Mackie 24.4 mixer - Mackie 820i

[dahlbaker]

I have a Mackie 820i that interfaces fine with my laptop. Could I effectively buy a Mackie 24.4 and route it through the 820i to record 16 channels live into my computer? Please comment on the advantages and disadvantages. Thank you for help.

 

[Bobbsy]

I think not.

The Mackie 24.4 is marketed as a live mixer and only has standard analogue outs--4 buses plus main L/R (plus auxes, tape in/out, etc.). The only way you could get 16 outputs from it would be to bodge the inserts on each channel (which can work) but you're still limited by the number of analogue inputs on the 820i.

 

[cobaltaudio]

Short answer; no you can't I'm afraid.

The 820i only has 8 channels of audio sent down the firewire connection. No matter how you set it up, you won't get more than 8 down that cable.
If you want more channels then you'll either need a seperate recording interface like these,
OR
a bigger recording mixer like one of these, and actually the onyx series are the ones i'd recommend for that sort of thing - you just need a bigger one