What separates the Digital 8•Bus from other digital mixers is its powerful software and intuitive interface. Mackie Realtime OS Version 1 for the D8B got rave reviews for its ease of use, but also generated a big user "wish list" of additional features and refinements. We began addressing these enhancements and (yes, we'll admit it) bug fixes in Version 2 sufficiently enough to keep the incoming letter-bomb count relatively low. But the requests for more features and more functionality have been constant. And we've been listening.

OS 3.0 represents a major step forward. It's virtually a from-the-ground-up recoding designed to incorporate outside plug-ins, more sophisticated patching and routing, advanced surround sound features, and much more. Version 3.0 makes the Digital 8•Bus a serious production tool that rivals digital consoles and DAWs costing as much as $500,000. But then, the D8B and its software have been designed by engineers who used to design $500,000 automated consoles.