E
Almost Perfect
As I've an old macbook pro which overheats when live-streaming, I bought this to use with my (Android, Samsung) phone (which doesn't have the overheating issue) so I could live-stream without a complex set-up. I also wanted to get better quality sounds and the ability to add reverb and EQ through the phone.
The negatives:
1: Unfortunately, the unit only works with IOS phones/tablets (after googling, I found out it only works with some Android phones - apparently it depends what drivers the phone has). I wish it had been made clear that this device isn't compatible with most Android phones and only functions exclusively with iPhones before I bought it.
It's quite an additional expense to have to buy an Apple phone or iPad just to use this mixer with it! It was my main reason for the purchase and now I can't use it with my phone... What happens is no effects etc. are audible while livestreaming, but if I record audio to the phone, all the EQ, amp, reverb can be heard clearly (so it works as an interface/mixer into your phone for recordings), it's just for livestreaming that the reverb/EQ aren't there.
I connected mine to my phone with the provided USB-C to USB cable - and bought a small adapter to make it USB C to USB C, or you could buy a cable that has a USB C on both ends, or use an Apple camera USB to lightning adapter one.
2: There are existing videos on YouTube showing the app controller that you can download with this mixer. The interface I downloaded looks completely different to the ones I saw on various YouTube videos about this mixer - maybe they are an older version, or for Windows only, but at the time of writing I didn't see any that looked like the app interface I'm using with this - so if anyone wants instructions on how to adjust things, note that the controller app you get with this won't look anything like those shown on any existing video tutorials for prior models.
3: I personally didn't like the sound of the reverb on vocals in the unit. I tried various options and combinations and none sounded like I wanted, so I ended up turning it off and using a vocal reverb pedal instead.
There was a strange thrumming delay sound on the reverb that just sounded odd to me and not what I'd expect from a normal smooth hall reverb for example. This was disappointing as it was one of the selling points for me, to be able to control the reverb and mute it from the unit and thus keeping the set-up simple and not have to have extra things attached.
4: It was a bit confusing to me that for input 2, for guitar/line, that you could pick an amp simulator for electric guitar, but if I turned that off, there is no amplification/no signal at all for the acoustic guitar - i.e. no clean amp channel (we semi-acoustic guitar players plug into amps too you know!) but with it on, it had an audible electric guitar amp hiss which was distracting and so I ended up using the line option and a condenser mic instead (see below).
5: I used the same condenser set of mics for both vocal and for guitar (Behringer C-2s - these work very well for this and sound great for both vocals and instrument! I highly recommend them and they're really affordable!). However, I noticed that through this unit that the line level for the guitar line is much, much lower in volume than for the vocals. I don't know why this is. I had to do a lot of messing with the EQ in the app to bring it up to any decent level so that the vocal didn't overshadow it - but did succeed. So it is possible to have the instrument line at the volume you want, it just takes a bit of fiddling about to get there.
The positives:
Leaving these issues aside, there are many positives:
1: I love that this unit is white, I'm tired of dark black audio gadgets making everything dark and gloomy looking in my music studio!
2: It's nice and solid with rubber feet so sits nicely on a desk without moving and can be mounted onto a mic stand with a holder too for using live - my Behringer UM2 for instance is so light and plastic-y that it keeps getting dragged off my desk, no issues like this for the Yamaha.
3: It works brilliantly as an audio interface. I was going to upgrade my cheap Behringer UM2, but now I don't have to as this mixer functions as a really great interface. The sound is much clearer and present when I record into my DAW through it (just make sure to choose 'input mix' option - as if you have it on loopback setting with headphones on you'll deafen yourself with feedback).
4: The loopback function allows you to play audio from your computer (or other device e.g. phone) and also talk into your mic and play an instrument too and blends them all together - this worked super-easily. I just plugged the unit in and it all worked instantly - perfect for livestreaming, no need to change any settings in AudioMidi Setup on my mac. This is great option for e.g. gamers, or someone who's singing over pre-recorded tracks.
All in all I'm glad I got it. I'll further experiment with the reverb settings in case I can find a setting I actually like, and down the line will get an iPhone or iPad so I can use it as I intended to livestream without my computer.
The negatives:
1: Unfortunately, the unit only works with IOS phones/tablets (after googling, I found out it only works with some Android phones - apparently it depends what drivers the phone has). I wish it had been made clear that this device isn't compatible with most Android phones and only functions exclusively with iPhones before I bought it.
It's quite an additional expense to have to buy an Apple phone or iPad just to use this mixer with it! It was my main reason for the purchase and now I can't use it with my phone... What happens is no effects etc. are audible while livestreaming, but if I record audio to the phone, all the EQ, amp, reverb can be heard clearly (so it works as an interface/mixer into your phone for recordings), it's just for livestreaming that the reverb/EQ aren't there.
I connected mine to my phone with the provided USB-C to USB cable - and bought a small adapter to make it USB C to USB C, or you could buy a cable that has a USB C on both ends, or use an Apple camera USB to lightning adapter one.
2: There are existing videos on YouTube showing the app controller that you can download with this mixer. The interface I downloaded looks completely different to the ones I saw on various YouTube videos about this mixer - maybe they are an older version, or for Windows only, but at the time of writing I didn't see any that looked like the app interface I'm using with this - so if anyone wants instructions on how to adjust things, note that the controller app you get with this won't look anything like those shown on any existing video tutorials for prior models.
3: I personally didn't like the sound of the reverb on vocals in the unit. I tried various options and combinations and none sounded like I wanted, so I ended up turning it off and using a vocal reverb pedal instead.
There was a strange thrumming delay sound on the reverb that just sounded odd to me and not what I'd expect from a normal smooth hall reverb for example. This was disappointing as it was one of the selling points for me, to be able to control the reverb and mute it from the unit and thus keeping the set-up simple and not have to have extra things attached.
4: It was a bit confusing to me that for input 2, for guitar/line, that you could pick an amp simulator for electric guitar, but if I turned that off, there is no amplification/no signal at all for the acoustic guitar - i.e. no clean amp channel (we semi-acoustic guitar players plug into amps too you know!) but with it on, it had an audible electric guitar amp hiss which was distracting and so I ended up using the line option and a condenser mic instead (see below).
5: I used the same condenser set of mics for both vocal and for guitar (Behringer C-2s - these work very well for this and sound great for both vocals and instrument! I highly recommend them and they're really affordable!). However, I noticed that through this unit that the line level for the guitar line is much, much lower in volume than for the vocals. I don't know why this is. I had to do a lot of messing with the EQ in the app to bring it up to any decent level so that the vocal didn't overshadow it - but did succeed. So it is possible to have the instrument line at the volume you want, it just takes a bit of fiddling about to get there.
The positives:
Leaving these issues aside, there are many positives:
1: I love that this unit is white, I'm tired of dark black audio gadgets making everything dark and gloomy looking in my music studio!
2: It's nice and solid with rubber feet so sits nicely on a desk without moving and can be mounted onto a mic stand with a holder too for using live - my Behringer UM2 for instance is so light and plastic-y that it keeps getting dragged off my desk, no issues like this for the Yamaha.
3: It works brilliantly as an audio interface. I was going to upgrade my cheap Behringer UM2, but now I don't have to as this mixer functions as a really great interface. The sound is much clearer and present when I record into my DAW through it (just make sure to choose 'input mix' option - as if you have it on loopback setting with headphones on you'll deafen yourself with feedback).
4: The loopback function allows you to play audio from your computer (or other device e.g. phone) and also talk into your mic and play an instrument too and blends them all together - this worked super-easily. I just plugged the unit in and it all worked instantly - perfect for livestreaming, no need to change any settings in AudioMidi Setup on my mac. This is great option for e.g. gamers, or someone who's singing over pre-recorded tracks.
All in all I'm glad I got it. I'll further experiment with the reverb settings in case I can find a setting I actually like, and down the line will get an iPhone or iPad so I can use it as I intended to livestream without my computer.
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