Mackie Showbox @ NAMM 2024

[jricc]

Originally Posted by JakeStone

I love the Everse 8.. It's a nice size and performs better than the Bose S1 Pro. As either a stand alone system or monitor (when using my Evolve 30m).
It sounds fantastic too. The App is great and I have a dedicated Ipad on my mic stand. But with that said, the physical knobs of the Showbox would be easier and better for shows. I do tend to tweak on the fly.

Agree with Jake, I had the Bose S1 and loved it, but with the 8" speaker, better eq options and fx, I prefer the Everse 8. The Bose is more hifi, smoother, the Everse is more like a pa speaker. It handled a few bigger, louder places that I play cleaner.
That said, I am curious about this new Mackie.

[RussellHawaii]

This looks to me like a must-have. I’ll wait for your reviews, but I like:
Breakaway, mic stand mounted control unit;
Included looper & tuner;
12 hours battery run time;
6 inputs including 2 guitar and 2 mic optimized;
Foot pedal for looper.
Currently using a Everse for solo, and an Elite D6-58 for more inputs and best possible sound. The EAE has impeccable sound but is 30#.

[Methos1979]

I preordered from Sweetwater the day of this post using PayPal. Today the PayPal payment was taken. I'm assuming/hopeful that this is a sign that they are arriving and getting ready to ship! I'm pretty stoked for this unit.

[Methos1979]

Originally Posted by Methos1979

I preordered from Sweetwater the day of this post using PayPal. Today the PayPal payment was taken. I'm assuming/hopeful that this is a sign that they are arriving and getting ready to ship! I'm pretty stoked for this unit.

Yep! Sweetwater just called to say that my Mackie is reading to ship! I'm thinking I should have this by early to mid week next week! Stay tuned!!

[JakeStone]

Originally Posted by Methos1979

Yep! Sweetwater just called to say that my Mackie is reading to ship! I'm thinking I should have this by early to mid week next week! Stay tuned!!

Yep! I just got confirmation from SW that mine is shipping today.

BTW, I was going to order the footswitch. But just checked the manual and it states that any 2 button switch will work.

Mackie makes a nice gig bag for it too.. but was back ordered.

[martingitdave]

My Mackie showbox and bag shipped a few days ago. I’ll be unable to open it for a few more days. But it will be a fun thing to look forward to.

[Methos1979]

Originally Posted by JakeStone

Yep! I just got confirmation from SW that mine is shipping today.

BTW, I was going to order the footswitch. But just checked the manual and it states that any 2 button switch will work.

Mackie makes a nice gig bag for it too.. but was back ordered.

I ordered the bag and foot switch. I don't do any looping yet but I've recently embarked on trying to learn (yet again). Fourth time is the charm, maybe? We'll see. I just bought a nice dedicated looper but I figured what the heck? I like traveling light and not having to plug something else into an AC socket is nice.

[GTRGUY005]

I've got my eye on one of these as my first all-in-one PA. Looking forward to some in-hand reviews from you guys.

[JakeStone]

So I am excited to try it out.

The plus for me (on paper) are:

- Multi inputs: Allowing for 2 mics and 2 guitars and the 5th input for music or backing tracks. As a solo performer. I have a guitar with dual source pickups.. So nice to be able to plug both guitar outputs into the system.. plus a vocal Mic and backing tracks when needed.

- Breakaway mixer - This is COOL. I currently have Everse 8 with iPad App. Honestly it is nice .. BUT not so easy playing live to use "on the fly". So we'll see how the mixer does for me.

This is only a couple things... Still trying to process all the features.

BUT my main concern... Sound fidelity. I am wondering if the Mackie is going to "sound" good. I have not heard much about the sound quality yet. SO this is going to be the deal maker or breaker.

[markcrawford]

I wonder if you can add another powered speaker to it? Also, is there a monitor line out (I use that for my in-ear monitor system)? I already have a thump n go that I use for a floor monitor if I don't use my in-ears. I was wondering if that could be a second speaer for mains. By the way, what do ya'll think of the low end of these 8'" woofer speakers compared to the Mackie non-powered 10s? This whole setup looks a lot simpler than my Mackie 808s with the two Mackie 10s. If I could cover the same amount of peeps, I might be interested in taking this leap.

[JakeStone]

Originally Posted by markcrawford

I wonder if you can add another powered speaker to it? Also, is there a monitor line out (I use that for my in-ear monitor system)?

From the spec sheet.
https://mackie.com/img/file_resources/SHOWBOX_SS.pdf

The speaker has a Male XLR Mix output and a headphone out.

This is a male XLR-type connector that produces a line-level summed-mono mix of all inputs
(including Bluetooth). Use it to daisy-chain several ShowBoxes together off the same signal
source(s) or add a subwoofer.

This output level is NOT affected by the main volume level and is post-channel fader and DSP,
but pre-main fader. However, this output level IS affected by the main mute button!

[markcrawford]

So in simple language for me, just daisy the thump n go from the other one with a mic cable? The main volume will control both or use their individual volume controls? Then maybe use the phone output to the in-ear or a monitor?
I know just one mix but that is not much of a worry for me. The most I would do would be two guitars, two vocals...and that would be rare. The Mackie 808s is more than I really need, however, the headroom it has with those non-powered 10s is pretty good. I don't have a feel for how much power the Mackies have as far as headroom goes...relative to the setup I have now.

[ZackPomerleau]

I do a one man band with electric guitar and harmonica. Sometimes I have to use house sound and use amp sim pedals. I’m super curious how this would do in lieu of those pedals. Very curious how the quality is all around vs the Everse.

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by ZackPomerleau

I do a one man band with electric guitar and harmonica. Sometimes I have to use house sound and use amp sim pedals. I’m super curious how this would do in lieu of those pedals. Very curious how the quality is all around vs the Everse.

It really depends on what pedals you use and how picky you are about the sound. My experience with mixer companies is that their onboard effects are marginal at best, though some are better than others. I would expect an OK reverb and maybe a decent delay (but with very limited parameters), but beyond that unless you are ok with cheap pedals, the onboard effects won't replace a good separate board.

I would love to be proven wrong, but given the price point and features, doubt I will be. But again, depends on what you're used to and how picky you are about certain aspects. In my case my small pedal board cost about 2X the Showbox . I'm most interested from a usability standpoint with the breakout mixer, and if I could scrape by on some gigs with the onboard effects, it would be gravy. But it has to sound good so that'll be the real test.

[markcrawford]

I will ask this again for those of you who are more "sound tech" savvy than me. Does anyone have an idea of how this unit with two speakers (I already have one Thump Go) would cover a small bar or maybe a little larger one compared to my 808s with two passive mackie 10s? If I thought it would be comparable, I would probably jump on this.

I will start another thread on the Mackie ppm series...I see that those are waaaay lighter than my 808s... I am 53 and I would love to be lighter with just as much headroom. I would probably nev er use more than 4 inputs.