Original Message 1/24                 Date: 29-Mar-02  @  12:38 AM   -   Mackie alternatives

k

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what say you ?- me mate Lee has been somewhat pissed off by mackies recent price INCREASE on their 24/8 - he was all set to buy one then they rammed the rpice by about 500 quid! - he's still prepared to go for it, but.... alternatives?

I suggested the GHOST - what say you?...

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I had an idea for a script once. It's basically Jaws except when the guys in the boat are going after Jaws, they look around and there's an even bigger Jaws. The guys have to team up with Jaws to get Bigger Jaws.... I call it... Big Jaws!!!

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Message 2/24                 Date: 29-Mar-02  @  03:20 AM   -   RE: Mackie alternatives

formant

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i say that people can't give away the yamaha o1vs in america right now....

they are going for $800-900 all day long used over here (thats mixer, automation, recall, 2 efx units, compressors / eq every channel etc)

jamey

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Message 3/24                 Date: 29-Mar-02  @  05:28 AM   -   RE: Mackie alternatives

damballah

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oh poo! different beasts for different purposes.

he need an 8-bus?

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Message 4/24                 Date: 29-Mar-02  @  07:29 AM   -   RE: Mackie alternatives

Brett B

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it's the competition. The new Behringers are only $1600us retail and it's 24bit. The DM24 from tascam can be had for under $2 if you look really hard. I was going to sell my o1v and get a DM24, but for the $600 loss from last year, I decided to keep even if I get another mixer. The o1v is rock solid, but the dynamics take a little getting used to and are kind of stale and hard. The soft knee is very week and pumps to easy, but great for live purposes.

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Message 5/24                 Date: 29-Mar-02  @  11:02 AM   -   RE: Mackie alternatives

milan

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i´d second the Ghost, you get stuff like midi mute automation and few other bits and bobs you wont find on the mackie. havent used many analogs in that range, at least not current ones.

and the Ghost looks nicer  

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Message 6/24                 Date: 29-Mar-02  @  12:33 PM   -   RE: Mackie alternatives

Pongoid

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I've used a Ghost a bit, and the sound is different than the Mackie, very tightly European, but not bad at all, and yes some of the MIDI automation, even if it isn't flying faders is
still nice. Very light feel in the ones I've used, though, like the contacts were not all that solid, and the faders seemed highly vulnerable to dust and smoke. In other words, it seemed a lot more fragile than a mackie, and probably would not last nearly as long under the same conditions, so you'd have to really baby it. I've never seen a Ghost ten years old, and still working, if that says anything. Mackies and tapcos from longer than that still work, and Mackie had and probably still has their repair policy, which is killer. My buddy had his 1402 sent back, and the deal was $100 cleans and fixes anything, even if it means essentially replacing the entire mixer, which it rarely does. Dunno what it would be for a 24/8 but probably not too much more for a total refurb later. SoundCraft didn't have any policy like that when I was selling them. How many times do you want to pay for a mixer?


Ape

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Message 7/24                 Date: 29-Mar-02  @  02:54 PM   -   RE: Mackie alternatives

Defector Z

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Ape - can you define "very tightly European" please? Thanks.

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Message 8/24                 Date: 29-Mar-02  @  06:40 PM   -   RE: Mackie alternatives

Brett B

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I had the same question! I can only think it meant not as warm but sharper sounding, but I am guessing here.

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Message 9/24                 Date: 29-Mar-02  @  07:04 PM   -   RE: Mackie alternatives

influx

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mackie repair policy? bah!

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Message 10/24                 Date: 29-Mar-02  @  11:17 PM   -   RE: Mackie alternatives

Pongoid

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flux, my friends have had good results getting their boards fixed on the rare occasions that they needed it done.

British eq's seem to have a sharper curve, db/octave wise, and a little bit different placement in the bands. American boards in general have a warmer, more rounded sounding EQ. I good way to illustrate it is by putting the sound of an 808 kick drum with the decay all the way up, and the tune at about halfway, and volume on the orange DOT, accent all the way up. Classic sound, you can find the approximate sample anywhere. Put that though the board flat, and then play with it. DAT, MD, or CD, all of them will give you a close enough sound if you're A/B'ing the EQs. You'll hear the diffence the first time you bring up the bass. It's very reminiscent of the general preference in posteriors in women when comparing European and American. This does not go for all, I assure you, BUT I more often than not find that guys in the states like them a little more soft and rounded, and the Western Europeans like them a bit smaller and firmer. I hope that this clarifies things a bit. Other than this, it's just words, and only your ears will truly explain the difference.


Ape

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Message 11/24                 Date: 30-Mar-02  @  01:17 AM     Edit: 30-Mar-02  |  01:19 AM   -   RE: Mackie alternatives

k

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ha ha ha - what a comparison! chuckle - so um... if you use an all NEVE rack then you "like a big butt y'all!!" ??

heh heh

Ghosts aint been around 10 years tho have they??

have you seen the new soundcraft dig mixer?.. looks flipping TASTY!! (image) - 32/8

it's got 2 x lexicon fx units in it and also has a mode to work as a synth controller transmitting midi CC's for controller use!!! - wow!

___________________________________

I had an idea for a script once. It's basically Jaws except when the guys in the boat are going after Jaws, they look around and there's an even bigger Jaws. The guys have to team up with Jaws to get Bigger Jaws.... I call it... Big Jaws!!!

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Message 12/24                 Date: 30-Mar-02  @  11:38 AM   -   RE: Mackie alternatives

Pongoid

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yeah, nicely rounded warm ass. Not flubby, but plenty of the right stuff. I was selling ghosts in '96, so six years, and even now I don't see all that many around, actually. Not a good sign, I'd say.

The 328XD does look nice. Still, kinda reminds me of an elephant talking to John Holmes, saying "Cute, but can you eat peanuts with it?", next to a D8B.

Ape

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Message 13/24                 Date: 30-Mar-02  @  08:28 PM   -   RE: Mackie alternatives

k

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whats the price difference between 'em?

___________________________________

I had an idea for a script once. It's basically Jaws except when the guys in the boat are going after Jaws, they look around and there's an even bigger Jaws. The guys have to team up with Jaws to get Bigger Jaws.... I call it... Big Jaws!!!

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Message 14/24                 Date: 30-Mar-02  @  09:02 PM   -   RE: Mackie alternatives

Defector Z

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Thanks Ape. Now I understand.

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Message 15/24                 Date: 30-Mar-02  @  10:10 PM   -   RE: Mackie alternatives

johanlevelone

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the d8b sounds realy good but the pris,the crapy Eqs and lazy gates= no, no, no!!!

Assuming your not dealing with elec. music, i rather go for the soundcraft (c.over), or the ghost.

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Message 16/24                 Date: 31-Mar-02  @  12:09 AM   -   RE: Mackie alternatives

milan

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did you just say d8b has crap pre´s, eq and gates? and you mean the v3?

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Message 17/24                 Date: 31-Mar-02  @  03:59 PM   -   RE: Mackie alternatives

Pongoid

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?!? Really? First complaint I've heard of any sort about that board. You the one finding this, or you just reading it? I'm not saying it's not possible, but I find it hard to believe. I've messed with one a bit, didn't get super far into it, but it seemed the business when I tried it. Please expand on these claims. Crappy EQ and gates how?
Ape

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Message 18/24                 Date: 31-Mar-02  @  04:22 PM   -   RE: Mackie alternatives

milan

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strange innit. especially since i´ve been using one extensively for the last 4 month or so, recording and mixing lot of live instruments. its not a neve, for sure, but otherwise its perfectly fine sounding and more than usable. and the "british eq" mode is supposedly based on analog trident design.

maybe i just misunderstood the guy?

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Message 19/24                 Date: 31-Mar-02  @  05:47 PM   -   RE: Mackie alternatives

johanlevelone

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(yes the d8b, oh no how is it possible...!?!)
Yes the d8b sounds really good: very close to the warmness of the analog sound; the fully automation works very smouthly; but I get better results with some dbx Eqs and some dbx gates, than with the internal one.

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Message 20/24                 Date: 01-Apr-02  @  05:37 PM   -   RE: Mackie alternatives

Pongoid

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I suppose it's quite possible in that repsect. There are plenty of really nice EQ's and Comps, and Gates out there. Mackie isn't necessarily the be-all end-all in ANY respect. I've heard plenty better. Haven't A/B'd against the Sony yet, but anyhoos, if it works, it works. Use what works, and what will continue to work. That's not to say 'don't evolve', but rather that if you have a tool that works well consistently, you will be able to work more effectively and efficiently, and spend more time on actually making your ideas realtiy and being creative than wasting your inspired time on technical difficulties.


Ape

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Message 21/24                 Date: 03-Apr-02  @  09:52 PM   -   RE: Mackie alternatives

johanlevelone

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YAPP!!!

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Message 22/24                 Date: 17-Apr-02  @  06:56 AM   -   RE: Mackie alternatives

tortoise

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Mackie has always sucked at EQ, digital or analog. It is the biggest weakness of their boards, and I have always found it next to useless. Boards with really gorgeous digital EQ are the Sony DMX (quite pricy) and the Panasonic/Ramsa DA7 (which has an EQ almost as good as the Sony, but is a lot cheaper). For analog boards, just about anything from the UK has good EQ. I find the Allen & Heath boards to have very nice EQ in a low-cost package. In fact, if I was looking for a low-cost analog mixer today, A&H MixWizard series would be high on my list. The Yamaha digital mixers used to be pretty nice back in the day, but they don't really show well for the money compared to the current crop of digital mixers; most of the current offerings by other companies sound better for your dollar/peso/pound.

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Message 23/24                 Date: 17-Apr-02  @  04:21 PM   -   RE: Mackie alternatives

Pongoid

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Now you're into a question of taste, and style. It depends on the music you want to make, the systems you're playing on, and the instrumentation. I use Mackies because they work. They don't die. I like Allen and Heath as well, but I won't gig one. Behringer EQ? Spirit? You've got to be joking. SOme of the higher end soundcrafts sound OK. SSL sounds great as does AMEK, but so does Gamble, so does Studer, or Neve or whatever. It's not where it's made. It's who makes it, and who and how they use it, and what's going to work consistently.


Ape

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Message 24/24                 Date: 17-Apr-02  @  08:12 PM   -   RE: Mackie alternatives

tortoise

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I haven't gigged with Allen & Heath, so I can't say much about their durability in that department. However, I did have the chassis of a MixWizard get crushed by UPS (when shipped in the original packaging no less) that still functioned perfectly, or at least as perfectly as physically possible in a mangled chassis. Of course, this is purely anecdotal.

I will agree that the Mackies are nigh indestructible; I've owned a half-dozen of them over the years without a single problem. They are good for live sound, but they aren't so great in the studio (in my opinion, anyway). I've never used Behringer or Spirit, so I can't say much about them; I generally try to avoid that range of mixer based on the opinions of people I trust. I'm not a UK mixer-phile by any means (after all, I use Japanese digital), I'm just saying that I've seen a lot of nice sounding analog systems come out of the UK and I tend to assume that if I pay decent money I'm likely to get something I'll like the sound of.

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