My recommendation for finding less-than-common items like this is to set up an automated search on eBay. It will email you once per day on any day that someone puts up an auction for the item you searched for. I've managed to get a lot of rare and/or obscure stuff this way, though it can take months or even years, depending on the item.

That's a cool looking mic, though.

-Troy

I am looking for any info on audio-technica's wireless mic (ATR288W). Is this a good wireless mic? Anyone out there using it? I will be using it mainly for weddings and sermons. I have used it once and gotten a little static in my recording. The receiver is the Pro 88W/R and the transmitter is the Pro 88W/T

Gary

Please tell me if this is correct. Is the SMG-1x able to go wireless?
If this is so would the 41xt, 51xt, wx/t-pro Transmitters work with the SGM-1x? What recievers would work in conjunction? Rather what is the recommendations for these combos do you guys use or have used? Lets say at a distance of 20 feet, I am just punching in a number to get an idea.

1. I've seen several references to using walls or windows to somehow tune or augment the performance of a shotgun indoors. Could someone expand on that a little?

2. Maybe I can sneak this question in here so I don't have to betray my ingorance in a subject line: I just can't seem to get the meaning of ENG from context in any of the posts I've read. What does it mean/stand for?

ENG= electronic news gathering.

Using a shotgun off of a wall has been discussed here several times, and is variable in results depending on the shotgun, the performance, and the room all working together (or not) to get a better (or worse) sound. Getting a shotgun mic near a wall pointing straight away from the wall, or putting semi-parallel to the wall pointing towards a corner sometimes works wonders in otherwise too-reflective rooms.

So I've got an XL1S and a Shure UP4 wireless mic. the MA-100 I have is plugged in the Audio 1 ports in the back. At this point I'm confused. What am I supposed to change the Audio 1 selection to on the the side of the camera? Mic, ATT, or Audio 1? I'm also pretty sure that i need to change those same options within the menu under the VCR setup. Not sure what to do there...Any help would be much appreciated...Thanks in advance...

Pablo

Hi Pablo,

On the side of the camera, slide the INPUT SELECT switch to Audio 1.

In the VCR setup under "Audio 1 in" select MIC.

Does the GL2 have two audio tracks? What I mean is can I use two mics at once? One from the on board mic and one from a wireless mic. I was told that the GL2 had two Audio Tracks but I can't find out how to turn them on.

It does have two audio channels. When you connect an external microphone to the camera, it disables the internal mic. Using a dual mono to stereo adapter from Radio Shack or others providers, you can have two independent mics.

Hi all, I've a small question concerning a sennheiser mkh-416 p48 microphone i saw as an used occasion at some shop for only € 550,-.
Are these things durable and is it sensible to buy them second-hand or could you always be better on the safe side and spend twice the money for a new one?
Unfortunately, they couldn't say how old it was and what it was used for, but they could give me 6 months warranty. The thing looked quite used with some dents and so on but sounded good. But then again I never heard another 416 so have nothing to relate it to...

I would NEVER buy a microphone with dents... especially a shotgun mic... the interference tube is part of the design and not simply a protective casing. Also DENTS are a sign of abuse, not use.

Minor scratches, rubs, and general finish wear are a sign of a mic that's been used, but is probably YEARS old.

Anything that's barely used should look almost new.

The 416 is one of the most durable mics ever made, but it's also been around for about 20 some-odd years... so on this particular one... I'd probably pass.

The going rate for GOOD condition used 416s is probably about $700-$750... and virtually NEW ones should be under $850 USD...

When I put a Rycote mini over the stock foam on a AT 4073a, it seems to distort the tone of the sound. It makes it flatter and not as warm. However, when I use the mini on the mic without the stock foam, it sounds just as warm. My question is, how much better is the mini by itself than the stock foam by itself? And has anyone else noticed this?

When you diminish the airspace around the mike, you'll lose some of the highs, that's a given. Until recently, I'd not played/experimented with this too much.
The softie by itself won't cut wind at quite the same velocities, but it will sound similar, with more highs. But if the warmth is what you want, then leave the foam off unless you end up in high winds.

I was thinking about getting the Samson Micro Airline Serire UHF Wirless Combo system for 399.99 at B&H Is that a good setup? I have a GL2 so I like the idea that its small! Also its UHF.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=249885&is=REG

let me know your opinion's.

Hi!

We´re making a documentary about a gay party that happens at that same time and at the same place of the most religious celebration of Brazil. We´ve been shooting it for two years, and 2004 is our deadline to finish. The problem is: we´re out of money, and can´t afford renting good audio equipment.

We´re going to shoot for 2 days. The first one is gonna be in a living room, where some people and our main character will pray. We´re thinking about cliping a lav mic on this guy, and capture his speeches. The problem is the background sound. Maybe we won´t have a shotgun mounted on a boom. So, I thought I could handle this problem with a weird solution: use 2 single chip mini-dv cams with its omni-directional mics only to record the background audio. We could hide the cams along the living room OR we could hold them (and shoot the action, because the footage could help us later) and point to the people talking, at different places.

Do you think it could work? I´m not talkin´extreme professional results, but I thought that mixing the two single chip cams audio captured from different places of the living room would MAYBE work as a substitute for the shotgun mic.

What a shotgun provides is separating the noise/dialogue from the rest of the sound on a certain place.

To provide ambience sound you don't need two cameras, just one. Record it all on separate tracks and mix it later.

Shoot the action with the two other cameras, as that will provide more options for your editing. Just be sure the lav mic guy audio is recorded cleanly.


Carlos

I'm currently using an AT 897 and an AT 4073a for a boom mic indoors recording conversations and dialouge. Can anyone recomend something better for under 1000 dollars? I'd prefer under 500 if you can... The AT's seem to work really well unless someone shuts a door and then they either echo or the conversation seems to be over whelmed.

Thank you for any help

It sounds like you want/need a hypercardoid. Read these two links.
Rose's article on mic patterns (click here) (http://www.dv.com/features/features_item.jhtml?LookupId=/xml/feature/2003/rose0203)

Also read what Schoeps say about the rejection of off axis soundclick here (http://www.schoeps.de/E-2004/mics-gen-characs.html)


How about a Sanken CS-1, it's a cross between a short shotgun and a hyper. It has excellent off axis rejection and no rear lobe.
Approx price is $750 but it's an amazing tool.

You could buy an AT 4053a, it's an excellent dialog mic and a hypercardoid to boot. This weighs in around $400 at B&H.

An AKG 480b preamp with a CK63 hyper (approx $700)

An AKG C300b with a ck93 hyper cap (approx $400)

An Oktava MCO-12 with a hyper capsule, these run $190 at www.oktava.com

An NT-3 for $152. it;s big and heavy but it's a sweet sounding mic for the money.

All of these mics will do very well indoors for more info as well as several recorded sound files. The sound files will show the off axis response and act as a comparison between all the various dialog mics. i've also included a great deal of info and links to the maufacturer and various suppliers.
Click here (http://dvfreelancer.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=19&sid=1d77b97daefe65696dd2fafa411d330f)

Anyone using/have used this wireless lav system and your thoughts?

Is there some kind of attachment I can get to Mount AT4073a Shotgun on DVX?

Anyone have any experience with Vega wireless lav systems?

Yes, it's called a shockmount. You can either buy one with the shoe or buy a separate shoe attachment.

kcam mount(click) (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=326967&is=REG)

The camera shock mount adapter by itself (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=details_accessories&A=details&Q=&sku=68160&is=REG)

The PSC camera mount (cheapest most simple of the bunch) (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=256865&is=REG)

There's more info on this thread (click) (http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33080&highlight=ktek)

This has been discussed many times, for more info run a search on this forum. Use brief descriptions like "shock" or "shock mount".

You could also have a peek at B&H, jusr use the link I've given for the other shock mounts.

Shooting all day last week with my companies (my day job) borrowed Lectrosonic UM 200b/200d kit and the thing was poping and swooshing for the first presenters piece. Lasted an excrutiating 55 minutes that I couldn't stop. Speaker was only about 35 feet away behind a podium with nothing odd going on, no 2-way radios, no cell phones or other transmitters nearby. It was a golf club setting.

For the second through fifth speakers I dug out my new spare Azden 100LT mic and it was flawless. No noises at all. Crisp and clean.

I will say this is not the smallest mic capsule in the world and in fact, since the wind screen is glued on, it's pretty big. It may not have the best tone but all I can say is, it did the job quite well and rescued me from a disaster.

Using it with a Sony PDX10 and the shotgun for room noise.

I think I'll keep it.

Sean

I am going to be filming tonight for a school project on an Optura 20 and i dont have any sort of mics. I figured I could monitor what they are saying through some headphones. (It's a one shoot opurunity so I wanted to make sure I could hear them since there is no time for a reshoot) Upon testing some headphones I Heard a loud buzzing sound similar to a blown speaker in the right headphone. I was really mad when this happened beacuse they are kind of expensive headphones. Then plugged them into my stero adn they worked fine. At this point I plugged in another pair and I got the same problem. anyone know what is up?

I am looking at some Rode microphones. Would the "broadcaster" work for this? http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=186048&is=REG

Or is it more for Voice Overs? I am looking at the $400 range. Thanks for the help!

The Broadcaster really is tailored for broadcasting. If I was choosing a single Rode mic at this price point for foley I'd pick the NT1000 for $299 and get the optional shockmount. Foley requires a very low noise mic because often these sounds are faint to begin with and then you have to mic at a distance to make them sound natural and believable.
Alternately you could get the NT1A and an NT3 and still be within your budget. Some sources sound more natural with a large diaphragm mic and some sound better with a small diaphragm. This would give you a choice.

It sounds like the headphone jack isn't making proper contact with the plug on the headphones. Those 1/8" jacks are pretty fragile, and having long headphone plugs plugged into them means you have a big ole bar that, if hit, has a lot of leverage to bend the little contacts inside the plug. Ideally, you'd want a right-angle plug, which doesn't stick out very far to be hit and has much less leverage if it is. They do make short (6" or so) extension cables with a right-angle plug for just that reason (B&H has them).

If you're having this problem with several sets of headphones, then your cam needs to visit a repair facility (hopefully under warranty!).

-Troy

This may be old news to a lot of you, but I think it's hysterical. This is a Web site on film sound production that has an entry on a sound effect called The Wilhelm Scream that's been used in over a hundred movies, including every Star Wars film (even the new ones). It's named after a cowboy who gets killed in an old Western movie. Scroll down to Language and Voice. There's a downloadable clip showing it's use in everything from the giant ant movie "Them" to a Goofy cartoon. Once you hear it, you'll recognize that scream immediately. We've all heard it hundreds of time. I'm already trying to find a way to work it in to our next movie.

http://www.filmsound.org/cliche/


NPR article on The Wilhelm, (linked to from site above).

http://tinyurl.com/m4c8

Yup, as mentioned in this thread (http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?s=&threadid=28573&perpage=15&highlight=wilhelm&pagenumber=3), Peter John Ross used it in his upcoming feature. See also this history of the Wilhelm (http://www.nerf-herders-anonymous.net/WilhelmScream.html).

(The film cliche page (http://www.filmsound.org/cliche/) you cite is pretty darned good.)

Go Wilhelm!

Michael

Hello All,

I already know about the Azden 503 omni lav mic - that seems to be the best value and seems to work well with an md/digital recorder. I'm looking for one with a 1/8" plug.

Are there any other budget lav mics that you would recommend? I'm looking for one that would pick up the bride's voice, if the groom were wearing it. Say for under $75.

If you think the Azden will work fine, please chime in - that would probably be my cheapest option anyway.

Thanks

Audio Technica ATR35s would work. They're around $35.

Ideally I'd pay 200 or maybe 300, for a pair of good radio lavelier mics. what do you guys recommend? Also, another question: why can't I theoretically just radio mic my actors all the time (instead of using a boom mic) and then add the boominess and echo in post? would the result be drastically different than using a boom mic? thanks.

The GL2 owner's manual rates the mic jack at -55 dBV with MIC ATT OFF and -35 dBV with MIC ATT ON. But what does that mean, really?

I'd love to know what signal level of, say, a 1000 Hz tone is being applied to the GL2's mic jack when the level meters are at the ZERO dB mark at various settings of the channel level controls (e.g., quarter, half , three quarters and full).

If I had a scope and a signal generator I'd find out. Might someone be willing to do this?

Can someone direct me to a site where I can get quality audio recording equipment. I am looking to use something other than my cameras audio.

Mitch

All sorts of them, but my fave is B&H. They have EVERYTHING.
FVESCO.com in Denver has a pretty good selection, and Performance-audio.com in SLC has a monster selection.

For those in the ACID world, or just wanting to get started making their own custom songs, ACID 5 has arrived.
The sweetest new feature is the Media Manager, but some other trick components are:
Groove Mapping Quantization
ReWire Mixer and Device Support
VST Effects Support
Multiport VSTi Soft Synth Support
MIDI Editing Enhancements
Tempo-based DirectX Effects
Plug-in Manager
Bypass All Effects

Very very tasty indeed - Groove Mapping? - Genius! . .The GUI looks stunning.

G

How many actors, how many mikes, how many tracks will you need to keep the audio tracks iso'd while shooting?

If the actors talk over each others lines you will be forced to mix different ambient backgrounds and have to deal with the various mikes picking up the other actors at a lower but annoying enough level.

So if you do decide to try your idea don't ever have the actors talk over each others lines. You'll be better off in the $500.00 dollar range for you wireless mikes.

Does anyone know the title song used for the Old Spice aftershave commercial, the one that sounds like it should be in a horror movie, in fact I think it may have been in The Omen or something similar; bom bom bom bom... if that helps?

I've got my camera (Canon XL2), Shotgun mic and the mic that came with the camera and now I'm getting ready to purchase a wireless mic & receiver, boom pole, etc. All of the threads I have read on here have been extremely helpful. Before I make my final decision I will definitely speak to someone who specifically deals in audio gear.

Would anyone care to share what they have in their time-tested/proven EFP kit? (particularly the not-so-obvious)

Thanks in advance,

Evan

Sorry for the double-post guys, My browser sent the post 2 times and I cant delete the second post.

Evan,
I just got my xl2 ( had been using a GL1). I bought an AT 897 which I'm happy with. I also got the Sennheiser G2 with the xtra mic plug. It seems to work well and sounds good, but I haven't had the opportunity to put much time on it.
Bruce yarock

The sound will have the same quality? Can I mount the mic on a boom and use long XLR cables?

<<<-- Originally posted by Gustavo Godinho : The sound will have the same quality?

Yes but you have to have an adapter from the 3.5mm plug to the XLR connector. Easy to do.


Can I mount the mic on a boom and use long XLR cables?

Probably not without some interference.

-->>>

HI

I will start with mine. You will only be able to make the dialogue better whilst also affecting the stereo final mix, that means all ambient & source sound that was picked up whilst filming. THis may not be too much of a problem, unless the recorded material you have to work with is actually distorted.
Before I start giving you my tips, you can LEARN everything from editing audio, making your own music with midi and vst synths, clean recording at : http://www.futureproducers.com

the futurproducers forum is the best audio forum online. It is like dvinfo being the best in dv information.

http://www.kvr-vst.com/get.php

1) You can't record everyhting with your shotgun mic. Sometimes you need to fix things in post production. The best way is to use a secuencer (cubase, sonar, logic, pro tools). This gives you a visual representation of the tracks. YOu can also add VST-plugins. With VST you can edit everything your heart desires. I MEAN EVRYTHING! You can create profesional effects and mixing.

A nice link that shows the different types of effects you could use in your spielberg movies is: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep03/articles/sequencer.htm?session=a6810e099202f24f072c9b9084b94698

If you are rich, you can use hardware effects machines, but we live in a digital era and thanks to the internet you can use freeware fx plugins. You don't need to spend anything in your audio arsenal.

The best free FX/synth/vokator/EQ/rerverb/ditortion vst/direct x plugins can be found on the KVR-VST site here:
http://www.kvr-vst.com/get.php

2) I love reverb. Use reverb in the most important scenes. Escpecially in moments of death/sex scenes/action etc. Also use reverb in scenes like slomotions, flashbacks and if you want to acentuate a mood like for instance ' screaming for help' or ' crying' or ' killing someone with a gun'. Rerverb can also be used to have a nicer transition from one scene to a totally different scene. Look at the french amelie movie . They used it tons of times in scenes like ' the blinkin of a eye' , ' closing a door', opening a door, flashbacks etc. Silence is another nice thing you can use in movies. USE silence to create more depth in your scene.



Before adding effects:
a) I edit my main tracks recorded with the cam's mic or the shotgun mic. I delete everything that doesnt belong in a movie : ' rumble' , distorted recordings, sound of the cam's tape transport, footsteps of the camera man, details such as humms, crackles and other things. PUT YOUR HEADPHONE ON , otherwise you won't hear the details. Buy good nearfield monitors for your studio.
Check this intersing link on nearfield monitors http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/Jun02/articles/monitors.asp
I bought mine behringer truths for 260 euros each. They sound flat and not-boosted!!

b) Often I do a rough production of the scenes without audio, render it and import it abck into my sequencer. I then start cutting and pasting the audio there. I try to do lots of transitions and fading stuff at the end of words. There is nothing worse to hear audio being cut out too obviously.
c) Every little detail is important.
- The dB scale can get very technical but in digital the absolute rule of thumb is to keep everything below 0 dB or else you will get digital clipping.
- add sparkle to your upper frequency range of the vocals. It is in this range (3000-12000 hz)here that people think that the quality is profesional. Watch out with the ' sss'. Watcho ut with the frequency around 3500hz. This area is the most delicate freq. spot. Too much here and it people will get ired.

eq tips:

250-800Hz ~ Muddiness area
1-6kHz ~ Adds presence
6-8kHz ~ Adds clarity
8-12kHz ~ Adds brightness
50-100Hz ~ Adds bottom end
100-250Hz ~ Adds roundness
250-800Hz ~ Muddiness Area
800-1kHz ~ Adds beef to small speakers
1-6kHz ~ Adds presence
6-8kHz ~ Adds high-end presence
8-12kHz ~ Adds hiss

Apply either cut or boost around 300hz, depending on the mic and song.Apply a very small boost around 6kHz to add some clarity.

100-250Hz ~ Adds 'up-frontness'; watch out with the freq specs of your cam mic or shotgun. Don't add EQ if there is nothing to be added. DO a frequency plot to see what frequencies the vocals are made of. Soundforge has one. SO has Cubase, logic and sonar, adobe premier.

200 hz: 1. Increase to add fullness to vocals; Reduce to decrease muddiness of vocals

250-800Hz ~ Muddiness area

1-6kHz ~ Adds presence; 5. Reduce to increase breathy, soft sound on background vocals.

6-8kHz ~ Adds sibilance and clarity

8-12kHz ~ Adds brightness; Increase to brighten vocals

15 hz and above; 15KHz; Increase to brighten vocals (breath sound).

Good EQ plugs are: http://www.waves.com


- check your VOLUMES. Do volume riding with automation first! Record your movements. Check for overall volume consistancy. IF you prefer to use a vst/direct x plugin for compression, watch out cause you might bring up the noise levels as well. A little bit of compression gives the conversation a better flow. Add a tube emulator plugin to your mastering and you are the man! Add warmth to your vocals in the lower frequency range

PSP vintage warmer and PSP saturator are GOOD! http://www.pspaudioware.com/

- Look at the room you recorded in. Does it have lots of wood but the sound you have is too flat? Fix it with a little bit of EQ. Add extra effects in the most important scenes. Turn up the volume, adding a little bit of reverb and echo. Watch out with your zooms and camera views. There has to be a constistency in there. As soon as an actor changes from one room to another (entering a kitchen for instance), try to figure out if the audio flow is correct. Does it sound good? Does the ambience sound correct and continious (traffic noise, television noise, birds, noise from closing/opening doors ?)
- Do a retake of your audio in post production if you are not satisfied. All mayor hollywood movies do that. Recreate the ambient noise & room sounds etc
- good actors produce great sounds. Articulation is the key. Let the conversation be normal and real.
- telephone FX tricks are easy. Take the sample , put it in a audio editor, and cutt everything below 800 hz and above 3000hz.
- Add comentary/voice overs to your movies, recorded with a different mic (condensor) so that you can hear it harder and deeper than the conversations. Add extra bass and a push-up in the 3000-5000 hz area to get the attention of your viewer.
click here for an article on recording voice overs:
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1997_articles/jan97/spokenword.html

- add extra effecs to your movie. You can't always record everything while you are recording your footage. Watch the profesional movies and check out the little details. YOu can record them yourself in a garage with a condenserr mic instead of using your shotgun. EFFECTS that are made in pro-production: footsteps, doors, pouring water/beer, stabs, punches( if you have meat at your house, cut a slice and give it some mike tyson punches), telephone sounds, crunching of floors (use cornflakes to make these sounds, invent something, evrything is posible) etc, outside ambience like traffic, nature. do You don't get a nice audio flow/consinstancy if you introduce cuts in ambience sounds. Watch out with traffic sound. DO not make them tooo loud. some downloadable fx sounds at: http://www.sounddogs.com/start.asp

- add background music to bring evrything together. Watch out with copyrighted material.MAke your own music easily with your pc. a good Midi-sequencer is the only thing you need. You can even make msuic with your mouse with programs such as reason 2.5 http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec03/articles/propellerhead.htm?session=a6810e099202f24f072c9b9084b94698
and musicmaker. YOu have free sytnhs outthere online to add horror or dramatic effects to your movie. I use a synth called Absynth which was used for the the gladiotor movie. It is simple. Use a preset, tweak it and add it to your movie. You will be amazed what you can do with your pc and your mouse.
- be creative. use audio the same as video. HOw can you steel your viewer's attention? A nice effects was the ' PIANO' movie. Remeber the hard screaming sound you heard after the bomb had landed in one of the rooms? It grabbed my attention. Another way of learning to be creative is to look at movies, write down what you like and try to figure out how you can add your own tricks to your movies. You can also google for the oscars for best special effects. In braveheart for instance, the sound of the horses were made in post production. How? They used condensor mic, recorded the horses in a quiet enviromont and they added extra BASS and extra REVERB to grab your attention. Startrek monster effects are easily created with freeware and fullware. YOu only need a vokator plugin or program. a good one is orange vocator(used in cher's I believe) or Vokator from NI http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep03/articles/vokator.htm?session=a6810e099202f24f072c9b9084b94698


How to make your own music with the pc: click here:

http://www.futureproducers.com/links.php/category/9

I hope I have given you some good info. The best thing you can do is study some audio forums. There is one forum which is the best out there. I learned everything from there.

Tricks for audio are online at the best forum for audio recording and editing:

Thanks for the share there, Jose!
On the side of web-ettiquette, please do not post links to other forums when there is no specific subject on topic?

Just came across this, wondered what you thought of if it for mobile/backup recording.

http://www.neurosaudio.com/

hi
I must direct a short film, so i've some questions:

1- i've a panasonic gs400 and a electret supercardioid microphone...i don't' know if buying a shotgun (at815b) or not.I'd like a clear sound for the dialogues and also for the background..

2- i've another camera, in which i could record the background audio...so, in this way, in the gs400 i connect the shotgun microphone via xlr-jack cable , and in the other camcorder i record the background in the same time with the super cardioid..is it right??but, i think , that also in the second camera voices would be recorded..how can i mix the two fonts??

3 have you any other solution to have a good audio without spending too much??i want a very good audio..
thanks....

ops..i forgot to say that the supercardioid microphone i have is mon..it is another problem..can i record the background in mono??is it bad??the at815b shotgun is always mono, but is it ok for the dialogues...not?

The special thing about this mixer is that it has an effects unit built in.
PRO: One of the effects is a tone generator, which is handy for figuring out what your levels convert to after limiting and figuring out what your sound card does to your signal.
CON: This is the most confusing mixer I ever encounter. If you put the knobs in their detente/middle position, your sound will get routed to the effects unit and come back into your final mix with an effect. You need to turn aux send 2s off.
I'm not sure if any of the other effects are any good.

Other notes:
A- Ethical? Apparently Behringer stole/used Mackie's preamp design. They got into a lawsuit and settled out of court. Other Behringer products bear remarkable similarity to competitor's.
*Boycott probably won't work as Behringer will have no idea you didn't buy their product for this reason. It's probably a better idea to send them a letter? I don't even know.
B- Cheap. Mackie mixer is about 3X price.
C- Apparently the UB-series Behringer mixers have nice preamps (see A), but I have no way of testing.
D- The mixer has a second bus. There's main mix and "alt 3-4".
E- With the FX unit set to generate tone and the volume knob for effects turned all the way down, you can still very faintly hear tone on headphones. You could set the FX unit to a reverb and you won't hear anything.