Mackie 24.8Bus, 32.8Bus Specifications

RECORDING AND PA CONSOLES

7/1/95

Since its
introduction, Mackie
Designs’ 8•Bus Series con­soles have proven that
excellent sonic quality,
practical features and ex­treme durability needn't
mandate a premium price.
In hundreds of SR and
recording installations, the
32•8, 24•8 and 16•8 deliver
performance previously
only found in consoles
costing far more.

Instead of offering
dozens of mix-and-match
input and output module
options, we have put more
of what most users need
into a single console de­sign — enabling us to make
them in quantities which
can bring costs down.

All three 8•Bus consoles
and the 24•E expander offer
extensive monitoring, 4-band
EQ, accurate, logarithmic
taper faders and expansive,
forgiving headroom. Equally
as important, they are built
to withstand the rigors of the
environment and the casual,
untrained user. 8•Bus con­soles have withstood
hundreds of thousands of

miles of

touring,

toppling

monitors

during major
earthquakes, and every
possible liquid that ever got
near a mixing board.

A complete system

The 8•Bus console line
consists of three in-line
consoles, the 32x8x2 32•8,
the 24x8x2 24•8 and the
16x8x2 1 6•8.

The 24•8 and 32•8 are
expandable with Mackie's
24•E Expander console. The
24•E consists of 24 input
channels and tape returns.
It connects to the 32•8 or
24•8 via a proprietary cable.
Multiple 24•E expanders
may be daisy chained to
provide 128 or more total
input channels. The 24•E's
outputs are pre-mixed in
the expander to reduce line
noise, thermal noise and to
maintain sonic quality at
the main console.

All three consoles and
the 24•E are shipped with
Mackie's rugged 220-watt
triple-regulated power
supply. Meter bridges and

RELATED PRODUCTS

8•BUS MIDI AUTOMATION

METER BRIDGES

FLOOR STANDS & SIDE CAR

MORE INFORMATION

8•BUS ARCHITECTS’ AND

ENGINEERS’ SPECIFICATIONS

8•BUS COLOR

T ABL OID BROCHURE

FEATURES

■ Each channel includes

Mackie’s famous mic
preamp and a –10/+4
switchable tape return

■ Eight assignable sub-

masters and a L/R mix
master

■ 4-band EQ with true

paramatric (3-control)
HI MID, LO CUT filter

■ Extensive routing

capabilities

■ Available in 16, 2 4 and

32 channel versions

■ Optional Meter Bridges

available

■ Optional 24•E Expander

console available
(for 24•8 and 32•8 only)

■ Rugged all-metal

chassis

■ In-line monitoring

effectively doubles your
input channels

®

In-line FLIP r everses tape and mic/line
inputs between channel strip and Mix-B/
Monitor section.

AUX SENDS 1-2 — PRE button selects

pre-fader/post EQ or post- fader/post EQ.

AUX 3-4 / 5-6 — SHIFT changes 3-4 to

5-6. SOURCE selects signal source of A UX
3-4/5-6 from channel strip or channel’ s
Mix B/Monitor send so you can build an
effects mix (pre or post-MIX-B level) to
assign to phones during tracking.

True par ametric, 3-control HI MID EQ that
has seasoned engineers swooning
(quotes and raves on file…we’ re not
kidding). Ultra-wide 500-18k frequency
sweep range; bandwidth can be adjusted
from a very wide 3-octave width to a very
narrow 1/12-octave width. 15dB boost/cut.

LO MID EQ with ultra-wide 45Hz-3K sweep ,

15dB boost/cut.

±

15dB shelving HI (12kHz) & LO (80Hz) EQ.

Multipurpose 18dB/oct. LO CUT filter
@75Hz. Cleans up “mix mud,” cuts PA
rumble, creates a “neo-peaking” bass
control when used with LO shelving boost.

Independent MIX-B (Monitor) section with
pan, level & source. D uring mixdown, use as
extra pre-fader ster eo AUX send or double
your inputs.

Mix-B SPLIT EQ assigns HI & LO EQ to Mix-B.

MIX-B SOURCE selects from flip switch or

channel strip (pre-fader) for in-line
monitoring while recor ding or provides an
extra stereo aux bus .

steel stands are available for
each console.

In addition, a “side car”
stand is available. The SideCar
has 11 rack spaces for patch
bays, external processors or
console power supplies.

Mackie Designs also offers
an external MIDI automation
system consisting of a 34­channel VCA gain cell that
connects to the 8•Bus con­sole via insert points, a fader
pack and Macintosh™ auto­mation software.

Quality construction

throughout

Mackie Designs mixers have
a well-established reputation
for reliability. The road-rugged
8•Bus console series is no
exception.

The console chassis em­ploys a monocoque design
with seamless main front
and bottom panels. Besides
eliminating the bulky frame
that holds modules in a
conventional console, the
8•Bus's design resists twist­ing forces that can plague
many consoles. The less
twisting, the less potential
service problems.

Channel strip circuitry is
located on 8-channel,
fiberglass, double-sided
through-hole-plated
circuit boards. The
circuit boards are
firmly attached

to the control surface sheet
metal via brass standoffs. A
special impact-absorbing knob
design limits downward travel
in the event of impact. Any fur­ther stress is spread across the
circuit board. The result is a
design that is virtually impervi­ous to the kind of damage that
is common with vertical chan­nel module circuit boards.
During the 1994 Los Angeles
earthquake, scores of Mackie
8•Bus consoles received the
full force of falling monitors.
Most survived with little more
than a few shattered knobs.

All rotary potentiometers are
sealed to prevent liquid and
particle contamination. Internal
interconnects are gold-plated.

1

All

/4" input jack sleeves are
solid metal and create a firm
electrical contact with the main
chassis. In combination with an
internal shunting capacitor, this
configuration keeps RFI away
from the console's main circuit
boards where it can add noise.
XLR inputs use ferrite beads to
achieve the same purpose.

Mic preamps that can

handle any input

The latest version of our very
low impedance preamplifier
design provides high head­room with a verifiable E.I.N.
spec of –129dBm and 10Hz to

300kHz bandwidth.

Constant power , buffered PAN pot for rock­solid panning.

Overload LED and Hyperactive –20dB Signal
Pr esent LED

Selectable SOLO with CHANNEL METER-

ING allows soloing in full stereo perspec-

tive; displays soloed channel operating
level on master L/R meters so input trims
can be adjusted for optimum levels .

24•E 8•Bus Expander

All 8•Bus preamps use
conjugate-pair, large-emitter­geometry transistors instead of
off-the-shelf integrated circuits.
At any gain setting, you get the
additional headroom and ultra­low noise previously only found
in far more expensive consoles.
They can handle virtually any
live source — including scream­ing singers and loud drum kits
— without overload.

The 8•Bus channel strip

The 8•Bus input channels'
physical layout and features are
detailed on the next pages of this
product information sheet. Note
that, although each channel strip
is relatively dense, all controls are
easily accessible. Knobs are large
enough — and sufficiently far
apart — for even the largest fin­gers. Markings are legible, even
in low-light situations.

The four-band EQ section is
placed lower on the strip than
the AUX sends for easy access
during sessions. Within the EQ
section, the high and low shelv­ing controls have been placed
next to MIX-B, since their op­eration can be transferred to
the monitor section. A sharp Hi
pass filter is included for P A
applications.

Within the MIX-B monitor
section, is a Source switch. In
the Channel (down) position,
MIX-B is connected to the
same point in the circuit as the
channel fader input. It provides
a second, independent stereo
mix from the main channel
signal that is handy for broad­cast feeds, 2-track recording,
routing to another zone in a
church or club, or an extra set
of aux sends.

8•Bus channel and bus fad­ers are a special design that
provides true logarithmic taper.
These smooth, 100mm faders
use a complex network of addi­tive resistive elements that
combine at various points

7/1/95

6 STEREO AUX RETURNS. All hav e 20dB

gain, Solo and can be used in stereo &

mono. 1 & 2 ar e pannable & bussable.

3 & 4 are assignable to the phones for

“wet” monitoring.

6 AUX SENDS with Solo and Solo LED .
T ALKBACK assigns to all submasters ,

main mix, AUX 1, AUX 2 or Phones 1 & 2.

SOLO level adjust and ultra-rude LED .

MONITOR section with separ ate Control

Room & Studio levels. S ource selection

between L/R mix, Mix-B, T ape & External.

Can be switched to Mono .

TWO SEP ARA TE HEADPHONE

SECTIONS can be used totally indepen-

dent of each other . Each features sour ce

selection between Control Room & any

combination of AUX 3/4, AUX 5/6, Mix-B

or External source. Solo allows control

room to hear what musicians are

hearing in their headphones.

MIX B/MONITOR section can be used as

an independent stereo out for PA

monitor mix, 2-track recor ding,video/

broadcast feed or assigned to L/R mix.

–40 to +10 bar graph LED DISPLA YS for

each sub-master & Solo/Main (with

main L/R +22dB CLIP LEDs).

EXP ANSION CONSOLES let you add

channels in banks of 24 to either the

24•8 or 32•8. Expanders have their own

internal mix amps so the main board

only “sees” one extr a channel per

expansion console.

Trick BUS SOL O switches send odd-

numbered buses to the left speaker and

even-numbered buses to the right

speaker — unless you’ve pr essed the

respective MONO L&R button. When a

bus has been mono-ed, SOLO sends the

bus to both speakers.

L MIX/R MIX & MONO L& R buttons assign

buses to main L/R stereo bus .

Built-in talkback MIC.