Has anybody layed hands on the mackie DL1608 yet?

Re: Has anybody layed hands on the mackie DL1608 yet?

Steve Milner said:
That is pretty excellent network coverage for remote mixing, but does the little Mackie offer enough mixes, processing & outputs to have control over those problem spots individually?

It's great to be able to mix wirelessly in the upper deck, or under the balcony overhang, but unless you can address those zones in the system discretely, you're really not gaining a whole lot of functional control over your system.

I'd be interested to know more about how this system is built and integrated, if it is in-fact handling the discreet sends. It'd be fun to know more about the system either way, always great to see how others are making things work.
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Probably nnot, but it would be easy to VNC to a PC running the software for the system processing. Whether it's Soundweb London or Media Matrix or whatnot. You could bounce between mixer, for uh mixing, and processing for tweakage.
 
Tim Weaver said:
Probably nnot, but it would be easy to VNC to a PC running the software for the system processing. Whether it's Soundweb London or Media Matrix or whatnot. You could bounce between mixer, for uh mixing, and processing for tweakage.
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I could see that working quite well Tim, so hopefully my curiosity will be satisfied with a more in-depth look at the system and what's handling the various duties.
 
Re: Has anybody layed hands on the mackie DL1608 yet?

Ron Kimball said:
LOL! I also found out they have an HP MSM managed wireless network with 16 access points so the operator was able to mix from anywhere in the stadium and "tweak" some outstanding problem spots. Is that cool or what? :D
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Very cool. Does the app hold the connection to the mixer when you background it?
 
Re: Has anybody layed hands on the mackie DL1608 yet?

Steve Milner said:
That is pretty excellent network coverage for remote mixing, but does the little Mackie offer enough mixes, processing & outputs to have control over those problem spots individually?

It's great to be able to mix wirelessly in the upper deck, or under the balcony overhang, but unless you can address those zones in the system discretely, you're really not gaining a whole lot of functional control over your system.

I'd be interested to know more about how this system is built and integrated, if it is in-fact handling the discreet sends. It'd be fun to know more about the system either way, always great to see how others are making things work.
Click to expand...
I'll ask and get back to you. This was all posted on the Mackie support forum.
 
Re: Has anybody layed hands on the mackie DL1608 yet?

It's guesstimated that out of the 55 million ipads sold worldwide, 60% or 33 million of those are in the US.

I'm not worried about iPad availability for the short term. This mixer is not an investment. You will get 4-6 good years out of it, and then replace it with something newer and better. iPads will be available during that time frame, and even better, they will be cheap because the apple faithful will be buying new kit and selling off their 1's, 2's and 3's.
 
Re: Has anybody layed hands on the mackie DL1608 yet?

I borrowed a DL1608 from a store to try out for a Christmas tree lighting. The set up changed from last year due to a few different things. The only reason I mention that is we were dealing with a few unknowns. It was raining on and off, never really hard but it was a bit of a pain. I set up the amp rack and the DSP rack (2 5-space racks) on top of each other under the stage because it was the driest place. And then I put the DL1608 on top of them and covered it all with a plastic garbage bag draped over it all. I didn't have the time I would have liked to properly tweak the speakers but I got it all working.

I really want sub groups on this thing. I used aux 1 for the vocal mics and aux 2 for instruments that for this event turned out to be CD playback. And I used aux 3 as the monitor send. I then took the aux 1 output into the DBX 260 DSP into one input and I plugged aux 2 into the other input and I mixed those 2 together in the DBX. This way I had an EQ (the graphic) on the aux output to EQ for gain before feedback on the vocal mics. This worked just fine.

The client loved that there were no cables in the audience area for them to trip on. The DL1608 stayed dry under the stage but the iPad got wet. I had the airport express wireless under the stage next to the mixer and I don’t think I lost control at any point. I said I don’t think because the tiny place where the notification is that you are no longer connected is easy to miss. And there were a few times where I was trying to raise or lower a fader and it didn’t seem to recognize my attempt. That might have been something to due with the rain or the coldness of my fingers. Or maybe I just wasn’t touching it in the proper place.

I found it annoying that the place at the bottom of the screen for labeling the inputs (scribble strip?) would get touched accidentally and the popup would suddenly be in the way. I found out later that I could lock that feature out. But I don’t like the way it then dimmed the strip. I think the ability to take a picture and use that in the label is nice but when I got home I started to try other things and discovered that if you turn off the iPad you lose the pictures. If you take the picture with the camera app and not from within the DL1608 app then at least the picture is in the iPad and you can reload it other wise the pictures are gone.

I think the DL1608 has some potential if they update the firmware to include some subgroups. And a few more tweaks. It has the capabilities of scenes or is it called snapshots but there is no indication at all of what one you are in, the same for shows. I will be following this mixer with some interest.
 
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Re: Has anybody layed hands on the mackie DL1608 yet?

Kevin Maxwell said:
I found it annoying that the place at the bottom of the screen for labeling the inputs (scribble strip?) would get touched accidentally and the popup would suddenly be in the way. I found out later that I could lock that feature out. But I don’t like the way it then dimmed the strip.
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Yup, major bitch of mine too :( .
 
Re: Has anybody layed hands on the mackie DL1608 yet?

Mackie Dl1608 “Two audio mixer dead in less than six months!”
I bought my DL1608 in November 2012. In my opinion this is an audio mixer much more lightweight, compact and versatile than my old 01V, and had a fantastic timbre. “I was in heaven”
Then came the hell in my life!
With just over 1 month of use, it stopped! nothing worked! the doc just Ipad battery was charged and nothing more.
After the Mackie DL1608 was exchanged for another brand new by amazon smoothly, and arrived in January! Good! how wonderful! I’m in heaven again!
In May this year …. let me down again.
Not connected to the doc he carried the battery ipad. Still connected via wifi and carrying scenes but nothing responded! “Died”
My hell would be bigger!!
This time amazon did not want to exchange it had passed the warranty and sent me to the Mackie who in turn sent me to the Habro in Brazil for my convenience, because I’m in Brazil.
What’s wrong with this mixer?
two mixer broke down in less than 6 months of use! never seen it!!
 
Re: Has anybody layed hands on the mackie DL1608 yet?

I am thinking about a DL1608 for the Bar/Budget gigs...

Does the mixer still pass sound if an iPad is "disconnected" or the app crashes?

Leaving the iPad in the console, will it allow for you to click to other apps?

I am thinking of the DL plus a Router to mix wireless (no more FOH snake).
 
Re: Has anybody layed hands on the mackie DL1608 yet?

Matt Vivlamore said:
Does the mixer still pass sound if an iPad is "disconnected" or the app crashes?
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Sure does!
Leaving the iPad in the console, will it allow for you to click to other apps?
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Sure can!
I am thinking of the DL plus a Router to mix wireless (no more FOH snake).
Click to expand...
Yup, it's awesome 8)~8-)~:cool: - make sure you get a 5.8 GHz router, I use a Netgear WNDR3400. Anybody wanna buy a snake cheap :D~:-D~:grin: ?
 
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Re: Has anybody layed hands on the mackie DL1608 yet?

<Arg, can't edit the post ^, complains "post too short">

BTW I had a bit of fun Saturday night, ran the mains off of aux 5, the subs off of aux 6, and used the L&R main mix (using high isolation headphones) to record directly on the iPad using the app "Voice Record Pro" in 160kbps AAC, here's a snippit:
http://aspinock.com/foo.aac

Oh, and I don't see mention here of the Mackie forums shutting down :( - most of us users are over here now and there is an extensive FAQ:
http://cacophony.aspinock.com
 
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Re: Has anybody layed hands on the mackie DL1608 yet?

The Mackie Dl1608 has proven reliable and functional for me! I have used one for "bar bands" for over a year! With an apple airport express i have never lost connection in a reasonable distance and walked a long way (150'+) outdoors! You can switch apps and come back to master fader and it still connected and will re-sync automatically!
It's funny how many want "pro" features in a budget board! You don't buy a Mazda 626 (mackie dl1608) and expect the features of a Mercedes SL550
(midas xl8)! Lol! If you use the features it has for it's intended purpose it's another good tool in our toolbox!
 
Re: Has anybody layed hands on the mackie DL1608 yet?

Seems like an old thread, but I'll try to ask. I just got 1608, wonderful little toy for small gigs. However, set aside lack of on-screen RTA/Smaart, like on X32/Presonus, I found that playback from iPad into 1608 while docked (using iPad "channel") comes too hot, way into overload, and there's no way to adjust neither input gain on that "iPad" channel on DL1608 or output level of iPad itself. When docked the volume control of iTunes (and couple of other playback apps I've tried is blocked (inoperative)

I wonder if anyone run into this problem and if there are any workarounds. For now iPad playback is pretty much useless.
 
Re: Has anybody layed hands on the mackie DL1608 yet?

Matt Vivlamore said:
I am thinking about a DL1608 for the Bar/Budget gigs...

Does the mixer still pass sound if an iPad is "disconnected" or the app crashes?

Leaving the iPad in the console, will it allow for you to click to other apps?

I am thinking of the DL plus a Router to mix wireless (no more FOH snake).
Click to expand...

It does all that and is much easier to use than many others. The only drawback of wireless mixing is that you can't set permissions for aux mixes if letting musicians control their own monitor mixes, like on Presonus. Anyone can screw other's mixes or even FOH mix if not looking which layer is selected. Otherwise works fine.

Another drawback is lack of remote gain control of preamps, you'll have to be at the mixer to physically twist that knob.

Hopefully it all will be solved in DL32 coming around mid-October of this year, there are teaser videos on YouTube

iPad is just a controller, all the sound processing is done inside DL1608. You can lose Wi-Fi connection or even shut down the iPad, it will still pass audio as it was left on. No pops, clicks or anything once it's reconnected.

MasterFader acts like another app on iPad, you can switch between apps the usual way. When switched it takes about 1 sec to "sync" with mixer.

The only drawback is inability to record audio straight to iPad via Wi-Fi, but I rarely use it. The workaround for me is to use a 64Gb docked iPad 2 for that and another 16Gb iPad for wireless mixing from audience. You can use MyFader iPhone app too, but it's limited to levels control only (on all layers though, including effect sends and returns)
 
Re: Has anybody layed hands on the mackie DL1608 yet?

Arik Semagin said:
playback from iPad into 1608 while docked (using iPad "channel") comes too hot, way into overload
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It's coming in digitally, so it's actually not possible for it to overload. However, it is full scale, leaving you almost no fader travel. My workaround is to set the iPad channel's top and bottom EQ bands to shelf. Pull the top one all the way left and all the way down. Pull the bottom one all the way right and all the way down. You still have 2 bands left to EQ with, the tone and dynamics are unaltered, and the output is greatly reduced. Obviously, Mackie should put a gain control on that channel, but this at least makes it usable.
 
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