[topslakr]

I've had one for some time, perhaps 18 months or more. I don't remember when I received it. I bought mine through 'Front End Audio' and had them modify the board so the EQ was in the direct output for recording. I've been very happy with the board both in feature set and sound quality.

I use it in my multi-room rehearsal and recording space. It stays fully wired all the time via patchbays and the only serious gripe I have is that you don't switch between line or mic input, the board listens to both all the time which can cause me some head aches. I wish it had a Mic/Line switch.

The EQ sounds fine to my ears and I don't hesitate to use it as I'm recording if I need to. Over all the board is very quite, I hear very little noise when no audio is passing though. The full 6 bus AUX system is awesome and comes in extremely handy when recording. It would have been nice to be able to use the onboard talkback on the main outputs but I can understand why it's not available, esp on a board designed for live use mixing front of house. Being able to send it to the sub groups and Auxs leaves me enough options though and I can route talkback to the main outs if need be.

It's built like a tank and though the size is fairly large the features are really packed into the top panel. It's designed to fit into a 19" rack after all. Everything is labeled clearly and I don't have any trouble figuring out what everything does. The only label issue I run into is the hash marks on the fader throws are hidden buy the fader cap so if you are trying to put channels right on the null point or something, you have to sort of guess as to the correct spot. I wouldn't consider the 60mm faders especially equipped for very technical mixing though. They work just fine and fell smooth with just enough resistance, as do all the pots, but it's a non-automated live board.. not some fancy flying fader setup.

I've very happy with it. None of my gripes have ever stopped a session or rehearsal. I haven't used a MixWiz in a while so I can't make a direct comparison but the Mackie feels better and offers more features then the Wizard's I've used do/did. I wouldn't put this board above a Midas Venice, but it's a solid board that is designed to move audio with out much hassle or putting a sonic stamp on it.

I suppose my highest praise of it would be that I have bought a second one, a variation really, for a live sound install. We bought an Onyx 24.4 and have been using that for a year or so to great effect as well.

Robert