When it comes to live sound mixers that punch above their class and perform day and night, Mackie immediately comes to mind. Though it has been quite a while since we've seen an analog Mackie mixer emblazoned with the Onyx name, the new Onyx Series will be a welcome sight for touring bands, engineers, home recordists, and content creators. These premium analog mixers combine upscale audio performance with powerful USB multitrack recording and playback, and since they're available in 8-, 12-, 16-, and 24-channel configurations, they can serve an array of applications, from coffee shops and conferences to personal studios and concert stages.
Since they bear the Onyx name, all four mixers are outfitted with award-winning Onyx mic preamps, which provide up to 60 dB of gain along with low-noise performance. Adding to the analog character is the Perkins "British-style" EQ and its sweepable midrange. Don't worry about hooking up outboard processors; these Onyx mixers have a capable digital effects engine with customizable reverbs, delays, chorus, and even a dedicated EQ for sweetening the sound of the effects.
When it comes to recording and mixing, the Onyx Series mixers are versatile and easy to use. Print the stereo mix to an SD card, send it over USB, or take advantage of 24-bit / 96 kHz multitrack recording to a Mac/Windows computer via USB. You can bring back two stereo pairs of USB return signal and assign them to channels on the mixer for convenient playback monitoring or overdubbing.
To keep you moving swiftly, each Onyx mixer features Studio Command—a section with a full-color display and one-knob control—for intuitive access to FX parameters and presets, SD card recording/playback, and file browsing. Plus, there are buttons for immediate operation of record, play/pause, next, and previous transport functions. In the likely event that you need to stream some tunes from your smartphone, just pair it with the mixer via Bluetooth and bring the signal into a channel, where you can route it to the main mix or the aux sends.
What makes these mixers even more attractive is the software that comes bundled with them. You get two DAWs, Avid Pro Tools | First and Waveform OEM, to handle anything from simple podcast recording to more complex multitrack productions with smooth workflows and user-friendly operability. Also, each DAW comes with a slew of plug-ins, so you can tap into compression, EQ, amp simulation, time-based effects, and more to give your tracks some polish and sheen before you share them with the world.
From the rugged "Built-Like-a-Tank" construction and sealed rotary encoders to the backlit solo/mute buttons and high-contrast controls, the new Onyx Series analog mixers have been designed to stand out and hold up. Whether you need one for grab-and-go use, installation in a road case (rack kits are available for the 12- and 16-channel variants), or permanent setup, there's an Onyx mixer for you.
Are you excited to learn of the availability of these mixers? If you have any questions or comments, please leave them in the Comments section, below.
2 Comments
When will these be available to ship? Thanks.
Hi Erich -
We do not have an ETA from Mackie at this time. You may sin up for a notification e-mail: Mackie Onyx Series Premium Analog Mixers