You are apparently looking at the 32
channel Mackie but
Mackie offers more than one 32
channel Onyx
console, there is the four bus Onyx 32-4 and the eight bus Onyx 3280. It looks like the status of the Onyx 3280 is a
bit unknown, looking at several forums it seems that
Mackie won't say it is discontinued nor are they showing a direct replacement but many retailers are indeed showing the 3280 as discontinued and a couple seem to be clearing out the few they have left.
I keep seeing some of the same consoles suggested every time regardless of the application. And that is the critical issue, the
console needs to fit the application. For example, you say "my kind of
venue", but what kind of
venue is that? What do you actually want as far as inputs, aux sends,
etc.? Do you have any preferences regarding Groups, matrix,
mute groups,
etc.? Using the two
Mackie consoles as an example, both are 32
channel Onyx consoles but when comparing the Onyx 32-4 to the Onyx 3280 you find:
28
mono inputs and 2 fully routable stereo inputs versus 32
mono inputs and 8 stereo inputs with limited routing
Direct outs for stereo inputs versus no direct outs for stereo inputs
4 Groups versus 8 Groups (all assigned only in pairs)
6
mono Aux versus 8 Aux assignable as
mono or stereo pairs
No
mute groups versus 4
mute groups
6x2 matrix versus 10x2 matrix
Integrated
compressor assignable to main mix or either Group pair versus no
compressor
Shared L/R and Solo metering versus independent L/R and Solo metering
Single L/R output
fader versus separate Left and Right Main output faders
$2,200 versus $4,600
So these are both 32
channel Mackie Onyx consoles, yet there are a number of differences between them, some of them potentially significant (e.g. one costing twice as much). That is one reason why knowing any specific preferences or requirements can be important. Beyond that there are issues such as the envisioned users of the consoles, any physical space limitations and any other application specific criteria or considerations.
I believe that digital consoles definitely have some advantages in many applications. Onboard effects and processing, scene store and recall (nice for recurring events as well as productions), a large number of channels in a small footprint and so on. However, while more and more people are familiar with and comfortable using digital consoles, there are still potential issues there. One of my personal concerns is that many entry
level digital consoles use multiple layers and most have at least some ability to assign physical inputs to different faders and layers but they also typically have very limited labeling. A visiting operator may have no idea where a specific source is and no idea of what is on
fader 6 of layer 2 until they activate that layer and
channel. You can manually label the faders as you would for an
analog mixer but you might have three or four labels for each
channel due to the multiple layers. Electronic 'scribble strips' resolve this but aren't usually feasible at an entry
level price
point. This is the type of thing that may not be a big deal for the experienced operator who programmed the
console, but I find that it can be a problem when you will have inexperienced operators unfamiliar with the
system.
LOUD has had several manufacturing problems in China. Right when they first moved much of the EAW manufacturing to China there was a fire in the plant that caused some delays on product availability. Then in December of 2008 a supplier that manufactured roughly one-third of the LOUD products was apparently a victim of the global economy and shut down, leaving them not only scrambling to find another manufacturer but also unsure whether they would be able to obtain any of the existing custom tooling or had to
purchase new tooling. That affected the production of a number of EAW and
Mackie products. However, I thought they were through all of that months ago with full production supposedly being restored in April, 2009 (
LOUD Technologies Inc. - News), so I'm not sure that is relevant to the Onyx 3280 availability. Maybe they're just slow in releasing a replacement or reevaluating some markets in light of today's economy and some of the changes to their competition.
