Mackie VLZpro XDR preamp question (for those who have one)

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visa

New member
I'm looking for a mixer with high quality pres that provide a good amount of head room.

my question:

when using the XLR mic inputs on the VLZpro series mixers with the trim knob turned down to zero what is the highest input level these pre's can deal with without clipping?

i recently sold my Yamaha MG 16/4 which would only accept input levels up to -16db on the mic input. that makes it impossible to record a clip free kick or snare signal.

while we're on the topic. what's a good mixer with at least 8 mic pres?

now that the onyx and VLZ3 mixers are on the market the VLZpro ones are cheap as hell on the second hand market.

I'll be using it for live recording with a 12ch firewire interface and as a PA mixer for our practice space.
 
visa said:
I'm looking for a mixer with high quality pres that provide a good amount of head room.
.
Click to expand...

Why the hell are you asking about Mackies then?

-16? You sure about that?

Anyway- I've never really paid much attention, but you can hit them pretty hard- if you clip, use a pad, that's the way it's done! :)
 
i have yet to find a quality mixer with pads on the pres.

i'm sure about -16 yes. the manual refers to it as well as the printing on the surface of the mixer nexst to the trim pot. anyways, i sold that piece of shit mixer.

what about the soundcraft M-Series?


EDIT:

what's with the hate towards vlz pres on this board? i've never used one but weren't they pretty mich homerecording standard 5 years ago?

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep99/articles/mackie1604.htm

this sound on sound reviewer loves the mackies.
 
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1) It's not hate. It's that Mackie stuff, in the big scheme of things, isn't really considered excellent. Mackie gear is totally usable. Their mixers are laid out reasonably well. And compared to many other budget mixers, which they certainly are, they are built well and perform well. You will certainly be happy with it for a good while, and will probably hang on to it long after you have outgrown it, as it will still be a useful tool. But there is lots of stuff out there that sonically blows Mackie away.

2) As far as pads, you can buy ones that plug in between the mic cable and pre for about $15. Whirlwind and other companies make them. Lots of higher-quality mixers have pads on their pres, and it's a common feature on even budget stand-alone mic pres. Most budget mixers don't have them to save space and expense.

3) -16 is the amount of gain the preamp applies at full counterclockwise, not the level of the signal coming in at the pre. The actual level coming into the pre depends on the source plugged into it. From your post, it seemed you were saying that if you sent the mixer a signal that measured -16 your mixer would clip. That isn't what's happening to you. Most mixers can be clipped by a really hot drum signal, and certainly the Mackies will.

Good luck!:)


ps- Sound on Sound loves everything. You'll get used to it.:D
 
O.K Mackie sucks.....Greg Mackie is the sonic devil.....yadda yadda yadda bing.

The vlz pres have a pretty wide dynamic range. Something like 60 or 70 db. I use a 1642 live and it works great for drums. The gain is set nowhere near zero even on the snare and bass drum mics.(don't use snare mics much mainly oh and kik mic ) The one trick I have learned with the vlz pres is to forget about the solo lights and set them lower than you might think. It helps to catch the transients a lot better and doesn't sound as brittle.It also helps keep the bleed and feedback down. If I am doing rock I will also send the drum overheads to a sub group and compress them and add some of that that back in.
 
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I have a old vlz 24-4 and I have never had any audible clipping problem on drums. Never had a problem with the mixer either.

Now I have a Mackie DFX 12 that I bought for small portable setup and it's a total piece of crap. Right out of the box a couple of the 1/4 inch jacks where bad, another was so tight that it broke on inserting a cable.
Ya get what ya pay for I guess.

I think I'll have that old vlz forever. I could never get out of it anywhere near what it would cost to replace it with something better.

No idea about the newer stuff. The build quality of the onyx sure feels way cheaper.


F.S.
 
I believe that the reason why many Mixers and Preamps will clip with a Hot drum hit is because some Mixers and Preamps still have gain even at the Lowest Gain setting.....Like my new Bogen Preamp channel Strips I just racked up , They will allmost clip even with the Gain Knob at Zero ,but that is because it has a gain Range of 20db - 52db so even with the Gain at the lowest setting there is still 20db of gain and I think it is like this with many Preamps ,Like my INA217 DIY preamps ,They can go from 0db up to 66db but the last 25% of travel on the Gain pot is very touchy ......


:cool:
 
Mackies are fine

Mackies are absolutely OK. You can make good recordings with them with proper miking, good room, good playing, etc,etc.

On the otherhand, all things being equal as above:

if you used, say, the Millennia HV-3D 8 Channel Mic Pre, you would absolutely hear a substantial difference! I know because I have both and, thankfully, other fine pres. Big difference in price, needless to say. And fewer channels.

While you get what you pay for, the Mackies are a SUPER great value IMHO.
 
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