Rig of the Week: Concert setup

Can someone tell me how to go from my iMac to a Soundboard. I have the 20inch dual Intel and a Mackie Micro Series 1202. I have the 1/8 inch spilter coming out of the back of my iMac and have RCA cables going over the Mackie and I'm getting no levels. What gives?

larry.parker@ncmail.net

It is mostly the reliability that I have heard about from pros that do professional installs not liking them as much. I know that the A and H are said to add a different character to the sound, but it was my understanding that most people acclaim the midas for its transparency... Anyway, not a big deal I guess, more just personal preference. I still love running a A and H GL3 that is at least 15 years old and doesn't have anything wrong with it accept for a fader that isn't very smooth anymore and that can be fixed with a little spray of Deoxit...

To each his own,
jtc

What exactly is wrong with a mackie mixer? You obviously havent used one in a real situation, and have just fallen into the "higher priced is better" trap.

Mackie mixers are great for many things and pros use them all the time for personal monitor mixes, FOH, keyboard stems, drum stems, etc.

Mackie mixers are known for not adding anything to a sound. Unlike Midas and Allen & Heath which add their own sonic charicter to inputs (which is good and bad depending on the situation).

If you -have- worked on one and did not like your results, may I suggest working on your mic placement/gain staging/processing techniques? Mackie (and Tapco) mixers are not as forgiving as other large format desks.

i prefer old tools ;-)

Not to mention, why would anyone want to use a Mackie mixer... At least do yourself some favors and go at least as good as an Allen and Heath if you don't have the cash for a Midas console.

Yeah this rig is a joke, if it were a Digidesign Venue system into a G5, then it might be cool. But this is an absolute amatuer live sound setup.

Yes, the reason Behringer has such low prices its because they tear apart other manufacturers gear, take it apart, buy lower quality parts, and then sell their own version.

I know this because I have taken apart many pieces of gear and have seen it personally.

Do they 'suck'?

I say no, because they are giving tools to performers who might not be able to afford them otherwise. You have to work 30% harder to get a good sound out of a piece of their gear, but it can be done.

There is nothing impressive about this setup. Pretty much any Logic/PT/whatever DAW rig is much cooler looking. Or you could look at any live sound engineers beaten to hell macbook pro.

Yeah, this is not really that special. I can see this rig impressing someone who's never seen anything like it before, but it's not all that stylish or cool. It's just a Mac plugged into a small P.A. If you're just playing back songs from iTunes, it'd make a hell of a lot more sense to use an iPod instead of bringing your entire computer along--or at least use a notebook instead.

And yes, Behringer does suck. They have shady business practices, rip off other companies' designs, and the build quality is not that great. There's a reason they are so much less expensive than everyone else, folks.

What's wrong with Behringer? Ummm...they clone other manufacturers equipment shamelessly, and everything I've ever owned by B* has sounded cloudy and lifeless. They're cheap, but so are M&M's.

now now, what's wrong with Behringer?