A lot of you will know the difficulties that come with home-recording your music on a budget. The hassle that can come with setting your software up, connecting your soundcard/interface, getting the latency right and so on will often leave your inspiration diminished after you’ve eventually got it ready to record. This all means that finding a professional quality recording interface for good value can be but a pipedream. That’s why the Yamaha AG series could be the budget musicians perfect mixer.

Yamaha’s series comes in two models, the AG03 and AG06, the difference being the AG03 has 3 channels and the AG06 has 6 channels. The price tag may seem like the most appealing feature coming in at £87 for the AG03 and £108 (the cheapest we found) for the AG06 but the AG series provides so much more than just solace for your wallet.

Both models feature D-PRE mic preamps designed by Yamaha for use in their high-end recording however is now gracing the AG’s for a crisp, distinctive quality at 192kHz/24bit with 2-track audio recording and playback on both.
The AG features flexible connectivity, phantom power and Hi-Z switchable input allowing you to connect a multitude of instruments such as guitars, bass, synthesizers, condenser mics and more directly into the AG.

The compact mixers also both come with built in compression and equaliser effects utilised through a 1-TOUCH DSP allowing you to instantly optimise either effect live. You can also use their downloadable AG DSP Controller software, allowing you access and utility of the compressor, EQ, high-pass filter, reverb and amp simulator parameters.

Thanks to it’s USB connectivity the AG can plug straight into your computer allowing you configuration of a powerful studio setup within a compact, easy-to-use interface. You can even use them on an iPad using a mobile battery. To top it all off the AG comes bundled with Cubase AI, a condensed form of the industry standard music production software.

Ken Hiraoka, Department Manager of the Yamaha PA Department, said:

With the AG we wanted to provide a whole new base of users with a simple, yet versatile means of capturing or broadcasting their creations—musical and otherwise— with studio-quality sound and a fast and easy setup. The AG’s intuitive compact design and versatile connectivity make it easier than ever to record, broadcast, archive, or simply listen to high quality content, even for users with no previous audio (engineering) experience

You can see all the details and specs on both AG mixers on the product page’s here for the AG03 and here for the AG06.