That and software foibles really hamstrung this equipment for me.
The Yamaha ZG02 streaming mixer might surprise you.
For starters, who would expect Yamaha to make products for gamers?
Streaming gear for gamersfeels like an inexact science, even for well-known brands in the space.
Its chassis is a black box that’s as basic as can be.
It’s plastic, it’s hollow, and its buttons almost echo through it when clicked in.
It definitely doesn’t feel worth the MSRP, and that’s a real shame.
Sadly, the aesthetics aren’t the only thing that disappoints in the design department.
On the ZG02’s face, you’ll find three volume knobs on its right-hand side.
Then we have three buttons, two for audio effects and one to add echo.
This is, by far, one of my biggest frustrations with what Yamaha has made.
Four volume knobs simply must be the minimum on a mixer of this price.
I just don’t get the design choice of putting effect buttons where more volume adjusters could be.
There’s also a phantom power 48V button and one for switching between the headphone and speaker outputs.
Connectivity is one of this mixer’s biggest strengths, however.
The back IO has an XLR mic in port, a speaker out port, and two USB-C bays.
One of these, which is clearly labeled, plugs into your gaming PC and powers the gadget.
The other is an open port for a secondary USB-C connection.
The unit itself isn’t particularly weighty, which means it very easily slides around a desk.
In making this machine smaller though, Yamaha has actually taken away some convenience instead of adding it.
The larger ZG01 has a central volume knob, and a larger, more communicative facial panel overall.
The Yamaha ZG Controller app opens up to a home page that’s very stripped back.
ThinkSteelSeriesSonar or BEACN’s software, for reference.
That issonot what you find here.
As well, the in-app sliders effectively make the machine itself a bit pointless.
It’s certainly usable if you’re willing to put the time into figuring it out.
The biggest performance hiccups with this gear are due to design choices.
Fortunately, integrating this software’s tweaks into OBS did work after working out what went where.
I had no problems getting the ZG02 to talk with Discord and Streamlabs beyond initial setup woes.
I do wish the ZG Controller app was more helpful overall though.
The echo button, when I remembered to use it, was good fun as well.
Like I said, this mixer isn’t all bad - I just think its priorities are askew.
Should you buy the Yamaha ZG02?
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