Opinions on Mackie Onyx?

[Sleepwalker]

but isnt the 1640 a lot bigger then the 1620? that matters a lot fto me, as I will need to carry it once a week!! (im considering a purcase also, it realy fitts my band)

Kim

which onyx do you own? whats so good about the preamps? can you show me something you did with it?

RonC

Ron

I have the 1620. Wish I had the 1640!!! Especially for the live recording. Having only 8 xlr's is a little limmiting, but I've managed.

Who knows, maybe it will be for sale soon! (this is where the little icon shows lust for the 1640)

Scoops

[rpc9943]

My question here is, is it possible to hook in dynamic mics into the 1/4" inputs without any problems?

ROnC

[Beno]

My question here is, is it possible to hook in dynamic mics into the 1/4" inputs without any problems?

ROnC

Nope. I assume you are talking about the 1/4 inch inputs on the stereo channels of the 1220. You won't really get enough usefull gain because they are line level inputs. Actually, just connect it to your stereo input of your DFX and you will see, it will work about the same.
Ben

[mmmatt]

hey Guys,
I'll throw my 2 cents in here. I LOVE my onyx mixer. Up until about a month ago I was using it to record a live mix to an outboard adc to a 16/48 HD recorder. I have been very satisfied with the sound off this board. Mine is a 1220. I do wish I had sprung for the 1620 or 1640. I was a little put-out about the lack of xlr connections at first, but have since made a series of adaptors so it is no big deal now. I use mine exclusivly for live recording and never use more than 2 sets of mics. The rest of my feeds come from either the inserts or matrix outs on the house FOH console. I have run from the foh to the pre's as well as to the stereo channels and I prefer to avoid the color of the pres with lines out from the board, so IMHO don't buy the 1640 over the 1620 just to be able to patch in with xlrs. If you need all the pres then do it, or if you prefer running your live mix from mono inputs, that would be another reason (that would be my only reason to upgrade to the 1640). The pre's have a bit of warmth to them, and the headroom is astounding.
That all being said, the onyx boards are VERY dynamic, and going from a lesser board (as I did as well) to one of these will blow your mind. I remember the first time I used it in the field, I had a few overdrives because The meters were jumping so much. My first reaction was that the meters should be slowed down somehow, but it isn't the meters its the board doing it's thing and doing it well!!!
The only complaint I have about the design of the board is the 6db pad they put to the main outs. The whole premis of keeping the signal as untouched as possible has inspired Mackie to do this. Sombody can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the idea is to inspire people to set the gain and fader at unity, and not requiring you to adjust the gain/faders down for your main outs. This is all a great idea, but I don't always run all channels, so I am often boosting my faders and or gain up to compensate for the 6db pad. I like the pre's best when they are not maxed, but either I max the pres/gain, max the faders (and leave myself no adjustment) or max the main out fader (again leaving no ability to adjust up), or adjust in post. In Matt's perfect world, this would be switchable or removed. I don't mind adjusting some in post, but it seems counterprioductive nonetheless. I come from the school of thought, that you should maximize your dynamic range whenever you can but without using gain. When utilizing most or all channels this is not a concern and something I will most likely come to like.
As for a sample, I can provide some for you. Here is one: The file can be found on the following ftp server tapers.org and the password and login are both ftp4all. There are many great recordings there and you can take whatever you like (not all are mine) the one I'm refering to is called deb2004-11-14matrix.flac/
This recording is of the "Drew Emmitt Band" and if you like stringband/bluegrass/newgrass music you will be blown away. Regardless of your musical tastes, you will se what I mean about the dynamics of this board. Don't play it on a boombox or a car stereo... there is some serious LOW bass in this recording (20-30 cycles) and it will sound best on a quality playback system. FWIW this recording is untouched except for the samplerate conversion... straight off the ONYX
I also have a little bit of 24bit stuff I have done and can shoot you a DVD-A in the mail. If you are interested, drop me an email at mmmatt@liveears.com


Matt

[rpc9943]

Ugh... I should get the 1620 now. 8 xlr is what i need. 4 isnt enough..... There goes all my money I dont have. Hey beno are you a reseller?

RonC

[rpc9943]

You know what actually... I may be getting another job together soon so I'm eyeing the 1640 now.... Hmmmmm!!!! Tax return and a few months of saving and that baby would be mine!

RonC

[bobaudio]

You know what actually... I may be getting another job together soon so I'm eyeing the 1640 now.... Hmmmmm!!!! Tax return and a few months of saving and that baby would be mine!

RonC

Be a good American consumer and get a credit card and spend 'til you hit the limit! Works great!

[rpc9943]

my god! its huge though! look at the size of it!.... Maybe 1620 would be better. Dang if 1640 wasnt so freaking huge I would have seriously considered it.

cant win em all
ROnC

[jerbare]

my god! its huge though! look at the size of it!.... Maybe 1620 would be better. Dang if 1640 wasnt so freaking huge I would have seriously considered it.

the 1640 is pretty large, but for me it was worth all 16 mic pre's... i gotta say though, it fits perfectly in my 14-unit kk-audio mixer rack. take a peek here:

http://work.mindabuse.net/kvr/home_control01.jpg

sorry, have to pimp out the pic - just moved in to my first house and got everything set up finally!

[rpc9943]

wow! I dont own a rack, and my desk wouldnt hold it.

RonC

[Beno]

my god! its huge though! look at the size of it!.... Maybe 1620 would be better. Dang if 1640 wasnt so freaking huge I would have seriously considered it.

the 1640 is pretty large, but for me it was worth all 16 mic pre's... i gotta say though, it fits perfectly in my 14-unit kk-audio mixer rack. take a peek here:

http://work.mindabuse.net/kvr/home_control01.jpg

sorry, have to pimp out the pic - just moved in to my first house and got everything set up finally!

Nice looking studio. I like the monitors too!
Ben

[mmmatt]

my god! its huge though! look at the size of it!.... Maybe 1620 would be better. Dang if 1640 wasnt so freaking huge I would have seriously considered it.

cant win em all
ROnC

even the 1220 is a beast... maybe that should have been listed as the other down side to the onyx series, but I don't care personally. The sound makes it worth it for me.

Matt

[IIRs]

my god! its huge though! look at the size of it!.... Maybe 1620 would be better. Dang if 1640 wasnt so freaking huge I would have seriously considered it.

the 1640 is pretty large, but for me it was worth all 16 mic pre's... i gotta say though, it fits perfectly in my 14-unit kk-audio mixer rack. take a peek here:

http://work.mindabuse.net/kvr/home_control01.jpg

sorry, have to pimp out the pic - just moved in to my first house and got everything set up finally!

how come everyone elses studios are so much tidier than mine?

[jerbare]

Nice looking studio. I like the monitors too!

mmmmm, i love the 824's...

how come everyone elses studios are so much tidier than mine?

like i said, i just moved in and got everything set up... i'll try and remember to post a pic when its gone through it's worst! 8]

[mmmatt]

Here is another onyx sample if anyone is interested. This is on a bit torrent available on easytree.org http://www.easytree.org/torrents-details.php?id=34130

This is a simple ambient recording with a pair of cardiod LD mics (studio projects c-1's) through the onyx pre. This was recorded at 24/96 and I have thoes files available as well if anyone is interested.

Matt