Mackie CFX20-mkII

20 Channels Of Mackie Mixing With Superb Built-In Effects

Designed to take the hassle out of mixing live performances, Mackie's CFX.mkII Series compact live sound mixers feature genuine Mackie mic preamps, four subgroups, precise nine-band stereo graphic equalizers for greater sonic control, and onboard EMAC™ 32-bit digital effects—eliminating the need for outboard effects processors and cables. Combined with Mackie Active loudspeakers, the CFX.mkII mixers are part of a complete, easy-to-use Mackie sound system.

What's new in CFX.mkII? New impact-resisting rubber side panels for better durability. New ergonomic updates including sturdier, more precise Onyx Series knobs. And new graphics, for better visibility in less-than-ideal lighting conditions. Best of all, the new CFX.mkII mixers come at a suggested retail price significantly lower than the original CFX Series.

The Features You Need To Get The Job Done

All CFX.mkII mic/line channels feature genuine Mackie mic preamps, renowned for their high-headroom, low-noise operation. Additional channel features include unbalanced inserts and input Trim controls with individual Zero Level LEDs, 3-band EQ with swept midrange, and 100Hz low cut filters for eliminating mic rumble. Each channel strip has a 60mm log-taper fader, one external, and one internal/external effects send; plus two Aux sends, pan, mute, solo (PFL), and bus assigns. The mixers also offer phase-accurate 9-band stereo graphic EQ for easy tonal shaping (and feedback supression). All three models allow two separate stage monitor mixes to be created with their own effects levels.

Sweet touches abound on the CFX.mkII Series — like a simple, yet utterly handy Break Switch, that lets you mute all the channels, and instantly play any souce you've plugged into the Tape inputs. (Perfect for those moments when you have to take care of business offstage, and don't want some overzealous fan grabbing a mic to belt out "Free Bird.")

Not Just Any Old Effects

Thanks to Makies massive digital R&D efforts of the past seven years, they have developed sophisticated 32-bit digital effects that rival dedicated outboard processors. Mackie's EMAC effects sound clean and realistic — especially compared to the crude, jangling 16-bit effects on most of the other "effects" mixers on the market.

GREAT SOUNDING EFFECTS AT THE SPIN OF THE DIAL

 EMAC stands for Extended Multiplication and Accumulation. In non-geek terms, that means no loss of internal precision during audio processing. We started with the best proprietary reverb, delay and modulation algorithms our engineers could devise, then added 32-bit internal processing for a difference you'll definitely hear.

Check out this list of very musical effects:

Reverbs

• Reverse: Standard reverse reverb, simulating a tail-first effect increasing to the original note. Decay range is adjustable from 35 ms to 515 ms. No pre-delay.
• Gated: Standard gated reverb, where the reverb tail is cut off sharply after the Preset decay length. Decay range is adjustable from 35 ms to 515 ms. No predelay.
• Cathedral: Dense, smooth reverb with very long tail, long pre-delay, and late reflections. Tails are very warm with some additional high-end reflections imitating the stone walls of a cathedral. A very dramatic effect that works well with wind instruments such as flute, slow finger picking on acoustic guitar, and quiet vocal group harmony and choirs. Also works well with keyboards and drums using short decay. Decay range is adjustable from 2 seconds to 10 seconds. Pre-delay set at 75 ms.
• Lg. Hall: Dense, smooth reverb with long tail, long pre-delay, and some early reflections. Tails are warm with more apparent high end. Works well with vocals and electric and acoustic guitar. Decay range is adjustable from 1 second to 5 seconds. Pre-delay set at 75 ms.
• Md. Hall: Dense, smooth reverb with normal tail, normal pre-delay, and increased early reflections. Tails are warm with more apparent high end. Works well with vocals and electric and acoustic guitar. Decay range is adjustable from 750 ms to 2.5 seconds. Pre-delay set at 65ms.
• Lg. Plate: Good early reflections and no pre-delay. Tails are normal and warm with strong high end for increased presence. Perfect for vocals and snare. Decay range is adjustable from 1 second to 5 seconds. No pre-delay.
• Md. Plate: Good early reflections and no pre-delay. Tails are short and warm with strong high end for increased presence. Perfect for tight vocals and snare. Decay range is adjustable from 750 ms to 2.5 seconds. No pre-delay.
• Sm. Room: Reverb featuring very fast and scattered early reflections with a short pre-delay. Tails are very short and warm with normal high-end imitating absorbent wall materials and audience. Good for tight vocal effects. Decay range is adjustable from 250 ms to 1 second. Pre-delay set at 30 ms.
• Spring: Mimics the vintage 60’s-style wet spring reverb effect. Tails are normal with strong high end and a slight waver imitating the slow flutter of the mechanical spring system. Very good with acoustic guitar. Decay range is adjustable from 1 second to 5 seconds. No pre-delay.

Delays

There are four delays available with one, two, three, and four repeats. TIME/RATE controls the time between repeats, with the fastest repeats at the 0 position and the slowest repeats at 10. DAMPING/DEPTH controls the damping, with the darkest tone at 0 and the brightest tone at 10. Since the delay effect is not stereo, the WIDE switch does not affect it.

• Delay 1: One repeat. Works best for slapback delay used in country and swing guitar, and for rockabilly and some country vocals. Delay range is adjustable from 5 ms to 524 ms.
• Delay 2: Two repeats. Provides a fuller, more dramatic effect for rock and gospel vocals, acoustic guitar, and wind instruments such as flute. Especially effective for some fingerpicking styles. Delay range is adjustable from 5 ms to 524 ms.
• Delay 3: Three repeats. An excellent delay for slow, bluesy vocals and melodic flute music. This delay usually works best when the channel EFX send is set at less than halfway. Delay range is adjustable from 5 ms to 524 ms.
• Delay 4: Four repeats. This is for very dramatic delay effects, particularly for enhancing long vocal notes and dramatic instrumental note-chopping effects. Be sure to set the channel EFX send at about halfway. Delay range is adjustable from 5 ms to 524 ms.

Modulation Effects

These include Chorus, Flange, and Phaser, and are generally used for enhancement of instrumental music. However, Chorus adds a dramatic effect to vocals as well. The WIDE switch is very effective at dramatically increasing the strength and thickness of a modulation effect. For example, using WIDE on Chorus mimics a multi-voiced chorus effect. TIME/RATE controls the effect Rate,which is the speed of the sweeping effect. Fully counter-clockwise produces the slowest sweeps and fully clockwise produces the fastest. DAMPING/DEPTH controls the effect depth, which is the strength of the sweeping effect. Fully counter-clockwise produces the lightest sweeping effect and fully clockwise produces the thickest.

• Chorus: Provides a soft, ethereal sweeping effect. Perfect for enhancement of electric and acoustic guitar and bass. Also adds a dramatic effect to vocals, particularly group harmonies and choirs. The channel’s EFX 2 (INT) should be set halfway or higher. Rate is adjustable from 0.5 Hz to 30 Hz. Depth is adjustable from 0% to 100%.
• Flange: Creates a strong sweeping effect, particularly effective on rock electric guitar, lead and rhythm. The channel’s EFX 2 (INT) should be set halfway or higher. Rate is adjustable from 0.5 Hz to 20 Hz. Depth is adjustable from 0% to 100%.
• Phaser: This effect is perfect for enhancing strummed acoustic guitar or electric guitar power chords. The PHASER effectively duplicates the popular 70’s phase shift effect used for guitar. Rate is adjustable from 0.5 Hz to 35 Hz. Depth is adjustable from 50% to 100%.

We added two parameters to control each of the 16 effects — like delay time and damping on reverbs, or depth and rate on chorus and flange — so you can dial up an almost infinite number of variations to suit the sound you have in your head.

Tough Enough For Live

Like all Mackie mixers, the CFX.mkII Series is designed for rugged, day-in and day-out road use. Their sturdy-yet-light steel monocoque construction houses rugged, double-sided SMT-plated fiberglass circuit boards, and 60mm faders with ultra-tight lip seals for keeping out contaminants. Onyx mixer-style knobs are mounted so they "ride" just above the steel chassis and absorb impacts without transferring damage to the internal components. And like all Mackie mixers, the CFX.mkII feature co-molded potentiometers that don't get brittle and scratchy sounding with age.