andycerrone
Banned
How do they compare to say, the RNP's and Great Rivers, all of the ones in that range?
Double
New member
Onyx
I bought the FMC RNC and their RNP and the same time, loved the RNC but took back the RNP. When I got home I did A/B comparison with my Onyx 1220 board and the RNP, I liked the Onyx preamps better. It was't that the FMC RNP sucked I just could not hear any real differance between the two. For the money I would buy the Onyx hands down.
I bought the FMC RNC and their RNP and the same time, loved the RNC but took back the RNP. When I got home I did A/B comparison with my Onyx 1220 board and the RNP, I liked the Onyx preamps better. It was't that the FMC RNP sucked I just could not hear any real differance between the two. For the money I would buy the Onyx hands down.
andycerrone
Banned
Double said:
Well after thinking about what I plan on upgrading to in the long run, I'm trying to decide whehter or not the Mackie onyx boards are worth the big cash they run for. I'm in a position that if I sold my gear (by that I mean pre's, comressors, processors, mixing board) I'm not in too deep where it'd be hard to get rid of it all, but I'm trying to figure out where I want to be say, 5-10 years down the road with my recording gear, and whether or not I want to be at say, that level, or less, or even more.
N
notCardio
I walk the line
I have no first-hand knowledge, but
if the Great Rivers were on the same level as the Mackies, I would imagine GR would be out of business. Just kind of common sense. I've never heard anyone complain about their Great River, or say they were looking to upgrade. I'm sure some people do upgrade from them, but not likely the kind of people that hang out here, if you know what I mean. unless they've just got tons of cash that they don't know what to do with, in which case they can feel free to send some to me.
if the Great Rivers were on the same level as the Mackies, I would imagine GR would be out of business. Just kind of common sense. I've never heard anyone complain about their Great River, or say they were looking to upgrade. I'm sure some people do upgrade from them, but not likely the kind of people that hang out here, if you know what I mean. unless they've just got tons of cash that they don't know what to do with, in which case they can feel free to send some to me.
andycerrone
Banned
notCardio said:
Well then if someone were to say, buy the mackie onyx would they override the onyx pre to the GR? Is that even possible? I've never gotten the oppurtunity to have that much gear, haha.
tubedude
New member
I;ve had Great River, API ,BAE and Seventh Circle. I think the Onyx are pretty damned decent for the price. They arent quite an API, but they work. Combine them with one or two good channel of API and do all 0f your dubs though the API and you are good to go.
johnsuitcase
New member
I recently replaced one of those Behringer ADA8000s with a Mackie Onyx 800r, and I really like the Mackie. It has very good headroom, nice and punchy low end. It's not gonna give you that transformer sound like an API, but it does the opamp thing very well, much better than any other low/mid range mixer or pre I've heard. I like it better than my old Soundcraft (which was cool, for a little board).
I haven't tracked that much with it, but here's a little high school band I did, the Mackie was used on drums, one of the guitars, vocals (there's a nice drum break about 3/4 way through, and another big fill at the end (with a stick click we left):
This was a pretty quick session, 5 songs recorded and mixed in 8 hours or so...
(I may update the mix, I hear some things I don't like!)
I haven't tracked that much with it, but here's a little high school band I did, the Mackie was used on drums, one of the guitars, vocals (there's a nice drum break about 3/4 way through, and another big fill at the end (with a stick click we left):
This was a pretty quick session, 5 songs recorded and mixed in 8 hours or so...
(I may update the mix, I hear some things I don't like!)
andycerrone
Banned
johnsuitcase said:
Sounds really nice. I like..
I
Ironklad Audio
New member
*thumbs up* to the onyx stuff
i'm not going to say they're on par with the top names in preamps...especially since i've never done any type of A/B comparisons, but i've had pretty good luck with them, especially on drums and acoustic instruments...i feel like i'd do well to augment my onyx board with some outboard pres for vocals, bass, and a few other things though
i'm not going to say they're on par with the top names in preamps...especially since i've never done any type of A/B comparisons, but i've had pretty good luck with them, especially on drums and acoustic instruments...i feel like i'd do well to augment my onyx board with some outboard pres for vocals, bass, and a few other things though
kojdogg
bollocks redux!
I definitely dig mine. Amazing for the price. The 1220 mixer can often be found pretty cheap used, and I'd have to say that would be a great deal as a four channel pre (use the two main outs, plus the alt 3/4 outs).
andycerrone
Banned
Ironklad Audio said:
I'm afraid I'm going up upgrade, and then in a few years want to upgrade again and not get a lot for it, or have a hard time selling it. Would I be better off waiting another year for or 2 for a bigger/better board?
johnsuitcase
New member
It really depends on what you need/want in a system. From a cost of ownership perspective, the Onyx will lose value. In fact, I bought my 800r used for $750. In 3 years, it'll probably be selling for half that, or maybe a shade more (based on some other mid/lower end ADAT preamp interfaces). So, that's $375 for 3 years, let's say.
But the outlay is lower, I get 8 channels for 3 years.
On the other hand, if you bought an API or Seventh Circle rack, it'll likely be worth the same or close to what you paid for it. But, you're going to spend $750 on the rack and power supply, with no preamps. So, while the cost of ownership is lower (even adjsuting for investment income you could have made from say $3,000), the outlay is also much higher, about $3000-$5000 for 8 channels. But, they'll retain their value for years and years.
So, the question becomes, "Do you have $3000-$5000 lying around? Is there no better place you could put it (mics, student loans, etc)? If you finance it, will you make enough in higher rates, more bookings, etc to make it a good investment?"
I obviously have chosen to add to my gear slowly, as I can afford it, and with an eye towards good deals. I don't find that gear gets me better bookings, but it makes my job easier, and I like that my recordings sound better. But honestly, most of my clients are just listening to my demo reel, looking at my price quote, and saying yea or nay. No one has ever asked me about my pre's.
But the outlay is lower, I get 8 channels for 3 years.
On the other hand, if you bought an API or Seventh Circle rack, it'll likely be worth the same or close to what you paid for it. But, you're going to spend $750 on the rack and power supply, with no preamps. So, while the cost of ownership is lower (even adjsuting for investment income you could have made from say $3,000), the outlay is also much higher, about $3000-$5000 for 8 channels. But, they'll retain their value for years and years.
So, the question becomes, "Do you have $3000-$5000 lying around? Is there no better place you could put it (mics, student loans, etc)? If you finance it, will you make enough in higher rates, more bookings, etc to make it a good investment?"
I obviously have chosen to add to my gear slowly, as I can afford it, and with an eye towards good deals. I don't find that gear gets me better bookings, but it makes my job easier, and I like that my recordings sound better. But honestly, most of my clients are just listening to my demo reel, looking at my price quote, and saying yea or nay. No one has ever asked me about my pre's.
TragikRemix
I am NOT a Gear Whore. ;)
i was looking at the onyx 800r, to replace my ADA 8000, like someone else said above.
i guess, $1000 for 8 channels (+ the ADAT i/o is worth it weight in gold) comparable to 3k-5k, it can hold a plausibile position on the 'want-to-buy-o-meter'.
of course, i'd like a rack of SCA's for the 8 analog in's i have, and the 800r might be one of the best picks in the ADAT category.
funny, how i was thinking about that and then there was a thread..
i guess, $1000 for 8 channels (+ the ADAT i/o is worth it weight in gold) comparable to 3k-5k, it can hold a plausibile position on the 'want-to-buy-o-meter'.
of course, i'd like a rack of SCA's for the 8 analog in's i have, and the 800r might be one of the best picks in the ADAT category.
funny, how i was thinking about that and then there was a thread..
I
Ironklad Audio
New member
that's definitely a concern if you're looking at the rack-mounted pres...
i have a 1640 though, so even as i add outboard preamps, i'll still be running them into the line in on the onyx board to use its A/D/A capabilities
in the next year or two i want to add 8 channels of outboard pres, which should give me the flexibility to do pretty much anything i want...the only loophole left will be figuring out how to get multiple channels to the board instead just the stereo mix, so that i have analog mixing/summing capabilities
andycerrone
Banned
Ironklad Audio said:
...another fear of mine if I went with the onyx. It's hard to expand and continue to use your board for everything. I dunnooo.... I think I would need up to like, 32 channels because I have issues with double tracking all guitars and adding tons of leads and harmonies and vocal harmonies, etc..etc.. Usually when I mix digital I end up in the mid 20's by the time I'm done.
I
Ironklad Audio
New member
i would think that 30+ tracks could be squeezed down to 16 pretty easily with submixes
the way the onyx boards work, up to 18 tracks(16 individual + L/R) can go to the HD at a time, but only the L/R off of the DAW can go back to the board - one of these days i'm going to find some sort of solution to get 8-16 channels back to the mixer, but it'll probably be a while before i have enough outboard comps/eq's/etc. to justify spending the cash to be able to mix in analog
the way the onyx boards work, up to 18 tracks(16 individual + L/R) can go to the HD at a time, but only the L/R off of the DAW can go back to the board - one of these days i'm going to find some sort of solution to get 8-16 channels back to the mixer, but it'll probably be a while before i have enough outboard comps/eq's/etc. to justify spending the cash to be able to mix in analog
andycerrone
Banned
I've decided against the onyx, I think I'd like to get an older used board, probably a little bigger. I'm looking at the TAC Scorpion, in particular. I've used them before, and I was quite impressed with how well it responded to everything I did. Suggestions for boards like it? Pros/cons?