Mackie 1202VLZ Small Analogue Mixer - Overview

Old Friend No. 3

The Mackie 1202VLZ Mixer was the "Swiss Army Knife" of mixers in its time.

It's a simple analogue mixer: no effects, no PC interface, no internal recording capability - just analogue preamps and summation. I have used it for recording with a variety of external stereo recorders. All level controls are rotary - no linear faders.

Its four XLR mic inputs have 48V phantom power and a further four stereo inputs provide great versatility.

I used this mixer in conjunction with a home-made Y-lead to do decoded M-S recordings from a cardioid and figure-8 mic pair, capitalising on the true balanced inputs of the stereo channels. This allowed a couple of spot mics to be added into a composite stereo mix for recording direct to a 2-channel recorder.

The unit is still complete with its retail packaging and user manual.

A truly useful piece of equipment!

EDIT: May 2018 - Retitled to clarify its funcion as solely a mixer, with no internal recording function.