X AIR iPad app for X18 Preview is available

[Keyboard Magic]

For all of the school gigs I've been doing, Master Fader has given me a comfort level comparable to using my analog mixer. Very straight forward, especially since I don't dig too deep under the hood much. Even before I got my own DL, I was playing with the app and found it so easy to navigate. I had basic scenes already to go even before the first gig with it.

Beno at Mackie has been saying that the new version of MF will be just as easy to use. Fingers crossed. I can't wait to play with it. 

[Kev tyler]

i agree with you,

The dl would be perfect but  it's just too expensive  for me when you add the price of mounting trays, I pad filler trays, and so on 850 euros for one mic and playback.



If   mackie bring out a 500 euro digital mixer I will buy  one.

Cheers

Kev

[WK154]

i agree with you,

The dl would be perfect but  it's just too expensive  for me when you add the price of mounting trays, I pad filler trays, and so on 850 euros for one mic and playback.



If   mackie bring out a 500 euro digital mixer I will buy  one.

Cheers

Kev

Kev you seem to be all over the place with your requirements. If however you just need one mic and playback let me suggest a simple solution you may already own. A iPhone has all you need and you as well as many others would be surprised at the quality of the recording and playback. As much as it kills me to promote the fruit. Here is a review of the iPhone 5 although others (iPad, iPod) are not far from this.
http://kenrockwell.com/apple/iphone-5/audio-quality.htm
If you need PA reinforcement use the Bluetooth path. Same for a iPad or iPod late version.

[Kev tyler]

I don't think I follow you, all over the place, ?

I think I have been quite clear re my requirements, I was  merely agreeing with the chap that the layout of the mackie app is crystal clear compared to the berry apps.

Typical of a solo vocalist I require One mic input, and playback from either a laptop, or pad,  and fx, I don't want to record my gigs, I don't want  to use  this device in a bedroom studio, I don't want world clock, I don't want a digital snake, I don't want spectrum analysers or rectal thermometers,

I work 6 nights a week and get ten minutes to sound check, often have to shift racks off stage because of dancers etc, therefore   I want a compact but professional digital  mixer with fx in the 500 euro range, actually I would need two, one spare, I don't have 1600 euros for two dl806 right now, but don't want any more toy 200 euro mixers, I hope the berry baby  x range arrives soon, as a company they realise  there  is a market for low channel count  digital desks, maybe they are trying to steal sm pros thunder, but who cares,

Just my opinion, but I think if mackie do not knock out a  500 euro 1 or 2 u  rack version of the 806 in the near future they can kiss their share of the low end market goodbye.



Cheers

Kev

[Keyboard Magic]

Kev;

I hear you. Aside from the analog preamps, could you hide a DL806 completely out of the way on stage somewhere? Unfortunately you’d have to pre-set the pre’s during your sound check and hopefully they wouldn’t need adjusting for the rest of the gig. It is a small format desk, but could be awkward in some situations. I know all the issues have put you off, but they are a small majority. Like I mentioned too many times, the DL I am using now works perfectly.

I know that if you use the DL wirelessly all the time, you won’t experience sync and white noise issues. If you use an Apple Airport Express router you can play audio trax wirelessly from a second iPad/iPod Touch/iPhone using AirPlay. It doesn’t matter which version of DL you get, if you decide to get one,  but it should match at least one of your iPads for DL firmware updates.

The DL806 is priced at $660.00 here for both versions. I presume the prices are a lot higher where you hail from though. Maybe you could order from Sweetwater? $600.00 US  Here’s the link to the DL806:

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/DL806

The price is the same for both. Of course there’s the shipping cost. It may be too expensive to have it shipped. You’ve probably already researched this.  Not much help huh? I do feel your frustration. I was there too

[ijpengelly]

I can find ex display Mackie DL806 for £499, so you should be able to find something similar in Europe, assuming that is where you are based Kev (since you are using the Euro as your currency reference). Have you not considered the SM Pro uMix?

http://www.thomann.de/gb/sm_pro_audio_umix_mini.htm

http://www.smproaudio.com/index.php/en/products/digital-mixers/umix

200Euros

And actually, their interface is pretty good too. It provides media playback direct from the mix app.

[Kev tyler]

Hi guys

Thansk for the comments,

Yes the DL is the perfect size and has enough features for me, the fact that it locks and charges  is a real plus because on some gigs I would get away with working direct from the pad/mixer but  on others I would use the pad on a stand or stick to a pre defined set and patter and use an airturn module which i intend to conceal in my clothing .i have to state again that the stage is not mine all night, the moment when the entertainers invite 100 guests on stage. To jump up and down, my heart is in my mouth, this is why I can't have i pad  stands and midi foot-switches  and so on at my gigs , and keep bleating about the simple fx footswitch.

I keep quoting euros because I am a Brit living in Ibiza and mainland Spain. I get paid in euros and have to use this currency when I determine the affordability of gear, we are in a bad recession here and rates are stupid low, so 1600 euros is a lot of money here, the dl at 850 euros is too much, bringing one from the USA just invokes too much tax and carriage etc, 500 uk pounds is 700 euros so I can't win really,

Obviously it's not mackies fault, but they just appear expensive for me, and I have to take in to account the usability of the reverbs, I am told they are not too good, and the white noise issues.

Many thanks

Kev

[gerenm63]

... and I have to take in to account the usability of the reverbs, I am told they are not too good, and the white noise issues.

Kev,

The reverb presets are a bit heavy-handed and muddy, but with a little patience, they can be tweaked so that they sound quite nice -- the editing requires adjusting the reverb parameters and the reverb channel EQ for best results. And, as with a decent rack-mounted reverb unit, you can make and save your own presets which you can save in your shows or snapshots.

Also, no everyone experiences the white noise bursts and/or resync issues. There are a lot of users, here and on other forums and in other reviews, who have never had the problems.

As an aside, it would be interesting to gather the serial numbers of the units that seem to be having the most problems to see if there's some commonality among the affected units. I don't know how many of these things have been sold, but it's feasible that the affected units are part of the same production run, or have some part or parts that are at the edge of their specified tolerance that were only in the SMT machine for a particular period of time.

[sam.spoons]

Much has been made of the DL reverbs but, while not the best I've heard, they are very usable. I did provide PA for a name English folk band earlier this year and their touring sound engineer loved the DL1608 and commented that the reverbs were very good to his ears.

The white noise issue has only affected a very small number of units and only with a docked iPad. My DL1608, bought in October 2012 has been faultless (a friend bought one around the same time and his has been similarly trouble free).

[robbocurry]

As an aside, it would be interesting to gather the serial numbers of the units that seem to be having the most problems to see if there's some commonality among the affected units. I don't know how many of these things have been sold, but it's feasible that the affected units are part of the same production run, or have some part or parts that are at the edge of their specified tolerance that were only in the SMT machine for a particular period of time.

Mackie took a survey and about 10 people answered, obviously not a big problem or people who have it can't be bothered to help fix it!

[Kev tyler]

Thanks guys

A lot of my outside gigs suffer from Slap back on everything so the reverb is not that big an issue, my indoor gigs are few and far between in the winter and generally it is more a matter of price I think than anything else.

Of course thomann who I buy my gear off also offer incredible customer service so I was to purchase a duff dl, it's really no problem,

I think I am just watching the pennies, baby due December, just seen the price of powdered milk lol

Many thanks

Kev

[Keyboard Magic]

I think I am just watching the pennies, baby due December, just seen the price of powdered milk lol

Congratulations on the baby!  I was there 26 years ago, now I look up to my son literally. (6'4") Money is definitely a consideration now for sure and Gear(AKA: new toys for you) takes a little bit of a back seat now. Priorities. 

[Kev tyler]

Cheers KM

back in the day you would get away with a radio controlled car for a child in Nappies, but  not  going to get away with buying him a digital mixer I think.

😊

[Kev tyler]

Ps thansk chaps for all the links

Sm pro, been following itbsince it was announced , it needs to arrive soon yes?

Wk, yes mate I have a pad air and an I phone , they are fine for what i do.

Kev 😄

[Rick Scofield]

Baby talk:

I have a 20 year old daughter (from previous marriage) and I am expecting my second (new wife's first) daughter on November 14.

I'm super excited, and curious as to how different I will be as a parent now vs then.  I was 23 when my first was born, 44 when the new one comes.

On topic: had a Mackie CR1604 and CFX16 when my first kid was little, and a DL1608 now, so it's exciting to see the leaps and bounds of technology as we and our children grow.

Used a car-mounted Cellular Telephone for my day job back then and didn't even have a desktop computer at home.  Work machines were all black screen / green text, no mouse (at least where I worked).

Now I mix wirelessly with a tiny device that has X-times the capability/storage/speed as the computer terminals of the early 90's, and it's a phone too.