Alesis iMultiMix 8 USB with iPod Dock

by Gig Stig

Personally I’ve always looked at the iPod as a music storage medium and used it at dinner parties to provide non-stop muzac whilst our guests guzzled down the Lobster and Champagne (I wish …!!) It never really occurred to me that it could be used to record backing tracks onto and produce re-mixes on.

I'm not even sure if the words 'professional' and 'iPod' can really be put in the same sentence but Alesis seems to think they can. This mixer will record to any 2^nd generation to 5^th generation iPod, mixing down from 8 channels (four mic inputs, two guitar inputs and two for the stereo iPod) and then throw the results directly into iTunes over the integrated USB port. The iPod is predominantly controlled by a jog dial similar to the “Alpha Wheel” pioneered by Roland some years back..

The specs aren't too bad considering the cost of this unit, there's a limiter, three band per channel EQ and 48v phantom power for condenser mics. And therefore this could be a useful little tool for “Pod-casters” and, according to the marketing blurb released by Alesis - "houses of worship".

But here comes the bad news. It also plays back from the iPod and adds it to the mix, so every cheesy busker you see on a street corner with a saxophone and a backing tape will soon be converted to the iPod …! You have been warned ..