Desktop Mixer Advice

[jestermgee]

I do still have it in a cupboard awaiting me to decide if I want to sell it. I used it for about 2 years without issue. You will probably find that those that may have had the issue left it connected and switched on all the time which wouldn't supprise me if it burnt out.

I can't say that they don't have the issue, obviously some people experience some of the issues but it's like that with most things. More often you will only get people with issues that post their experiences and that may just be 2% of users.

If in doubt tho, keep searching

[JGum]

I spent about an hour on the phone with a Mackie rep today getting information about functionality and how to do what I want with what I have. It looks like I'll be getting rid of my M-Audio Firewire Solo sound card and picking up a Mackie Onyx 820i http://www.mackie.com/products/onyx820i/ It retails for about $400, I'll be returning the Solo and getting a discount on the 820i so it looks like I'll have right at or under $200 in the upgrade; sweet.

This way I'll have the mic and guitar inputs as well as 3 stereo inputs for my microKORG, Kaossilator Pro and iPod Touch. I am under the impression (and the rep was quite certain) that I'll be able to take the line in of the Kaossilator, connect it to the AUX then just turn up the AUX per channel I want to effect. In theory this means I can also sample anything onto the Kaossilator from the board without the hassles of disconnecting and reconnecting things.

Even if the effects don't pan out to work as expected, I will still be happy avoiding a mixer/sound card setup for a single unit as well as gaining the ability to record 8 multiple tracks at a time. Yay post production options. I'll keep you informed if I go this route once I get it to discuss build, ease of use, etc.

[jestermgee]

Hey that looks pretty sweet. Can't go wrong with Mackie. Might have to look at doing some upgrades at some stage but I do like faders over knobs tho.

[JGum]

The Mackie 1220i http://www.mackie.com/products/onyx1220i/ for about $600 has faders over knobs, I looked at that, for the price difference all I really gain in my workflow is an additional stereo input, the added mic/mono inputs are irrelevant to my interests. I don't mind the knobs, I also like the smaller size of the 820i.

As far as my group and personal wants, this (820i) handles multiple instruments/inputs and records them on individual tracks. That's pretty sweet and more than I was expecting. If an emcee hoses his part, a guitarist falls off, etc, I like having the individual parts to choose from given I'm sure there will be multiple takes. The prospect of taking the best of each individual track from each take/session has me excited to hear some final mastered output. The way we've all worked together in the past didn't have all these technical options so putting the talk back mic and submix/final mix buttons to work is going to be fun.