For a newbie like me to respond to a fellow newbie's thread may seem like the blind leading the blind, but I do have a mixer/mic preamp recommendation based on recent experience.
As part of my attempt to learn about recording, I recently purchase the $110 set of three compact discs from 3DAudioinc.com, in which a group of sound engineers near Nashville gathered to do blind listening tests of 33 microphone preamps and 49 vocal microphones (those were separate tests, of course -- ).
Listening to this set is extremely revealing. Since one of the mic preamps they tested was
the Mackie 1604 VLZ PRO, it set a very useful "baseline" for me against which to compare all the others. I had recently bought a used Mackie 1202 VLZ PRO for $275, which has 4 of exactly the same XDR mic preamps in it as the 1604 that was included in their test.
The tests included no "dogs." They weren't looking to put down or laugh at cheap equipment. These guys are serious. At less than $100 per channel, the Mackie was by far the least expensive preamp they tested. The next lowest price units were
the ART Tube Channel and
the dbx 376; if I'm remembering correctly, everything else listed for $1000 to more than $4000, with most in the $1500 to $2500 range.
On a $5,000 stereo, there was frightfully little difference among most of the models. On a $10,000 stereo with a somewhat overly articulate high end (some would called it annoyingly bright), the differences were more clear, until I got the list down to the top five or six preamps. At that level, I could talk about the "differences," but claiming one was necessarily "better" than another became almost impossible. In the end, I've picked out two to put on my wish list that do in fact sound different from each other, but I would be thrilled to own either one.
But to the point at hand --- as we sat eliminating one preamp after another based on sometimes barely perceptible issues of grain, top end harshness, air around the performer, congested lower midrange, perceived depth of soundstage, and other such things that are so subjective you can never be 100% certain you are even talking about the same things
, the little Mackie mixer with the XDR preamps still sounded "very nice."
Did the Mackie make it into the final cut? No. If it did, there'd be some very famous designers jumping off of roofs about now. But the Mackie was never fatiguing, delivered good detail, and was always musical. That it did not provide the breathtaking realism and stunning timing of the best preamps should come as no surprise. What is surprising is that we found it to sound as good as or better than about a third of the other preamps in this collection of high-quality mic preamps, making the Mackie XDR preamps the bargain of the decade.
It *might* be a waste of money to purchase a stand-alone mic preamp that sells for less than $400 or $500 if a Mackie 1202 VLZ PRO would work for you. (Exceptions would include portable mic preamps, such as the Denecke In-Box or the ATI, both around $300 or so.) But even if you plan to spend $1000 or more on a mic preamp, it might pay to compare it to a $380 Mackie mixer before you lay down your hard-earned cash.
Since
the Mackie 1202VLZ PRO is Mackie's entry-level mixer, you'll find them for sale used more often than any other. If you're shopping used on eBay or Digibid.com, please note that there will be lots of older Mackie 1202 and 1202VLZ mixers, as well as the latest 1202VLZ PRO. Hold out for the latest unless price is your main object.
Best wishes,
Mark H.
