Feature:
Love the onboard effects, balanced line outs, and the relative simplicity, even though it a very versatile little bugger. It is such a shame that they don't make it STEREO. For the money they are asking, it definitely should come with two speakers and should have the stereo capability.
Quality:
I would assume that this Mackie product is as reliable as their other offerings, and that is pretty darn good. None of my Mackie stuff has ever failed in 16 years of daily use.
Value:
Sure, Mackie has a reputation for reliability and good sound. But this amp is NOT a hand-made boutique product. It should be either much lower cost, OR have all the features and STEREO capability, with two speakers and the footswitch included for this price. Even then, $1500 is high. If I knew I could get the all important STEREO amp, with this feature set, plus the extra cabinet and the foot-switch for $990, I could justify the price. As is, the amp will sell primarily to rich amateurs looking for a "magic-bullet" to make their sucky playing sound better. All professionals play in STEREO, so Mackie is making a huge marketing miss-judgment at this price point for a mono amp.
Dorky rich kids, endowed adults with little talent, or control freaks are the only people who will be interested in this as a mono amp. Pros won't touch it until Mackie can figure the STEREO thing out.
Desirability:
IF, and ONLY IF, they made it stereo, sold the whole package (including foot-control and extra speaker) for a reasonable price, THEN it would be very desirable. As is? ...not even if I won a lottery.
Sound:
Yes, there are real working prototypes out there. Yes, it really sounds good, for a mono amp. And it has an impressive feature set, even though it is not stereo.
Ease of Use:
Easy and fast...
Support:
The support for product inquiries is less than optimum. After a week of trying every available avenue, I was finally able to get a person on the phone during business hours. He was either in-the-dark or very secretive about this particular product. I got the impression then, (four months ago) that they were not ready to unveil this amp. That turned out to be true.
Overall:
Mackie stuff is good, no doubt about it. But this is overpriced, especially if it ain't STEREO.
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