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#61
06-23-2017, 09:12 AM
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The auction is ending tomorrow and the time to make the multiple offers/counteroffers has already passed so, fence sitters, your last chance for getting this near $200 is now...
I've done my final round of offers with them and , as I suspected, $184.99 is the best they'll do for me. The Mackie rep answered my note, from my final $165 coumteroffer, with a reply not changing their final offer of 184.99 saying that they would only do 15% off the auction price for most and that I'm now at 18% and we can't do better. So there it is... 
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#62
06-23-2017, 10:53 AM
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PSA: Mackie Freeplay refurbs $189, free ship
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I went back and checked my eBay. I did, in fact, pay $185. I misremembered and said I paid $175. My apologies. I say go for it! That's as low as they will go. Cheers! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
__________________
"Lift your head and smile at trouble. You'll find happiness someday." Last edited by martingitdave; 06-23-2017 at 11:02 AM.
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#63
06-23-2017, 01:07 PM
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__________________
"I go for a lotta things that's a little too strong" J.L. Hooker
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#64
06-23-2017, 03:29 PM
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Was at GC today looking around in the Pro audio section... Saw one of these FreePlay units behind the counter.
The GC guy said it just came in a couple days ago (used item) on a store transfer for a customer. But when it arrived it didn't have the ac adapter or any accessories... So the original buyer bailed on it. So they marked it down to $159. So I grabbed it to check it out.... Knowing I can return if no like it. Came home and just spent a couple hours with it...... It's got a lot to offer.. 3 inputs, effects, EQ, Bluetooth...Portable battery operated. Plus the free Mackie iOS Mixer app controller.. Very cool! First off, sounds really good.. Especially for it's size. I plugged in my laptop and iPhone and played music through it.. Both wired into the Aux and BT (BTW, you cannot use the BT and the Aux input at same time). Sound was very dependent on placement. Since it is small subtle changes really make a difference. I got it to sound really good with decent bass response and it never flubbed out. Then plugged guitar in (J-45 with active PU) ...The guitar sounded pristine...Really good. I messed with the Mackie app and it has all sorts of Effect options.. reverb, delay and chorus. Plus 3 band EQ. I got into the guitar sound and was impressed......Enjoyable tone. Lastly, I plugged in my AKG dynamic mic and did a little singing and playing. The vocals just didn't sound so great.....But maybe I was getting tired. So I will try it again later. I will focus on setting up the mic better. If I decide to keep... I will need to find the proper AC adapter. The eBay deal for refurb is hard to beat.. Especially if it comes with Power Supply. Although, it can be powered by standard D cells (8).. But the PS would be nice and is needed to power the unit and also to charge the optional Lith-Ion battery. Last edited by JakeStone; 06-23-2017 at 04:35 PM.
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#65
06-23-2017, 04:41 PM
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Thanks for the report Jake. When you EQ the vocals make sure to bump the mids up a good bit and the highs a little bit. And, if you do this, make sure the master voicing is set for flat. Glad you had similar results! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
__________________
"Lift your head and smile at trouble. You'll find happiness someday."
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#66
06-24-2017, 05:59 AM
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I really need more inputs since I mostly work with a second vocalist. On a whim, I thought I would check to see if Mackie was also selling refurbished Reach systems. It turns out they were and had one left at $680. From the conversation here, it looked like 15% off was the magic number, so I made them an offer of $580 and it was accepted. It looks like I just bought a Reach.
Only then did I do a search of this forum to see what people thought of them. It looks like the biggest complaint is the same as it is on the Freeplay: low input volume if you plug a guitar directly into the combo input. It should be a nice small system other than that. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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#67
06-24-2017, 07:18 AM
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Very good! Yes, it was the same complaint. When the Reach and FreePlay were released many AGFers bought them because the advertised feature set is very complete and compelling. But, many appeared disappointed to learn that they would have to boost the gain of their instruments before going into the unit. At the initial retail price of $1000 for the Reach, that gain staging issue rendered it a non starter. There were so many competing capable systems at that price point SA220, Bose L1C, Eon One, etc. The other complaint was insufficient knob control and the reliance on the app. I think people have warmed up to that idea in the interim. For $580, many could probably live with those inconveniences. My suspicion is that Mackie will release updates to these lines in the near future. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
__________________
"Lift your head and smile at trouble. You'll find happiness someday."
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#68
06-24-2017, 09:41 AM
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I commonly use either a Boss AD-2 or VE-8 to process the guitar (or guitar and vocals with the VE-8). Both of these have balanced outs, so I expect my levels would be fine if I'm using one of these. The sound of my guitar is so much better with a bit of modeled resonance, so I imagine I would be doing this anyway.
I've been looking at the Reach for a while. I already have an L1 system, but I really want something even smaller and with less pieces. One of my complaints with the L1 is that if your in a big room, the stage volume can get pretty loud when it's behind you. In the past, that wouldn't have bothered me, but my hearing is mostly gone in my left ear and not all that great in my right. I've started experimenting with putting the L1 away from me and using a small monitor. That works well but it is even more pieces. I have been kind of excited about the Elite Acoustics Engineering D6-8 which is supposed to be out in August, but I'm seeing several issues. In a smaller room it would be nice all by itself, and in a bigger room I could augment the room audio with a powered speaker. I see several issues with that though. One is that the mixer panel is at the top which would mean I couldn't raise it up on a pole and still make adjustments. With the wifi mixer approach, I will be able to switch between my chord chart and mixer apps. Since my right ear is my good one, the orientation of the reach's side panel is also good for me. I really dislike the way the Fishman SoloAmp has the mixer on the front of the cabinet. I really don't want to be blasted while I am making changes. I also have a Carvin S600B and four extensions. That is a nice system, but the battery doesn't last very long, the wireless mic sounds terrible, and I really don't like the placement of the mixer on the back. When the S600 is behind you, it means you have to either walk behind it, or spin it on the stand to make adjustments. A minor annoyance I know, but it is frustrating. Also, the bluetooth is solid from an IOS device but seems to be extremely short range from an Android tablet or phone. I don't know why this is. My biggest complaint though with the S600B is that it's been out of commission for months now and at their repair center in San Diego. What was happening is that the power would die when I used an extension on the left side. It did this with any extension and any speaker cable (all high quality). In the shop they can't replicate this so I am about to get it back as it went in. Hopefully the Reach won't be a disappointment. If it is, I will have paid a low enough price to not take too much of a hit when I resell it. Sent from my SM-P900 using Tapatalk
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#69
06-24-2017, 09:51 AM
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PSA: Mackie Freeplay refurbs $189, free ship
Ikingston,
I think you've got the perfect application for the the Reach. Putting the pedal in front of the unit (TC Play Acoustic, in my case) is the solution I came up with for my mackie units and it works like a charm. The Reach is a good compact solution when you don't need the Bose L1. The SA220 is a good speaker and I don't have an issue with the front panel control, but I can see your point. I've been discussing the Elite Acoustics amps with some folks and I'm not sure they are technically stellar as we might expect them to be. The cabinet design of the Mackie is well thought out and highly engineered. I hope your S600B is operational when you get it back. That's a shame. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
__________________
"Lift your head and smile at trouble. You'll find happiness someday."
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#70
06-24-2017, 10:07 AM
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#71
06-24-2017, 10:44 AM
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Give him a buzz. I'm not sure that I can do his analysis justice. But I think his concern was that the IC is really a car amplifier with a basic battery - along the lines of the AER product. His thought (and I agree with this) was that the bass reflex with the FeePlay cabinet will be better because of the vented design versus the simple box with the EA. Here, also, Mackie has an advantage due to a bigger R&D budget and class D amplifier design. Since I don't have one of those to compare, I can't say. I'm not a huge fan of Mackie, but I ended up getting good deals (one thanks to you) on their stuff. And, while I find some of the mixer functions frustrating, it's hard for me to fault their sound. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
__________________
"Lift your head and smile at trouble. You'll find happiness someday."
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#72
06-24-2017, 10:56 AM
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I have a Mackie DLM12 that I use for a keyboard amplifier. I was looking that could handle a strong keyboard bass in addition to the standard keyboard chording. It actually works quite well for that, but I tried it once with my acoustic guitar and found the levels really low going into the combo jack. I'm sure the preamps are similar.
Those of you that are using a TC Helicon Play Acoustic into the FreePlay should be very happy. The only complaint I would see is that having to find power for the Play Acoustic would negate the advantage of the FreePlay's battery power. A Boss VE-8 would be very similar and keep everything battery powered. I use my VE-8 with my Roland Street Cube EX (with replacement Jensen speakers) and the sound at low to mid levels is just wonderful. I use the VE-8 into the stereo line ins on the Street Cube EX, and the VE-8 gives me enough level to make the arrangement viable. I wonder if a simple 1/4" to XLR cable would be enough to get a decent level from a guitar. That might be the simplest method to get the 20db Mackie preamp to kick in. Sent from my SM-P900 using Tapatalk
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#73
06-24-2017, 11:00 AM
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Would a simple 1/4" to male XLR cable be enough to kick in the 20db preamp on a FreePlay or Reach and make the guitar loud enough?
http://www.proaudiola.com/mobile/pro...LxVhoCkCvw_wcB Sent from my SM-P900 using Tapatalk
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#74
06-24-2017, 11:03 AM
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IKingston,
This power bank will remotely power a TC Play acoustic in the field: https://smile.amazon.com/XTPower-MP-...ium+power+bank I'm pretty sure it's 12v.
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#75
06-24-2017, 11:14 AM
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The Mackie's are trying to run at a nominal level that's too low to protect the driver and they're forcing people to overdrive the amp in order to compensate (I was switching the speaker into 'mic' level to try and get more gain). I would say that the amp is looking for 6-10db of extra input gain to match, but the speaker runs hot as it is and I'm fairly convinced its not a PA speaker that can be run with other known good brands of PA speakers. It has to be used as a matched set and you're pretty much forced to suffer the weird gain structure as you go.
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