Mackie, Soundcraft, or Other

  • Thread starter Thread starter Chris Fallen
  • Start date Start date

What's the best mixer overall (IYHO)?

  • Mackie

    Votes: 81 25.5%

  • Soundcraft

    Votes: 149 46.9%

  • Other

    Votes: 88 27.7%
  • Total voters
    318
Ok I'm not a shill for any mixer, but have had experience with SSL, AMEK, Trident, Soundcraft (way back inthe day) old Teac 2a, Akai MG1214. I had a Mackie 24/8 up till recently and I had no problems summing, bussing, eq etc. I found it to be a fine mixer. However, it was not digital and being used more and more as a line mixer, so I got rid of it.

I just got the Tascam DM3200 in Sept. and like all gear forums there are those who say...UGH digital,...must have (fill in the blank ...tubes...outboard...etc) to make great sounding recordings. All I can say to those folks is that they are hearing with their eyes. This desk sounds fantastic so far. Very full and (dare I say it) warm sound using ONLY on board eq, pres, effects.

As soon as I get off my lazy asss, I'll post some examples. It is truely amazing what you can accomplish now days in a small extra bedroom studio.
 
Congrats on the DM3000 -- a colleague of mine also uses this board in his mobile truck and it's excellent! Mind you, I'm equally pumped about my Sony DMXR100!! :)
 
depends on which level of console you are comparing. The Mackies in general don't have as good preamps, and eq. even the onyx is limited on eq although a vast improvement over VLZ. Soundcraft in the larger consoles can be a formidable mixer. ghost,series 5, so on. their import (no british made) boards sound real good but have had many issues with durability. The allen heath boards sound better than both in the cheaper range (Mix wizard,GL2400 and so on) better eq, more headroom + way better preamps) MY vote would be on midas in these smaller consoles 16 chan and so on)
the bigger 32chan 8buss mackie is a decent board. 100mm faders but the preamps fall way short of the brittish boards. + the brittish eq is just more musical in general. I also like the unheard of Mitec boards (german) find one of these in that level and you can understand what clean really means if your in that lower price range.
 
I'm an AMEK guy, or at least used to be. Soundcraft from this short list though.

Hey, speaking of Soundcraft, I have a question for a friend...... Anyone know how the pre's and overall quality of the Soundcraft Compact 10 is? It's an interesting approach as a DAW front end and monitor board.
 
Robert D said:
I'm an AMEK guy, or at least used to be. Soundcraft from this short list though.

Hey, speaking of Soundcraft, I have a question for a friend...... Anyone know how the pre's and overall quality of the Soundcraft Compact 10 is? It's an interesting approach as a DAW front end and monitor board.
Click to expand...

I haven't used the compact 10 yet. However Amek is in bed with soundcraft. Both HArmon Companies. I'm shure they have some noticable similaritys with new product. I'm shure its pretty solid though.
 
As far as Harmon goes...... Soundcraft and Amek have just about nothing in common except that they are distributed by Harmon. So is Lexicon, Studer, DBX, JBL, Crown etc..... This does not mean that they share any technology, any manufacturing facilities etc.... It is also important to remember that Spirit consoles aren't really Soundcraft either. They have some minute similarities, but thats where it is. Soundcraft actually makes a quality product that is pretty well accepted. The Series 5 and MH series stuff is actually pretty cool. The Ghost and GB stuff is decent, but not up top the quality and build of the Series 5 and MH series. Mitec console are certainly decent sounding consoles, but are hard to find. There are not a whole lot of Mitec consoles left out there. They had MAJOR build issues and when they do turn up, they sell for extremely cheap.
 
I've worked on a handful of Soundcraft and Mackie Mixers. The Soundcrafts I've used are by far superior to any of the Mackies (I've used everyboard Mackie has to offer in some sort of situation so far) I know plenty of guys who swear by Mackies but have never used anything else. Although I currently primarily work on a Soundcraft MH3 for FOH work(I sure do love that board) I have used/tested the lower models of the Soundcrafts and love them all. I have never used an A&H unfortunately but have store tested them and I found their faders bothersome being that they where way to lose to get comfortable where I to mix on it. Also the general construction of the A&H boards seem to be much cheaper and almost tacky. Although for my studio I opted for a used Soundtracs MRX 32 (32x16x2) and I have not regretted it one bit.
 
Last edited:
Currently have a Mackie Onyx 1220, and realizing 4 real inputs isn't going to be enough... I searched.

Mackie 32-8 for roughly $850 shipped.

I have read the entire thread with less than enthusiastic reviews about Mackie. Now I'm curious... is those reviews mostly about budget mixers, or Mackie products in general? The 32-8 I have my eye on still retails for $4000, or so I've seen. Think the Mackie "problems" discussed here apply (or at least to a similar degree) to a "higher end" console?

Keep in mind I am just starting. Whether I record digital, analog or somewhere in between is unknown to me... though live use is also likely in my future. My goal is for me to not outgrow this console. I have a few mics... Shure SM81, Sennheiser e906... and want to start out on the right foot.

So. A 32-8 for under a thousand dollars? I doubt I could find the same sort of deal in other "better" brands. Or is the quality of the pres/EQ enough of a terror to possibly cause me to suffer in the long run?
 
soundcraft

I posted a question about Soundcraft before I saw the mixer poll. My post asked if anyone had any thoughts on the Soundcraft epm12 12 channel multi format mixer? musicians friend has it for $369.00.

Ive been looking at a mixer for drums and Ive got a Behringer 4 channel toy that works o.k.

But the 12channel Soundcraft , per the description, looks perfect with preamps that they use on the higher end models incorporated in the lower end models.

Someone said soundcrafts are butt ugly, but I think just the opposite. I want something basic and reliable that lasts. I dont need a board with a gizzillion casio effects.

check it out on musicians friend, I just stare at the pic all day. goddam I wish I was rich and could just say ship it today! because if I was rich I would still but this mixer.

I didnt know they were made in the UK either.

thanks
 
I would not confuse "based on" with "the same" when referring to preamps on the smaller Soundcraft mixers.
 
I know this thread is kind of old, but I stumbled on it while I was searching for anything on the EPM/MPM boards.

The debate about the M-series preamps being "the same" vs "based on" the preamps in the Ghost console is not the case in the EPM and MPM series boards. The literature from Soundcraft clearly states, without ambiguity, that both of these smaller boards use the GB30 series preamps -- the same used in all the larger GB series and LX7ii. Not that they are based on or have similar circuit design as has been the case with the M-series vs Ghost debacle.

Does anyone know how the GB series preamps compare with A&H's newer GL series or even the M-series for that matter? It's kind of a shame that the EMP/MPM mixers don't have direct outs.
 
personally, the GB and LX7 stuff is pretty shoddy. I find the Ghost sounds much better, and even then not all that great like some may want to believe. The GL stuff is not all that either. The Ghost pre's are a little more neutral, where the GL has a little more punch, but also a little more noise. The GB stuff sounds pretty "boxy" to me. Almost like it is not full range, but at the same time seems a little quieter than the Ghost. In the end, I would almost always go for a Ghost or a GL over a GB, but for pure sonic quality I would have a hard time picking between a Ghost or a newer GL.
 
well i just did some research on the AH and the soundcraft. with my current configuration, neither of these boards would work fo me. the AH is a live board and im not sure it has tape returns for my 2 hard disk recorders. the sound craft again doesnt have enough channels for me. it may have better eq or even sound warmer but the routing capabilities for recording, Mackie kills them. i have made nice recordings on my Mackie so i'm not leaving just yet.
 
Explain to me how the routing in the Mackie is much different form that of the Ghost for example? You can get extenders for Ghosts also, just like you can for the Mackie. Allen Heath does not currently make a real studio console though.
 
SidGuatama said:
I know this thread is kind of old, but I stumbled on it while I was searching for anything on the EPM/MPM boards.

The debate about the M-series preamps being "the same" vs "based on" the preamps in the Ghost console is not the case in the EPM and MPM series boards. The literature from Soundcraft clearly states, without ambiguity, that both of these smaller boards use the GB30 series preamps -- the same used in all the larger GB series and LX7ii. Not that they are based on or have similar circuit design as has been the case with the M-series vs Ghost debacle.

Does anyone know how the GB series preamps compare with A&H's newer GL series or even the M-series for that matter? It's kind of a shame that the EMP/MPM mixers don't have direct outs.
Click to expand...

I have an A&H GL2432 mixer and the pre-amps sound alot like the DMP3. That is the only comparison I can think of.
 
All who are bashing the Mackies, surely didnt use the Onyx series pre-amps :) Read the reviews over at Sound on Sound.
 
BushmasterM4 said:
All who are bashing the Mackies, surely didnt use the Onyx series pre-amps :) Read the reviews over at Sound on Sound.
Click to expand...

Onyx Pre's are not bad. Also, the mackie is set up better for recording than any soundcraft or mixwizard mentioned, with the exception of the ghost. The E.Q. section is defeat-able on the mackie, but not on the mixwiz. The Direct outs on the m-series mixers are switchable pre/post fader, but the pre-fader switch is post E.Q.. The mixwiz direct outs are switchable, but only internally. The mackie has the direct outs pre insert, which is very useful for mixing live shows and recording at the same time.

The onyx also has selectable post/pre fader solo which is really nice for mixing through the board. The mixwiz and the m-series only have PFL.

Also, the m-series only has three band e.q.. The Onyx and the Mixwiz are definitely more powerful in that respect.

The Ghost is, of course, an entirely different beast...much more expensive and much more adapted to recording.

Apparently the GL2400 series stuff have pres with 74dB of gain. Has anyone tried one of these out? The new mixwiz has a "new preamp". I wonder if they are the same design...
 
man my mackie vlz seems to be good for the price, just stay away from behringer, their mixer preamps are the worst I've ever had to use. Some behringer stuff may be ok or even good, but their lower end mixers I can confidently say suck some major league ass.
 
BushmasterM4 said:
All who are bashing the Mackies, surely didnt use the Onyx series pre-amps :) Read the reviews over at Sound on Sound.
Click to expand...
If you notice the timestamps on all but the last few posts, you might notice that most of them were posted not only before the Onyx series came out, but that it actually goes back a full 6 years, even before the VLZ Pro series was available ;).

FTM, just about *everybody* has gone through at least one or two generations of new gear since this thread started.
Continuing the arguments in this thread is like still arguing who is going to win the 2003 Super Bowl :D

G.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top