Mackie 1640 User Manual download pdf (Page 1)

May/June 2010 resolution

REViEW

or workaday applications in a wide

variety of ﬁelds, from

small-scale

live music and

recording to education

and HOWs (Houses Of

Worship), 16 inputs is

something of a sweet

spot. Just sufﬁcient for

most people’s purposes,

while remaining

portable or slotting into

a conventional 19-inch

rack for ﬁxed applications.

The Mackie Onyx range

needs no introduction, having

established a considerable reputation

thanks to high-quality mic preamps and

well-thought-out Perkins EQ that brings a

‘British’ ﬂavour to the sound.

The compact i series ranges from 8 to 16 input

channels and integrates a FireWire connection for

recording and mixing to and from a computer. At the

top of the range is the UK£1,899 (including VAT)

Onyx 1640i. This is a solid console weighing a not

inconsiderable 15.9kg, housed in an all-metal

case using Mackie’s RotoPod design. The

bulky rear section with all the connections can

be located in one of three different positions:

default is with the I-O connections at the

rear; alternatively, the pod can be swivelled

up so that the connections are horizontal

for easy access; the ﬁnal option is with the

pod mounted underneath the control surface,

making the overall depth far less — again,

with the connections at the rear.

The package includes a licence for Mackie’s

Tracktion 3 basic bundle. Mackie states that

the Onyx 1640i is qualiﬁed for use with all major

DAWS, including, speciﬁcally, Pro Tools M-Powered

8; Apple Logic; Cakewalk SONAR; Steinberg Cubase;

Ableton Live; and Apple Final Cut Pro. Pro Tools

M-Powered is something of a coup since this is the

only non M-Audio device available to date for Pro Tools

M-Powered.

Inter-knob spacing is tight, but the EQ is indeed

very sweet. It isn’t especially powerful, but it is quite

difﬁcult to make something sound truly horrible.

There are detents at the unity position on the EQ gain

pots, but, strangely, not on the channel gain pots.

Routing is straightforward; everything in the

master section is familiar and self-explanatory. By

default, FireWire channel sends are pre-EQ, pre-insert;

or post-EQ, post-fader. However, this can be changed

by a Mackie service centre to pre-EQ, post insert; or

post-EQ, post-fader. There are a total of 16 sends

and 16 returns, all accessible at a button press, so

16-track record and mixdown is very simple to set up.

Alternatively, the auxes, subgroups and main outputs

can be routed to the DAW via FireWire channels 5-16

— again, with the press of a few buttons.

The RotoPod’s top row of jacks is for unbalanced

inserts on each channel strip; the next row is for line

in with Hi-Z on channels 1 and 2. 16 XLRs feed the

16 Onyx mic pres. An XLR takes a dynamic mic

as an alternative to the built-in talkback mic. Main

outputs are on XLRs and jacks, and there is a mono

jack output with rotary level control. Two unbalanced

jacks provide main inserts and four phonos deal with

tape in and out. Control Room monitors, the four

sub-group outputs, four stereo aux returns, and six

aux sends all appear on jacks. At the bottom, power

is IEC with a rocker switch, and there are two 6-pin

FireWire 400 sockets to connect to the computer

and daisy-chain further consoles or hard disk drives.

Bottom right, two 25-pin D-sub connectors output

channels 1-8 and 9-16 for balanced recording. Pin-

outs follow the Tascam convention. Source can be

post-gain and low-cut, or post everything — except

the fader, depending on the setting of the FireWire

Pre/Post button.

The 16 channel input strips are identical, apart

from the ﬁrst two which sport Hi-Z buttons. Latching

Solo buttons are at the very bottom of the strip — an

eccentric choice since it makes inadvertent solo a

possibility, below the 60mm fader with Sub-group

1-2, 3-4, and Main assignment buttons adjacent.

Mute button and pan pot are above, followed by

six aux send knobs. The EQ section has an EQ In/Out

button, Low (80Hz), Low-mid and Frequency, High-

mid and Frequency, and High (12kHz) band knobs.

Above the FireWire pre/post send, the Gain pot ranges

from -20dB to +40dB. At the top, three buttons toggle

a 75Hz 18dB/octave ﬁlter, Line Input, or FireWire

input, and switch 48V phantom power.

In the Master section, below the faders, a button

routes the sub-group outputs to FireWire channels

5-8. Each of the four sub-groups has a master fader

and LR Main routing buttons. Main has an Assign to

FireWire 15-16 button above the fader. Two selector

buttons route the Talkback output to Phones and/

or Auxes 1-6. The Talkback key lies adjacent to the

External mic button with indicator LED. The built-in

talkback mic is alongside the Talkback level knob.

The aux master section has six Send Master pots

each with Pre/Post and Solo buttons, and four Return

level pots. A button assigns Aux Sends 1-6 to FireWire

9-14. Two pots determine EFX to Monitors levels —

they route the Aux 1&2 return to Aux 5&6 Sends,

in other words. The stereo effects return is summed

and mixed with the Aux 5&6 sends. A further button

determines the routing of Aux 3 return, Mains, or

Sub-groups. When not pressed, Aux 3 return is

normal. When activated, Aux 3 is routed to either

Sub-groups 1-2 or 3-4, depending on the Subs

1-2/3-4 button. Similarly, the Aux 4 return

can behave normally or be routed to

the Control Room/Headphone Source

Matrix by the CR/Phones Only

button.

Solo mode switches between

AFL and PFL and the Solo Level

knob determines the level. Tape

to Mix routes the Tape input to

the Main Mix bus at the level

determined by the Tape In knob.

In the Control Room and Phones source section two

pots adjust Control Room and Headphone

output levels. Five summing matrix selector

buttons assign the Main Mix, Tape Input, Sub-

group 1-2, Sub-group 3-4, and FireWire 1-2

inputs to the Control Room and headphone

outputs. A further button routes the selector

matrix output to the main Mix bus. If this

button is engaged, together with Main Mix,

the Main Mix input is muted. Above the

traditional Mackie ‘Rude Solo Light’, the two

peak meter bargraphs each consist of 12

LEDs covering the range -30dB to +20dB.

At the top the headphone jack is next to the

BNC snake-light socket.

This is a ‘system’ console. There are no built-

in dynamics or effects, so these need to be added

externally. The comprehensive inserts (unbalanced)

and six aux buses provide a great deal of scope. There

is the alternative of using the Waves MultiRack plug-

in platform via FireWire.

The Mackie Onyx 1640i is an elegant fusion of

a highly-developed analogue console with a built-in

digital interface integrated intimately. It’s much more

than a simple I-O card, thanks to the routing buttons.

Tracktion is a nice bonus.

Full mixdowns are very simple to set up, and

the analogue goodness of the Mackie appeals to

me in preference to digital summing. It’s a versatile

and attractive console and deserving of very close

scrutiny. n

PROS

Versatile; excellent sound; highly

integrated computer interface.

60mm faders; knobs a bit close

together; Solo in an odd place.

CONS

Contact

LOUD TECHNOLOGIES, USA:

Website: www.mackie.com

UK, LOUD Technnologies Europe: +44 1494 557398

Mackie Onyx 1640i

Mackie calls its ﬂagship Onyx a ‘...DAW-loving, premium analogue mixing, FireWire-laden

mother of all compact mixers.’ But is it the mother lode? ROB JAMES digs deep and

closely scrutinises.

Mackie Onyx 1640i 1

Summary of Contents

Page 1 - Mackie Onyx 1640i

27May/June 2010 resolutionREViEWFor workaday applications in a wide variety of ﬁelds, from small-scale live music and recording to educatio

Mackie 1640 User Manual Page 1

Browse online or download User Manual for Audio mixers Mackie 1640. Mackie Onyx 1640i

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Mackie 1640 User Manual Page 1

Browse online or download User Manual for Audio mixers Mackie 1640. Mackie Onyx 1640i

Summary of Contents

More documents for Audio mixers Mackie 1640

Comments to this Manuals

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