping up in time and in some cases coming back with worse problems from the factory.
The reality is that this board, despite its attractive feature set and quiet signal path, was made with cheap, low quality parts. Its an attractive buy, but don't be fooled. Even Alesis wasn't willing to continue to stand behind this product. Despite discontinuing its manufacture, these boards are still out in the wild and I certainly recommend avoiding them.
