Mackie Mixing boards 1202 VLZ-PRO

[sabianq]

The VZL-PRO line of mixing boards by Mackie has to be the finest built Analogue mixing boards to date.
This series of boards include the:

1202 VLZ-pro
A 12 channel compact mixing board has 4 great sounding microphone preamps with an enormous amount of head-room and phantom power. There are eight channels but four of them are line level stereo capabable making a total of 12 channels.

the mixer has 2 aux sends and stereo aux returns letting you either mix in an FX processor either pre-fader or post fader. or they also work great for mix minus for sending pertanit signals to MULT (press) boxes

Sonically, this mixer had an overall Signal to Noise ratio of better than 105 db maxing it a great addition to any set up regardless of it being for studio use or road use.

My most memorable experience with this mixer was when an employee was toting about 4 of them on a cart down the concrete hallway getting ready to setup for a large complicated Public Address, the cart hit a bump in the concrete and abruptly stopped, the top mixer (a 1202 VLZ) slid off of the cart and bounced down the concrete hallway landing at my feet.

I picked up the mixer dismayed at the damage inflicted on such a pretty piece of equipment, i was sure the mixer was toast.

well i needed the mixer and was hoping that at least some of the channels worked. after plugging up the mixer, to my surprise, all channels worked perfectly, even with the bash in the corner.

Have been sold on MACKIE ever since. These mixers really are built like a Tank!

http://www.imuso.co.uk/images/Product/ST00127.jpg

[Bops2000]

da boppers likes da makies also,
I was looking at the onix thang, but settled for the 24-8 analog board, a $3k board for a $grand -for me on ebay.
I was contemplating at a cost analysis that 2 1604 vlz's would run a 16 track daw setup flawlessly. But The 1204, 1604's do not have direct outs at post fader,so signals into daw are just levels, without the mackie eq's- and that is the only reason why I did the 24-8 thang.

[Audiodude]

I took part in a blind listening test a few years ago which put the Mackie VLZ-Pro preamps up against other mic pre's, ranging from a couple hundred to several thousand dollars per channel. About 20 of us listened to the same vocal, guitar, and snare drum tracks recorded through each preamp and scored each one.

The results were surprising, to say the least. The Mackie pre's did not come out on the very top of the list, but they did very well, holding their own against standalone preamps costing many times (per channel) what the Mackie mixers cost.

[Audiodude]

Sorry to post twice in a row, but I thought I'd share an anecdotal story with you about these little mixers. Long long ago, according to legend...

Mackie sent representatives of their company to Sweetwater to debut the new line of compact mixers to the Sweetwater sales staff (this was before I came on board), and a question was raised about the durability of the mixers. The person giving the demonstration was none other than Mr. Greg Mackie himself. He unplugged a 1202 sitting on a table and threw it on the floor with enough force that he actually chipped the tile floor. He spiked it like a little metal football. Then he stood on it and hopped up and down a couple of times.

After a little bit of work to get the cables back into the badly mangled output jacks, he powered it up, and it still works just fine. And there's still a dent in the floor.

I've also heard a similar story about Mr. Mackie emptying out a can of beer on a console during an outdoor concert / torture test for Mackie gear.

[sabianq]

Ah Ha!

I haven't tried that yet, (the beer trick) but it is nice to know they thought about all possible scenarios.

[Bops2000]

Ah Ha!

I haven't tried that yet, (the beer trick) but it is nice to know they thought about all possible scenarios.
"Realist's" I suppose.
....and here I am air dusting, covering this stuff up, I need more analog sound! Get me another beer!

[Slider]

Hhmm, Ile have to see how they stand up to our Mackie 24-4-4. Been looking for a new small mixer for our fellowship hall.

[Bops2000]

Hhmm, Ile have to see how they stand up to our Mackie 24-4-4. Been looking for a new small mixer for our fellowship hall.
I would definately go with a 1604vlz pro as opposed to the 24-4, The vlz has better routing options. I sold mine on ebay for around $350 last year, a clean one -so you should find one around that price or up to 450 max, after that go new. I also had a 24/4 board and sold that also for $500, that board was basically a live venue board for sound reinforcement, you were limited on routing to record sub mixes, as the submix on that board was designed for live monitor sends or piggy backing other boards...

[sabianq]

i have a 16X8 and love it, it has some fantastic sounding pre-amps
and you can almost fully matrix (8 channels) with it (especially with the help of a patch board)

[Audiodude]

The replacement to the VLZ-Pro line arrived at Sweetwater today - the VLZ 3. They aren't "officially" announced until the NAMM show in a few weeks, but they are shipping at Sweetwater. Here are some links:

1202 VLZ3 (http://www.sweetwater.com/1202vlz3/)
1402 VLZ3 (http://www.sweetwater.com/1402vlz3/)
1642 VLZ3 (http://www.sweetwater.com/1642vlz3/)
1604 VLZ3 (http://www.sweetwater.com/1604vlz3/)

[sabianq]

what does it feel like?
is it heavy like the VLZ?
made out if steel or plastic?
do you think it will survive a fall of 6 feet to a concrete floor?
does it sound ok?
is it quiet?
do the knobs feel substantial?
is the board a strictly analogue board?
did you try to pour beer on it?
does it have a clean aux send?
how is the head room?
have you used it yet?
can it matrix?
do you like it?
do you know when Mackie will "officially" announce it?
is the warranty a good warranty?
does it use a standard "D" plug?
is the whole thing balanced?
does it have RCA inputs for an IPOD?
are you getting sick of my stupid questions?

[Audiodude]

I don't know the answers to any of those questions yet. We just got them in, and I haven't heard or touched one myself. There is some basic information on Sweetwater's website about the VLZ3 mixers, but Mackie has not yet published full specs or the results of the concrete drop or beer-dump tests yet.

It is all analogue, no digital components of any kind. It does have a steel chassis. The I/O is all balanced (except for the RCA tape in/out, and the headphone jack, of course). THD is lowered to .0007% on the mic pre's now. (Which is obscenely quiet, if you are not familiar with THD specs.)

I assume Mackie will announce it at the winter NAMM show on January 18th, and more information will be available at that time.

[sabianq]

gosh,
you should pull one out and hook it up

I'd be all over that.

then you should post a review.
that would be soooo cool

I talk to the Mackie techs all of the time, I know they would like an outside opinion on their baby.

Maybe i can get them to send me one.

I like the fact that the board is analogue, makes it way more stable..



THD is not a term for how quiet a piece of equipment is, but how much it changes the original signal.
Signal to noise ratio is how quiet a piece of equipment is, sometimes stated as the "noise floor".


http://www.audioforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11958&page=4

number 51 and 52

[Bops2000]

gosh,
...............I talk to the Mackie techs all of the time, I know they would like an outside opinion on their baby.

Maybe i can get them to send me one............




Put in a good word for me too !!!

[jmail]

What concerns me is the $150US price jump for that re-design of the 1604...

[Audiodude]

Not quite...

If you remember, the going rate on the 1604 VLZ pro was $999 for many years. It was only recently, after the introduction of the Onyx line, that the price dropped to $849, where it has been for the last two years.

The price was lowered again, just a few weeks ago, to $699 - but only to clear out existing inventory to make way for the new models. $699 is a clearance price, not the regular price.

The new VLZ3 version of the 1604 is coming out at $849, the same price that it's predecessor had been sold at for the last couple of years.

So, for the moment, you have your choice of the (discontinued) 1604 VLZ pro for $699, or the new 1604 VLZ3 for $899. As soon as the pro's are gone though, the $699 price will disappear.

[Audiodude]

what does it feel like?
is it heavy like the VLZ?
made out if steel or plastic?
do you think it will survive a fall of 6 feet to a concrete floor?
does it sound ok?
is it quiet?
do the knobs feel substantial?
is the board a strictly analogue board?
did you try to pour beer on it?
does it have a clean aux send?
how is the head room?
have you used it yet?
can it matrix?
do you like it?
do you know when Mackie will "officially" announce it?
is the warranty a good warranty?
does it use a standard "D" plug?
is the whole thing balanced?
does it have RCA inputs for an IPOD?
are you getting sick of my stupid questions?

I just got my first chance to see one up close. Mackie is here at Sweetwater today, and they performed the classic Mackie stomp test!

A brand new 1402 VLZ3 survived the 6' drop, and was then JUMPED on by two large guys. (One of whom weighs literally TWICE as much as I do, and I'm not a scrawny dude.) Despite the top face plate being smashed in, and several plastic faders and knobs popping off, the thing still worked just fine.

I took a few pictures, and I'll post them soon. It was hands-down the best product demo I've seen in years. And I see a lot.

Update: I've attached a few crappy cell phone pictures of the demo. If I can find better shots I'll post them. I've also got some specific technical details on what Mackie changed, as well as what they didn't change from the VLZ Pro models that I'll share soon.

[sabianq]

BRAHAHAHAHAHHHHAHAHA..


OMG.

Can i come work for you guys>?
please? you have way to much fun over there.

[Audiodude]

Work for us?

Yes you can. (http://www.sweetwater.com/careers/)

[Djani]

I've also heard a similar story about Mr. Mackie emptying out a can of beer on a console during an outdoor concert / torture test for Mackie gear.[/QUOTE]
Unfortunately I wasnt that lucky, my Mackie 16/4/2 had burned two first channels cause one little drop of Orangina.

[nobranddesign]

Yeah i actually bought one that has a huge dent in the side and I had to take some retainer clips out that were rattling around inside from the damage but it still works awesome now 5 years and 2 tours later. I did burn one out before this one by trying some henous gain structures for some distortion but that is to be expected when you do what I was doing to that poor thing. Was listening to alot of Alec Empire at the time. Great mixers.

[sabianq]

my only issue with the 1604 is the fact that there are no group inserts, if the boards had group inserts, it would be a much more versatile board.
the new onyx 24 has group inserts.
oh yea, and all the small format boards are missing the phase button.