SWAMP 10 Channel Powered Mixing Desk - 2x 300W - 8 Mic Preamps - Graphic EQ
Changing needs and fatigue from lugging heavy equipment to smaller venues induced me to unload my 24 channel mixer and heavy power amp and EQ/FX rack. I wished to hang onto my relatively compact FOH (unpowered)speakers so a modern lightweight powered mixer was required. I had my eye on a couple of better known brands but the features offered by this unit and power rating at a significantly lower price caught my attention. I had purchased from Swamp on previous occasions and I put my faith in the belief that the company would not put its name on an inferior product. The M210-P arrived one day ahead of schedule, securely packaged and basically required only to have speakers plugged in and connected to power. The only audible noise is the fan which is negligible in a live context. The channels have plenty of headroom and cater for a 4 piece band very well. It has a few refinements a lot of powered mixers do not including mute buttons (important for live mixing) 3 band EQ on all imput channels and a simple but effective 7 band EQ on the main outputs. Setting up the gain on both mike and line inputs was a breeze and while the in-built FX (delay) lacks any presets it was possible to set up a useful reverb like effect on the vocal mike inputs. There are a couple of limitations which are not surprising for a desk of this size. There is only one pre-fade aux send so only one dedicated foldback mix can be achieved. There are two sub-groups (another bonus) which could be used for monitor sends although they are post-fade. The other limitation is that the power amp section can only be used for the main mix. This is not a problem to me as all our foldback speakers are powered but if one wanted to rout one side of the power amp for foldback, this cannot be achieved. A totally unexpected bonus is that a bluetooth player is included enabling you to play music from your phone or iPod. Not only that but it can record the performance to an SD card or USB stick. This last feature presupposed that the whole band is running through the mixer which is theoretically possible with a small band.
The M210-P had its first appearance in a venue yesterday (prior to that used for rehearsal) and performed impeccably with ample power to fill a medium sized function space. I think Swamp should be commended for sourcing such a well designed and flexible mixer amp at such an attractive price.
John NOLAN, 27 January 2020
