Goodbye Mackie's

It’s 5 o’clock in the morning and I’m wide awake. I woke up around 4 and couldn’t go back to sleep. Isn’t this what happens to old men? Great!
I do have a lot going on today. My old Mackie mixing boards were sold on eBay to a sound guy from Michigan. It figures that after I spent weeks finding boxes suitable for shipping these large boards that the guy is going to come and pick them up in person. I can’t say as that I blame him; I wouldn’t trust these boards to a shipping company either. He should be here around 11.

I’m going to miss these boards. They were the best purchase that I have ever made. After my contract was bought out at WXTB, back in the late 90’s, I purchased these boards with every penny that I had left. The idea was sound, by purchasing the equipment I could still create my comedy, even without the use of the radio stations studios. I wouldn’t be shut down, or locked out.

It turned out to be a very smart move. I more than paid for the boards by doing side productions for other radio shows, voice over work, and my own demos. No matter how broke I became over those years, I still had the nicest set of mixing boards in town. At least I looked impressive, even if I didn’t own a car.

Today my studio is all digital and I have grown past the Mackie’s. Don’t get me wrong, they are still the industry standard; it’s just that I don’t need them anymore. My Tascam mixer does the same job as my old Mackie’s, but adds the bonus of high quality sound card, midi control, and DAW control. Still, nothing will ever look as impressive as those huge black Mackie mixing boards consuming every inch of free space in my studio. And so ends another era.