Musikmesse 08: Focusrite debuts affordable Liquid Mix 16

Focusrite has launched the Liquid Mix 16, a cutdown version of its acclaimed Liquid Mix processing box. Offering the same EQ and compressor emulations as its big brother - and a control surface to tweak them with - this is designed to make the company´s Liquid technology more affordable than ever.

The standard Liquid Mix offers 32 mono channels (16 stereo) of processing, but the Liquid Mix 16 drops this channel count to 16 (eight stereo). Out of the box, you can choose one of 40 compressors or 20 EQs to go on each channel, while more are available online.

Each of the Liquid Mix 16´s channels shows up as a VST, Audio Units or RTAS effect, so using them in your DAW is easy. You can take control of the processing using the rotary controls and buttons. The hardware (which powers all the processing, by the way) connects to your computer over FireWire and is bus-powered.

Should you wish to add more channels, you can buy an optional expansion card that ups the mono count from 16 to 24.

The price of the Liquid Mix 16 is still to be confirmed, but you can expect it to be considerably lower than the £500 that the standard model retails for. It´s Mac- and PC-compatible and should be shipping soon.

Full specs are available on the Focusrite website.

Video: The Liquid Mix 16 in action at Musikmesse Frankfurt 2008

The MusicRadar team

MusicRadar is the number 1 website for music makers of all kinds, be they guitarists, drummers, keyboard players, djs or producers...

GEAR: We help musicians find the best gear with top-ranking gear round-ups and high- quality, authoritative reviews by a wide team of highly experienced experts. TIPS: We also provide tuition, from bite-sized tips to advanced work-outs and guidance from recognised musicians and stars. STARS: We talk to musicians and stars about their creative processes, and the nuts and bolts of their gear and technique. We give fans an insight into the actual craft of music making that no other music website can.