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Malto Malto is offline
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Default Modification for Mackie Onyx 1640

I'm familiar with and proficient at circuit board repair / assembly
techniques. I have heard about a modification that can be done to the
mackie onyx boards to make the direct outs incorporate the EQ.
Searching the net reveals nothing useful other than companies willing
to charge me $300 for this option.

I suspect this mod is quite easy and relatively non-destructive. Can
anyone tell me how to do this myself?

Thanks in advance,
Mario

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Mike Rivers Mike Rivers is offline
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Default Modification for Mackie Onyx 1640

On Mar 7, 8:10 pm, "Malto" wrote:
I'm familiar with and proficient at circuit board repair / assembly
techniques. I have heard about a modification that can be done to the
mackie onyx boards to make the direct outs incorporate the EQ.


I suspect this mod is quite easy and relatively non-destructive. Can
anyone tell me how to do this myself?


I doubt it. This is the kind of thing that people who want to do it do
it by getting the schematic (Mackie will send you a PDF if you ask
nicely), opening it up, doping it out, and making the changes. But as
far as I know (and I know a lot about things Mackie) is has not been
documented for self-destruction, probably because it's too difficult
for those who do the work to create the documentation in a guaranteed
idiot-proof form.

Someone did a good job of documenting that modification on thw 1620
and posted it on the Mackie forum, but while the circuitry is similar,
each model is different. Given the amount of work involved, if I found
someone who was willing to do it for $300 and did good work I'd pay to
have it done. It's probably only less than an all day job for those
who have done it a few times.

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Scott Dorsey Scott Dorsey is offline
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Default Modification for Mackie Onyx 1640

Malto wrote:
I'm familiar with and proficient at circuit board repair / assembly
techniques. I have heard about a modification that can be done to the
mackie onyx boards to make the direct outs incorporate the EQ.
Searching the net reveals nothing useful other than companies willing
to charge me $300 for this option.


Why would you want to do this? They finally got it right after so many
years and you want to undo it.

I suspect this mod is quite easy and relatively non-destructive. Can
anyone tell me how to do this myself?


Mackie might be able to, if it's a supported modification. They have
tear-sheets available through the service department for several standard
modifications to the earlier consoles.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
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Malto Malto is offline
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Default Modification for Mackie Onyx 1640

why? because i use this primarily for recording purposes and it would
be nice to use the EQs. as it stands now, the EQs are not used as i
send the direct outs into a computer recording interface directly.




On Mar 7, 9:47 pm, (Scott Dorsey) wrote:
Malto wrote:
I'm familiar with and proficient at circuit board repair / assembly
techniques. I have heard about a modification that can be done to the
mackie onyx boards to make the direct outs incorporate the EQ.
Searching the net reveals nothing useful other than companies willing
to charge me $300 for this option.


Why would you want to do this? They finally got it right after so many
years and you want to undo it.

I suspect this mod is quite easy and relatively non-destructive. Can
anyone tell me how to do this myself?


Mackie might be able to, if it's a supported modification. They have
tear-sheets available through the service department for several standard
modifications to the earlier consoles.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."



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Geoff Geoff is offline
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Default Modification for Mackie Onyx 1640

Mike Rivers wrote:
On Mar 7, 8:10 pm, "Malto" wrote:
I'm familiar with and proficient at circuit board repair / assembly
techniques. I have heard about a modification that can be done to
the mackie onyx boards to make the direct outs incorporate the EQ.


I suspect this mod is quite easy and relatively non-destructive. Can
anyone tell me how to do this myself?


I doubt it. This is the kind of thing that people who want to do it do
it by getting the schematic (Mackie will send you a PDF if you ask
nicely), opening it up, doping it out, and making the changes. But as
far as I know (and I know a lot about things Mackie) is has not been
documented for self-destruction, probably because it's too difficult
for those who do the work to create the documentation in a guaranteed
idiot-proof form.

Someone did a good job of documenting that modification on thw 1620
and posted it on the Mackie forum, but while the circuitry is similar,
each model is different. Given the amount of work involved, if I found
someone who was willing to do it for $300 and did good work I'd pay to
have it done. It's probably only less than an all day job for those
who have done it a few times.


Jeepers - the pre/post mods to the 24.8 and 1202 are either in the manual or
on the webpage at Mackie !

geoff




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Geoff Geoff is offline
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Default Modification for Mackie Onyx 1640

Malto wrote:
why? because i use this primarily for recording purposes and it would
be nice to use the EQs. as it stands now, the EQs are not used as i
send the direct outs into a computer recording interface directly.



Conventional wisdom says never effect anything on recording. Some might
risk a little limiting ....

geoff


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Mike Rivers Mike Rivers is offline
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Default Modification for Mackie Onyx 1640

On Mar 8, 5:00 am, "Geoff" wrote:

Jeepers - the pre/post mods to the 24.8 and 1202 are either in the manual or
on the webpage at Mackie !


That was then. This is now. The construction of the Onyx mixers is
substantially different than the original Compact Mixer series. It's a
lot harder to find your way around the more densely packed circuit
board. Compare that with the fact that today, far more of these mixers
are sold to people who have less experience, skill, and patience with
electronic modifications than 15 years ago.

I think it's in Mackie's best interest to not encourage yoyos who
think they know which end of a soldering iron to hold to make
modifications, and leave it to those who are competent to figure it
out on their own. It's a screening process to avoid costly post-DIY
tech support and repairs.

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Laurence Payne Laurence Payne is offline
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Default Modification for Mackie Onyx 1640

On 8 Mar 2007 04:52:52 -0800, "Mike Rivers"
wrote:

That was then. This is now. The construction of the Onyx mixers is
substantially different than the original Compact Mixer series. It's a
lot harder to find your way around the more densely packed circuit
board. Compare that with the fact that today, far more of these mixers
are sold to people who have less experience, skill, and patience with
electronic modifications than 15 years ago.


But the 1640 is a HUGE box! Is all the circuitry on a tiny board in
one corner? :-)
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Scott Dorsey Scott Dorsey is offline
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Default Modification for Mackie Onyx 1640

Geoff wrote:
Malto wrote:
why? because i use this primarily for recording purposes and it would
be nice to use the EQs. as it stands now, the EQs are not used as i
send the direct outs into a computer recording interface directly.


Conventional wisdom says never effect anything on recording. Some might
risk a little limiting ....


I don't mind doing the EQ on tracking, if I know exactly what I want
and I am sure I won't change my mind. But usually when I do that, I'm
pulling the 2-buss to tape anyway.

But Malto has a point. What he needs is a real inline console, or a
side-by-side with returns, but what's he's got is an Onyx and that
seems like a good way to make the best of it.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
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Mike Rivers Mike Rivers is offline
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Default Modification for Mackie Onyx 1640

On Mar 8, 8:28 am, Laurence Payne lpayne1NOSPAM@dslDOTpipexDOTcom
wrote:

But the 1640 is a HUGE box! Is all the circuitry on a tiny board in
one corner? :-)


It has little bitty traces close together. Lots of chances to glob
solder between them. Here's a link to the writeup of the post-EQ
modification to the 1620. It may not look too tough to you, but with
someone who has never done anything like this before, I wouldn't want
to guarantee that it would work right after it's done, and that he'd
be able to get on-line help troubleshooting his mistakes.

http://tinyurl.com/2uplzo




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Geoff Geoff is offline
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Default Modification for Mackie Onyx 1640

Scott Dorsey wrote:
Geoff wrote:
Malto wrote:
why? because i use this primarily for recording purposes and it
would be nice to use the EQs. as it stands now, the EQs are not
used as i send the direct outs into a computer recording interface
directly.


Conventional wisdom says never effect anything on recording. Some
might risk a little limiting ....


I don't mind doing the EQ on tracking, if I know exactly what I want
and I am sure I won't change my mind. But usually when I do that, I'm
pulling the 2-buss to tape anyway.


But since we did away with tape, there is no longer any need to track with
the treble wound up so that there may be a little actually there on replay
.....

;-)


geoff


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Andre Majorel Andre Majorel is offline
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Default Modification for Mackie Onyx 1640

On 2007-03-08, Scott Dorsey wrote:
Geoff wrote:
Malto wrote:
why? because i use this primarily for recording purposes
and it would be nice to use the EQs. as it stands now, the
EQs are not used as i send the direct outs into a computer
recording interface directly.


Conventional wisdom says never effect anything on recording.
Some might risk a little limiting ....


I don't mind doing the EQ on tracking, if I know exactly what
I want and I am sure I won't change my mind. But usually when
I do that, I'm pulling the 2-buss to tape anyway.


What is "pulling the 2-buss to tape" ? Recording the stereo bus ?
I don't understand how that is an alternative to recording just
one strip.

--
André Majorel URL:http://www.teaser.fr/~amajorel/
(Counterfeit: )
Second rule of Usenet : I know things you don't know, you don't
know anything I don't know.
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Mike Rivers Mike Rivers is offline
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Default Modification for Mackie Onyx 1640

On Mar 8, 4:32 pm, Andre Majorel wrote:

What is "pulling the 2-buss to tape" ? Recording the stereo bus ?


Yes, in Dorsey's native language.

I don't understand how that is an alternative to recording just
one strip.


When you do that, you're listening to all the tracks together, mixing
on the fly, and you aren't planning to add any more tracks to the mix.
So you know whether you need EQ or not, and you need to do it right
because you can't undo it. When recording individual tracks, one or a
few at a time, you don't know for sure how that track will need to be
tweaked to fit it into the mix, because you don't have all the tracks
to mix yet. So it's better not to put something in or take something
away that might not work when you go to mix.

There's some value to using a little EQ to take out thing like rumble
from the air conditioner or traffic, that you know you aren't going to
want, but even then, you might want to wait until you mix.

The nice thing about recording with a DAW is that you can apply EQ to
the recorded tracks as you're working, just to help your monitor mix
along. If you like what you have when you're finished, then you're
done. But if you decide that you want to tweak the EQ some more, you
can do that without having to compensate for some "permanent" EQ that
isn't right for the track.

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Agent 86 Agent 86 is offline
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Default Modification for Mackie Onyx 1640

On Thu, 08 Mar 2007 09:36:38 -0500, Scott Dorsey wrote:

Geoff wrote:



Conventional wisdom says never effect anything on recording. Some might
risk a little limiting ....


I don't mind doing the EQ on tracking, if I know exactly what I want and I
am sure I won't change my mind.


I'll add to that "when I have close to absolute faith in my monitoring
system". Since I'm usually wearing phones in the same room with the
instruments, that translates to "almost never".

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Scott Dorsey Scott Dorsey is offline
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Default Modification for Mackie Onyx 1640

Andre Majorel wrote:
What is "pulling the 2-buss to tape" ? Recording the stereo bus ?


Right.

I don't understand how that is an alternative to recording just
one strip.


If you're only laying down one or two tracks at a time, it's just fine.
The problem, of course, is that you're now going through the console
summing buss and summing amp.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."


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Andre Majorel Andre Majorel is offline
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Default Modification for Mackie Onyx 1640

On 2007-03-08, Mike Rivers wrote:
On Mar 8, 4:32 pm, Andre Majorel wrote:

What is "pulling the 2-buss to tape" ? Recording the stereo bus ?


Yes, in Dorsey's native language.

I don't understand how that is an alternative to recording just
one strip.


When you do that, you're listening to all the tracks together, mixing
on the fly, and you aren't planning to add any more tracks to the mix.
So you know whether you need EQ or not


Got it, thanks.

The nice thing about recording with a DAW is that you can apply EQ to
the recorded tracks as you're working, just to help your monitor mix
along. If you like what you have when you're finished, then you're
done. But if you decide that you want to tweak the EQ some more, you
can do that without having to compensate for some "permanent" EQ that
isn't right for the track.


And I take it you can on a normal console as well. Either by
enabling the mode where the inputs are routed to the multitrack
outputs post preamp but pre-EQ. Or by recording the channel
inserts, provided they are pre-EQ.

I think two inserts per strip, one pre-EQ and one post-EQ would
cost less than one with a pre-EQ/post-EQ switch. Good, durable
jacks are cheaper than good, durable switches. Would use more
panel surface, though.

--
André Majorel URL:http://www.teaser.fr/~amajorel/
(Counterfeit: )
Second rule of Usenet : I know things you don't know, you don't
know anything I don't know.
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