I have been offered a choice of either of a Soundtracs Topaz Project 8 - 24 channel or a Mackie 32:8. Both less than £500 so the price isn't the issue, both are immaculate, fully working, serviced, boxed and look 'as new'. The Soundtracs has the optional meterbridge on it. The mackie doesn't.

I've done a bunch of recording and mixing for reggae bands (played in some myself). Soundtracs Topaz, Midas Venice 240, Mackie 24/8, A&H GS3, TAC Scorpion. Understanding whats going on and developing your manual skill is far more important. For value I think it's hard to beat the a&H 14:4:2.

I will be using the desk for summing/mixing and EQing of finished tracks of dance/house/RnB type music. I have a Presonus FireWire audio interface which gives me 24 channels of analogue audio out to a desk and back in as the final stereo track. If it was your £400-500, which would you buy and more importantly why? I'm a newcomer to analogue desks, hence why I'm asking! Atm hack codes 2017 nz free.

I like the 'look' of the Mackie more just because it's bigger and more professional looking, but I completely agree that's a stupid point! I don't think I'll need the Bus sections, just the faders, gains, and EQ's.

Regular Posts: 88 Joined: Wed Sep 16, 2009 12:00 am. Anything but the cheapo Mackie, as mentioned the Topaz is modular inside which is a BIG plus imo.even the very affordable Spirit Studio was modular inside.The Mackie 8 buss also had common faults with the ribbon cables internally, wasn't keen on the sound either.

You can pick up a good analogue board now days for next to nothing.even a proper modular Soundcraft that can be tweaked to sound even better go for bugger all. Frequent Poster Posts: 1593 Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2003 12:00 am Location: Kent, UK.

NinjaPower wrote:Out of interest, why do you all dislike the Mackies so much? They seem to have a massive following and generally go for quite large sums on eBay. But from what you are saying I can conclude sound quality and build quality leave something to be desired? Mackie's marketing is, and always has been, quite clever. Their reputation is mostly based on marketing-speak, not actual performance. The 8-bus desk was easily available and not that expensive compared to the competition so many project studio owners acquired a Mackie desk.

I've fallen victim to this 'strategy' myself as well, swapping an Allen & Heath desk with a minor fault for a Mackie (they couldn't be that bad, because everyone had them, right?). Well, the A&H sounded better and eventually I regretted getting the Mackie. I've used a Topaz Project 8 on a couple of occasions and it's in an entirely different league compared to anything Mackie has on offer. If you can get one in decent condition for a fair price, it's highly recommended. Cheers, Frank Frequent Poster Posts: 1178 Joined: Mon Aug 30, 2004 12:00 am Location: NL. All contents copyright © SOS Publications Group and/or its licensors, 1985-2019. All rights reserved.

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