Gemini 626 Mixer > Reviews > Great for all, no matter what skill level

Author's product rating:   

Ease of use/design	Good
Audio quality	Excellent
Durability	Very durable
Portability	Very portable
Value for money	Excellent

Advantages:	Easy to use, aesthetically pleasing, good build quality
Disadvantages:	Lack of features will upset expert users .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Gemini are one of the world's best known mixer manufacturers, and are usually high up on the sales figure tables. This is conclusive proof of just how much they know about making mixers. In fact the 626 is the most popular 'home' mixer out there.

I chose the 626 over the other possibilities after using my mates Gemini 676 mixer. The 676 is basically the same mixer, but with the addition of a sampler. Thinking that my keyboard has an on-board sampler, and the mixer has three input channels, then I figured it would be much better value to just buy the 626 and spend the other £50 on vinyl and another link cable, so I could hook up the keyboard.

Each channel has a line or phono input, changable by way of a Single Pole Double Throw switch on the face of the unit. The inputs are easy to connect up and have a nice snug feel to them, you can feel confident that your cables are staying put. The power supply is by way of a 'kettle' cable, one of those big lumps of plastic with three holes in it. This again feels very secure, and you can be confident that the power cord isn't going to kill your set dead by dropping out.

The four faders (three channels plus cross fader) feel solid enough, and you can feel confident with them. Only the crossfader is changable, but thats all you can really expect on a mixer at this end of the market. The faders work brilliantly, and are set at just the right curve. They combine well to allow you to mix the two inputs perfectly each time.

There are three volume control knobs to the bottom right of the unit, master (output speakers), booth (monitor speakers), and headphones (obvious really lol). These work well enough but have a tendancy to sometimes 'slip' as they turn causing the volume to spike a little (and sometimes a lot). Thankfully this problem doesn't occur on the gain controls, even though they are the same control knobs. The gains range from -12dB to 32dB giving you full control over the sound, and you are able to get a 'proper' kill.

There is a nice LED output at the top giving you a read out of the sound being supplied to the amp (this is a pre-amp unit) This is also easily switchable between left/right output and channel output by way of a push switch. The LEDs are nice and bright, and stand out in a light room, never mind a dark room.

The unit is aesthetically pleasing as well, with a black finish broken up by a grey swirl across the face of it. This mixer is great for the home user, competent at what it does, and uncomplicated in how to do it. I would not hesitate to recommend this to anyone, from beginner to expert, although experts may find the lack of extras annoying.