PSA: Mackie Freeplay refurbs $189, free ship

[dannyg1]

Dave,

Did you try running a both a TR, confirm low gain, then a TRS cable on the 'out ' end of the DI?

[AeroUSA]

Retail units don't come with a battery either. The battery, stand and bag are all sold separately but are all very good!

[martingitdave]

Originally Posted by AeroUSA

Retail units don't come with a battery either. The battery, stand and bag are all sold separately but are all very good!

The price of the three accessories is $169 through sweetwater. Just a general FYI for the group, in addition to what you pay for your Freeplay, you'll likely need these three items to make it gig-able.


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[dannyg1]

Originally Posted by martingitdave

The price of the three accessories is $169 through sweetwater. Just a general FYI for the group, in addition to what you pay for your Freeplay, you'll likely need these three items to make it gig-able.


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Including the DI? Any news on that front?

[martingitdave]

No news. I assume that he $20 DI will be sufficient. But I don't know for sure. Mackie hasn't responded to my "make an offer."


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[dannyg1]

This should be the best portable bet for Freeplay owners to get a better level out of the instrument channel. You'll probably get plenty more options with a DI but it's something extra to carry and set up. This does similar things, is cheaper and smaller.

http://www.fullcompass.com/prod/028035-Hosa-MIT-129

Shure makes a more expensive, probably better, version of the same thing.

[lkingston]

Originally Posted by dannyg1

This should be the best portable bet for Freeplay owners to get a better level out of the instrument channel. You'll probably get plenty more options with a DI but it's something extra to carry and set up. This does similar things, is cheaper and smaller.



http://www.fullcompass.com/prod/028035-Hosa-MIT-129



Shure makes a more expensive, probably better, version of the same thing.

This seems so strange to me. I've learned from experience to use only the best direct boxes because the audio quality difference is so severe. Try this experiment. Take a clean recorded hi-z audio source and two transformers and go from high impedance, to low, back to high again. With good transformers it will make the trip unscathed. With cheap built-into-the-plug ones the audio will be just destroyed. Believe me, I'm pretty frugal and wouldn't spend the premium price on high quality transformers if I didn't have to.


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[dannyg1]

Originally Posted by lkingston

This seems so strange to me. I've learned from experience to use only the best direct boxes because the audio quality difference is so severe. Try this experiment. Take a clean recorded hi-z audio source and two transformers and go from high impedance, to low, back to high again. With good transformers it will make the trip unscathed. With cheap built-into-the-plug ones the audio will be just destroyed. Believe me, I'm pretty frugal and wouldn't spend the premium price on high quality transformers if I didn't have to.


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High end DI's cost $200 and up and they arent passive. Since its a batlle between the $20 solutions, I can't see there being a huge difference. I may be wrong, I've only used impedance matching transformers like this by Radio Shack and Audio Technica, without any dramatic differences between them btw (though I've never compared them directly, my Vox Mini5.certainly doesn't have the resolution necessary for a difference to show up, I think at least).
In any event, if the Free play has an instrument plug that's really a poorly labelled hi-z microphone socket, this will fix it and it's little. Goes in line to the xlr and back to your pocket. One less thing to worry about losing, breaking , etc. With this amp, I think solutions are as much about convenience as anything.

[lkingston]

Originally Posted by dannyg1

High end DI's cost $200 and up and they arent passive...

There are two types of direct boxes: active and passive. As a sound guy, here is my 2 cents.

If you have an active pickup in an instrument (if it uses a battery), use a passive DI, and try to get a good one because the sound quality suffers with the poor transformers on the cheap ones.

If you have a passive pickup on an instrument (no battery), use an active DI because you need the extra level before you run it through a long snake. I don't really hear much difference between expensive and cheap active DIs. This is because there is no transformer and so it is just up to the design of the unit.

Now, to be fair, this is an old timer point of view, and I know some of the rules have changed. For instance, I used to be a real mic snob, but lately I've been impressed with some extremely cheap mics. Some of the Behringer and Samson mics actually sound really great (aside from not being well isolated from handling noise) and hi-z to low-z transformers may be better now than they once were. I was scared away from them years ago, and haven't ventured back in years.

[dannyg1]

Originally Posted by lkingston

There are two types of direct boxes: active and passive. As a sound guy, here is my 2 cents.

If you have an active pickup in an instrument (if it uses a battery), use a passive DI, and try to get a good one because the sound quality suffers with the poor transformers on the cheap ones.

If you have a passive pickup on an instrument (no battery), use an active DI because you need the extra level before you run it through a long snake. I don't really hear much difference between expensive and cheap active DIs. This is because there is no transformer and so it is just up to the design of the unit.

Now, to be fair, this is an old timer point of view, and I know some of the rules have changed. For instance, I used to be a real mic snob, but lately I've been impressed with some extremely cheap mics. Some of the Behringer and Samson mics actually sound really great (aside from not being well isolated from handling noise) and hi-z to low-z transformers may be better now than they once were. I was scared away from them years ago, and haven't ventured back in years.

I bypass the DI route when I'm playing stage shows and use my Made in England Focusrite Tonefactory, a rack mount mic pre that's incredibly good for not a lot of money on the used market. I've never used a passive DI better than a Radial and have always assumed passive DI's sound kind of muddy. I've used some great active DI's but only one hyper expensive, handmade thing ever blew me away. My Focusrite does the job and sounds better than every one I've heard but that lone one, and it was crazy expensive. Even a Redeye is like $300, right?

And really, we're talking about running through a glorified boom box here. I doubt that on the street you re likely to hear much difference Btwn any of the available options. One might be more brittle than another and really screech through the bullet tweeters. Maybe.

[martingitdave]

Did anyone receive their refurbished Mackie Freeplay? I ordered one and expect it to arrive Saturday. I'm curious of they are actually B stock, or just a close out.


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[martingitdave]

I received my refurbished Mackie FreePlay from Mackie direct. Thanks to DannyG, I also got a very good deal. I was able to get the bag, battery, and stand for a reasonable price from another vendor. I endeavored to solve the low 1/4" input gain problem buy utilizing a $20 Behringer passive DI400. Guess what? It worked. At least it did for me. The DI plugs into the XLR input, which activates the 20dB gain in the preamp. There is evidently less loss through the DI than the gain from the preamp, so the net is positive. Unfortunately, this unit does not play well with Taylor's ES2. There is a nasty ground loop problem that the lift switch won't fix. I have an active Fishman Stage preamp on order for use with this unit and other equipment in the future. I'm hoping that soles the Taylor issue. In summary, so far so good! It sounds really nice for a lower priced refurbished option!

Did anyone else try a DI? Did anyone else have an issue with ES2 equipped guitars?

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[dannyg1]

Good to hear Dave. Did you, per chance, end up better than $189? I dropped out of the negotiation on the fourth and final round. Mackie was moving in $5 increments, so I'm guessing that either 184.99 or 179.99 was going to be the absolute best price (or they could just have denied me and I'd be locked out of the offer option).

Are you getting reasonable gain out of the instrument channel now? Reading between the lines of your post it sounds like you've gotten some gain but want more. Is the channel clipping far more easily?

Originally Posted by martingitdave

I received my refurbished Mackie FreePlay from Mackie direct. Thanks to DannyG, I also got a very good deal. I was able to get the bag, battery, and stand for a reasonable price from another vendor. I endeavored to solve the low 1/4" input gain problem buy utilizing a $20 Behringer passive DI400. Guess what? It worked. At least it did for me. The DI plugs into the XLR input, which activates the 20dB gain in the preamp. There is evidently less loss through the DI than the gain from the preamp, so the net is positive. Unfortunately, this unit does not play well with Taylor's ES2. There is a nasty ground loop problem that the lift switch won't fix. I have an active Fishman Stage preamp on order for use with this unit and other equipment in the future. I'm hoping that soles the Taylor issue. In summary, so far so good! It sounds really nice for a lower priced refurbished option!

Did anyone else try a DI? Did anyone else have an issue with ES2 equipped guitars?

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[martingitdave]

I ended up at $175, but they let my offer sit for days. I would say the gain is adequate. But, the top end suffers a little with the transformer. I suspect the active preamp/DI will do better. But, there is enough gain with the passive for performance levels, I think. Of course, it depends largely on the pickup.


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[dannyg1]

Originally Posted by martingitdave

I ended up at $175, but they let my offer sit for days. I would say the gain is adequate. But, the top end suffers a little with the transformer.


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Well done! I don't think they would've let me have it down that far In price. Do you think yours is a new closeout or an actual refurb? Did it come with the power brick? Do you think the amp sounds balanced through the frequency range, especially on vocals and how would you rate its overall volume before breakup? Is this more in the realm of the Roland AC33, Loudbox Mini or something else?