TT24 Hits the Road

The new Mackie TT24 Digital Live Console proves itself in the varied working environments of outdoor parties and festivals, bars and a Sunday morning service, leaving behind slack-jawed saints and sinners in its wake.

Northwest Church

Leading the digital revelation, the TT24 found a new home in the 540-seat Northwest Foursquare Church in the Seattle suburb of Federal Way. Why? Well, according to Northwest's Audio Service Coordinator Justin Warbreck, ramp up time with the TT24 is minimal and its performance is heavenly:

"It took about 10 minutes to adjust... The TT24's small footprint is also a great thing for live work. I've got 48 channels right within arm's reach, and I don't have to run from one end of the board to the other."

Even longtime Worship Arts Pastor Warren Hendrickson repented from his Doubting-Thomas ways when he heard the TT24:

"The TT24 Digital Live Console sounds very natural. The highs are clearer and the lows are less muddy than other, more expensive, digital mixers I've used. The TT24's accuracy has actually made mic placement more of an issue, because now we can really hear a lot of stuff that previously wasn't clear." He adds, "Churches don't need to be afraid of digital anymore. A lot of smaller churches in particular have been intimidated by the cost and complexity issues, but with a console like the TT24, it's simply not an issue anymore."

To read more about the Northwest Foursquare Church's conversion from analog to digital with the Mackie TT24 Digital Live Console, check out the September-October issue of Technologies for Worship Magazine.

Sunset Tavern

Nestled in the Seattle, Wash. neighborhood of Ballard, the Sunset Tavern is one of the city''''s musical hot spots, featuring nightly shows of Seattle's very best up and coming bands. John Randolph, Sunset's sound engineer, got the opportunity to take the TT24 out for spin. The salivation factor was high, but luckily we had a supply of towels to keep the console dry:

"I have worked on some larger boards in bigger rooms – the Allen & Heaths at the Crest, Neumo's, and the Fillmore – as well as the large Yamahas at the Henry Fonda Theater and the Crystal Ballroom. I'm able to do more setups on the TT24 with less confusion as to the signal flow."

Capital Hill Block Party / Bite of Seattle

Each summer in Seattle, food and music lovers of all stripes anticipate two of the most popular events in the Emerald City – The Bite of Seattle and the Capital Hill Block Party, which both highlight the best musicians Seattle has to offer. This year, behind it all was locally renowned Front of House engineer Fausto Torres and the Mackie TT24 Digital Live Console:

"It only took me about 15 minutes to become comfortable with the TT24. I was astonished with how much I could do with it. Each of the outdoor venues offered challenges that I had to be prepared for, and the TT24 allowed me to make adjustments quickly, without compromising the sound of each act."

One feature Fausto found especially useful was the versatility of the Aux mode functions:

"It's great to be able to see the auxes through the faders. And I was able to go from aux to aux, mix to mix right away – the TT24 really is a joy to work with."

Check out the pictures of The Bite and the Block Party over on the right.

Red Hook Moonlight Cinema

Each summer, the Red Hook Brewery (located in Mackie's Woodinville, WA backyard) celebrates the rare Northwest sunshine with outdoor live music; a classic movie projected on a huge inflatable screen, and of course, rivers of Red Hook's famous suds. Of course, being the friendly neighbors that we are, Mackie takes care of the sound system.

Naturally, we were eager to use the TT24 in an outdoor situation that required us to run FOH for the band, then quickly reconfigure and take care of the audio feed for the film. The Aux and Matrix modes on the TT24 handled the task with ease and left us with enough time to spare for an adult beverage or two.

Slide your mouse to the right and check out the pictures.