Mackie 1202-VLZ3 Compact Mixer - 120V 

Comments about Mackie 1202-VLZ3 Compact Mixer - 120V:

...an hour and a half setting up power amps, a 16 channel board (to use 3), compressors, outboard effects etc... just picked up one of these. Despite whatever anyone says, surface mounted whatever, this little board is right on time with excellent sound and ultimate portability and even flexibility. The EQ is very useable and seems almost perfect for vocal tweaking. I love A&H and Soundcraft stuff as well, but there is something eminently right about this little board (not the case with all Mackie products imho). The slightly "exciting" or whispy top end is tamed in this board -- almost like it's a higher current design and sweeter or more coherent than other Mackie stuff. It's this straight into some powered speakers and a powered monitor, and I'm eating dinner with everyone else before the show.

Comments about Mackie 1202-VLZ3 Compact Mixer - 120V:

Great little mixer. Beats the pants, shoes, socks, and skivvies off any similar Behringer boards that I've used, both in build quality and sound. I've used it about three times since I bought it two years ago, for running a medium-sized band during an annual conference. Only needed one of the two Aux channels for monitoring, and the EQ's are well-balanced enough for my needs that I haven't missed having sweepable mids. (I really need something with more mic pre's, though; hence the "3.0" on features.) I'd left some channel strip tape on mine for over a year, and after reading a review here, feared the paint might come off with the tape. Didn't happen for me; the finish is still pristine. I've never been rough with my equipment, but this little guy could easily handle it if it had to, I suppose.I'm looking to upgrade to the Mackie ProFX 12 for the two extra mic pre's, good quality built-in effects, and USB I/O capability. (Record to iPad, anyone?)

Comments about Mackie 1202-VLZ3 Compact Mixer - 120V:

Well...I agree it's a good sounding mixer for the price. But when I got my new 1202vlz3 home I put some mixer tape below the volume knobs (like probably most people do) and marked up my input sources. Next project comes along so I pull the tape off...and with the tape comes about 1/2 the paint from the scribble strip area!You'd think Mackie would expect people to use it this way and make the finish a bit more robust. The downfall in Mackie quality over the last few years is distressing. The faders on my Mackie Control developed problems really fast too.

Comments about Mackie 1202-VLZ3 Compact Mixer - 120V:

For years, i have, like most of us, been working on my demo. I'm easily frustrated, and when the sound quality doesnt sound even close to "right", it brings up all kinds of emotions such as doubt, hopelessness, you get the idea. My biggest problem was capturing that big hard rock/heavy metal guitar sound. the analogy i use is this: imagine sound quality being relative to the size of the cable connected to the mic. if studio albums were recorded through cables the size of wind tunnels, then the sound i was getting was being captured through a coffee stirrer. I tried everything that my starving artist budget would allow. a cheap pre amp, a cheap compressor, lower end recording units and software, and of course a cheap mixer. No matter what combination of different setups i could imagine, nothing gave me "that" sound. Until yesterday. I bought this mixer and so far all i've had to do was plug two mics in it, send it to the recorder and it sounds almost as good as a professionally recorded distorted guitar. I'm not looking for "appetite for destruction" quality here, just something a shade better than respectable, so when this demo is placed in the hands of someone who can get me somewhere, they dont write me off as some hack in a garage with a microphone going to a boombox. This thing is way more than worth it. Almost no noise, a big "alive" sound, tons of routing options, great e.q., the best pre-amps, and a simple construction, the price tag is FAR lower than its actual worth. If you're like me, and banging your head against the wall trying to get "that" sound, this piece of gear will stop the abuse and let you get back to why you play music in the first place. You'd be stupid not to at least try it.

Comments about Mackie 1202-VLZ3 Compact Mixer - 120V:

First purchsed the DFX12 and Bzzzzzzz. Took it back for another one and Bzzzzzz. And, the effects were not good at all. Took it back and got the 1202-VLZ3 and SUPER! This little board is far better than my Behrenger-6 or Peavey-14 and they both do fine. But, this 1202-VLZ3 is quiet with no noise, full great sound, no Bzzz, Solo button on each channell is great, great features, The quality of the bigger Mackie boards, compact and really tough. If you're looking for a great little mixer, do your self a favor and get this one. My VocalistLive 4 sounds great through it into the house system, more than I can say for the DFX12. My Ovation long neck guitar sounds Super with full robust sound. Lots of headroom!Mackie got this one right!

Comments about Mackie 1202-VLZ3 Compact Mixer - 120V:

You would think I work for Greg Mackie, but I don't. I do however own three of his mixers and must simply tell you that you get more then you pay for when you buy a Mackie. The 1202 is the workhorse of one of my smaller karaoke rig. It has endured everything I've ever thrown at it providing some of the cleanest sound you'll find anywhere for any price. It accepts all your mics, outboard processors and amps with ease and gives flexability where you need it most. It gives you a ton of headroom and dependability.

Comments about Mackie 1202-VLZ3 Compact Mixer - 120V:

I use this as my middle man in anything that involves my mic, As a Low-Cut, and Eq. Alot of Great options. No self noise it seems. And Pleny of Xlr and 1/4 Inputs for live jam recordings.

Comments about Mackie 1202-VLZ3 Compact Mixer - 120V:

After 11 years of continuous use in dingy Jazz haunts and rowdy smoke-filled clubs, my old 1202 still works perfectly. It remains like new... super-clean, quiet, and has NO NOISE! The only protection it received during this decade-of-abuse was a nap in the gig bag, which was drunk-tossed into the cable-bin with all the other jostling wires and gizmos. It has never let me down and still sounds "scrubbed-for-surgery" clean. You will love Mackie mixers. I'm buying another for my home studio and keeping the "old road dog" for live gigs. Short of very high-end mixers like Trident, SSL, Euphonics, you can't buy a better mic pre, and I know you aren't carrying a Trident console in your gig bag! The Mackie team makes the best gear for the real world of gigging pro musicians but the price is in the home hobbyist range. As it turns out, this little beast has out-lived two pianos, four guitars, numerous guitar amps and three vans. Don't even think about the copy-cat mixers. ?Mackie mixers RULE!