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Mackie (company)

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Mackie

Mackie is an American professional audio products brand. Founded in Seattle in 1988 by Greg Mackie, a manufacturer of affordable and versatile compact pro audio mixers, Mackie is the primary product line of LOUD Technologies.

History

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Mackie Designs, Inc. was founded in Woodinville, Washington by Greg Mackie,[1] an ex-Boeing worker who began making pro audio gear and guitar amps in his spare time. After founding the small line mixer manufacturer TAPCO, and later the home audio processor manufacturer AudioControl, Mackie founded Mackie Designs, Inc., designing and manufacturing affordable and versatile compact pro audio mixers under the Mackie brand in his three bedroom condominium in Edmonds, Washington. Mackie's first product was the LM-1602 line mixer, priced at $399.

Mackie Micro Series 1202 mixer

Following the moderate sales success of the LM-1602, the company moved to a true factory in 1991 to produce and release its follow-up model, the CR-1604.[2] With the flexibility to be used as either a desktop or rackmount mixer (a new concept at the time) combined with solid performance and competitive price, the CR-1604 was purchased for use in a wide variety of markets and applications. The CR-1604 became a tremendous success, selling hundreds of thousands of units by 1996 and accounting for over 48% of Mackie's overall revenues at that time.[3][4]

During this time, Mackie remained squarely in the mixer category, introducing 8-Bus mixing consoles for multitrack recording and live sound production in 1993. Mackie took advantage of the Seattle area's plentiful electronic and engineering subcontractors and utilized automated assembly machines to achieve high productivity and quality with lower overall production costs.[5] At the time, the company was growing more than 100 percent annually, forcing Mackie to relocate and expand manufacturing every year, and by 1994 Mackie had grown into a 30,000 square-foot factory to accommodate over 250 employees and US$35.5 million in annual revenues.

In 1995 Mackie celebrated the milestone of having sold its 100,000th mixer and moved into a 90,000 square-foot factory. The company completed an initial public stock offering, and introduced the Ultra-mix Universal Automation System for 8-bus consoles at the AES Convention later that year.[6][7][8]

By 1996, Mackie was diversifying, adding veteran industry designer Cal Perkins to the team and diversifying into power amps, powered mixers, and active studio monitors.[9][10] In 1999, benefiting from Mackie Designs' acquisition of Radio Cine Forniture S.p.A., Mackie introduced the SRM450 powered loudspeaker, and by 2001, speakers accounted for 55% of Mackie sales.[11]

Having made a host of pro audio gear, Mackie launched its first ever microphone on January 16, 2020, the Mackie EM91C (E standing for element) which spurned a host of other microphones. The EM91C was unique in that it was Mackie's first attempt at a microphone, and its low price point in comparison to its user reviews and build quality. Subsequently, Mackie went on to make the EM91CU, a USB version, the EM89D (a cardiod dynamic handheld microphone) and the EM99b (a dynamic broadcast microphone).[citation needed]

Name change

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In 2003, company management renamed Mackie Designs, Inc. as LOUD Technologies, Inc. (now known as LOUD Audio) to avoid confusion between the parent company and the Mackie brand.[12]

Acquisition

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On December 4, 2023, Mackie was purchased by Røde Microphones.

Known VLZ Series Technical Problems

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In 2020, a post by user "LincolnG" on Gearspace.com (formerly Gearslutz.com) initiated an online conversation that revealed a design flaw in the Mackie's Onyx chip used in the VLZ Series mixers. Others contributing to the conversation shared their experiences anecdotally and it was subsequently tested, verified, and documented, by "LincolnG" that the VLZ Series mixers do in fact have a design flaw that affects the stereo imagining. In the intervening years several others have verified the findings of "LincolnG".[13] [14]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Greg Mackie". NAMM.org. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  2. ^ "Mackie at AMS". American Musical Supply. Retrieved 2017-06-05.
  3. ^ "1990 Mackie CR-1604 Mixer". Mix Online. Future plc. September 2006. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  4. ^ "Genius!: Mackie and the CR-1604". PSNEurope. Future plc. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  5. ^ "SOS Past Articles now online (back to January 1994)". www.soundonsound.com. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  6. ^ Billboard - 2 Dec 1995 - Page 42 "booth at the recent Audio Engineering Society Convention in New York to introduce its long-awaited Ultra-mix Universal Automation System for its 8-bus consoles."
  7. ^ EQ. - Volume 7, Issues 1-6 - Page 76 1996 "MACKIE ULTRAMIX AUTOMATION Mackie's Ultramix automation system has been more anticipated than the second coming of Elvis. The company has been promising an affordable system that is powerful, easy to use, and won't require a ..."
  8. ^ Electronic Musician - Volume 13, Issues 1-7 - Page 2 1997 "UltraMix is currently being used to mix network television music themes and on several major album projects - by seasoned engineers who grew up on Big Automation Systems. Their verdict is that UltraMix is a serious automation solution ..."
  9. ^ "Greg Mackie & Cal Perkins: Mackie Designs", Sound On Sound, Nov 1996
  10. ^ "Mackie - the first 20 years". Electronic Musician. Future plc. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  11. ^ "Mackie Designs Inc". Encyclopedia.com. International Directory of Company Histories. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  12. ^ "Mackie Designs, Inc. Now Loud Technologies", Mix Magazine, Sep 2003
  13. ^ "Mackie 1202VLZ4 suffering from loss of balance - Gearspace".
  14. ^ "The Mackie 1202 seems to have balance issues ? - MOD WIGGLER".
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