First live event with my mackie d8b

[tyler8wb]

when i come across the day someone will trade me my D8B for a TT24 than I will get it but realistically probably not

[Roberalbe]

I'v been using my d8b for live sound for about 6 months now. when I first set out I had concerns obout its reliability. But now i have over a doven events under my belt. The 12 Aux sends are very nice, I actualy patch then into open chanels and send them out on the bus outputs (gives quick volume control access to the monitor out.) All around this board has worked flawlessly to date and sounds amazing. Howeve this is still a (old) computer operated system so I still bring a analog board in the trailer for backup.

[High C Double G]

I know of two large hotel chains in Guam that use the d8b for their live shows and have for many years now; they have a lot of cues for lighting and music plus live mics on the stage. They recently have integrated IMacs to replace the older system but I think that is more due to difficulty with the hard drive on the playback machines more than anything else. I think it is the typical 14 shows a week type thing so that is a lot of shows and it keeps on going, and going, and going, and going… There is a misconception that the d8b is very fragile. I would say it is fragile but not more so than any other piece of gear. And I think some of the mixers did get through Quality Control with some missing solder points and other issues that lead to a lot of people having problems, but if you got one built right, they are reliable solid mixers. Just my little man’s opinion is all. I don’t want to start this huge big fight over this because I know a lot of people have had a lot of trouble with theirs to the point of swearing off Mackie and the like.

[Phil.c]

One thing I notice with mine, I have dual d8b's, I mostly use the one because most projects are under 24 tracks but when I don't use the slave for some time it plays up, it's usually a card or ribbon issue, but it's a pain to switch it on only to find problems!

Phil

[Crash]

See I disagree. While the D8B is fairly old, there's nothing really "fragile" about the Mixer OR the CPU case. I have my console in a road case and the CPU in an SKB rack case. No biggie. Amptron's stuff is industrial grade for commercial use anyways. If anything, I can't wait to use it as a control surface for live recording. Old yes, but I don't see it as fragile...

Having been screwed twice by failing motherboards I would disagree with your disagreement. Both consoles were fixed installs too. Having said that, I have to say that I was really surprised that one of the d8bs just survived a 4 foot fall to a concrete loading dock floor and appears to still be going strong. I would not say this console is necessarily fragile but it would never be my first choice in a live rig.... If it powers up, you have won the battle in most cases.

[farmac]

If it powers up, you have won the battle in most cases.

Lol. Agreed. Brave. Maybe even fearless.