Supports

The Setup Video

To help you get the console out of the box and safely installed and running, Mackie provides a nice video. I’d recommend watching it even if you know what you’re doing. I installed without watching it and made several mistakes that I wouldn’t have otherwise. I didn’t hurt anything, but you can if you’re not careful.

The Manual

The manual is comprehensive, and in many respects it is a model example of the genre that should be required reading for all software publishers and computer manufacturers. Good work, Mackie!

With that said, the manual is not perfect, and occasionally it leaves way too much to the imagination. The discussion of levels is a little shaky and some other discussions are less than totally adequate.

The Ethernet Hookup

There is an Ethernet port on the back of the CPU/Power Supply. According to Mackie, you can hook this up to a PC via an Ethernet hub and from there have your console talk (via a modem and the Internet) directly to Mackie for updates. I didn’t try it, but assume it will work fine once you go to the time and trouble to puzzle it all out.

The “Split” Layers

Mackie describes the console as a “split”, rather than I/O, design. The console control surface “toggles” between the various Fader Banks of the console, specifically: the Mic/Line Fader Bank, the Tape Return Fader Bank, the Effects Returns Fader Bank and the Groups/MIDI/Master Fader Bank. There are 24 channels showing on the control surface at any given moment, and you can switch between the four surfaces. There’s certainly enough to work with here. Awesome!

Mic/Line Fader Bank

The first 12 inputs of the Mic/Line Fader Bank are fully configured. The mic preamp, similar to the one Mackie uses in their analog 8-bus console, has up to 60 dB of gain. All 12 inputs have an analog insertion point. The second 12 inputs have line input only, and the preamps only have 40 dB of gain range. All of these controls are in the analog realm, and not under software control, which is as it should be.

There is a rec/ready button (to arm tracks to be recorded), an assign button (for track assignments), and a write button, which arms the track for dynamic automation passes. Below these buttons is a very nice general purpose digital pot which Mackie calls a V-Pot. This “infinite-travel” pot controls things like panning, aux sends, digital trim pots and level to tape, depending on what you have selected. The setting value of the pot is indicated by a 12-segment collar (although actual precision of the pot is much greater than that), and a little “unity” light comes on for unity gain or pan center.

There is a select button which chooses the channel for DSP, grouping and editing tasks. A solo button solos the channel in one of three modes (pre-fader, post-pan, and “mute-all-the-other-channels”). A mute button shuts down the channel just before the pan-pot.

A motorized fader completes the channel array, plus there are a number of status lights that attempt to keep you from becoming too confused. I found the layout sensible and generally easy to learn and use.

DSP for the mic/line fader bank includes a digital attenuator, a polarity switch, a compressor, a gate and a four-band EQ. Missing in OS 2.0 is a time delay capability (this has been corrected in Version 3.0).

Tape

The tape return fader bank is fed directly from the three I/O card slots. Three different cards are available, as mentioned above.

The analog I/O card breaks out 8 channels of +4 dBu balanced inputs and outputs on two D-sub connectors. You supply the snakes (Redco was very helpful to me with this – call Bob Chaffee at 203-384-1239). Level control is provided via the “digital trim” and “level to tape” V-pots.

The digital I/O card is what most of us will be using, and it is quite nice. It has both ADAT optical I/O and TDIF (complete with word clock out on a BNC connector). You can select which input you want, and which output. Further, you can simply route the input to the output for transfer purposes (i.e. ADAT in to TDIF out, etc.). Very cool for moving back and forth between formats. Nice job, Mackie!

A third card, called the PDI•8, provides 8 channels (4 stereo pairs) of AES/EBU. An interesting wrinkle on these cards is that sample-rate conversion is available on each pair. This means that you can bring in a digital signal from a source that is not locked to house clock (for instance, a client might like you to fly in effects that he or she has on CD – you can bring these in digitally, without worrying about their word clock status, and mix them with your multitrack). Very handy, indeed. In the lunatic chaos of production, this little feature will save your bacon big-time at least once! I’d buy the card just to have it around for emergencies.

Anyway, the tape return fader bank is just like the mic/line fader bank in the digital realm. Full DSP, all modern conveniences.

During tracking, you use the tape return bank as a monitor mixer, while during mixdown you use it as your primary mixing surface. Very handy, with impressive and welcome redundancy. Skipping the question of automation for a second, you can very quickly work toward a rough mix while tracking, and then add more stuff during mixing without any hassle, because both banks are fully active and available all the time. Cool beans!

Auxes and Effects

Here is a place where the Mackie d8b really shines. There are twelve aux sends available. The first eight (which are mono) are sent both to the internal DSP FX cards AND to analog aux outputs. Auxes 9-12 are sent to analog outputs and to the headphone sections. These are configured as stereo pairs.

This array of analog aux outputs gives the Mackie a lot of flexibility that has been missing from earlier digital consoles. We all have a vested interest in our racks of analog gear, which are working just fine, thank you, and which we know, love and TRUST! Because the first 8 auxes on the Mackie are sent to both internal FX and to the output, and we have all or most of our 24 mic/line inputs available to use as returns during mixdown, we are finally in analog fat city when it comes to FX.

About the internal FX: there are four card slots, as mentioned. Each card carries two mono-to-stereo FX engines. Card A is fed by Auxes 1 and 2 (for FX 1 and 2), and the processed signals are returned in stereo pairs through the Effects Fader Bank. The default card is the MFX•8, which contains Reverb, Mono and Stereo Delay, and Chorusing. Mackie kicks in one card, you can buy three more, at $400 a pop. Not a bad deal.

A second card option is available, called the IVL Vocal Studio ($500). This is a time/frequency management card used for harmonizing, pitch shifting, etc.

With OS 3.0 (which I have not tested), a new FX card, called the UFX, is available, with a very nice variety of third-party plug-ins, including reverb from TC Electronics, EQ from Massenburg, pitch correction from Antares, and dynamics from Drawmer. Assuming that these work OK, this should give you tremendous DSP capability in the d8b as well as the excellent access to the outside analog world. The sixteen internal FX returns do not have any channel DSP on them, a minor bummer.

The remaining 8 channels in the Effects Fader Bank are connected to the so-called Alt I/O card slot, which is a fourth, utility 8-channel slot that can be used to bring the console to 32-track capability, or for spare digital returns, or whatever you might need. Again, there is no channel DSP (still a minor bummer).

Anyway, when you do the arithmetic, the input capability on this console is impressive at 56 channels (72 if you include the internal FX returns). If this isn’t enough, Mackie will happily sell you a second console to cascade with your first one. If THAT isn‘t enough, you’re definitely beyond my help!

Masters

The Master section includes master levels for eight groups, eight MIDI channels, and eight bus master level faders.

Assigning tracks to tape is so simple and flexible that it actually got me confused! You just hit the “Route to Tape” button in the Assignment section of the console, select the channel, effect return or bus that you wish to assign, and then hit the desired Assign button. Anything will go anywhere! Nice. Most of the assignments will be direct, of course. Buses are available when you need them.

Eight “virtual group” masters permit you to establish up to eight groups whose levels you can gang together. Unfortunately, you can only see the “group” level by selecting the master section. I prefer Yamaha’s groups where all the faders in the group go up and down together. Easier to see and use. Not a biggie.

The Fat Channel

When it’s time to get into signal processing, you select the channel you want to work on and then go to work in what Mackie calls the “Fat Channel” section. A considerable amount of effort has gone into making this work easily and well. You can do stuff on the video monitor (with mouse & keyboard) or on the console display. EQ can be treated in either four bands/one parameter at a time or one band/three parameters. There are four different “types” of EQ, which mainly have to do with resolution and shelf/peak options.

Gate and compressor are both available at once. Stepping between functions is quick and easy and the controls fall nicely to hand.

Of particular interest here are multiple clipboard memories A and B. You can set up one effect in A and one in B and switch between them for comparison, or compare them with bypass. Even cooler, you can “morph” between A and B EQs over whatever time period you like. Incidentally, the screen displays for this stuff are pretty exotic, with great “noir” retro graphics of analog meters and knobs. Meanwhile, mouse control is really nice with really simple intuitive motions for selecting parameters and changing values. Fast & easy on screen or on the console. You also do all the Effects plug-in patches from the Fat Channel.

One very nice feature of the fat channel is the channel linking capability, which allows you to link adjacent channels for parallel control. What is exceptional here is the flexibility that has been provided – you can link or not link all the various channel features at your discretion, including levels, mutes, EQ, gates, compression, aux sends, bus assigns, panning, etc. Even better, both panning and muting can be linked inversely, so that as you pan one of the linked channels left, its partner pans right, and as you mute one channel, the other unmutes. Very thoughtful, very handy. Thank you, thank you, Mackie!!

The Master Section

The Master Section of the console is pretty straightforward, with a Studio/Solo section including a talkback mic (which inexplicably can’t be used for slating purposes)), two parallel phones feeds, a control room section with three analog 2-track inputs and 2 digital inputs (AES/EBU and SPDIF), plus the Stereo Bus pair. Mono summing is available, and separate feeds are available for near-field and far-field speakers, complete with independent volume controls that can be linked (and offset). Finally, a 20 dB Dim switch is included.

Also included in the Master section are the Assignment group of switches, automation controls, and set-up and housekeeping controls, plus a clipboard management section, some Stereo Bus editing controls and some shortcut Keys. A lot of time, effort and development work have gone into this area of the console, and the result is quite comprehensive.