I need to upgrade my 16‑channel Mackie 1604VLZ mixer to 32 channels, but there is a cash problem. The price difference between 16‑ and a 32‑channel mixers seems disproportionately high. I was wondering if I could solve the problem by chaining two 1604s together. I'm not too sure what disadvantages there might be, particularly regarding hooking up effects units and so forth.
Leon van Wyk
Assistant Editor Mike Senior replies: Normally, if you want to use two mixers simultaneously, you have to use one of them as a submixer, feeding its main outputs to a couple of inputs on the master mixer (for example a stereo return). While this approach increases the number of inputs, EQs and faders, it does have a number of operational drawbacks.
The first problem is that mixers combined in this way don't have access to the same auxiliary busses, unless you also route the aux outputs of the submixer to channels on the master mixer. However, if you do implement this routing then you've already lost the use of six channels.
Luckily, in your particular case, Mackie have foreseen this eventuality, and have a ready‑made solution to this problem. Their Mixer Mixer (sic) is a patchbay‑like unit which sums all the available outputs of up to three Mackie 1604s, therefore allowing them all to access combined master, secondary master, monitor and auxiliary busses. This product isn't currently listed on Mackie's web site, but I have contacted Mackie UK, who have told me that it is still in production, costing £184.64 including VAT. If you don't have the necessary patch cords to connect up the mixers, then you can also buy a batch of these (the CordPack) from Mackie for £49.51 including VAT. What's more, Mackie also provide a remote fader for ganged control over the summed mix outputs, at £63.79 including VAT. When you add up all these costs, they come to a grand total of £297.94, and, if you factor in the cost of an extra 1604VLZ (currently retailing new in its updated Pro version at over 900 pounds), this is hardly a super‑budget solution.
Furthermore, neither the submixer nor the Mixer Mixer approaches can solve the second problem with combining mixers, namely that a solo button on one mixer will not mute channels on the other. This is where a single 32‑channel mixer will usually still score over a combined 2 x 16‑channel system. On the other hand, with a 2 x 16‑channel system you still have the option to use both halves of it independently.