To buy or not to buy --Mackie D8b

MatchlessMan · 17th April 2009

New user here...hoping to get some advice.

I've researched as much as I could in as many places as I could find. It seems the folks on this forum are really straightforward so that's why I'm here.

current set up:
Mac G5 dual 2.0Ghz, 2.5G RAM
PT LE 7.x 002Rack
and some outboard pre's

A friend is letting my try out his Mackie D8b in my setup to see if I like it. He wants $500 for it. The D8b specs are:

166Mhz
16Mb RAM
V 3.0
Apogee Word Clock
Analog I/O Card
3 Lightpipe cards
MFX card
all the cables I need

I'm brand new to the world of digital consoles, and D8B for that matter. I've messed with it as a stand alone to get my bearings, and I haven't attempted to hook it up to Pro Tools yet. I'm trying it in hopes that I can get it to 1.)sync up to pro tools, 2)use the mic pre's in addition to my channel strips 3) route my channel strips through the d8b for fader and monitor control etc... 4)take some load off my cpu by sending headphone mixes out of it 5)whatever else it may do. From my research I'll have to upgrade the memory so I can install V5.1, to be able to use HUI with PT LE7. Will V3.0 do anything with PT LE7? I've also read that only 8 faders work at a time. Does this mean you can still use all 24 faders by banking 8 at a time, or just 8 bottom line? For example, if I were to use ch1-8 D8B mic pre's and bring in another 8 from my octopre to ch9-16 could I get to everything?

My question is is it worth it for $500 or should I spend that money elsewhere. Also, there are 2 more analog I/O cards and the original word clock card with it that I could sell.

Thanks for any help

dstroyallmnstrs · 19th April 2009

I think this belongs more in low end than here but somehow I ended up here so I figured I'd give you a couple things to chew on.

This is an old, old piece of equipment and getting it repaired will be a bear. The overall opinion seems to be that it doesn't sound all that great either. Do a search on D8B here and elsewhere.

Another thing to keep in mind is how you will be using this. The pres, the I/O? 500 isn't that bad of a price but considering the space it will take up and how much of a pita it will be to fix I'm inclined to say walk away unless you're sure it's going to work for you.

If this guy is your friend then ask him if you can bring your stuff over and work on it. To me it wouldn't be worth more than 300 - though that's less than street at the moment - because of the headache factor. Your miles will vary.

Good luck and happy researching.

cdog · 20th April 2009

Dont buy. Its ancient and not good sounding or stable.

reid · 22nd April 2009

It's a boat anchor masquerading as a mixing desk. Don't buy it under any circumstances.

MatchlessMan · 22nd April 2009

Thanks for the opinions guys. I tried hooking it up to my rig and had nothing but a negative experience, so looks like I'm gonna pass.

recoverysounds · 13th February 2010

ou can get these things pretty cheap these days, and they can be quite a workhorse for a small studio. some of the pros:

1. 8 channels of fader control for Pro Tools.

2. UAD support (great for those of us working on laptops- Apple has recently discontinued the express ports, the only option for people.

3. pres for recording more than channels at a time. can at least be used for scratch tracks.

4. Talk-back mic

5. You can usually find these with the Apogee converter cards in them.

6. Channels to use for submixing.

Street price is about a grand right now, and they don't take up much more real estate than a digidesign command 8. and they do much more.

AVLS Pro in Seattle services them.

narcoman · 18th February 2010

....and they burst into flames. Dodgey power supply.

teo · 23rd March 2010

It sucked when it first came out...stay well away from it.

Karloff70 · 23rd March 2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by teo

It sucked when it first came out...stay well away from it.

Didn't it just! Always find it funny to read this type of thread....as in you try a new piece of gear ages ago when most go doolally about it being the best thing since sliced bread and you think to yourself, am i mad...but it's crap from where I'm looking. Funny to see a few years on that reality has caught up. It's crap, and always was.

Red Mastering · 23rd March 2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by cdog

Dont buy. Its ancient and not good sounding or stable.

second this

EarsUp · 30th March 2010

I've been looking into getting a DAW controller preferably a Control 24, but the opportunity to grab a D8B w/ Argosy desk has presented itself. It's a very good price considering the cost of the Desk is around $2000. The package is running about $950. I've checked it and all the I's and O's work. Having trouble with the HUI (my primary reason for purchasing) but I will follow up with that this week.

My thoughts:
For the price I think it's a good buy. I definitely wouldn't be purchasing it for mic pre's

. It would mainly be used for Routing and Monitor mixes during tracking and HUI for mixing. It has 3 Apogee D I/O cards installed.
I'm running the Digimax D8's currently lightpiped into a 003, and hitting the D I/O card shouldn't degrade audio quality

.

Maybe around June, I'm looking to throw an AD 16

in the mix, but probably go for a Rosetta 8 and some Vintechs and this would integrate perfectly with the D8B

Your thoughts PLEEZ

bexarametric · 30th March 2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by EarsUp

I've been looking into getting a DAW controller preferably a Control 24, but the opportunity to grab a D8B w/ Argosy desk has presented itself. It's a very good price considering the cost of the Desk is around $2000. The package is running about $950. I've checked it and all the I's and O's work. Having trouble with the HUI (my primary reason for purchasing) but I will follow up with that this week.

My thoughts:
For the price I think it's a good buy. I definitely wouldn't be purchasing it for mic pre's

. It would mainly be used for Routing and Monitor mixes during tracking and HUI for mixing. It has 3 Apogee D I/O cards installed.
I'm running the Digimax D8's currently lightpiped into a 003, and hitting the D I/O card shouldn't degrade audio quality

.

Maybe around June, I'm looking to throw an AD 16

in the mix, but probably go for a Rosetta 8 and some Vintechs and this would integrate perfectly with the D8B

Your thoughts PLEEZ

May the force be with you.

Pretend the D8B has full blown AIDS. Because it does.

jonathan jetter · 7th April 2010

used one at a studio for a few months.

hated it.

very little good to say here. and a whole lot of bad.

17th April 2009	#1
MatchlessMan Gear interested Joined: Apr 2009 Location: TX Posts: 2 Thread Starter	To buy or not to buy --Mackie D8b New user here...hoping to get some advice. I've researched as much as I could in as many places as I could find. It seems the folks on this forum are really straightforward so that's why I'm here. current set up: Mac G5 dual 2.0Ghz, 2.5G RAM PT LE 7.x 002Rack and some outboard pre's A friend is letting my try out his Mackie D8b in my setup to see if I like it. He wants $500 for it. The D8b specs are: 166Mhz 16Mb RAM V 3.0 Apogee Word Clock Analog I/O Card 3 Lightpipe cards MFX card all the cables I need I'm brand new to the world of digital consoles, and D8B for that matter. I've messed with it as a stand alone to get my bearings, and I haven't attempted to hook it up to Pro Tools yet. I'm trying it in hopes that I can get it to 1.)sync up to pro tools, 2)use the mic pre's in addition to my channel strips 3) route my channel strips through the d8b for fader and monitor control etc... 4)take some load off my cpu by sending headphone mixes out of it 5)whatever else it may do. From my research I'll have to upgrade the memory so I can install V5.1, to be able to use HUI with PT LE7. Will V3.0 do anything with PT LE7? I've also read that only 8 faders work at a time. Does this mean you can still use all 24 faders by banking 8 at a time, or just 8 bottom line? For example, if I were to use ch1-8 D8B mic pre's and bring in another 8 from my octopre to ch9-16 could I get to everything? My question is is it worth it for $500 or should I spend that money elsewhere. Also, there are 2 more analog I/O cards and the original word clock card with it that I could sell. Thanks for any help

13th February 2010	#6
recoverysounds Gear interested Joined: Feb 2010 Posts: 2	Good bang for the buck. ou can get these things pretty cheap these days, and they can be quite a workhorse for a small studio. some of the pros: 1. 8 channels of fader control for Pro Tools. 2. UAD support (great for those of us working on laptops- Apple has recently discontinued the express ports, the only option for people. 3. pres for recording more than channels at a time. can at least be used for scratch tracks. 4. Talk-back mic 5. You can usually find these with the Apogee converter cards in them. 6. Channels to use for submixing. Street price is about a grand right now, and they don't take up much more real estate than a digidesign command 8. and they do much more. AVLS Pro in Seattle services them.

30th March 2010	#11
EarsUp Gear interested Joined: Oct 2009 Posts: 1	Another Scenario I've been looking into getting a DAW controller preferably a Control 24, but the opportunity to grab a D8B w/ Argosy desk has presented itself. It's a very good price considering the cost of the Desk is around $2000. The package is running about $950. I've checked it and all the I's and O's work. Having trouble with the HUI (my primary reason for purchasing) but I will follow up with that this week. My thoughts: For the price I think it's a good buy. I definitely wouldn't be purchasing it for mic pre's . It would mainly be used for Routing and Monitor mixes during tracking and HUI for mixing. It has 3 Apogee D I/O cards installed. I'm running the Digimax D8's currently lightpiped into a 003, and hitting the D I/O card shouldn't degrade audio quality . Maybe around June, I'm looking to throw an AD 16 in the mix, but probably go for a Rosetta 8 and some Vintechs and this would integrate perfectly with the D8B Your thoughts PLEEZ

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19th April 2009	#2
dstroyallmnstrs Gear nut Joined: Jul 2006 Location: Berkeley, CA Posts: 137	I think this belongs more in low end than here but somehow I ended up here so I figured I'd give you a couple things to chew on. This is an old, old piece of equipment and getting it repaired will be a bear. The overall opinion seems to be that it doesn't sound all that great either. Do a search on D8B here and elsewhere. Another thing to keep in mind is how you will be using this. The pres, the I/O? 500 isn't that bad of a price but considering the space it will take up and how much of a pita it will be to fix I'm inclined to say walk away unless you're sure it's going to work for you. If this guy is your friend then ask him if you can bring your stuff over and work on it. To me it wouldn't be worth more than 300 - though that's less than street at the moment - because of the headache factor. Your miles will vary. Good luck and happy researching.

20th April 2009	#3
cdog Lives for gear Joined: Dec 2003 Location: Brooklyn Posts: 3,559 3 Reviews written	Dont buy. Its ancient and not good sounding or stable.

22nd April 2009	#4
reid Lives for gear Joined: Sep 2005 Location: Berlin-London Posts: 1,049	It's a boat anchor masquerading as a mixing desk. Don't buy it under any circumstances.

18th February 2010	#7
narcoman Lives for gear Joined: May 2007 Location: UK Posts: 9,574	....and they burst into flames. Dodgey power supply.

23rd March 2010	#8
teo Lives for gear Joined: Sep 2007 Location: Rome, Italy Posts: 747	It sucked when it first came out...stay well away from it.

7th April 2010	#13
jonathan jetter Lives for gear Joined: Jul 2008 Location: NYC Posts: 865	used one at a studio for a few months. hated it. very little good to say here. and a whole lot of bad.