Yes, I still use an old analog Mackie 32 x 8 mixer in my studio and convert signal to digital via a MOTU interface. It's old school analog and old school MOTU but I like it :-)
I LOVE my Mackie Onyx 32.4. It has almost everything I need, with the exception of Tape Playback inputs/flipswitches and Solo buttons. But thats why one day, when I have the space, I will pick up a Mackie 32-8.
I don't know how your video popped up in my feed but I enjoyed it. I do the same with an old Ramsa console with Motu 24 Ao and Audient on way in for the groups or master bus. Mixers just add that cohesiveness and allow you to commit to decisions vs. obsessing over a mouse. I think if this console ever goes down, I will pick up something like an SSL Big Six. I'm sold on the summing and hands on. Feels like a studio.
I've got a Mackie Onyx 12 that I plan on incorporating into my home studio shortly as I'm finally hooking up the gear I've bought over many years. Finally have the time as an older guy. Presently, just figure on using it for 2 channels of pres/eq to out to the interface I will buy shortly. Looking at several - Focusrite USB4+, Audient id24 and SSL 12 appear to be the finalists.
This is a great desk, not even to mention the price. Once you understand how it works, it sounds great. I've been using mine for the last 10 years and have no plans of getting rid of it. You're also right about ridiculously priced gear. You might have an easier time getting a higher quality sound, but at the end of the day, NO ONE is gonna listen to your song and go, "Hey that's a Neuman!" lol The EQ on the Mackie is one of the most frowned upon (and underrated) features because people don't understand it. Not gonna lie, it took me a long time to finally figure it out. But like most things, it helps to actually read the manual and understand how it works. Once you grasp the concept of the bandwidth feature, it's an extremely versatile and great sounding EQ section Couple proper use of the console with some quality plugins in Protools, and you've got yourself a professional sounding mix for a tenth of the price. Mackie makes some garbage, but they did it right with this one
Great overview. I have a similar setup utilizing a 32-8 with an Apollo interface. In addition, I have an Alesis HD-24 and I also have a 2" tape machine in the event that I want that sound. I have all of those devices connected to patchbays first and I can patch them to the 32-8 as I see fit. You did mention one thing that is super correct, in that I was constantly buying and upgrading my recording set-up and every time I bought a new device, there was a learning curve associated with it that took away from the bottom line of actually creating music. I found myself spending stupid hours dicking around with technology instead of creating. That would have been acceptable if when I turned on the switch, everything would be perfect and ready to roll, but it never was. There was always some sort of routing of the interface I/O's or the levels were not hot enough, or a plugin that worked fine the last time I used it would get quirky and start to give me problems. The easiest time I ever had in my studio was when I had my Tascam analog 8 track with the 32-8. I loaded a reel of tape, engage record and I was creating and recording.
Wow I’ve been doing my research on the Mackie 32.8 and found your channel I want that board and Motu interface I went through the same trouble of using smaller mixers and not enuff channels to do what I need if you have any suggestions on where I could purchase that Board and a Motu for a Decent Price that’s Fully Functional thanks in advance Liked and subscribed
Honestly... the boards are probably way cheaper now than they were when I bought mine. I bought mine off of Ebay quite a few years ago for 2 grand. The Motu unit is older also but it and the Mackie work great together. Again... the Motu unit is no longer made but I see them on Ebay from time to time. I'm using a PCIe card with my MOTU. No issues of latency what so ever. I'm running Sonar Platinum. It's all I need to make my own music :-)
Hey Bro, I really enjoyed your video. I am running something similar but my console is 24 instead of 32 channel and I have the MOTU 24/I and the MOTU 24/O. I use mic pres for all my mics, I have 2 Warm Audio 412s and an API rack with 3 API 512 pres, 2 Warm Audio WA-12 pres and an A Design EM Blue pre. I have 2 compressors at the moment, I have an Warm Audio WA-76 and an Universal Audio LA-610. I also wanted to let you know that I have 5 Apogee units I want to sell at a good price. I have 3 Apogee Rosetta 800's up to 192k and 1 Rosetta 800 up to 96k converters. I also have a Apogee Big Ben Master clock for sale also. I just subscribe to your channel man.
