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The Best Digital Mixer for Church Sanctuaries: 4 Options to Consider

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Is your analog mixer about to give up the ghost? Or, perhaps your sound people are asking for an upgrade. Perhaps you have several churches that use your building. No matter the reason, this article can help you determine the best digital mixer for your church.

Before we get started, let me explain. This website is designed to make it as easy as possible for you. That is an enormous task to find the best digital mixers in a church.

Over 40 years of experience as a musician and soundboards are more than just turning on the volume and adjusting the EQ. So I asked my sound guy for recommendations. He suggested four digital mixers that could be used in a church. I trust they will be helpful to you.

Behringer X32 40-channel Digital Mixer

I won’t go over every feature, pros, and con of these mixers. I will instead show you some videos and give you some links to useful information about the mixers.

Amazon links to each product. Since I am a pastor and a man, I don’t have the time or desire to spend hours looking for something. I want to know what I want and then get it. 

I prefer to spend 15 minutes ordering what I want rather than spending hours trying to translate musician-speak and then transporting the equipment to the church.

I’d rather study, pray, and minister to people. This is what God called me to do. He did not call me to shop.

Here are some tips to help you choose the right digital mixer for your church.

Here are some things to consider when buying a digital mixer for your church

When deciding on the best digital mixers for your church, you should ask many things. These are just a few questions to help you think about your needs.

  • How many musicians are you able to count?
  • How many singers do you have?
  • Are you planning on hiring musicians or singers?
  • Are you planning to have multiple worship teams or do you already have them?
  • Who will be running the digital mixer? Do they have to be professionals or volunteers?
  • Do you wish to record or create multi-track recordings of your services?
  • Are you interested in having in-ear monitors?
  • Are you ready to go wireless 100%?

These are just some of the questions that you should ask. John Soto has a video that will provide more information about digital mixers.

Four of the Best Digital Mixers for Your Church

One of the most important questions to ask is what level of experience and training your mixer users have. We are mostly volunteers and not professionals. You must ensure that your mixer is simple to use and that there are training videos.

John is correct in seconding that you should have at least a 24-channel mixer unless your church uses many musicians or singers. In that case, you can get smaller.

A smaller mixer may be more appropriate for church plants that must be set up and torn down every Sunday. This Behringer 12-channel mixer is one example.

Behringer XENYX 1204USB Premium 12-Input 2/2-Bus Mixer

Behringer XENYX 1204USB

Best For Church Plants

You must also understand that a digital mixer differs from an analog mixer. After being familiar with many knobs and sliders, many people will find using the digital mixer interface difficult. Your younger friends will be able to adapt faster because they have been used to Ipads and games and may find it easier to understand.

Regardless of what you do, ensure that there is extensive training about how to use the mixer.

Four of the Best Digital Mixers for Your Church

These digital mixers have been broken down into the appropriate categories to suit your needs. I have a digital mixer that is easy to use. You get the best price, sound quality, features, and the best digital mixer. Depending on your situation, these categories may narrow your choices.

The Digital Mixer That’s the Easiest to Use

John mentioned that the Soundcraft Si Expression 2 Digital Mixer was the easiest to use. It has an easy-to-understand workflow. Start by adjusting the volume. Then, with one press, you can switch to equalization. From there, you can go to effects like compression and so on.

This video is worth a look.

Soundcraft Si Expression 3 Digital 32-Channel Live Audio Mixer Console

Soundcraft Si Expression 3 32-channel Digital Mixer
Soundcraft Si Expression 3 32-channel Digital Mixer

Easiest To Use Digital Mixer

This is the easiest digital mixer you will find.

These mixers might seem expensive to some. They are still very affordable compared to the price of analog mixers 20 years ago. My church’s sound system was installed 15 years ago when we purchased our building. It cost over $30,000

The Digital Mixer with the Most Features

The BEHRINGERX32 digital mixer is one of the best at a fair price. Many more fully-featured mixers are available, but they are not affordable for churches.

This digital mixer is not for everyone. It requires a lot of practice to use it properly. It is not something I recommend if your church does not have competent, sound people.

This video shows just a small portion of the capabilities.

BEHRINGER X32

Behringer X32 40-channel Digital Mixer
Behringer X32 40-channel Digital Mixer

Digital Mixer With The Best Features

This mixer can handle everything your church throws at it, as you can see. You can have large choirs, worship teams, and even the Christmas cantata.

Behringer is a well-known name in the industry and is used worldwide by churches. It would be difficult to find a digital mixer as powerful as the X-32.

Many videos can be used to train your team, such as this video from Calvary Baptist Church in Lake Havasu, Arizona.

The Best Digital Mixer for Church

This may surprise you as much as mine, but the Yamaha TF Series Digital Mixer has the most impressive sound quality.

This is what I have to admit. I must admit that my ear has not been trained to distinguish between mixers. Despite being a musician my whole life, I’m not an audiophile. If it sounds good, then I’m okay with it.

Most people agree that the Yamaha mixer sounds as close to an analog mixer as they can.

This video explains everything it offers.

Yamaha TF3 Digital Mixer

yamaha tf3
Yamaha TF3 48-channel Digital Mixer

Best For Church Overall

The Yamaha mixer is great, with a user interface that bridges the gap between analog and digital mixers. It also sounds great.

Yamaha is a Japanese company that has earned a bad reputation over the years. This digital mixer is amazing. This unit or something similar will be our replacement when we need to replace the Mackie analog board.

The Best Digital Mixer for the Buck

I believe in being a good steward of the resources God has given His churches. For this reason, I didn’t show you digital mixers worth 10,000 dollars. I was able to show you high-quality mixers at an affordable price. I believe the Mackie DL32 mixer is the best value for money.

In my main sanctuary, we currently have a Mackie analog mixer. It’s a great mixer with many functions. It has too many features for me, but I don’t know. I’m a bass player. (Musicians will understand the joke.

Mackie is an industry leader in providing fully-featured mixers at affordable prices. It can also be said that Mackie helped other manufacturers compete at lower prices.

Have a look at the Mackie DL32.

Mackie DL Series Digital Wireless Live Sound Mixer

mackid dl32r
Mackie DL32S 32-channel Rackmount Digital Mixer

Best Mixer For The Buck

The Mackie can be used for many purposes and is versatile, as you can see. The Mackie is also less expensive than other digital mixers.

My Mackie mixers are a favorite of my sound guy. It was difficult to convince my sound guy that a Yamaha mixer would be better for our sanctuary renovations. You are in good company if you pick Mackie. Because they were affordable, excellent sound equipment made them so beloved by churches worldwide.

Final Thoughts on Buying a Digital Mixer for Your House Of Worship

That’s it. Here are four options I can suggest for you to consider when looking for a digital mixer for your church. This is not a technical issue but rather a practical one.

Only you know what you need. I hope you found this article useful and it helped you make a decision. It doesn’t have to be difficult to use church technology, including wireless microphone systems, church sound systems, and all other components that are necessary to create a worship atmosphere.

Pastor Duke Taber
Pastor Duke Taber

Pastor Duke Taber

All articles have been written or reviewed by Pastor Duke Taber.
Pastor Duke Taber is an alumnus of Life Pacific University and Multnomah Biblical Seminary.
He has been in pastoral ministry since 1988.
Today he is the owner and managing editor of 3 successful Christian websites that support missionaries around the world.
He is currently starting a brand new church in Mesquite NV called Mesquite Worship Center, a Non-Denominational Spirit Filled Christian church in Mesquite Nevada.