Rode acquires Mackie

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Jeff Romard

Jeff Romard

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I've got 2 Rodecasters and 2 Mackie Mixers in the collection all good quality gear I hope they maintain quality in both brands

rode.com

RØDE Acquires Pro Audio Leader Mackie | RØDE

The acquisition represents a new chapter in the evolution of RØDE and establishes The Freedman Group – parent company of RØDE – as one of the most well-rounded pro audio companies in the world.
rode.com rode.com
 
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I have not been a fan of Mackie due to the sound quality of their speakers being not great, but not terrible over the years. My sister had a Mackie 12 channel Mixer short out on her and not work after 3 years. She decided to buy another one though, and loves that one. One thing I will say is that Mackie Speakers seem to be very durable. Especially the older SRM series

The Thump Go 8 is a good sounding battery powered speaker I would be willing to buy if I had a need for it, but already have the S1 Pros and Stageright speakers. I am interested in the Thrash 212 Go because I would not mind having a battery powered 12" Speaker to use as a fill speaker or for better sound at cocktail hours, but I have heard the regular thrash speakers, and the sound quality is not good. I am thinking other speaker manufacturers will soon come out with 10" and 12" battery powered speakers with more and more output power as time marches on. It will soon be a reality for DJs and Bands to use battery powered speakers as full mains.
 
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I've only ever owned 1 Mackie product (CFX16 mixer) and didn't keep it more than a few years. That line just never had much appeal to me.
 
Mackie had a huge impact on the MI world. In no particular order, I credit Mackie with the following:
  • They didn't create the powered speaker market but the SRM-450 was the speaker that everyone jumped on. The original EON was underpowered and odd looking. Mackie claimed twice the power and made the input more sensitive.
  • Greg Mackie's mixer analog mixer design was the defacto choice of bar bands for decades. The original 1204's format was copied by everyone, most notably Behringer. Modern incarnations of the format are still selling well.
  • The M1400i amplifier was one of the first affordable amp models available in a two-space (2RU) format.
  • The old Mackie manuals had great reference advice and a lot of humor. Does anyone remember their description of the banana plug and the over-ripe banana plug? An old colleague of mine was responsible for much of their manuals and the humor within.
Mackie suffered some terrible mismanagement over the years. They cheaped out on the SRM-450 which was notorious for over-heating due to a heat sink that was too small. Then they ended their relationship with RCF and started making the model in China. They went from the dominant powered speaker supplier to an also-ran. I know there has been a lot of churn among their staff. They produced several poor selling products over the last decade and that can take a huge toll in the low margin MI world.
 
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sawdust123 said:
They cheaped out on the SRM-450 which was notorious for over-heating due to a heat sink that was too small.
Click to expand...

This is the ailment that killed them. The SRM-450 made HUGE in-roads to the social Band and DJ market, but the failures were so notoriously common people with substantial experience walked away from the brand for good. The over-heating was a design flaw and not simply cheap manufacturing but, combine the two and you have a quickly escalating product/brand killer.

I can recall at least a half-dozen last minute rescue rentals to DJs at wedding receptions with failed SRM-450 units. While I agree the original EON15 (JBL) was under-powered for the market it was aimed at - I've never had one overheat even while in 90 degree weather and direct sunlight for as much as 10 hours. JBL issues usually arise out rough handling and transport (cold solder joints, cracked board traces, etc.)

Dead channels arising on Mackie mixing consoles were another frequent issue. The short term life expectancy of cheap over-seas manufacturing with insufficient quality control is what really set them back.
 
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Rode is top quality gear. I have 2 Rodecasters and have used several Rode mics. The Rodecasters are the best sounding unit like them I have ever used
 
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This reminds me when Gibson bought Crewin Vega. The quality went down after that.
 
MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
This reminds me when Gibson bought Crewin Vega. The quality went down after that.
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I had posted this history a while back. https://ourdjtalk.com/djchat/gibson-sells-off-brands.50989/

At the time, Cerwin Vega/KRK had completely consolidated and there was one primary speaker designer for both brands. He and the product line manager were friends of mine. Gibson laid off most of the California staff but that designer (who was formerly from Carvin, btw) had moved to Nashville to be part of Gibson Pro Audio. I lost track of him after that.
 
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