Mackie Onyx Blackjack... opinions?

  • Thread starter Thread starter McLeanAB
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McLeanAB

McLeanAB

Active member
Hey all!

I'm looking to upgrade from my lovely old Peavey PV8 USB mixer (and to slim down too). It's a workhorse and has been awesome for several years... but, I'm really interested in the Mackie Onyx Blackjack as a new interface/monitor source for my DAW (Reaper).

I bought my brother in law a Mackie Mix8 https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Mix8 for his keyboard... it was a demo model from Sweetwater so I hooked it up for a hot second and it sounded pretty damn nice... I think a lot nicer than my Peavey, which doesn't sound bad at all, I just noticed a difference... it was a bit warmer, a little more present, not as compressed sounding...

Who uses the Mackie stuff? Specifically the Blackjack? I won't be making a leap past 24bit/48khz as I think that's what my Peavey is capable of, but the Onyx preamps seem to sound pretty damn nice...

I'd love to know if anyone has used it? How you liked it? Any and all info is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

- Adam
 
I'm no expert on pre's, but I use one. It's obviosuly affordable and I find the pre's to be quiet and relatively transparent.
 
Owned one from the year it came out. VERY solid pieces of kit, there is a video of them running over one in a 4x4 and using it afterwards with no issues.

The pres are nice, they are from the larger desks so you're getting good value for money. The 3.0 drivers are good but anything before that was a buggy mess.

Latency is very low, the driver interface is lacking but bang for buck... I'd recommend!

I have plenty recordings using it if you'd like to hear
 
Thanks both of you!

The 'live' monitoring is very important as well... sometimes I just want to turn on the Theta Pro and jam through the monitors with a sweet stereo chorus/flange/phaser.

And yes, ghosty, I'd love to hear a recording or three!
 
Here is some recordings:


The bass is DI into the blackjack with Guitar Rig 5
The guitar is Marshall JMP-1 cab sim out into the Blackjack
Vocals is a Rode NT1000 going direct into the Blackjack
Keys are the same, just ran straight into the blackjack

Drums obviously sampled with Steven Slate and played on an electric kit



Here is the JMP-1 into the blackjack monitoring direct!
 
Ha!

As I'm watching this vid, I believe I have the same guitar in my hands... MIJ SoCal Red! Nice...

That video sounds great!!! And I'm actually fond of the JMP-1 cab sim out - I used to use the cab sim out on my Theta (just a lowpass filter) and loved it!

The overall quality of the full sound is really nice... warm and open, much like the memory of the Mackie mixer I briefly tried... you might have me sold, sir....

Thanks for those!
 
McLeanAB":1f182oxr said:
By the way, AWESOME TUNES!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

Haha thanks dude! Grab a used one, as they are so robust it wont matter if you grab new or used.
 
ghosty999":35qeiz65 said:
Haha thanks dude! Grab a used one, as they are so robust it wont matter if you grab new or used.
Click to expand...

Already got one in the mail heading my way... thanks for the samples... I can't wait to hear more of your tunes!

Here's mine:

adammclean.bandcamp.com
 
So, the Blackjack arrived this morning...

I was up an monitoring in less than 5 minutes and then had it in Reaper and then using as the output source for not only Reaper but my whole computer because it sounded so good!

I've got some not so great monitors, Alesis M1 Active 520 USB, but everything sounds a bit more open, warm, and full now...

Thanks for the suggestions! It records and playsback like a dream!
 
McLeanAB":375ocdh1 said:
So, the Blackjack arrived this morning...

I was up an monitoring in less than 5 minutes and then had it in Reaper and then using as the output source for not only Reaper but my whole computer because it sounded so good!

I've got some not so great monitors, Alesis M1 Active 520 USB, but everything sounds a bit more open, warm, and full now...

Thanks for the suggestions! It records and playsback like a dream!
Click to expand...

Great to hear! I bought it for recording/monitoring, but generally just use it for my computer sound/music as well. Cheers
 
Glad you're rocking it! Also if it falls out of a 20 story building window atleast you'll know it still works haha
 
Update!

I couldn't be more happy with my Mackie Onyx Blackjack... I've recorded several tunes over the few weeks I've had it, and I swear to god there's more clarity, 'color,' nuance, and warmth and fullness than I expected... as always, tones are subjective (I tend to love uber clean, direct clean tones ala Alex Lifeson circa PRESTO and HOLD YOUR FIRE, and very bitey lead tones - think George Lynch with a knife), but I'm astounded at the Blackjack...

https://adammclean.bandcamp.com/track/the-killing-words
https://adammclean.bandcamp.com/track/london-rfo
https://adammclean.bandcamp.com/track/neue-regal
 
I liked the Blackjack while I had it. Liked the pres better than the Focusrite 2i2 I had before.
 
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