• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Is Mackie really - as good as it gets?

#21
I checked out that Allen & Heath stuff and it sure looks good to me. I've been thinking about starting to plan a little home studio as well. Not this year, but we're going to look into houses some time in the next couple of years, and I have wifely consent to sink some $ into building a small studio in the basement. I'm assuming that, for a home studio, the Zed FX series will be fine. Anyone think I'm totally barking mad?
 
#22
baba said:
If you are going to go with Mackie level quality, I'd get Yamaha instead. It think their gear is equal or better and also quite a bit cheaper.

There are many mixers above Mackie, but I think Allen & Heath is a next logical step up.
Click to expand...

I, Os, approve this post completely :D I was using mackie onyx 12/4, it gave up on me. Then I did some research on landed on Yamaha MG16/4. Pretty much the same , 1/3 the price (that was around 3-4 years ago, lately I noticed Yamaha prices rised a bit while Mackie prices lowered a bit)
 
#28
A couple of years ago, I'dve recommended Mackie hands-down and without a thought. After a lot more experience running sound in front of large crowds, I wouldn't touch a Mackie board except to save my mother's life. Their EQ circuit just sucks tone, and their preamps are just plain blurry.

In a similar price range, look at Soundcraft or Allen and Heath. If you've got some dough, check out Digi's Venue line or Yamaha's line of budget digital mixers. Midas is nice, too.

Their active speakers make decent wedges still, although you can get the same design done cheaper these days, and their studio monitors sound too bass-forward to my taste, but their mixers are just abysmal heard side-by-side to other companies.
 
#29
I have / have had lots of Mackie gear. I think the brand nose-dived when Greg (Mackie) sold out, and mfg moved overseas. I still have a '24-8' mixer 'mdr24/96' hard drive recoder 'HR824' monitors 'M1400i' power amp - all USA made, and all stilling working flawlessly.

When I sold my SR244 mixer, I wanted a Yamaha MG24/4. I even tryed out two of them. One was made in China, the other Indonesa. Neither held up to my old US Mackie. I ended up with a A&H Mix Wizard, and it has been a great tool for me. I only has used it live, as I have the Mackie 24-8 in my studio / practice room.

We have a Soundcraft at church that is great also. For under two grand, I would look at the A&H GL series.
 
#31
Well, having used several mackie boards, let me just say that they are survivors. Years ago my church bought a basic recording setup (two omnis in our organ loft, two PZM mics up front, Marantz tape deck, Symmetrix delay/reverb unit) that included a Mackie 1402-VLZ (non-pro). Now that board sat out on top of our organ console for a good four years, getting baked all day in the sun with little kids twisting the knobs this way and that without any sort of cover or case, and was then moved to a closet that in the day easily reaches close to 90 degrees. It's still in the closet (for lack of a better place to store), and in the nine or so years they've had the board the only problem it has is that every now and then it gets crackly on a preamp. Sounds fine too.
 
#33
Mackie equipment is great, it will get the job done. I have mixed on all of the above brands (and owned some) and still think for the money go Mackie. The problem is the mid-price ranged mixers are quite a bid more expensive with only a little bit more quality to the sound.

This quality gets lost when recording 130 db Marshall stacks and drums with duck tape on them! You know, rock'n'roll stuff.:cool:

If it were me I would get a good used Mackie board and a nice channel strip/mic pre for the more sensitive tracks. Vocals, acoustic instruments, overdubs, etc.

You are better off spending your money on good mics, a good room, and good cables.:bassist:
 
#34
Rick Brienzo said:
This quality gets lost when recording 130 db Marshall stacks and drums with duck tape on them! You know, rock'n'roll stuff.:cool:

If it were me I would get a good used Mackie board and a nice channel strip/mic pre for the more sensitive tracks. Vocals, acoustic instruments, overdubs, etc.

You are better off spending your money on good mics, a good room, and good cables.:bassist:
Click to expand...

+1 on all points.

And don't forget acoustic treatment of your studio.

If you can afford it, check out http://www.realtraps.com/ and buy at a minimum a set of 4 traps for the four corners of your room. At least 4. If you can afford more, buy more.

Personally I couldn't afford them so I built my own with dense mineral fiber insulation and put them everywhere. The difference in both recording, playback and mixdown is astounding. We use the same room for tracking vocals and open mic instruments as we do for a control room and for final mixdown.

Check this out for an awesome do-it-yourself bass trap. The 'superchunk' - I built these and they were worth every penny and drop of sweat: Link Removed
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back