Mackie 402 mixer anybody !

chummslick · Post by **chummslick** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 10:24 am

Greetings people ! anybody got any experience of using this mixer :?:

has some very good reviews and at only £100 , was thinking about getting it to hook up my 404 and synth , 8 track ? .

HxC · Post by **HxC** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 4:01 pm

Heads get it Tails don't

formal · Post by **formal** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 4:18 pm

I use an 8 channel behrnger. It was cheap and it has the perfect amount of inputs + the right size to not be bulky. I thought of getting the smaller one, but the few extra channels really help out.

niq names · Post by **niq names** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 4:19 pm

i read that it was pretty solid and well built. doesnt offer much in the way of eq but for 100 bucks what more can u ask 4. in the review i read it was said that the mic pres were significatly better than previous models

wax inspektor · Post by **wax inspektor** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 4:21 pm

Mackie mixers are the shit!!!

ellaguru · Post by **ellaguru** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 4:29 pm

what do you have to do with? if it's to just connect gears in a live situation ok, but if it is for reconding thing my advice is to avoid to 'filter' your machines with mixer, i prefer to record directly to audio interface or digital recorder.
anyway normally mackie product are good considered, they've got also an economic line mixer called Tapco.
peace

Platypus Beird · Post by **Platypus Beird** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 12:54 am

fyi Behringer did a knockoff Mackie Onyx mixer called the Xenyx or something like that, you might want to check those out

Behringer is notorious for copying their competitors to the exact component and pumping them out in mass amounts at cheaper prices

cartesia · Post by **cartesia** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 1:00 am

the behringer mixers are horrible,

behringer advices sellers not to even bother with repair jobs because its not worth it, and to just replace with new ones and throw out broken ones!

I had a xenyx 1622 and it is nothing like a mackie in terms of quality... It stopped powering on after about a month of use, then the replacement did the same thing.

Euclid Ov Oåklånd · Post by **Euclid Ov Oåklånd** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 4:41 am

I've also heard a lot of complaints about behringer mixers, I really want an Allen&Heath mixer.....butter. :wink:

HxC · Post by **HxC** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 7:40 am

The guy above is right. Unless you're going through a high quality pre amp, it is best to run your gear directly into your interface and not through a low priced Mackie or Berhringer.

A mixer is great though for composing. I use a cheap one and I run my gear's headphone outs to the mixer & just use it to jam, but when I record my gear's main outs go directly into my interface. Make sense?

ellaguru · Post by **ellaguru** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 10:41 pm

ehm, yes, i m the guy from above, the one hXc told you

i repeat what i ve said before, i think that buying a non professional mixer is not a very good idea, you will not have a better quality and often (like in the behringer case) is worst. maybe is better to wait and buy later a better professional mixer or a more professional audio interface.
i repeat, for a live situation the mixers we talk in the thread is not a bad thing.
peace

cartesia · Post by **cartesia** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 4:30 am

It's true that you'll get a clearer recording running it straight into an interface (a decent one). .but it all depends on whether you are going for the clearest sound possible, or are after a more dirty/warm kind of sound.

Besides, a mackie mixer is much better quality than the SP-404 (and at a guess the rest of teh SPs have similar sound quality).. So you're never going to get a really perfect signal either way..

ANd I'd say the mackie mixer is probably better quality than a cheap interface would be.. My presonus firebox is about on par with the mackie 1202... And they're about the same in terms of price. I'm guessing the 402 is just a less channels version of the same thing?

compared to mixing on a mackie and mixing in a computer, I found it possible to get alot more character into sounds - doing things like running really low level signals into the preamp and cranking it up for distortion, setup feedback loops etc... Using it as an instrument in its own right, rather than just a way to combine tracks.

chummslick · Post by **chummslick** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 5:40 am

Thanks for all the replies guys

think i'm going to get the Mackie after everything i've read , and for the price ! don't need loads of inputs / outputs (only have a small set up) also going for the Behringer u-control 202 interface that was recommended on another post i made a few days ago .