but you can do that with the I/O I have a patchbay that can route to what ever effect. and have a couple outs of the I/O used to send signals.
I dunno…just thinking of simplification. but I gotta admit…mixers look super sick. 
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Damn, thanks for the invite. I would have figured they would have been built better than that for club abuse. Well thanks for taking that off my list.
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This one had been abused! It came straight out if the booth of his club. From memory the issue with the buttons was that the caps had broken away from the switch body. It was a while ago but I seem to remember that the cap is only held on the switch with a couple of small pegs on one side only. I can imagine the caps that were broken took a sideways knock or something similar. I can’t speak for sound quality, I was injecting a tone to test (turned out to be a loose/dry joint on one of the RCA’s, again, possibly down to previous abuse)
Don’t let my minimal contact steer your choice tho! These seem to be well regarded mixers and switch caps aside it was built to almost military standards!
For live stuff the mackie is ok- as long as you know you will not get much from the equalizers as they are really bad sounding.
I still think a AH Xone 96 is a better choice for live performances, you can mix 6 stereo instruments with serious filters and equalizers and 2 fx sends- they really sound good and analog.
In a live contest you will struggle to control well more than 4 instruments plus fx
£1329 ? 
I could get x2 1604 clz or a Digital Multitrack for that. Seriously tho it looks nice but for what I want to do that’s a bit pricey mate it’s something I’d buy if my lottery numbers came up.
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Yes they are expensive but they sound really good
If you want to properly mix the mackie is not great at all in my opinion if you just want to use it as a big patchbay to have all the instruments plugged in than it is fine for this.
I use my 1642 for dub style mixing. Choosing the right console was a challenge. I picked the Mackie because it has four post fader sends, it‘s relatively small and does not cost that much. I don‘t like the fader caps though.
The mixer works great for my needs but I‘m not a pro musician or engineer and don‘t have a lot of experience with other mixers.
I bought the Mackie from a local music store, in case I have to repair it because I have a 1202 as well, which had stuck mute button.
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I’ve just ordered a Mackie 1604 vlz4 and it should arrive in the next few days. I previously owned a 1604 vlz pro and it was built like a tank - I loved the sound plus all the returns. I looked at both the Tascam model 24 and also the Soundcraft Signature 22mtk, because I wanted to record multiple channels at once. Unfortunately both send the audio pre fader, so dub style mixing is out, and in my opinion both feel cheaply made. I also didn’t like the effects in the Soundcraft at all, and it doesn’t come with a power switch - weird design choice.
So back to full analog with my outboard effects. If I need to I can send each of the first 8 channels straight out individually and into my MOTU 828x.
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Well since everyone is sharing. This group really nailed the subject alright. Picking a mixer is simply not easy. I have been putting off buying a new mixer. There are just to many cheap ones. I am more confident building a basic summing mixer and running that into a UMC404 or my Audio 6. I have. Peavy PV10 USB. It’s a tank. It sums down to 2 channels out via USB 2.0. has an incredibly quiet s/n ratio and has all monos with 2 stereos FX sends it’s really a nice old mixer. I picked it up on Reverb for $75 (it’s behind this whole rig …sorry) it’s the best I have found with out a second mortgage. I run all 3 and a Korg Volca Mix and a Korg D4 all going into a MacPro with 28 USB ports … Insane yes.
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I mean I’m no pro but I like what the little bit my Mackie VLZ4 EQ does. Just a bit gives it some nice character digital eqs can’t do. It’s no sound sculpting tool but does a good job to add some crispiness to the highs, bring out or reduce a bit of midrange, and reduce the lows. Plus the Onyx pres do distort nicely; that’s no joke.
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The general reality is that a very large proportion of techno, house, hip hop etc is made with and played on cheaper electronics - turntables, mixers etc. Cheaper relatively speaking. You’d be wasting money if you bought an audiophile turntable and stylus to play hip hop. So I believe you need to think realistically about context. Mackie mixers sound great in the context of most electronic music setups. Sure you can push the quality of your productions to higher levels but it really might not be necessary.
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Ditto, second that and amen…
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Absolutely. Or might not be desired.
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Yes exactly.
This will fix everything… Plenty of channels for your needs and affordable. Peavey RQ2326 . 26 Channel Mixer https://reverb.com/item/33853516-peavey-rq2326-26-channel-mixer?utm_source=android-app&utm_medium=android-share&utm_campaign=listing&utm_content=33853516
Don’t mention it…
I have been in the market for a replacement of my current 1402VLZ.
Buying new synths has brought the situation up.
I sum all my hardware through the Mackie then the main outs go to a stereo pair in my MOTU for tracking. I can then send back to my MODEL1 for added analogue grain and thump
I have 6 stereo pairs I can send from MOTU to the 6 channels of MODEL1.
I wish I could find a replacement for my Mackie but so far no luck. A couple more I/Os will not do the trick…
I have a Mackie 1202 and it sounds great. Solid build, always works, Sound is completely neutral. EQ is fine for cutting, but I EQ when I arrange in Ableton anyway, so I only use it on guitar.
Also, you can overdrive the inputs and they sound suh-weet. Cool for guitar and Digitakt.
Pre-amps work fine for my occasional mic use. Plenty of gain there. But all my stuff is line-in, so it bypasses the mic preamps anyway.
Not sure why the Mackies have a rep for poor sound. It’s just not true.
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I have the same Mackie and I use it the same way
Well they used to be really good - I used to own an old Mackie 32 desk the ones made in USA- it was really good, a lot of techno and house records have been recorded with the Mackie 32.
The new product line is really bad, i think things have changed when they moved production to China.
The faders on the VLZ4 from the 14 series onwards are awful to use, this is why i chose the 12 that has knobs instead.
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Small analog mixers is pretty cheap new today. Back in the 90’s even 16 channel mixers where expensive. So not surprised the quality is a bit lower than similarly featured mixers from “back in the day”.
I got a Ghost mixer. And, wow! Having a mixer again is awesome!
Exactly- that is because technology has moved forward-
You can have a Motu with 16ins to plug directly all your instruments and go straight into a DAW- less cables less issues but more control and much better quality.
I remember my room was full of cables, compressors, equalizers, external reverb and delays-because if you go via the mixer route now you need to have dynamic processors at least.
My plan is to get a SSL Six and replace my mackie 12 VLZ4.