Mackie 32*8 vs Allen & Heath GL3300

[doctormartini]

In a previous post I was looking at other options to the Mackie 32*2. After further research, I have narrowed it down to the Mackie vs the Allen & Heath GL3300. What am I going to get from the Allen & Heath for $1500 more? The board is primarily for live sound but would like to record the services from it as well so it needs to have clarity for recording. Finally, are there any other good options in the $3000 to $5000 price range?

Thanks

Bob Baker

[mackoid]

The 32:8 buss is meant mainly for recording. It has recording outs/returns on every channel, "mix b", seperate control room outs, and not many pre aux sends. (only 2 pre, two post total I believe)
However, if monitors are going to be controlled from a seperate console, the 32:8 would be fine. Good preamps, plenty of EQ, etc. 100mm faders.

[bassknave]

Also in the price class: Soundcraft Spirit 8 (live 32ch version)

[agedhorse]

GL3300 by far!

[MoosBros]

Originally posted by doctormartini
In a previous post I was looking at other options to the Mackie 32*2. After further research, I have narrowed it down to the Mackie vs the Allen & Heath GL3300. What am I going to get from the Allen & Heath for $1500 more? The board is primarily for live sound but would like to record the services from it as well so it needs to have clarity for recording. Finally, are there any other good options in the $3000 to $5000 price range?

Thanks

Bob Baker

"Mackie vs the Allen & Heath GL3300. What am I going to get from the Allen & Heath for $1500 more?"


It would be hard to explain, since you have to ask.. but,, for the extra bucks,, you get a REAL mixer.....complete with GOOD sound,, and USEFUL features...... the Mackie?,,, well,, it's just not even in the same class of consoles as the A&H....

Do check out the SoundCraft too,, they are in that price range... and it is as good or better than the A&H....IF this is a permanent install for a church,, you may want to consider the extra bucks towards a SoundCraft Ghost console... you'll have an exellent console that will always do everything you need it to do....

if your budget is really tight,, consider a used mixer.. but buy quality...you won't really be saving any money by purchasing a Mackie....

http://www.hticsproaudio.com/

[mackoid]

Originally posted by MoosBros


buy quality...you won't really be saving any money by purchasing a Mackie....






:rolleyes:

[H535]

We have the A&H GL4000 in myh church. Great mixer and it does a great job recording too. I just started hooking up my little sony MD 4 track and man does th A&H make it sound good! We use an SR24x4 in the youth room and a 1402 vlz for feeding am audio mix to the cam corders if it makes you feel any better Mackiod:D

[doctormartini]

Thanks for the advice. If I was to go in the Soundcraft direction, would the Spirit 8 or the Ghost be better for doing live sound with recording capability. I know very little about Soundcraft products.

Bob Baker

[kevinnemrava]

yea we use a gl400 as well.... just a though, how much would a sound craft Ghost go for, maybe a used one?

[MoosBros]

Originally posted by kevinnemrava
yea we use a gl400 as well.... just a though, how much would a sound craft Ghost go for, maybe a used one?


I have recently seen a Ghost 24 channel console that was advertised as a showroom demo, with meter bridge and stand, they were asking $4500.00

the same place had a Peavey AMR 32x16x2 for $2000.

AMR's are highly under-rated mixing consoles... exellent quality for the budget minded...

[J Kylez]

I have heard nothing but great things about the A&H mixer although I have never used that model. On the other hand here is my opinion of the Mackie 32-8.....

I own a Mackie 32-8. This board will never again leave my studio unless I sell it to upgrade. Don't get me wrong I don't believe it is a terrible board. It definitely does it's job. It's got tons of inputs and outputs for easy studio use. It has handled many live jobs for me. But..... I have had numerous banks of channels acting flaky and aux's not working and outputs dying out when this board was on the road. This was due to poor ribbon cable connections. I spent more time taking this thing apart and wondering if was gonna work right than mixing some weeks. As long as it stays stationary it works wonderfully. I don't find the sound quality that bad either. It does the job for me for the time being.

Bottom line, I don't really recommend this console for live work although I have done it with good results. It is a nice inexpensive studio board for home recording artist. But again, this is my experience and opinion.....

[bobdoddle]

As far as Soundcraft goes, for a little extra money, the Series TWO would be a better choice than the Spirit 8. I am not sure how the Ghost would compare.

[GenL]

Originally posted by MoosBros


if your budget is really tight,, consider a used mixer.. but buy quality...you won't really be saving any money by purchasing a Mackie....

http://www.hticsproaudio.com/

This is good advice from a user directly from the "real on the road" world.

Look on those riders..... we have never seen a mackie on it. :)
Look on a concert........ we have never seen a mackie FOH there. :)

Look on the repair tables: we have seen MANY mackie's there !! :D :D :D

[OneEng]

Mackie offers good quality and features for the money IMHO. I started with a Mackie 808M powered mixer which has the same mic preamps as the VLZ line. I still have this mixer and use it for monitors; however, my main mixer is an Allen & Heath MixWiz WZ16DX2.

From direct comparison I can tell you that the difference in tonal quality between the two was VERY noticable.

I don't want you to think that the Mackie is junk becuase it isn't. I had better tone with that little mixer than many bands with full rigs that I had heard, but the A&H isn't in the same catagory as Mackie.

I paid 1K for my MixWiz new. The used ones were going for $800-900 on ebay. This is a testiment to just how good they are. They retain their value quite well.

Soundcraft is reputed to be at or above A&H in sound quality. I have priced their equipment and it is even higher than A&H.

[kevinnemrava]

okay first off mackie has 2 differant 32*8 .. the recordding one and SR32-8 the live one... they are very different... the recording one is okay for recording.. DON't use it for live.. not enough aux sends.

we use the GL4000 works well. butyou should also look at the ghost ( if it is installed.. I don't think this would travel well) as well as the other soundcraft line. the LIVE mackie..SR32-8 is also worth a look. BUT PLEASE TAKE IT FROM ME BUY ONCE AND BUY THE RIGHT ONE! the church that I often work for has bought 4 mixers wasting over 5-6000$ .. all becasue they coun't bite the bullet in the first place.

cheers. and might I suggest that you contact other churchs inthe area .. see what they use and how well it is working for them.

[J Kylez]

Originally posted by kevinnemrava
okay first off mackie has 2 differant 32*8 .. the recordding one and SR32-8 the live one... they are very different... the recording one is okay for recording.. DON't use it for live.. not enough aux sends.

Mackie has a SR32-4. The SR series has no 8 bus consoles until the 40-8 and 56-8. There is only one 32-8. The aux's are the same on both the SR32-4 and the 32-8. 2 Pre, 2 Post with 3-4 5-6 switchable. Just thought I would clear that up.

You can also get creative and use the Mix B outputs for 2 more aux's live. This console is a little bulky to be transporting though. It is designed for recording.

[OneEng]

You can also get creative and use the Mix B outputs for 2 more aux's live. This console is a little bulky to be transporting though. It is designed for recording.
AMEN!

I personnaly wouldn't consider a mixer that doesn't fit in a 19"space rack top. The hookup nightmare alone would disuade me from that mess!

16 channels is more than enough if you submix the drums. The convience of having all the PA signal processing gear in a single case is way too high for me to even consider a larger mixer..... but then I may be a bit on the lazy side ;)

[dalon]

Hi! How would you guys compare the Soundcraft and A&H small mixers? The mixwizard compared to the M-series from Soundcraft?

[tubes4tone]

I would highly recommend the A&H GL3300. Our church has one and it is a pleasure to mix on. It has already been noted that the Mackie 32.8 is not meant for Sound Reinforcement (few Aux sends, etc.). The 3300 however has 8 fully accessible Aux sends. It always bugs me when manufacturers make the Aux send controls switchable (Mackie!): impossible for live use!

Go for the A&H. It has all of the "normal" features of a quality board and is easy and intuitive to use. It also has a few "extras" like auxiliary busses and switchable Aux/Submix faders which may or may not be useful to you AT THIS TIME. I would say it's a great console that should last you well into the future.

[tomhole]

For that budget, consider a Yamaha DM1000 with 2 ADA8000's. Less than $5k and all the kit you'll ever need.

Tom

[MaelstroM]

tubes4tone, tomhole- i agree with your respones but this thread is almost 2 years old :eek:


dalon- you should probably start a new thread and you will get some good responses.

[dirtyragamuffin]

Wow, old thread.

I own a GL3300-824A. It was purchased for both live and recording work. I have ended up using it much more for recording and have not been disappointed. Flexible routing, good ergonomics, nice sound--a bit warm, and smooth. Pres have plenty of headroom and the EQ is smooth, musical, and on the sweet side. Gotta love the VUs :)

It is in a different league from and will hold its value moreso than the Mackie

[dmb182]

One thing i will say for that particular mackie console. It's probably the best EQ they've ever made. Yes better than there brand changing ONYX line. The bandwidth control on the high mid's is amazingly effective. And i used 3 of these consoles in clubs for years. Each one of them probably got over 2000 shows on them. Still work. Great lil console. Not defending Mackie as a brand, but that particular board was certainly a step up for them.

Allen & Heath's are fine, kind of an odd gain structure on the ones' i've used though. Not a fan of soundcraft's. Think they are overpriced for what they are. If you have the money for a sound craft, then you can probably buy a Midas Venice, and that board is certainly the top EQ in this class.

[stevie j]

Allen & Heath's are fine, kind of an odd gain structure on the ones' i've used though.

How so?

They're probably the most popular mixers ever made, I wouldn't call anything about them odd

[Flogger59]

www.apb-dynasonics.com

[gspointer]

Holy ancient thread batman.

[samkokajko]

Isn't a DM1000 more studio based?

[bassred]

GL3300 is a great board. No complaints, loved working with it.

Mackie (either one) 32-8 is not on the same level, IMHO.

[Markwirez]

I have been using the 32x8 for a while as my "B" board and I believe its time to replace it and/ or retire it to a mobile recording setup. I have used it for FOH, Monitors (kind of hard at times) and some recordings but I do believe it to be a good recording board. I Like my Crest V12-48 as my FOH board its just large to haul around for smaller shows. Are the Allen & Heath Boards that good to for a dual purpose board (mixed FOH/monitors).


A while back Crest Had a bunch of there Large format console designers Leave and start up there own Company. (I think this is right from what read of Internet scuttlebutt) I saw the link to www.apb-dynasonics.com and I was wondering if this was them?


In your personal opinions, what would be a good new console to run with the same capabilities of the same range as the 32x8 board?

[agedhorse]

How about a used Crest X series or XVCA series if you like the V12? Good compromise and well built. Note the X series is availabe in a 4 bus and 8 bus config.

[brent2_0]

GL3300 by far!

no question!
all of the GL consoles are fantastic
if you were doing recording then yeah that mackie actually is a great console for recording. and it technically as 6 aux's but theres a 5,6 shift switch on sends 3,4