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Mackie DL1608 in the house!

#21
musicman7722 said:
Easy peasy. Yes the mackie doesn't have most of the features as far as out's that the presonus has but for a quick pa with remote ability, 16 xlr channels, 6 aux outs and a 31 band graphic on every out it is amazing. Did I mention the whole thing fits in my laptop bag and weighs about six pounds.

I Am sold. Who wants my personas 16.0.2?
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Great summary from someone who's actually handled both like me. For a guy like me, running sound for a small band from stage in small venues, the Mackie is a much easier interface.

I've been experimenting with my 1608 a bit more, and starting to find some of it's flaws, albeit minor. The gate and compressor work well for vocals, for which they were probably designed. They do not, however, work well for bass or guitar in any usable capacity. The compressor causes a minor bit of distortion, and the gate does an interesting "warble" when allowing notes to sustain.

That said, I can't remember a time I've actually applied either one to an instrument channel in a live setting. I used gates exclusively for live mics, and I run compression on my pedal board for my bass.
 
#22
The bandleader in one of the bands I play with is thinking about getting a 1608. I already own a couple of studiolive boards a 16.4.2 and1 16.0.2. The only advantage I can see is the size. I don't like the fact that you need an I-pad to use it. The 16.4.2 is alot bigger and heavier. I bought the 16.0.2 for that reason since alot of gigs I don't need all the channels.
 
#23
modulusman said:
The bandleader in one of the bands I play with is thinking about getting a 1608. I already own a couple of studiolive boards a 16.4.2 and1 16.0.2. The only advantage I can see is the size. I don't like the fact that you need an I-pad to use it. The 16.4.2 is alot bigger and heavier. I bought the 16.0.2 for that reason since alot of gigs I don't need all the channels.
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I've been using an itouch for 2 years - never a failure or glitch .... MacBook was a different story

FireWire is a pain for most of us
 
#27
Yeah, have a friend that's been doing a kareokee gig for years using a little Mackie 1202 as the heart of the rig, last month he got the new Mackie DL and was amazed by how many eq options are available, this combined with decent reverbs and good compression (mandatory for kareokee) make it an awesome replacement, it instantly freed up two rack mountable effects units which became part of his back up rig, the other thing is that the ability to take the control surface (ipad) with you and wirelessly change settings from anywhere within a large area is a wonderful thing, of course this thing can do other amazing things as well however in the kareokee world this is kind of like an 'ultimate' mixer -I'm thinking it's only a matter of time before you see these things all over the place, in 'corporate' audio (boardroom meetings etc.) these things would simplify messy,complex set up's and would be great for school A/V departments...due to the convenience this design offers I could see a trend starting where other companies make their own variations. It's interesting that Mackie came out with this, reminds me of how amazingly inovative their early mixers were considered in features, fidelity and price
 
#29
RS66LB said:
Yeah, have a friend that's been doing a kareokee gig for years using a little Mackie 1202 as the heart of the rig, last month he got the new Mackie DL and was amazed by how many eq options are available, this combined with decent reverbs and good compression (mandatory for kareokee) make it an awesome replacement, it instantly freed up two rack mountable effects units which became part of his back up rig, the other thing is that the ability to take the control surface (ipad) with you and wirelessly change settings from anywhere within a large area is a wonderful thing, of course this thing can do other amazing things as well however in the kareokee world this is kind of like an 'ultimate' mixer -I'm thinking it's only a matter of time before you see these things all over the place, in 'corporate' audio (boardroom meetings etc.) these things would simplify messy,complex set up's and would be great for school A/V departments...due to the convenience this design offers I could see a trend starting where other companies make their own variations. It's interesting that Mackie came out with this, reminds me of how amazingly inovative their early mixers were considered in features, fidelity and price
Click to expand...

Speaking of other companies making their own variations:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#31
RS66LB said:
Yeah, have a friend that's been doing a kareokee gig for years using a little Mackie 1202 as the heart of the rig, last month he got the new Mackie DL and was amazed by how many eq options are available, this combined with decent reverbs and good compression (mandatory for kareokee) make it an awesome replacement, it instantly freed up two rack mountable effects units which became part of his back up rig, the other thing is that the ability to take the control surface (ipad) with you and wirelessly change settings from anywhere within a large area is a wonderful thing, of course this thing can do other amazing things as well however in the kareokee world this is kind of like an 'ultimate' mixer -I'm thinking it's only a matter of time before you see these things all over the place, in 'corporate' audio (boardroom meetings etc.) these things would simplify messy,complex set up's and would be great for school A/V departments...due to the convenience this design offers I could see a trend starting where other companies make their own variations. It's interesting that Mackie came out with this, reminds me of how amazingly inovative their early mixers were considered in features, fidelity and price
Click to expand...

Actually, we've been integrating iPad technology for several years in this manner already with products from Symetix and Soundcraft and Presonus and Allen Heath as well as Roland and anything interfaced with a video presentation system. It's been fairly common. I design all of my install systems to be completely all digital on the head end. We set these systems up so that the customer only turns a source ( mic or line) up or down a little. Otherwise they call us back out for adjustment if needed.

Nobody worth their salt would install an analog head end these days. You can pad your value in your expertise rather than get beat over the head with Internet catalog pricing on items that anybody can get. This is why we installed systems people use brands/models you are not familiar with because you must go through certification to access the product line and you cannot sell their installed digital head end products via the Internet or catalogs. But it also takes a lot more time to set up an all digital signal processor based system. You have to have additional money in the cost of the work to cover several return trios for adjustment, but other than that, the Clint loves that the system always powers back on at the same spot I set it up in. Nice loud as needed and clear without any feedback.
 
#32
Keithwah said:
Actually, we've been integrating iPad technology for several years in this manner already with products from Symetix and Soundcraft and Presonus and Allen Heath as well as Roland and anything interfaced with a video presentation system. It's been fairly common. I design all of my install systems to be completely all digital on the head end. We set these systems up so that the customer only turns a source ( mic or line) up or down a little. Otherwise they call us back out for adjustment if needed.

Nobody worth their salt would install an analog head end these days. You can pad your value in your expertise rather than get beat over the head with Internet catalog pricing on items that anybody can get. This is why we installed systems people use brands/models you are not familiar with because you must go through certification to access the product line and you cannot sell their installed digital head end products via the Internet or catalogs. But it also takes a lot more time to set up an all digital signal processor based system. You have to have additional money in the cost of the work to cover several return trios for adjustment, but other than that, the Clint loves that the system always powers back on at the same spot I set it up in. Nice loud as needed and clear without any feedback.
Click to expand...

Actually - the most succesful permanent installations I've run into are digital feeding analog

There is a time and place to lock one down.... And a time and place for a knob or fader
 
#33
Just took the plunge with MF. Called and they gave me 15%.

Replacing a mackie 160something or other in a road case that's probably the heaviest thing we carry. Also replaces external comp, reverb and eq.

Already use an ipad at gigs. Wife has one I can dedicate to the mixer and other band members use them also so not worried about ipad failure. We also have smaller analog mixers we can carry for backup.

By the time I sell the old stuff I won't have much invested. Pretty exciting.
 
#34
nutdog said:
Just took the plunge with MF. Called and they gave me 15%.

Replacing a mackie 160something or other in a road case that's probably the heaviest thing we carry. Also replaces external comp, reverb and eq.

Already use an ipad at gigs. Wife has one I can dedicate to the mixer and other band members use them also so not worried about ipad failure. We also have smaller analog mixers we can carry for backup.

By the time I sell the old stuff I won't have much invested. Pretty exciting.
Click to expand...

Sounds good. Now let me share some frustrations you may run into. Presonus has the ability, but the Soundcraft SIC series consoles do not yet, but with the Mackie, can you lock out the mains from the other guys on stage? Here's why I ask. Our drummer who is quite the control freak, and I know a few guitarists that might slide into this category, just cannot keep his fingers off the mains. He also kept grabbing my monitor mix and screwing it up. With Presonus, they eventually came out with the ability to dictate who can control what. So if we only want the drummer on his Aux send, we lock everything else out. And does it ever piss him off! But it kept our show more consistent.
 
#35
Keithwah said:
Sounds good. Now let me share some frustrations you may run into. Presonus has the ability, but the Soundcraft SIC series consoles do not yet, but with the Mackie, can you lock out the mains from the other guys on stage? Here's why I ask. Our drummer who is quite the control freak, and I know a few guitarists that might slide into this category, just cannot keep his fingers off the mains. He also kept grabbing my monitor mix and screwing it up. With Presonus, they eventually came out with the ability to dictate who can control what. So if we only want the drummer on his Aux send, we lock everything else out. And does it ever piss him off! But it kept our show more consistent.
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Yes. If the drummer is controlling his aux from his iPad, then you can set it so that he can only control his feed. The trick is that you have to do it from his iPad, which might be a bit tricky.
 
#38
Keithwah said:
Actually, we've been integrating iPad technology for several years in this manner already with products from Symetix and Soundcraft and Presonus and Allen Heath as well as Roland and anything interfaced with a video presentation system. It's been fairly common. I design all of my install systems to be completely all digital on the head end. We set these systems up so that the customer only turns a source ( mic or line) up or down a little. Otherwise they call us back out for adjustment if needed.

Nobody worth their salt would install an analog head end these days. You can pad your value in your expertise rather than get beat over the head with Internet catalog pricing on items that anybody can get. This is why we installed systems people use brands/models you are not familiar with because you must go through certification to access the product line and you cannot sell their installed digital head end products via the Internet or catalogs. But it also takes a lot more time to set up an all digital signal processor based system. You have to have additional money in the cost of the work to cover several return trios for adjustment, but other than that, the Clint loves that the system always powers back on at the same spot I set it up in. Nice loud as needed and clear without any feedback.
Click to expand...

Yeah, been reading FOH for years and have been watching the transition into digital with great interest, the certification process for selling of some of the higher quality manufactor's products has been going on for quite a while and as you know is prevailent in lots of other fields as well (Cisco certification for their phone systems as example). I think dealing with analog 'everything' for all these years helps one appreciate the incredible versatility that digital brings, back in the day we were going for fidelity at any cost, seems we've finally arrived at the point where it's a given, convienience and ease of set up seem to have become the focus which is amazing yet still difficult to get used to -back in the day we'd cart around racks of high fidelity Crest power amps weighing hundreds of lbs. -now you can get that type of power and fidelity for a small fraction of the previous weight & size, when combined with the current state of the art in digital mixing/processing it's enough to make you laugh in amazment. Anyway hope you have a wonderful new year and a great day.
 

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