Korg is launching two new hybrid analog/digital mixers with features designed by Mackie & Watts. The new 24 and 16-channel 8-bus mixers are designed to “combine Greg Mackie’s practical features for making unpredictable live performance mixing easier with Peter Watts’ high-end studio audio engineering expertise,” according to the announcement.
Both the MW-1608 and MW-2408’s HiVolt mic preamps feature ample headroom with 16.5V internal voltage — on mono and stereo channels. A key contributor to Trident consoles, Peter Watts has designed Korg HiVolt preamps to be “audibly more warm and detailed than their competition,” the announcement states.
Greg Mackie added features not usually found on other mixers in SoundLink’s price range, including four Mute Groups for flexible input combinations at the touch of a button, eight mono/4-stereo sub buses, and a Musician’s Phones control feature for musicians who want to hear “more me” in-ear or floor monitors, a process that is complicated to change on some mixers.
SoundLink’s digital section includes 31-band ParaGraphic equalizer with nine bands available at any one time, adjustable Compressors, Limiters, Noise Gate and 20 of Korg’s 32-bit digital effects, plus Sine/Sweep/Pink noise test tones for use with the built-in 24-band Spectrum Analyzer, and USB stereo input and output.
The MW-1608 and MW-2408 are designed for a best-in class Feedback Suppressor free from digital artifacts common in many suppressors, 4-band EQ on Stereo channels, 3-band EQ with sweepable Mid on Mono Channels, +48V phantom power, one-knob Compression and High Pass filter on every channel, Break Switch with 1/8” front panel input for background music, audiophile-grade Velvet A/D/A converters and ALPS faders and rotary controls.
According to Greg Mackie, “A few years ago, I helped create a compact all-digital mixer. For a while I used it in my own live mixing, which includes talent shows, open mic nights and three-bands-in-one-night at a club. I had to deal with feedback, groups I’d never mixed before, more feedback, microphone mishandling, timid vocalists, five mics in one band and twenty-three in the next…and did I mention feedback?
“I discovered that the all-digital interface simply could not let me make changes and corrections fast enough — too many menus and scrolling! On the other hand, I loved the digital EQ, effects, and save/recall of presets.
“SoundLink is my and Peter Watts’ hybrid solution, superbly interpreted and executed by Korg. It gives you analog’s instant control for the emergencies that inevitably happen in live mixing, but with the power of high-quality digital where it counts.”
