Anyone use mackie onyx/FW rig for location work?

Jake Dempsey · 6th February 2008

I have an Onyx board. I'm thinking of picking a firewire card up for location stuff. Seems like an easy, reasonable quality rig. Anyone using this setup?

Edited to add:

This will mostly be used for recording high school bands. Marching bands, jazz ensembles, choruses, etc.

mpdonahue · 6th February 2008

We use it for quick and dirty run-outs where all we need is a multitrack.
We've found that it is very finicky WRT the Firewire interface and computer used. I have a HP laptop that works flawlessly with a single Onyx FW, but the IBM T42 that I have with a PCMCIA firewire card does not work at all.
Also, we've never been able to get the 2 card/console (32 channel) system to work. Mackie support is less than stellar (putting it mildly) and virtually all solutions are found by other users.
All the best,
-mark

Jake Dempsey · 6th February 2008

Since Mackie was bought by LOUD, their support has really sucked. It's a shame. In the day, mackie was known for bullet proof gear and good support. Their quality control has really taken a turn for the worse too. Is the 1200F thing still in limbo? That piece was announced something like a year before it was actually available.

I'm on a Mac laptop. Hopefully the drivers will be a little more reliable. Have any comment on the converter quality?

Coyoteous · 7th February 2008

I have a 1220 that came with a free FW card as a promotion/rebate. I really like the mixer, and didn't really need the card - but heck, it was free!

I use it as a studio "Swiss Army Knife" mixer and I played around with the card some, but I don't use it on a regular basis.

The A/D sounds quite good - uses AKM (I've got the number somewhere). The D/A is not as good, but useable.

I intend to use it to do some drum recording in a nice hall I have access to. On the mac side, AFAIK there really aren't any drivers - it's straight up core audio.

I'd also like to mod it to pick up the 4 A/D channels the 1220 doesn't use. There are actually 4 unused slots on the first DB25, since it only has 4 pre's.

mrufino1 · 11th February 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by mpdonahue

We use it for quick and dirty run-outs where all we need is a multitrack.
We've found that it is very finicky WRT the Firewire interface and computer used. I have a HP laptop that works flawlessly with a single Onyx FW, but the IBM T42 that I have with a PCMCIA firewire card does not work at all.
Also, we've never been able to get the 2 card/console (32 channel) system to work. Mackie support is less than stellar (putting it mildly) and virtually all solutions are found by other users.
All the best,
-mark

I don't have the onyx, but I have an IBM t41 that I just got 2 weeks ago and have been using a phonic helix24 mkII with it, and it has been really solid. I use that to record gigs that I play on as well (I am a bassist). The bandleader was nice enough to buy this mixer so we wouldn't have to lug splitters, etc just to make gig recordings. The pcmcia firewire card I have has a TI chipset, which I understand makes a huge difference for firewire audio. I had to search online for one that had a TI chipset, a lot of times it is not listed. If your problem is a mackie issue then this is no help at all! Now, when I can get linux to recognize the phonic board, then I am really set (linux recognizes my firepods with no problem). Hope this helped. If not it fel tgood to at least say!

TheBluesBrother · 12th February 2008

My school has one with a Macbook as a location recording rig. I've only used it once (and it was a group thing) but it worked fine. We ran 7 mics in and sent those seven tracks and the 2-mix over FW to the Macbook running Tracktion 2. It worked pretty well. I can't really speak much for the sound quality though. The tracks we got do sound good, but I don't have anything to compare it to with our mics and room.

My only complaint with it is that I don't care for the Tracktion software. It gets the job done, but Mackie's efforts to make it "simple-yet-powerful" IMO just make it awkward. You should, however, be able to use it with just about any DAW you want (besides Pro Tools).

I'll be doing some recordings with it on my own later this month, so maybe I'll report back then.

bishopthomas · 12th February 2008

I used to own one. Decent little mixer for front of house, but could never get it to work reliably with my PC.

tuco · 12th February 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by bishopthomas

I used to own one. Decent little mixer for front of house, but could never get it to work reliably with my PC.

Yep, the Onyx is really picky about its Firewire connection. I have one here in the studio, but I'm not sure I'd rely on it for live recording without some kind of backup. Nice unit but the Firewire business is squirrely.

6th February 2008	#1
Jake Dempsey Lives for gear Joined: Mar 2007 Location: VA Posts: 610 Thread Starter	Anyone use mackie onyx/FW rig for location work? I have an Onyx board. I'm thinking of picking a firewire card up for location stuff. Seems like an easy, reasonable quality rig. Anyone using this setup? Edited to add: This will mostly be used for recording high school bands. Marching bands, jazz ensembles, choruses, etc.

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6th February 2008	#2
mpdonahue Gear addict Joined: Dec 2002 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 495	We use it for quick and dirty run-outs where all we need is a multitrack. We've found that it is very finicky WRT the Firewire interface and computer used. I have a HP laptop that works flawlessly with a single Onyx FW, but the IBM T42 that I have with a PCMCIA firewire card does not work at all. Also, we've never been able to get the 2 card/console (32 channel) system to work. Mackie support is less than stellar (putting it mildly) and virtually all solutions are found by other users. All the best, -mark

7th February 2008	#4
Coyoteous Lives for gear Joined: Aug 2006 Posts: 4,130	I have a 1220 that came with a free FW card as a promotion/rebate. I really like the mixer, and didn't really need the card - but heck, it was free! I use it as a studio "Swiss Army Knife" mixer and I played around with the card some, but I don't use it on a regular basis. The A/D sounds quite good - uses AKM (I've got the number somewhere). The D/A is not as good, but useable. I intend to use it to do some drum recording in a nice hall I have access to. On the mac side, AFAIK there really aren't any drivers - it's straight up core audio. I'd also like to mod it to pick up the 4 A/D channels the 1220 doesn't use. There are actually 4 unused slots on the first DB25, since it only has 4 pre's.

12th February 2008	#6
TheBluesBrother Gear Head Joined: Dec 2007 Location: Nashville, TN Posts: 52	My school has one with a Macbook as a location recording rig. I've only used it once (and it was a group thing) but it worked fine. We ran 7 mics in and sent those seven tracks and the 2-mix over FW to the Macbook running Tracktion 2. It worked pretty well. I can't really speak much for the sound quality though. The tracks we got do sound good, but I don't have anything to compare it to with our mics and room. My only complaint with it is that I don't care for the Tracktion software. It gets the job done, but Mackie's efforts to make it "simple-yet-powerful" IMO just make it awkward. You should, however, be able to use it with just about any DAW you want (besides Pro Tools). I'll be doing some recordings with it on my own later this month, so maybe I'll report back then.

12th February 2008	#7
bishopthomas Lives for gear Joined: Oct 2006 Location: New Jersey Posts: 1,565	I used to own one. Decent little mixer for front of house, but could never get it to work reliably with my PC.