Where would one go after a Mackie compact console?

[Wiggum]

Hey all, I was doing some daydreaming today, and I was thinking about my rig a few years from now. I currently run a Mackie 1402 VLZ with my DAW, and at some point, I'm going to need to upgrade to a better console (to get more channels, to improve sound quality, etc). But where does one go after Mackie? These boxes have become the standard for compact mixers, and it seems like there is a void between the Mackie compacts, and the expensive digital boards from Yamaha, Mackie, etc. So if you were looking to spend $2,500 or less on a better console (lets just assume 24 channels), where would you go? Soundcraft? Mackie? Allen & Heath? Or would you try to go digital? Just curious, Wiggum

[Uh Clem]

I think it is a bit of a stretch to call that a console - a small mixer is what it is. They may be a standard for keyboard mixers and small club acts, but that is about it. Use it for monitoring your DAW and nothing more and you may not need to replace it. Don't mix or track thru it. For tracking, get some good outboard pres and converters - a couple of channels will do unless you are planning to track 24 sources at once. If so, the A&H mic pres sound a heck of a lot better than then Mackies.

[Ethan Winer]

Wiggum, > where does one go after Mackie? If you're using a DAW, the only thing you might need a larger mixer for is to get more mike preamps. And you can do that by getting another mixer that simply adds to the number you have now. There's little need for a large console in most home studios these days. A friend of mine has a Yamaha 02/R which costs him plenty when he bought it. Now that he uses a DAW exclusively, the 02/R serves as mike preamps only. The O2/R now feeds a 16-channel sound card so he can record bands etc. using up to 16 sources at once. --Ethan

[Wiggum]

Hey guys, Thanks for the replies. [b]Steve:[/b] Are you saying I should avoid tracking through the Mackie for everything, or strictly for "real" instruments like microphones, guitars, etc? 80% of my music is synths and samplers, and with quantity of outputs I have to deal with, repatching every time I record audio would be a chore. I could get a patchbay, but I firmly believe that the cleanest path between A & B is a straight line. Adding more connections to the chain could be worse than the Mackie. I have thought about a better outboard system (perhaps a Joemeek VC1Q, or a Presonus or Focusrite unit), and perhaps my 2002 budget will allow it. But I also plan to get a better front end for my DAW (currently Delta 66 - upgrading to RME Multiface), which will cost at least $800. Can you clarify Steve? Is the outboard pre for mics only, or for everything? Thanks again, Wiggum

[Philip OKeefe]

A thought? Get a Yamaha AW4416. The 8 preamps and converters are pretty darn good, you can add a MY8-AD24 card for 8 more line inputs, the onboard EQ's and compressors can take some of the processor load off of your computer DAW, you gain 16 tracks (128 virtual tracks) of uncompressed 24 bit 44.1/48 KHz recording, the onboard moving faders can be used to control your computer DAW's onscreen faders with MIDI CC commands, and you can get the board for as low as $2,300 nowadays... even less for a used one on EBay. Phil O'Keefe Sound Sanctuary Recording Riverside CA http://www.ssrstudio.com pokeefe777@srstudio.com

[mixsit]

An interesting aspect I see of a 'gap' are the references so often made that some pros would not even consider running their tracks through the majority of daw mixers and plugins available, for concerns of loss of quality, compared to the equivalent in high end analog. I record on a daw and mix analog (mid-range, mackie, and some nicer 'pro-er' pieces)and have yet to compare this to all-daw mixing. I suspect the next level, if analog, might be a very big jump cost wise. Hence, the lure of the nice cheap software solution. Too good to be true?