Mackie Onyx Artist 1-2 USB Audio Interface Reviews

Perfect for solo recordings (it only has one input, you can use either 1/8 inch or XLR). If you're using a Mac, make sure you get the adapter for the USB port. You'll be up and running in minutes!

I received the Mackie Onyx Artist 1-2 USB Audio Interface about 4 weeks ago and everything was packed carefully by Sweetwater and after unpacking it and carefully reading the instructions I installed the unit.
At first it didn't work, until I narrowed it down to the driver. After quick (1 hour) tech support from Mackie I was up and running. I must say it works seamlessly with my Mackie 3204-VLZ3 mixing board and Acid Pro 10 DAW and has a cleaner overall sound than the M-Audio Fast Track Interface I was using before. I tested the Mic, Instrument and Headphone jacks and they all work fine.
The unit comes packed with free versions of Pro Tools First and Waveform OEM software which I don't need but others might.
As usual Sweetwater and Mackie(built like a tank)come through with a decent price for quality gear and fantastic sales, packing, tech and after sales service. Brendan Murphy is the best Sales Engineer on the planet and Chuck Surack you're the smartest CEO for hiring him. You guys put Guitar Center to shame!

Thanks for Everything,
E.W.H.

I started out with the Focusrite Scarlett Solo, but it would clip with my electric guitar and did not have enough headroom. This has plenty of headroom for the instrument input and higher bit rate for better quality recordings. Very happy with it. I use it every day in my small apartment along with Amplitube and some headphones to jam along with youtube videos and to easily record using Reaper. Solid chasis and knobs. No crackles. Clean clear sound. Plus Sweetwater personal customer service is the best.

This thing really is built like a tank. I've dropped it once or twice now without a single scratch. The knobs are super well made and feel high quality. The direct monitoring with my bass and guitar has no latency at all. The bass sounds a little quiet on dm but its not a huge issue. The software is comes with is absolutely great. Tracktion Waveform isn't the most flashy or amazing daw out there but you get its full release, as opposed to other software bundles which just have lite versions. This thing is a hidden gem among audio interfaces. My only complaint is that the line inputs dont hold the cable in as hard as id like but upon testing with other interfaces this is standard among them. probably because the cable needs to be easier to disconnect from a small interface than from a full size amp.

Rugged chassis, rotary dials and buttons feel durable. Layout of controls and connectors is perfect and operation is easily understood at a glance. Connection to a Macintosh was simple and any software setup was a snap.

Sound quality is pristine. The pre-amps sound good. With several different guitars plugged straight into the interface, the gain had to be set to the "9" position at all times to have ample input gain. This was not a problem and audio levels are good. Simple normalization in a DAW boosts the gain and there was no noise or distortion in doing so. The pre-amps could be a bit hotter, or if one needs a guitar signal to really slam into the interface, using a separate pre-amp could be in order.

The item description says: Includes: Tracktion T7 DAW software. This is not accurate as a DEMO version is included, not the full application... When launched, a Traction message states features are disabled in the demo version. I did not pursue what is fully functional v. what is disabled in the demo version. It is likely the demo version does what is needed for the basics of recording, mixing, etc. This was not an issue for me, as I work with 3 other DAW"s and do not need the demo software.

This is a solid, budget priced interface that performs well and sounds great. If lost, I would buy it again.

Was impressed that's it's 192khz and had hi-z mode. For the price you can't go wrong.

Works as advertised. Only downside is the audio is not very loud; I mean, my voice over the mic does not come in loud over the headphones despite being turned up full blast.

Usando en Windows 7 64 bit. En el inicio la pantalla de los ajustes apareció, pero muy pronto la frecuencia de muestreo dejó de poder cambiarse desde el ajuste propio. Se quedó en 44100 en gris. En Reaper la única manera de cambiar es requiriendo frecuencia de muestreo nueva desde el programa. Pulsas "Accept", OK y abres de nuevo.
En puerto USB2 me hacía problemas, empezaba a parpadear el LED de la unidad y dejaba de funcionar. Solución - pasarlo a un puerto USB3.
En frecuencia de muestreo 88.200 y 96.000 se puede grabar solo en buffer hasta 256. En 128 empiezan los chasquidos terribles y ruido de fondo, aunque uses una respuesta súper rápida en la interfaz propia de la unidad y ajuste "time Critical" en los ajustes del rendimiento del Reaper. En frecuencias hasta 48.000 puedes grabar en 128 con ajuste de respuesta rápida sin problemas. No lo he probado en latencias menores.
El Sonar no lo reconoce ni siquiera como ASIO unidad. En MME sí trabaja. En ASIO me sale la unidad en gris y no puedo seleccionarla, directamente me ofrece ASIO4ALL como única solución.
Con Samplitude trabaja correctamente, cuando selecciono otra frecuencia de muestreo en las preferencias automáticamente se cambia en la interfaz del programa. Pero puedo hacerlo solo desde el DAW. En la interfaz de la unidad siempre este apartado se queda en gris.
El sonido es bastante bueno. Comparando con la salida de mi tarjeta incorporada la diferencia es abismal. Creo que supera al Behringer 204HD en este sentido.
La entrada la probé con bajo eléctrico. Instrumento viejo, pasivo, de buena calidad. El Hi-Z hace muy buen trabajo. Pero aun sin Hi-Z grabando de modo linea con la segunda entrada el sonido es claro y de muy buena calidad. No he probado la entrada de micrófono todavía, pero de instrumento es excelente. La última parte de la perilla, cuando subes la ganancia al máximo, el aumento de volumen es muy brusco y añade mucho ruido y saturación. Así que hay que usar la perilla de volumen en la entrada de instrumento solo hasta nivel 9.5, nunca llegando al máximo. Aun así, el volumen es suficiente para dar buena ganancia, sea en modo linea, sea usando hi-z. Hay que destacar que, a diferencia de otros equipos, el uso de Hi-Z no sube mucho el volumen del canal, sino que añade mas claridad y punch, lo que es muy cómodo, se puede grabar a un instrumento con o sin Hi-Z sin perder ganancia.
Subiendo el gain a nivel 9.5 de 10 máximos tenemos un ruido (con el bajo enchufado) de entre -45 y -55 dB. Ojo, esto es cuando el instrumento está conectado. Con instrumento desconectado está debajo del -75 dB. Bastante aceptable, debajo del nivel del sonido mas débil del instrumento.

Since we're in the middle of the covid-19 crisis, me and my bandmates decided to all get home recording set ups. Being that we're all quarantined separately, we're looking to get some news songs done. Having never recorded from home, I jumped at the opportunity to get this thing on an extreme discount from the music store I work at..

First off, the build quality of this thing is awesome. It has an all metal chassis and the controls all feel solid.. I'd feel safe throwing this in my laptop bag with little regard.. It's sturdiness and build quality are what sold me on it initially..

Now here's where things get interesting.. After purchasing, I ran home excitedly with the anticipation of being able to make music with my band during quarantine.. Unfortunately, it didn't play out that way. Not initially anyways.

Upon plugging the interface into my computer, it seemed to be recognized and then installed properly via Windows 10. I then opened my DAW to begin with some test tracks. However, the interface would record initially, but not play back the audio afterwards. No playback audio at all..

So, after some cursing and whining, I went to Mackie's website and downloaded the latest driver and installed it.. Much to my frustration, I came to the same result.. So, back to the internet I went. After some digging, I discovered a free, 3rd party driver called ASIO4ALL. After downloading this driver from a site that looks like it belongs on the dark web, I was finally able to get this thing to work.. And it works great!

In conclusion, this ended up being a great interface. The audio quality is awesome and it's very easy to use once it's working.. However, it was very frustrating that I had to download a shady driver from a site that has nothing to do with Mackie in order for it to work. If it were not for these frustrations, I would have totally given it 5 stars... So, if you're looking for a sturdy and durable interface and are willing to forego proper drivers, this one's for you!

don't waste your money. thing completely stopped working after a month.