The KMX-8 represents Korg's first venture into an expanding and potentially very lucrative market (discounting their mixer-amps of course), and at just under £280 it finds itself at the upper end of the small mixer market where excellent specifications and durability are of the greatest importance.

There are eight input channels, each identically furnished with an input gain control, a two-in-one effects send control and a third rotary pot for stereo pan. Immediately below these three is the output slider, while at the opposite end of each 'module' is a red LED peak indicator. These eight inputs feed a stereo output, located as usual to the right of the input controls. As well as the master volume sliders, this section also houses master EQ controls (bass and treble at 100Hz and 10kHz respectively), return level pots for two separate effects units, and a stereo output jack complete with level control. Two (reasonably accurate) average-reading output level meters are located at the top of the unit.

Rear Panel

The power on/off rocker switch is located on the rear panel, along with the eight input sockets, two effects send jacks and master output jacks. These are all standard ¼-inch sockets, no XLR or phone alternatives being provided. Presumably the reasoning behind this is that most users will want the KMX-8 to function purely as a sub-mixer for keyboards, guitars, rhythm-machine outputs or microphones, and are therefore unlikely to need alternative connectors.

Personally, I find a rear-mounted power switch something of a nuisance in many live situations, and yet the manufacturers continue to plague us with them. Perhaps one day someone will tell me why. That aside, the KM-X8 is logically laid out and only a few minutes are required for the newcomer to get accustomed with its operations.

One aspect of this machine that will undoubtedly surprise many is the complete lack of conventional tone controls at the input stage. Obviously keen to keep parts cost down, Korg have decided to axe the EQ controls rather than any of the others, and this does seem quite a logical decision in that most mini-mixer tone controls are of a fairly basic nature to begin with, providing only a bare minimum of control over the sound. If a user prefers, he can connect a graphic equaliser to one of the effects loops and control the instruments frequency graphs that way, and this, I suppose, is partly why Korg have incorporated two effects loops.

Effects Balance

Again as part of the cost-saving programme, the mixer's designers have managed to get two effects sends on to one rotary pot, so that each one is effectively an 'effects balance' control. When turned full to the left, only effects unit A will be in operation, while a full turn to the right will bring in unit B on its own. The centre 'O' detent should, in theory, cut out both effects units completely, but I found in practice that a residue of, say, long-delay echo could still be heard when the pot was in this position. Although this failing is likely to be of only minor significance in live situations, it may well prove annoying should you want to use the KMX-8 as a sub-mixer in the studio.

The input gain of each of the eight channels is variable over a 60dB range, making the gain pots very sensitive indeed. The output sliders, on the other hand, are if anything not quite sensitive enough, as I would estimate they only cover a range of about 6dB or so. Again, though, this is more a reflection on the type of use the designers envisaged the mixer being put to rather than any design fault itself.

Noise levels were commendably low for a unit of this class even when used with 'noisy' effects units, and there was little difference in sound quality between a direct signal and the same signal fed through the KMX-8 - always a good sign. One disadvantage of incorporating more than one effects loop in an 8 into 2 mixer is that if both are used, only six input channels remain for instruments or mics. Ideally I'd like to see separate custom-designed inputs for the effects units (the pan controls are a bit redundant on an effects return, after all), but I suspect these have been omitted for reasons of compactness. It's all too easy to start off designing a small mixer and end up with a slightly scaled-down Solid State Logic console, but Korg have avoided falling into this trap and the KMX-8 represents a fair compromise between the very basic 'micro-mixer' 4 into 2 designs and small studio desks.

Summing-Up

It may seem expensive, but there are several factors which help to offset this. First, its overall high standard of performance makes it more versatile than many of its (possibly cheaper) competitors, since if the owner isn't too fussy it can fit into a studio set-up just as well as it can a live one. A second point in the KMX-8's favour is its high standard of construction. Thanks to extensive use of high quality metal castings in its design the mixer feels as if it could go on working to spec for a good number of years, conditions and user abuse permitting.

Yet despite this, the device is still fairly light at around the 4kg mark, making it fully portable even for the user who, having forked out the requisite £280, finds himself without convenient transport.