I've been very happy with my Soundcraft EFX8 for several years. The group I play in has 5 vocalists and 3 instruments (guitar, banjo & mandolin) that go into the 8 XLRs.

The one thing we struggle with is just having one monitor mix available. Since 3 guys rely on the monitors for their instruments, getting a single monitor mix set up where everybody is happy is next to impossible.

So I've been thinking about an upgrade to get at least one more pre-fade AUX send. But as I research I'm getting overwhelmed trying to consider all the variables.

I know some of my MUST haves:

Equal or better sound quality
Built in effects
8 XLR inputs
2 sets of Stereo Line Inputs
2 pre fade AUX sends for monitors

Then I quickly fall into NICE TO haves:

More than 8 XLRs - do I carry a larger board for the 1 in 10 gig we do where we mic drums?
3+ pre fade AUX Sends - this would be great but only seems to come on much larger format boards.

So I'm curious how I should be going about this purchase.

I'm an old dude so scraping by budget wise isn't necessary, though a $2k board probably is out of the question.

How do ya'll evaluate and prioritize the different criteria when you upgrade a mixer?

Thanks.

there are quite a few analog desks that would meet your criteria - (used) mackie onyx or midas venice series come to mind - but i'd give some of the newer digital desks a try: they have more features (eq, comp, auxes), can get remotely controlled and are as easy to navigate as a cell phone: soundcraft u, behringer x series etc.

Tough question to answer. There’s so many different features on boards because there’s so many different individual needs and preferences. The biggest difference is analog or digital board. One does not inherently sound better than the other, it’s just a matter of different features.
My personal preference is the analog boards because 1 knob does one thing all the time. If I’m getting feedback on the drummers vocal mic, it takes me .5 seconds to turn down either his mic or his monitor. On a digital board I have to make sure I’m in the right window, or layer. This is fast once you know how to use the board, but In a panic it’s easy to make a mistake and adjust something else. The digital boards have a lot more functionality though, so it depends on your own preferences.
I think your on the right track of analyzing your needs and wants. There’s a trend of a lot of people switching to digital boards, so if you watch the used market there’s a lot of really good deals on analog boards.

Your comments on digital boards align with my thinking there as well. Since I like my Soundcraft board I was on their site and they let you actually launch their software. I got the hang of it after a few minutes, but I don't know that I want that level of complexity on stage. The "One knob does one thing" philosophy really resonates with me. Thanks.

I'm currently leaning towards a Soundcraft Signature 16, BTW. The 4 extra XLRs and 3rd AUX send really seems like I'd never outgrow that board.

i would really look into the digital stage box mixers like the behringer xr series. so much functionality built in them and depending on which version you get (even the biggest one is not too big to carry at events) you can have tons of monitors and inputs. you can also have each person on stage control his own monitor with his/her phone or tablet and you would gain a lot more than a basic analog board. sure it's not immediately hands-on but the advantages of gates, eqs on each monitor, full paramterics on each channel, deessers etc would no only get you a good mix but also it would get rid of a lot of feedback issues once setup correctly. and if your setup rarely changes, even soundcheck can be done quickly as you would have a good starting point each time with only minor adjustments for the room you are playing in.

another option is run something like the midas m32 or the behringer x32 producer (smallest digital mixers i know that can get you a lot of bang for your buck, excepting used boards) but even though they are small, i'm not sure you'd want to drag it around all the time. whereas a small stage box can sit on stage with you, weighs only 4 kilos and is really not hard at all to setup.