Best iPad Controlled Mixer in 2023

A best ipad controlled mixer is often a mixing board without knobs or faders controlled by a tablet over a wireless (Wifi) or other network connection. These digital mixing boards are often known as wireless mixers or wifi digital mixing boards. The benefit of this mixer is that you don’t need long wires or a multichannel audio snake to mix from the front of the house—you can carry a tablet into the audience! This mixer style also allows each band member to have their own custom monitor mix. Students can access a tablet or phone to manage their blend. Naturally, the mixer’s number of independent outputs has restricted this option. A tablet-controlled mixer also often gives you more control over the mix, which is a bonus! The amount of knobs, buttons and faders on a physical board is not a restriction on the producers of these mixers.

Best iPad Controlled Mixer

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Behringer XR12 Tablet Controlled Mixer

Behringer XR12 Tablet Controlled Mixer

The newest member of Behringer’s XAir mixer family is the XR12 Tablet Controlled Mixer. It includes two 1/4″ instrument inputs, six 1/4″ balanced inputs, and four microphone preamps by Midas. The XR12 also provides excellent monitoring capabilities for a wireless mixer at this pricing point. Moreover, there are two balanced XLR main outs (Left and Right), two balanced 1/4″ auxiliary outputs, and a 1/4″ headphone monitor output on a separate bus! Only a USB input capable of holding a USB flash drive for 2-channel recording or playback is available for digital i/o.

Moreover, the Behringer XR12 offers a wide range of mixer control choices. A built-in wifi router, an ethernet port, and MIDI i/o enable complete digital control via physical controllers, Macs, PCs, Linux, iPad, iPhones, and Android devices! The XR12 doesn’t let down either mechanically. You can access four effects engines, full dynamics on each channel, a 31-band E.Q. with RTA, or a 6-band parametric E.Q. on the main bus. The XR12’s internal software is identical to the more giant XAir mixers. For those who desire to rack mount their purchase, the XR12 also has rack ears.

Midas MR12 Tablet Controlled Mixer

Midas MR12 Tablet Controlled Mixer

The preamps on the Behringer wireless mixers were of poor quality, which was my biggest complaint. The famous Midas preamps would eliminate the noise problems. Midas is a renowned brand for professional audio mixers, and the MR12’s audio quality did not disappoint. The Behringer XR12 and the MR12 are similar in many aspects and have nearly identical appearances. The Midas branding is the sole distinction in the software GUI’s appearance. As far as switching from the Midas MR12 to the Behringer XR18 was concerned, it was a seamless transition.

In fact, after extensive investigation, I discovered that the Midas MR12 contains the most significant differences. The circuit board’s inputs, output, and preamps have all been improved. I can tell from my hearing that the components’ quality has changed drastically! The internal components and very low noise preamps make a MASSIVE difference. The most straightforward approach to comparing the Behringer XR12 and Midas MR12 is to say that I’ve previously updated and bought upgraded equipment from Black Lion Audio. I mailed a $500 upgrade for a Behringer XR12 to Black Lion Audio! It’s well worth the roughly $200.00 price difference.

The MR12’s general specifications are identical to those of the XR12, except that it has four fantastic, high-resolution Midas preamps and operates quietly from inputs to internal routing, effects, and outputs. Also, my study showed that the effects engines utilized in the Midas M32 digital console are the same, despite looking exactly like the Behringer-branded GUI. The Midas MR12 contains the same number of input and output channels as the Behringer XR12 and USB 2-channel recording or playback, inbuilt wifi, ethernet, midi, and rack mount. It also has the same input and output channel count.

Soundcraft Ui12 Tablet Controlled Mixer

Soundcraft Ui12 Tablet Controlled Mixer

The Soundcraft Ui12 includes sophisticated software and effects capabilities, which makes it comparable to the previous wireless mixers. The mixer’s simplistic design is comparable to the stage at the end of an audio snake. The Ui12 offers four XLR combo inputs and four XLR standard inputs compared to the XR12 and MR12’s four XLR combo inputs and eight TRS inputs, which results in a tiny difference in the number of inputs. The final channel on the Ui12 is reserved for stereo USB playback and two RCA inputs. A built-in wifi router and an Ethernet port for connecting to an external network switch or router are also features of the Ui12.

In contrast to the XR12 and MR12, the Soundcraft Ui12 offers two software features: dedicated Digitech amp modeling and DBX feedback suppression. Any electric guitar or bass can be directly plugged in using amp modeling to achieve the perfect sound. For any live performance, built-in feedback suppression on the primary outputs is a fantastic feature. Any HTML5-compatible phone, tablet can operate this mixer, or computer is another feature that makes it unique. The Soundcraft Ui16, which I once had, has many outstanding and simple-to-use features. I returned the device since I found the noise level too high. I tried a lot of different combinations of inputs and outputs, but all of them had too much background hiss for my tastes. Is it a problem with the preamps or output?

Mackie ProDX4 Cell Phone Controlled Mixer

Mackie ProDX4 Cell Phone Controlled Mixer

The Mackie ProDX4 takes an entirely different approach to the small wireless tablet-controlled mixer. In fact, rather than a tablet, it is made to be operated by an iPhone or an Android phone! The Mackie ProDX8 is a larger version of the ProDX4 that is also available. The ProDX4 offers two XLR combo inputs and a 1/8″ stereo for media players, tablets, and smartphones. Both kinds of music streaming from an iPhone or Android app and mixer control use Bluetooth. The ProDX4’s software was designed with simplicity and user-friendliness in mind. While the bells and whistles of the previously analyzed mixers aren’t present, the fundamentals of dynamics and mixing exist. 

Each channel has a low pass filter, compression, and a three-band E.Q. Additional 16 effects, including chorus, delays, and reverbs, are available for each channel. A graphic E.Q. is also included on the outputs for further mix control.  That’s wireless simplicity at its finest. The Mackie ProDX8 has all the same features as the ProDX4 but with four more XLR combo inputs! For usage with my Bose L1 Compact, I bought a Mackie ProDX4, and I’m pretty satisfied! One small package adds every option I was missing for use with my L1 Compact.

Zoom LiveTrak L-20R Digital Mixer

Zoom LiveTrak L-20R Digital Mixer

You might have assumed that this mixer can record on several tracks if you’ve read anything about it. The Zoom LiveTrak L-20R only offers a 22-in/4-out USB audio interface for your Mac, PC, or iOS device, even though it can record each track onto an S.D. card. This implies that multitrack recording is only possible for the S.D. card, followed by file transfers to the P.C.

It can, however, accomplish both of these tasks simultaneously. i.e., you can simultaneously stream over the internet and record a multitrack session to an S.D. card. Moreover, “scene saving” is possible. Essentially, this is when you record the band and afterward play back those tracks to perform a live soundcheck before the band even starts to play. Let’s quickly review the inputs and outputs that the Zoom LiveTrak L20R offers: Inputs: It comes with 14 x XLR/TRS Combo Jacks and 2 x XLR/TRS Hi-Z combo Jacks.

Electric and acoustic guitars, bass, and other instruments can all be connected via the Hi-Z inputs without the use of an extra D.I. box. Keyboards and other audio devices can connect to channels 17–20 through TRS and RCA. It has two XLR main outputs, six XLR programmable monitor outputs, a 14″ headphone output, and six XLR main outputs. You need the Remote Mixer app to operate this mixer.

Conclusion

So many wireless/tablet-controlled mixers are available right now, so choosing one takes work. I hope this article clarifies things for you. Although every mixer on this list is excellent, my favorites are the Soundcraft mixers. The Soundcraft UI24R, in particular. If you can afford it, go for it wholeheartedly and find all the necessary features. I hope you found this helpful information.

Enjoy your fantastic day!

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