Mackie Onyx 1620 Question

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tappmusic

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I've read quite a few reviews complaining and also praising the Mackie Onyx series of mixers. Does a home studio really need a multi-channel audio interface (like the Onyx 1620 with the firewire option utilized) to have a post-fader (EQ, effects, etc.) option? Some sound engineers think that it's best to track the "raw" sound into the DAW and then mix it later. I'm very interested in this mixer because of the firewire feature, but if I'm spending money on something that's not optimal for home studio use, then I may just have to wait or just look elsewhere.

Any comments are greatly appreciated.
 
I have a big Onyx mixer and I love it. My suggestion is to be very careful before you buy one. Your need for bells and whistles will be a matter of degree. If you're recording one track at a time, you need a clear interface with good preamps; a mixer is fun but not necessary. An expensive mixer - well, you get the idea.

If you're tracking a band, you may want to build isolation and could end up using 12 or 16 tracks at a time. Then a mixer may be critical, especially if you know the band and its quirks, record live on location, or track from FOH.

Also understand that the direct outs from the Onyx (and most other smaller mixers) kick in after the preamps but before any of the EQ; the only EQ'd signals you'd get would be direct from the (2 or 4) busses, the aux outs, and the main mix. You can use them, but it's not a plain vanilla proposition.

So approach the whole thing like a computer analyst would - start with the need, move to the best choice for software to meet the need, and that will suggest the appropriate hardware to serve the software needs. It's backwards from the way most people think, but it presents the most direct path to answer the question you really have - "How do I best do this?"
 
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