Karaoke Forums

My beloved Mackie 1402 VLZ pro was faulty when I bought it.
3 XLR channels were down.
I bought another one. (same model)
All channels work... But...
It's not the same desk.
Vocals sound so harsh.
My treble is set to quarter to and it still wont give me a good response.
My old desk was set pretty much knobs at 12 o clock and the sound was fantastic.
With my new desk (same model) identical settings give me feedback and poor sound. I cant use it.

What am I missing...
Going to bed now but please give me something to go on when I wake.
After eternal rehearsal I have a gig a week on Friday
How can they sound so different..?
REGARDS, jerry

Perhaps Mackie is having some quality problems with their new manufacturing arrangement. Given that the Chinese factory who made a lot of their products went out of business recently (from what I understand) and they had to find new places to have their products made, this is the most plausible reason I can think of.

I would call Mackie and tell them you think you have an issue relating to manufacturing quality and see if the rep wants you to exchange it at the dealer or perhaps swap it out with them directly. That way you have a dialogue with the company and they know about the problem.

_________________
Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ

Mackie has had serious problems with their Chinese manufacturing. The guys at one of the local pro-audio shops were telling me that with the powered subs they've seen 1 in 4 come back defective.

If you bought the console new, it sounds like there might be a problem with it. If it's used you could try the simple things like cleaning all the connectors and such.

_________________
DJ Tony
Let It Rip Karaoke

Thanks. It has not had much use.
Audibly it sounds like they have used different value components on the output stage.
How do I find out ???

Who cares? You are unsatisfied with the product. It could be a Q/A issue, it could be the Chinese factory they hired to make the thing is substituting knock-off parts, or I suppose it could be a design change. I think we have every reason to suspect it is #1 or #2, but if you talk to a Mackie rep I bet they'll be glad to tell you if #3 is a possibility. Either way, #1 or #2 might not get fixed real soon, and those products that are coming back to dealers right away may only be part of the problem. Who knows if other units will fail early, etc. Sucks to be Mackie right now I guess.

_________________
Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ

Well, I don't know much about their problems, but what I can tell you is that their products don't have much value these days I tried selling my 1402 VLZ Pro and everyone who called me asked if it was made in China, so of course I never could sell it

That Mackie is sitting just beside my new A&H Zed 14, you guy's should hear the difference, I just can't explain it, I'm simply speechless

Folks, my recommendation, stay away from this brand, I'm afraid it'll be another Chrysler

Since RCF bought back their speaker company in Italy and left Loud Technologies on their own... it didn't help Mackie!!

Should of bought a BEHRINGER --you might be asking the same questions but at least you woul dhave saved yourself a few hundred dollars !!!

-- I hope it works out for you

QFT

_________________
Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ

The reason I bought the second Mackie is that I was so impressed with the sound quality. When they work, they work very well.
I was very interested in the Zed 14 and bow to A & H.
Never knew they did a budget model. (Which is also made in China)
I don't know what to do now.
I still want the Mackie 1402 but don't think I can trust them.

Just call up Mackie and ask them to help you out. I'm sure they want to keep their customers happy, especially right now.

_________________
Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ

Well I have taken your advice.

(Auto responder) Thanks Jerry Hamilton

We sent an email to techmail@loudtechinc.com regarding:
1402 ALL responses may take 2-3 business days

You wrote:
I loved my 1402 with 3 channels down, so I bought another. (second hand) All channels work but it does not have the same sound. It is harsh, gives much feedback and is unusable. I do not know what to do except check for wrong or faulty components in the output stage. Please would you be good enough to help me with a circuit diagram. Regards, Jerry

Will let you know what happens.

Was the replacement board purchased new or used? On the old board did you try reseating the ribbon cable to see if you could get your lost channels back?

_________________
Quickness of mind will deceive the eye

Not the board... The whole unit.
Did not want to open it till I had a good working unit.
It is many years since I worked as an electronics engineer.
My confidence has limitations.

If you have the old one spray the sliders with contact cleaner. Work the nozzle into the dust screen slit. and give them a shot.

Call (800) 898-3211 and ask for tech support have the model and serial number handy. Now I dont know about Loud tech support...

_________________
Join The Karaokle Singers Social Network. Upload Your Music!!

There's got to be a way to get a good board from them, I suggest you start putting some pressure to customer service

And for the "Made in China" thing, it's not where the problem is, mostly everything comes from China and some other brands have good products. It's more the fact that Loud is having financial problems and are trying to cut corners by using lower end manufacture... I personally don't approve their strategy They're using the "If it's Mackie, it's solid" but the inside is almost a Behringer

Just for the record, when I use the term "board" I am referring to the whole unit as in "mixing board". I was just curious if you had tried reseating the ribbon cable on your original 1402 mixer. It was a fairly common problem with the Mackie's. It is a simple operation.

_________________
Quickness of mind will deceive the eye

You are right. They are helpful.

Welcome, 1402VLZPro_ServiceManual

Message from Mackie:
This directory contains schematics for the 1402 VLZ-PRO mixer.

NOTE: Not all products have detailed assembly instructions or service manuals. If you're having difficulty with a repair, you can find a list of Authorized Service Centers on our website.


215bpart1.pdf 1,791.1 K Download
215bpart2.pdf 1,929.3 K Download

Will mail it to anyone in need.

I believe the last two words contain an important clue as to what's going on here.

Jerry if you can't return this to the seller, you could try to troubleshoot a bit by plugging a CD player into the RCA line ins, bypassing the mic inputs, and see if that works.

There's nothing I'm more careful about purchasing used than mixers. There's so much that can go wrong. I've bought a couple used but in person so I could check them out. If you are shopping based on reliability though, Yamaha MGs and Peaveys seem to be holding up better in use than Mackies and Behringers. And they're fairly affordable even new.

London Live...

There are no ribbon cables.
11 screws to take the back off. No prob.
About 70 knobs to remove.
Tons of Jack nuts and various screws.
It's far worse than a laptop.
What do you know that I don't...