The Mackie Pro FX 8 is a great mixer, it is very similar to the FX 12 that I purchased, but this is the one that I had first. The only reason that I got rid of it and move on to the FX 12 was because of the ability to have 12 different instruments coming in. I really needed a few more and 8 just didn’t cut it for me anymore. But if you are looking for a device that has built in effects and can be hooked up to your computer via USB. This is exactly what you have been looking for. UTILIZATION Getting started was pretty easy, had to read a little bit out of the manuals just to figure a few things out, the manual on the FX 8 was pretty easy to understand and it wasn’t too big like I thought it was going to be like some other manuals on mixers that I have used. SOUNDS The sound is great, clear and crisp on all of your devices and instruments. OVERALL OPINION I say if you are looking at getting this, I saw you mine as well spend a little extra cash and just get the FX 12. That way if you get some more gear down the road you will have space for it, I really don’t see the point in getting this now for what the price is when if you spend a little more you can get 12 in puts and have room to grow. Because if you use a lot of live instruments and gear then you will eventually need to upgrade from the FX 8 anyways so in order to save your self some money and a head ache in the long run just go ahead and spend a little extra cash and get the Mackie pro FX 12. But if you arent using all of the 8 inputs and only using a few of them, then go ahead and get the 8. Just make sure you have room to grow either way.
If you are looking to make some really good mixes and need 12 channels, than the Mackie Pro FX12 will work wonders for you. I have always been a fan of this line of mixers from Mackie because they are all built great and will last you a long time. All of the sliders are well made and not cheap, this goes for the smaller FX models too. There is a 3 band active EQ on each individual channel and also 6 microphone preamps with LED lights for monitoring. UTILIZATION Setting up this mixer is simple, no matter how you use it; studio or live use it is still easy to operate and set up. You can’t rack this mixer but it does have some cool effects right out of the box; so I would not mind having it as a desktop mixer. You can connect the FX12 to your computer via USB connection. All of the main functions are easy to operate and understand. If you have ever used any of Mackie’s mixers than you have used this one, they have kept the same flow and functions with almost all of the mixers they have come out with. SOUNDS This mixer is very quiet; it does not generate any hissing. The EQ is decent for it to be an analog mixer; I have had way better EQ out of some higher end boards. But for this to only be 250 bucks what do you expect to get. OVERALL OPINION I prefer to use the FX12 for live use because in the studio we already have a mixer set up. We use this for some smaller places that we perform at because it is light and easy to move around. Also we really are not too worried if it gets damaged because it was so inexpensive and if anything ever happened to it we could afford to replace it right away. You can never go wrong with a Mackie mixer.
