 The InfoComm 2009 Show just wrapped up in Orlando, FL. Buyers, sellers, system integrator, distributors, engineers and everyone in-between were there to share ideas, conduct business and learn about technology that will drive the AV industry this year.
Mackie was there to represent several products that are well-suited for this audience. This included the all-new Mackie HD Series High-Definition Loudspeakers, which got a ton of press and impressed many a listener. Patented audio processing, specific to this series, counters inherent acoustical anomalies that occur primarily in the horn. The resulting experience is amazing and the clarity is unbelievable. And since they are well-priced, we are sure there are many an install that would benefit from their flyable design.  The HD Series loudspeakers were put through their paces in two separate demo rooms. Visitors to the Martin Audio or EAW demo rooms sat in on a slick video demo that really showed what these HD loudspeakers can do. HD loudspeakers are hitting the stores now, so be sure to check in with your dealer to see if you can get a demo.  We also brought along an AV industry standard, our VLZ3 Compact Mixers. Known for their objective mic preamps and headroom, VLZ3 mixers are perfect for systems that need broadcast-quality signal in a compact package. Also shown were the SRMv2 Series powered loudspeakers and the SRM150 Compact PA System. It’s the perfect combination of mixer and speaker that is needed in small AV setups. Apparently the show attendees felt the same way, as it “walked away” from the booth.
The show was a great success. We were able to spread the gospel of HD live sound, meet a ton of great customers and generally have a good time. Thanks to everyone who attended.
 Mackie recently held a photo/video contest to celebrate 20 years of creating category-defining pro audio gear. We asked people to tell us their story…and we certainly got a ton of responses. So, without further ado, we announce the winner of Mackie’s 20 Years Running Contest. Congrats to Badger Koon (yes, we verified his name). His house was subject to a devastating mudslide and his Mackie’s…well, see for yourself.
My name is Badger Koon and My Mackie SRM450 Active Speakers are amazing! They were totally covered in nasty horse poop and mud during a mudslide!!! I dug them out, washed them out with a hose, and let them dry. To this day they sound good as new. And they are loud! My Mackie speakers sound great for all the events I produce. Thank you Mackie for a great product. As you can see, Badger is a true Mackoid and his SRM450s weren’t so bad either. But Badger now has a reason to be excited, as he is about to receive a pair of Mackie’s all-new HD1531 3-Way High Definition Powered Loudspeakers. Each one pushes 1800W of power. If he had these after the mudslide, clean-up would’ve been easy. Just crank them up and watch a cubic ton of dirt effortlessly evacuate your house. He also wins a 1604-VLZ3 Compact Mixer. The prize is valued at four grand, so it’s nothing to sneeze at. There were also tons of other great entries, so be sure to check out the gallery. And if you have a story of your own, please share it with us. You don’t share with people just because you think you might get something, do you?
 Mackie once again teamed up with the fine folks at Redhook Ale Brewery for a fine day of summer music. Mackie is a proud sponsor of the 2009 Haul Ash Biking and Brews event. Haul Ash commemorates the 1980 eruption of Mt. Saint Helens - but, most importantly, gives bikers a chance to go cruising with their friends and knock the rust off their bike that has been sitting all winter.
Participants ride from the Redhook brewery in Woodinville, WA to Seattle's Fremont neighborhood. Then, it's back to Redhook for an afternoon of live music and, yes, brew.  When the tired bikers returned from their 41-mile trip, Mackie was there with the sound stage all set-up for some tunes. This year, we took this opportunity to test drive the all-new HD1531 High-Definition Powered Loudspeakers. A pair of each were used for either side of the PA, along with four SWA1801z subwoofers and a host of SRM450v2 loudspeakers for wedges.
 The sound was simply amazing. The articulation and clarity of these new loudspeakers was evident from the start. Even when the last band was rockin' it and the volume had been increasingly advanced, the HD1531's were as clear as day. And it was a clear day, so that worked out.
Resident Coloradoan and tech support militant, Tom Meyers, ran the show from FOH using the TT System32 (TT24, DS3232 Digital Snake and LP48 processing). A great time was had by all. There was great food, great beer and kids in boxes...what else can you need?
Mackie is, once again, proud to sponsor the 2009 Capitol Hill Block Party, taking over Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood July 24-25. The Block Party is an annual music festival that draws upon and showcases the best indie and underground rock in the US, with a special focus on its Northwest artists. Launched 12 years ago, the Block Party has evolved into Seattle’s most anticipated outdoor party. With over 40 bands on 3 stages, great food, and plenty of cheap beer, this is by far the best block party ever. Anywhere. “This ain’t no burnt-wiener-and-potato-salad kind of block party. No, this one is more like a sweaty, boozy, scaled-down version of Sasquatch, only during the dog days of summer and right in our own backyard.... The Block Party has grown from an endearing street fair to a monster takeover of the now hotter than ever corridor of Pike between 12th Ave all the way down to Broadway.” Seattle Weekly
Partial proceeds from The Block Party benefit two excellent non-profits: Home Alive, which encourages violence prevention, and The Vera Project, a youth run all-ages venue and recording studio in Seattle. In fact, one of the three major venues at CHBP is the Vera Stage.  This year, the Vera Stage will host Mackie’s all new HD Series High-Definition Powered Loudspeakers. Come and hear the world’s first high-def loudspeaker system, boasting more power and better clarity than any competing speaker out there. The Main Stage will also involve a ton of Mackie gear and the main PA system will be from our sister-company EAW. More details on the exact gear will be announced soon.
Besides providing sound for the event, Mackie and its companion brands (Ampeg, Blackheart and EAW) will also be featured in the backstage VIP area. There will be an Ampeg demo tent where artists can get their hands on the latest Ampeg gear. The crowd can also visit the Blackheart booth to demo the great all-tube guitar amps made by Blackheart. Connect up with Capitol Hill Block Party to learn more about: - Line-Up
- Ticket Pricing
- Dates, Times, Parking
- Lots of other stuff
There are several ways to get connected: 
   
For those that follow us on Twitter (ahem...www.twitter.com/mackiegear) you may have noticed that we recently came across what has to be the best Onyx 400F product review ever. Here it is: Mackie is famous to display whatever of the prizewinning singable equipment throughout the world. The musicians throughout the concern who favour calibre exclusive poverty to hit their safekeeping on Mackie Onyx 400F. Mackie Onyx 400F is a rank transcription solution, which has the transcription preamp with 192 rate FireWire signaling output. The Mackie Onyx is famous to achievement with the prizewinning good calibre and it comes with the Traktion 2 code that helps the individuals to achievement the songs on their computer. The Mackie Onyx 400F comes with a 10-channel frequence programme with mic preamp and FireWire. The Mackie Onyx 400F features quaternary store calibre Onyx mic preamps. These preamps are greatly admired and they substance a crack way and broad take of clarity. The Mackie Onyx has the TRS inserts to confiscate the equipment into the communication distinction before its gets transferred to the computer. It also has the 10 x 10 DSP Matrix Mixer and a 64-bit floating saucer processing. The Mackie Onyx 400F is meet the prizewinning transcription figure so as to road anywhere from the overdub projects to flooded adornment with its quaternary mic preamps, quaternary distinction inputs and biaural S/PDIF digital inputs. It is rattling cushy to impact the Mackie Onyx 400F as you requirement to block it in with your mic and your instruments to the panels inform on the side and the face and also to block the FireWire telegram from your Mackie Onyx to your computer. There are most octad individualist outputs that crapper be used for touch mixing or to passage the headphone intermixture to the headphone amp. The Mackie Onyx 400F has a threefold headphone production for the overdubs presented severally to the organise and the performer with an autarkical intensity control. There is an interior 10 x 10 matrix mixer that gives a set interval turn of some signaling to output. The Mackie Onyx 400F has the officer rating 24-bit / 192 rate AKM 5385 and 4358 frequence converters. The Mackie Onyx 400F has threefold broad resistivity helper inputs, which allows you to enter it to the acoustic, automobile or voice guitars candid to it and this meet allows digit to spend money to acquire an outside candid box. The Mackie Onyx 400F has the biaural curb shack outputs and threefold biaural headphone outputs on the face commission with individualist intensity controls. The Mackie Onyx 400F crapper sync in with some frequence code application, but it also has its possess Traktion 2 Music Production Software. The Mackie Traktion 2 Music Production Software meet has a azygos concealment programme and it meet allows the individualist to impact rattling easily with it. The code offers a 64-bit intermixture engine, an oceanic road count, a QuickTime hold as substantially as a aggregation of another features. The Mackie Onyx 400F comes with a plug-in clump with the rank flat of Mackie Mixing and Mastering tools. Mackie Onyx 400F is the prizewinning transcription resolution ever produced. Wow. We couldn't have said it better ourselves. You can find the full article here.
 Thousands of guitarists voted in the Acoustic Guitar 2008 Players' Choice Awards, and guess what? The players chose Mackie as the silver award winner for Best PA System of the Year. The Players' Choice Awards are the way you, the players, tell the world which guitars, accessories, instruction resources, and amplification and recording gear are making your musical lives richer and more enjoyable. (said in the voice of Quagmire) ALLLLLL RIGGGGHHHT!
 It’s been 20 years since Mackie first rocked the foundations of pro audio with the introduction of the CR-1604. Over the course of two decades, Mackie has released countless innovative products that have irrevocably shaped the music industry. Mackie wants to celebrate the past 20 years by asking Mackoids to submit their Mackie stories and photos or Mackie videos for the 20 Years Running Contest.
 We want to hear about your beer-drenched VLZ Pro that still works; the time you dropped your SRM450 off a building by accident and it powered up for your gig the same night; your original CR-1604 you still use religiously; your world-record for the largest collection of Mackie vintage swag; your Running Man tattoo that you had to get to show your devotion for Mackie. Whatever your story, funny or heartfelt, long or short, old school or new school… we want to hear it.
The Mackoid with the best Mackie story (based on creativity, originality, composition and overall impression) will be featured in Mackie’s next e-newsletter, have their own feature story on www.mackie.com and be the lucky winner a pair of Mackie’s New HD1531 High-Definition Powered Loudspeakers and a 1604-VLZ3 Compact Mixer. A prize valued at $4,000USD. So let’s go over this again. It’s pretty easy… - Remember a crazy, under-the-influence, not-under-the-influence, but should have been-under-the-influence, heartfelt, cannot believe that happened, disgusting, or funny story.
- Write it down.
- Find a photo that explains this story.
- Or substitute number 2 & 3 and create a video and post it to You Tube.
- Send us the story and photo or You Tube video link.
- Sit back and wait to see if you are the winner.
- Hopefully win a pair of Mackie’s New HD1531 High-Definition Powered Loudspeakers and a 1604-VLZ3 Compact Mixer.
Go to www.mackie.com/20yr to enter! Contest Starts 4.20.09 and ends 6.20.09.
Visit the HD site to find out how a modern, high-definition PA system can improve your next show - High-Definition Audio Processing delivers unmatched clarity and precision
- Class-D Fast Recovery™ amplification provides class-leading power in a lightweight design
- 3-band EQ with sweepable mid offers convenient, flexible control of system tone
- Flyable, pole-mountable, all-wood cabinet design is rugged, blending seamlessly into the environment
 HD1531
3-Way High-Definition Powered Loudspeaker - 1800W peak system power
- Custom designed transducers by EAW
- 15” neodymium woofer with 3” voice coil
- 6” high-output mid-range transducer
- 1.75” titanium compression driver
- Optimized wide-dispersion WaveFront™ high/mid horn system
- Ultra-compact and lightweight (96lbs)
 HD1521
2-Way High-Definition Powered Loudspeaker - 1600W peak system power
- Custom designed transducers by EAW
- 15” neodymium woofer with 3” voice coil
- 1.75” titanium compression driver
- Ultra-compact and lightweight (80lbs)
Visit the HD Series site to learn more, and to find local and online dealers
You know you have seen it. Late night, flipping through channels...maybe a temper tantrum by a young debutante kept you watching...maybe you just want to see what life is like for 16-year-olds who are lucky enough to have a blow-out for their birthday that you are never likely to have for any reason. We are talking about the MTV Series "My Super Sweet 16." Turns out that Spinderella's daughter Christy was turning 16 and MTV was all over it. Since Spinderella is one of d.Pro Series endorsed artists, we were more than happy to help her out. The party was themed as an 80's skating party, but the highlight of the even was Christy's debut on the turntables. Christy used a Mackie d.2 Pro DJ Production Console for the occasion and the crowd was really into her performance. She got some training from her mom for the event, but it was obvious that there was natural talent that could no be denied. d.Pro Series endorsed artists Arabian Prince, MoDave and (of course) DJ Spinderella manned the tables for most of the evening, impressing the crowd at every turn. Here is a clip of Christy learning from the best. You can check out a ton of clips from the episode, including after party footage, by visiting MTV's "My Super Sweet 16" official website.
 Metric Halo announces native control surface support of the Mackie Control Protocol for their popular Mobile I/O line. Mackie's protocol is undeniably the most supported protocol out there, from the tiniest fader controller to the most massive desks around.
Check out Metric Halo's press release for full details.
 Hot on the heels of the TT24 1.7.0 release which added full input/output routing, support for the LP48 card, FOH/MON linking, and DS3232 mic pre gain compensation, users can now download the 1.7.1 update. This maintenance release has over 30 enhancements and fixes so all users of the TT24, TT System 32, DS3232, and expansion cards are recommended to upgrade. CLICK HERE for to read the full release notes and upgrade instructions, and to download the installer.
 The wait is over – Mackie announces Vista support for the Onyx FireWire Card and adds Vista 64 support for all FireWire devices! If you own one of the following devices, Mackie Audio Driver V1.1.0 has you covered:
- Mackie Onyx FW Card
- Mackie Onyx Satellite
- Mackie U.Series
- Mackie d.Pro
- TAPCO Link.FireWire
If you are running one of the below PC operating systems, you’re covered there as well: - Windows XP 32 SP 2
- Windows Vista 32 RTM or higher
- Windows Vista 64 RTM or higher
Also, for users who have already installed Mackie Audio Driver V1.0.2, the new Vista 32/64 driver – V1.1.0 – not only adds compatibility, but includes feature updates, so you are welcome to update your device drivers as well. To get your updated driver, please click on the link below, download the file and get to work! As always, thank you for your continued support!
Mackie wants to interact with you. But since we have restraining orders against some of you and are flat out not permitted to enter the state of Texas for another 4 1/2 years, we thought that "social networking" might be a good way to keep in touch. To that end, please become a fan of Mackie on our Facebook page. If periodic announcements, cool photos and the ability to send virtual cupcakes is not quite enough, you can follow us on Twitter. We don't Tweet too much, but when we do, you are bound to either be entertained or bored. Either way, you can tell us all about it right away. So, good. Be our friend, follow us, become a fan...after all, we are YOUR biggest fan.  
 MACKOIDS CAN SAVE 25% ON UPCOMING HOW-TO CHURCH SOUND WORKSHOP
The HOW-TO Church Sound Workshops™ focus on both basic and advanced gear and techniques that will help your volunteer staff do a more effective job of running and recording your worship services. Whether you have a single pulpit microphone with speaker, or dozens of mics with a live band and choir, these hands-on workshops will help your volunteers get the best sound for the entire congregation. Special discount coupon for Mackie customers when you register for the HOW-TO Church Sound Workshops. Go to www.howtosound.com and enter "mackie-25%" (all lower case) into the redeem coupon box. Discount will automatically be entered Here is a listing of the upcoming workshops for 2009. More may be announced, so keep an eye out here and on their website. HOW-TO CHURCH SOUND WORKSHOP 2009 TOUR SCHEDULE (to date) Saturday, January 31, 2009 -- 9 AM to 6 PM
Menchville Baptist Church
248 Menchville Road, Newport News, VA 23602 DIRECTIONS
Workshop: Live Sound for Worship - $149/$119/$99
Register by Jan 17th for the best discount and
enter the raffle for free gear and sound books Saturday, February 21, 2009 -- 9 AM-6 PM
Osceola Grace Brethren Church
58343 Apple Road, Osceola, IN 46561
(Elkhart, Goshen, Mishawaka & South Bend areas) DIRECTIONS
Workshop: Live Sound for Worship - $149/$119/$99
Register by Feb 7th for the best discount and
enter the raffle for free gear and sound books Saturday, February 28, 2009 -- 9 AM-6 PM
Hampton Presbyterian Church
2942 E. Hardies Road, Gibsonia, PA 15044 (Pittsburgh, PA) DIRECTIONS
Workshop: Live Sound for Worship - $149/$119/$99
Register by Feb 14th for the best discount and
enter the raffle for free gear and sound books Saturday, March 7, 2009 -- 9 AM to 6 PM
St. John Baptist Church
400 N. 30th Street, Camden, NJ 08105 DIRECTIONS
Workshop: Live Sound for Worship - $99/$119/$149
Register by February 21, 2009 for the best discount and
enter the raffle for free gear and sound books
Saturday, March 14, 2009 -- 9 AM-6 PM
Pine Valley United Methodist Church
3778 Shipyard Blvd, Wilmington, NC 28412 DIRECTIONS
Workshop: Live Sound for Worship - $149/$119/$99
Register by Feb 28th for the best discount and
enter the raffle for free gear and sound books Saturday, April 18, 2009 -- 9 AM to 6 PM
Ivanrest Christian Reformed Church
3777 Ivanrest Ave SW, Grandville, MI 49418 DIRECTIONS
Workshop: Live Sound for Worship - $149/$119/$99
Register by Apr 4th for the best discount and
enter the raffle for free gear and sound books Saturday, April 25, 2009 -- 9 AM to 6 PM
Broadway Sound
2830 N Broadway, Knoxville, TN 37917 DIRECTIONS
Workshop: Live Sound for Worship - $149/$119/$99
Register by April 11th for the best discount and
enter the raffle for free gear and sound books Sunday, April 26, 2009 -- 2 PM to 6 PM
Fern Creek Christian Church
9419 Seatonville Road, Louisville, KY 40291 DIRECTIONS
Workshop: Mixing & Balancing Sound for Worship - $119/$99
Register by April 12, 2009 for the best discount and
enter the raffle for free gear and sound books Saturday, June 20, 2009 -- 9 AM to 6 PM
Mount Pisgah AME Church
5901 Cedar Fern Court, Columbia, MD 21044 DIRECTIONS
Workshop: Live Sound for Worship - $149/$119/$99
Register by June 6th for the best discount and
enter the raffle for free gear and sound books Saturday, September 12, 2009 -- 9 AM to 6 PM
Evangel Church
1251 Terrill Road, Scotch Plains, NJ 07076 DIRECTIONS
Workshop: Live Sound for Worship - $149/$119/$99
Register by Aug 29th for the best discount and
enter the raffle for free gear and sound books
 Fools Garden , a German band, released “Lemon Tree” in 1995, catapulting them to the top of the charts internationally. “Lemon Tree” was translated into over 40 languages and has sold over six million copies. Since that time, Fools Garden has played concerts all over the world to audiences as large as 100,000.
 Their most recent concert series is completely unplugged, a fairly common tour for a band of this caliber to embark upon. When their engineer, Steffan Ruthof, had to compile a gear list for the world tour, he thought of Mackie.
“One of the most important factors for the choice of a mixing console was that it needed to be high-quality, ultra-compact and, of course, deliver reliable hardware and software,” remarked Ruthof. “It was also very important to record shows with the least possible effort…so it didn’t take long to discover the Mackie TT24. We knew that the Mackie preamps have always been very good and the optical ADAT I/O seemed to have been made for us.”  Mackie’s TT24 is a fully digital 24-bit/96kHz mid-sized console which gives engineers full automation and recall of levels, EQ, effects, routing and more. And unlike other digital consoles, designed primarily as recording desks, the TT24 puts gobs of standard analog and digital I/O right on the rear panel. Not to mention being far easier to learn and use by the average live sound engineer.
 Ruthof continues, “The TT24 is really intuitive. After a short period of time, I was able to handle the desk effortlessly. It’s a powerful, reliable and compact digital desk. Working with it is really fun!”
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. Fools Garden’s Unplugged tour has been extended into 2009. Check out their website for tour dates. If you would like to learn more about the TT24, including the DS3232 Digital Snake and the all-new Dolby Lake Processing Card, please visit the TT System32 site.
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The InfoComm 2009 Show just wrapped up in Orlando, FL. Buyers, sellers, system integrator, distributors, engineers and everyone in-between were there to share ideas, conduct business and learn about technology that will drive the AV industry this year. 
We also brought along an AV industry standard, our VLZ3 Compact Mixers. Known for their objective mic preamps and headroom, VLZ3 mixers are perfect for systems that need broadcast-quality signal in a compact package. Also shown were the SRMv2 Series powered loudspeakers and the SRM150 Compact PA System. It’s the perfect combination of mixer and speaker that is needed in small AV setups. Apparently the show attendees felt the same way, as it “walked away” from the booth. 
