Mackie Big Knob Studio+ 4x3 Studio Monitor Controller and Interface Reviews

This thing is great buy a snake and you can record from another another room. The talk back button is a game changer.

I was compelled to write a review countering the hissing/buzzing claims. Yes, this unit may produce that 'buzzing' sound when these two conditions are met:

(1) connecting the bigknob and (whichever) monitors you have to an improperly grounded outlet/power strip, and
(2) cranking up the volume at levels a human shouldn't be listen music to

I've also found that if you turn off the interface and leave your speakers on, the buzzing is very noticable...maybe that's what most are referring to? Once the unit is turned on, it all goes way.

Can't stress this enough - Get yourself a QUALITY powerstrip! I'm using the Rocket Socket Technology ASD102 (about $32 bucks). Hek, if you have the budget, get yourself a Furman! Don't listen the nay sayers. Once persoon even gave this unit 2-3 stars because it shocked them...

This is a quality product!! features are amazing!

I purchased the Big Knob a while back, and couldn't imagine life without it at this point. I simply wanted a monitor controller right next to my keyboard, so that I can quickly adjust volume, dim, mute, and select between various speakers.
Some folks seem to not like the USB feature, or the pre-amps, but I do not use this device for that. Oh and no more having to load a plug in to check my mix in Mono - its all right here.
I have found zero coloration from this device, using Sonarworks comparing the sound of my speakers connected directly from my interface vs my speakers connected to this device.
If you have multiple speakers or are contemplating adding a sub to your rig, certainly keep this on your short list.

This gear is superb and solves many problems I had in my small home studio. Everything connects and runs through it.
It is well built, well designed and easy to use. I love this puppy!

This unit has some really solid features, first off the audio driver is supper responsive on my Windows 10 PC as it plays really well with the integrated audio on the PC. Second the clarity for just 44hz is supper clean compared to high quality audio interfaces I have owned before, next the tabletop interface & Big Knob is great and it works with or without a USB connection, now onto the input I'm using a Fractal Audio AX8 via the XLR inputs and the device is nothing short of amazing for the clarity and purity of the sound it captures, all of the detail that the AX8 is delivering is stunning the headphone output is fantastic, there is so much headroom with big and loud volume that you will never say this headphone amp is not powerful enough unlike other disappointing units I have owned over the years, oh yea and the unit is really solid built just like a Mackie is famously known for all in all this unit for me is a great feature vs. value.

If you don"t have a monitor controller you need one. I don"t know how I made without one. Made my job much easier engineering.

The product does exactly what it is advertised to do. Right out of the box, you can feel how sturdy it is. All buttons, knobs, inputs and outputs worked. Being mostly a live player - I have never needed much of a home studio set-up, but as more and more material and equipment are only in the digital domain, the USB interface was a requirement. The addition of 2 Mic Pre's is great. Ergo my set-up is: two mics for guitars and vocals, stereo keys, 2 additional guitar inputs, + two stereo inputs for both IPOD and an additional stereo input. This is all cabled to two sets of different sized reference monitors, a sub, a notebook pc, a FaderPort and a 40 inch video monitor via HDMI from the PC.

The printed quick start guide gives you what you need - and the PDF manual gives you the subtle details you want - along with the typical entertaining tangential quips found in any Mackie printed material. I installed the software (driver) as directed, the PC instantly recognized it. I opened the DAW- it recognized the driver - and it all works. So really I have 8 inputs with a couple more available, USB back and forth, 2 reference monitors, a sub, and digital audio in and out of the 40 inch monitor from the PC - all in the space of box of a dozen Titleists!

If I am picky about anything - it has to be dead quiet...meaning zero noise added to the signals. This product is that quiet. An added plus is the machine's flexibility to move between -10 and +4 signal formats. Hey Mackie: for your next version - add Blu tooth I/O - not a negative, I just see things headed that way.

Sweetwater was great - Jared Madigan always communicates in a timely and complete manner - and we usually have a few laughs on the phone. Well done Mackie - well done Jared and Sweetwater.

Mackie really delivered on this product. The Big Knob is built to last, heavy and solid. The controls are all silky smooth and ultra tight. The built in preamps are crystal clear. I'm completely satisfied and it is a STEAL for the price. Competitors like the Presonus Monitor Station V2 will need to chop their prices in half to compete.

I purchased a Mackie Producer 2-2 USB interface for a mobile recording rig, and was blown away at the quality of recordings I have made using the stock ONYX preamps. I didn't need another budget USB interface, but I did need a quality monitor controller and the Mackie Big Knob Studio+ 4x3 was the best choice by far. So, the field and mobile recordings can have the same consistent preamps as the home studio/mix lab recordings, if we need them. Sweet! Mackie gear is some of the best, very glad we gave the ONYX preamps a chance. Now if Mackie would just add an ADAT/Optical i/o to this unit, that would be unbeatable. Sweetwater's service is always the best, thanks again.

The Good:
I adopted one of these almost the day it came out. Being used for both studio and room sound management it worked great. So many good routing options, and the ease of leveling multiple sets of speakers/monitors was also a win. I feel the Onyx preamps sound very good, and the line-in options are genius. I also love having the separated "Control Room" this model and use it to send a signal to a Hi-Fi system independent of the monitors in my work space. Backlit buttons for the I/O is also a big win. I don't know how many times I thought I was having an output issue only to see I had bumped the "Dim" button.

After nearly 3 years it did finally let me down. As I set up my new studio it felt like the USB connection was loose. The "B" side of the plug only sets in half way, but I would notice that when bringing it forward on the rolling rack shelf the connection to my Mac would be severed. The culprit? The piece of plastic between the 4 prongs in the USB socket came loose (broke?) out of the center, remained stuck in the USB cable, and now the USB socket is dead. The unit is easy to disassemble so I am going to take this into a computer repair shop to see if a better quality USB connect exists, or if it can be changed to USB-C for connection stability. Either way I hope that the designers will note this issue and make a change to keep true to the "built like a tank" motto the company is known for.

Whenever this unit is turned on or off, it sends a MASSIVE signal to anything connected, making your speakers maxed out and potentially damaging them. I don't know wtf they were thinking when then made this. This is not ok at all. You really really have to follow the order of operations rule (big knob first, then speakers) every-time you power on the unit or you will ruin your speakers.

The pre amp def has buzz to it so that sucks. It's an average unit. I would go up in price point if I could buy again.

Works otherwise well and as expected.

I owned my Mackie big knob studio plus for two years and all the sudden every single light on it was lit up. It turns out the USB chip inside burned out so I had to open her up and disconnect the USB port and now it works normal as a studio monitor controller but the usb interface is hosed. The main problem with this unit is that it gets extremely warm and burns itself out. I was constantly having to restart the unit because it would have no output even with USB disconnected and just running directly from a mixer directly into the input one and two. It's a great idea but you're better off just getting the Big Knob Passive! Ive had the Big Knob passive for a little over six months and have no issues except for having to turn the volume up a little louder. Good luck with yours!

I tell people the short story. Now for the long Story

I had it for 6 weeks. I was at the house bumping music with people over chilling and getting loud. For some reason i stepped to the unit to turn the music down and i had some static electricity and when i touched the knob i had a small shock. That puny shock wrecked the unit. The Left channel meter is sitting full tilt meter running at peak. the left side pulses with no audio playing. The studio out feels way too noisy, maybe its my unit but its jut compressed sounding w high noise floor. The cue source seems like its wired wrong becasue the USB 3/4 doesn't bring any audio in. All other features work GREAT. Traktion works perfect and is seamless, i have recorded Vinyl with no issue and You tube tracks no issue. note that I am working with Mackie to get a replacement and they are straight up and are going to replace the unit no charge. I cant wait for the replacement unit. The headphone amps are strong and can power my unforgiving Fostex T50RP. What I dont like are intuitive design flaws. The meter should have been placed below the knob, when you place it on the desk you cant see the meters, i have had to make a stand for it so it stand vertical, laying it flat you cant see the meters at all.the knob should have been move up and the meter below.

I bought this interface in 2018 and it burned out in 2021. I sent it in for repair and the repair was going to need an entire new motherboard and fuses. The cost was going to be $200+ plus shipping. Not worth the heartache. I replaced this unit with an EVO8 and couldn't be happier. Watch out for these units as they aren't built to last.

The downside to this unit over the previous iteration for me is that you can only send talkback to the studio headphone outputs, and not to any playback speakers you might have in your live recording room. I looked through the problem every which way, even sent the question to a Mackie rep, and the answer was no. That was a disappointment. (The older version I had could that, but it died, like the Mackie mixer I had.) Beyond that, I found that this unit colored the sound to my control room monitors in a way I didn't care for, so I stopped using it for monitor distribution, despite the inherent convenience of the push button selectors. Now I only use it for talkback to the headphone outputs, and leave it off the rest of the time. If there was an inexpensive talkback box I liked, I would just ditch the Big Know Studio Plus all together. But hey, this box does have a lot of convenient features, so I imagine it's just what a lot of people need. Not my fave, but if it works well for you, great!

Was great while it lasted, was in the middle of making a track and it just turned off on me, no sound reproduction what so ever, all light switches wouldnt light up, it was still getting power but no function. repair shop wanted to charge me like 50$ more than what i had paid for it brand new, to replace it with a new board which probably would have crapped out again after a couple years. Personally after this experience they have lost my trust and dont think i would be buying another product from them.

If you're a "classic" big knob user you will instantly notice a build quality hit on these new Mackie Big Knobs. The old ones have a heft of build that I personally liked a lot--it inspires confidence, and feels good. Despite cables running in/out the back, headphones plugged it etc., they stayed put on the desk! More importantly, the units operated as you would hope; and generally seem to have a long life span.

I had one of the classics go bad on me a few months ago after 10 years of service. I decided to upgrade to the new "Studio" mid-range model. Right out the gate, it's a lot smaller than the old Big Knob, and as mentioned earlier, a lot lighter. The unit is powered by a lightweight, external universal power supply, whereas the "classic" has the standard 120V AC power cord, typical of pro audio gear.

The real issue I had with TWO units I bought was that there was low level signal coming from my DAW/computer (out of my RME Babyface analog outs) through the Big Knob Studio (analog inputs 1/2), to my speakers, regardless of whether the channels were muted, volume "big knob" was at zero...even with the power off, I heard my mixes faintly through my monitors! This happened with the 1st purchased unit, and a 2nd unit sent to replace the "problem" one.

Luckily a co-worker had a "classic" Big Knob he wasn't using. Replacing the Big Knob Studios with that classic fixed the issue as expected.

I powered up my Mackie Big Knob Studio Plus and noticed the input LEDs were lit up despite nothing being plugged into the input section. After some online research, I came across a helpful video. Since I'm only using it to control my speakers and not as a sound card, disconnecting the USB port from the motherboard resolved the issue for me. I'm hoping Mackie will address this issue because this unit is only 2 1/2 years old and I use it every day. With the USB disconnected I can no longer multitrack with it but now the unit gets very hot and at times it starts to make really funny noises and I have to shut it down constantly. I take really good care of all of my equipment and this is the only equipment that is failing on me which is sad because I really love Mackie products, but unfortunately this is a real problem.

Loved it for 3 days, then a *thud* sound, and no output. Hoping for a replacement, quickly.
My original Big Knob has been pulled back into service, scratchy pots, buttons and all until this is resolved.

I love the original Big Knob and have owned more than one. All of those original functions seem to work fine. The cue section on the Big Knob Studio+ is where I have a big problem. Using the 2TR as the cue source also appears fine, but when using the source from USB 3/4 (which is how you get your separate dedicated cue mix) the quality is highly degraded. High frequencies are dead. The sound is muddy, almost like a low quality mp3. After doing an AB from the main source or 2TR with the USB 3/4 feed to the cue, it was so noticeable I thought I was doing something was wrong. I changed usb cables, tried both headphone jacks, quadruple checked routing...always the same and incredibly washed out. Maybe they thought, "Oh it"s just a headphone mix and quality isn"t important, so we"ll cut some costs on parts here." ??? I"m not sure. I"ve sent a message to Mackie support with no response yet after a few days. Either way it makes me trust nothing about this. I boxed it back up, and now I"m debating sending it back and losing the original free shipping plus return shipping, or letting it sit around and using it as a backup for just the original Big Knob features.

The LED input lights are consistently showing -14 and remain illuminated, while there's no audio output. Despite unplugging all connections except for the power supply, the meters persistently display -14. Although all buttons and lights appear functional, there's still no sound, indicating a potential issue with the device. Since it's 1 1/2 years old Mackie will not cover under warranty and to repair will cost $ to fix. This is disappointing.

Noisy intermittent buttons, look elsewhere if you want quality gear.

I bought it to replace an original big knob that I loved. The original still worked but started getting a little dust in the pots and would crackle so I thought this would be an easy switch and I was wrong.
I feel like they tried to add so many extra features that were completely unnecessary and also made using it a chore.
After a few months mine completely stopped working so I just cleaned up the old original big knob and it's working better than the new one.

I am a Mackie fan however this is my first let down by the company!!! It burnt out after 2 years right before a session!!! Thank God for an engineer with a remote protools pack on hand or I may have had a client as mad as I am right now! Do buy this buy a better product.