Mackie Master Fader 5

I like the DL32S mixer and app, but in the middle of my 5th show with the mixer, all the meters go dead and the app has no connection for 5 secs, then reconnects and works for a few seconds, then freezes again, over and over. I’m mixing every few seconds then have no control. Once the show was over I re-powered the mixer and it worked fine, but it’s hard to tell without the entire band player through the mixer. Not sure if it’s a wifi issue. But I would hope Mackie would begin to build redundant control streams or a more solid wifi system. This is very disappointing during a show, especially considering I was sitting 8 feet from the mixer. Hoping for an stability update soon!

My initial concerns about connectivity, getting connected as well as staying connected, went away after I learned to wait about a minute after turning on the mixer to connecting to the Wi-Fi. On rare occasion, I might restart the mixer to get a solid green connection, so I have learned to do that well before the gig. The online users manual is super detailed and helpful; of course, if you’re new to mixers it will be complicated. Get an iPad for it since it’s likely to always be the first and native platform (my speculation). It is awesome to have individual performer control over your own monitor mix, and I like that there are some features available only on the iPad version to reduce potential user error problems. Finally, it is so nice to be able to bring this mixer and app to a gig and avoid using the house PA (never seem to be working right) if only to AUX out the mains to their mixer and speakers. A terrific mixer and app.

When I first purchased my DL16S, I couldn’t use it for anything because I had a MacBook and a home PC. I eventually got sick of waiting for the release of MF 5.1 and spent over $1000 for a new iPad to use almost exclusively for the DL16S. I’m pleased with the functionality and features of the mixer, and the ability to save shows is wonderful. The selection of effects is nice. The RTA can be a life saver for eliminating feedback , and EQing troublesome rooms. The only drawback is that the mixer essentially cost nearly $2000 to have a useable, fully functioning mixer. A year after I purchased the mixer and still only promises of an update to the fabled 5.1. Yet another 7 months have gone by after the update to 5.0.2 and still no sign of 5.1. I bought my mixer based on the promise of MF 5.1 being compatible with my Mac and PC. How misleading to have a wait of nearly two years to be able to use your new mixer without buying new hardware to support it.

I got to a gig and forgot my iPad (and in it all my fake books). I powered up the DL16S, linked my iPhone, and managed to control a two mix mix without having the ability to load a show. Thank you for that feature. I needed a mixer that worked more than I needed my facebooks. The hardest part of this mixer is setting up all the I/O. I’m thinking OK to setup for a small combo, including recording. Having live recordings with very subdued background noise, clanging plates etc...it’s a wonderful thing. It takes a dedicated sound man to setup for a big band. Just think about carrying and setting up 12 mic stands, mics, and cables; figure 45 minutes for one person to setup.

Important FYI: So during the initial update to my firmware, my iPad jumped from the dl16s mixer’s network to another known WiFi router I use. I believe this was the cause of all sorts of bugs and the app not reliably connecting to my mixer. A quick chat with Cramer at tech support and a hard reset later, everything works as expected. So I’m posting his instructions below. These instructions are no where on the web or instruction manual. The app and mixer are great and now thanks to Mackie and Cramer, are working in sync. To perform a force update that pushes the latest firmware update to your system, do the following: Tell your tablet to forget all other networks besides the DL mixer Power off the mixer Depress the force update button between the Power and WiFi LEDs using a pin Keep the button pressed while turning the mixer on Release the button after 5 seconds Connect to the mixer in Master Fader; it should be in update mode Push the update to the mixer Good luck friends.