Electro-Harmonix

138 Guitarist April 2011
QUICKTEST
MISCELLANEOUS
CONTACT: Korg UK PHONE: [phone] WEB: www.voxamps.com
CONTACT: Loud Technologies PHONE: [phone] WEB: www.mackie.com
recording the optimum sound
into your DAW.
Verdict
With excellent sound and build
quality, the Onyx Blackjack is a
solid performer that won’t let
you down. [TC]
Mackie Onyx
Blackjack
£149
Vox AC1RV
£59.99
A quality compact USB audio interface
A desktop amp that’s got rhythm
Mackie is well known for its
mixing desks, several of which
are equipped with its respected
and high-quality Onyx mic
preamps. Now, while a mixing
desk might not be an essential
part of computer recording
these days, decent mic preamps
in the signal chain will help you
record the best possible signal,
so Mackie has introduced the
Blackjack, a two-channel USB
interface built around a pair of
Onyx preamps. Exceptionally
rugged and fitted with Neutrik
combi sockets, the Blackjack
will take signals from any
microphone as well as being
able to take a Hi-Z signal direct
from a guitar or bass. USB bus-
powered, the Blackjack features
separate volume controls for
This tabletop combo not only
offers authentic livery but also
a choice of 66 onboard rhythm
patterns. We’re staunch fans of
the Vox AmPlugs and the base
tones here, optimistically
described as overdrive and
clean, do owe some of their tone
to those headphone amps.
The rhythm patterns are split
into 11 styles, including blues,
country, 16-beat and so on, and
each offers six variations that
can be further augmented by a
manual tempo control.
Power comes from six AA
batteries, which will give up to
26 hours of continuous use, or
an optional power supply.
Sounds
The gain, volume and tone pots
do allow for a certain amount of
tone-shaping, and there’s
certainly plenty of dirt on hand
for a reasonably satisfying
playing experience, whether
using headphones or the
both its monitor and
headphone outputs.
In Use
Dead easy to use, whether
recording in stereo or mono, the
Blackjack will let you capture
audio from your guitar or
microphone onto your
computer, while clearly
monitoring what you’re playing
or singing. An input monitor
knob routes the analogue signal
directly from the preamps to
the monitoring outputs so you
can eliminate any latency delay
by mixing the signal in
proportion with what’s coming
back from computer. The Onyx
preamps combined with Cirrus
Logic converters ensure a
pristine signal path for
internal pair of three-
inch speakers.
While easy to use and
varied, the drums
themselves possess that
unpleasant Bontempi
organ character that’s
unlikely to appeal for any
length of time, and we
found the clean channel
to be anything but.
Verdict
Although the modest price
would make it an inexpensive
purchase, it’s difficult to
imagine anyone dispensing
with, for example, GarageBand
in favour of the amp section
here when a warm up or
practice session is required. In
these days of open-ended guitar
software, and their ease of
installation onto laptops and
even smartphones, is there even
a place for the AC1RV?
Arguably this is one for
technophobes only. [SB]
The Bottom Line
We liked: Ease of installation;
choice of models
We disliked: Nothing
GUITARIST RATING
The Bottom Line
We like: Choice of rhythm
patterns; cool livery; price
We disliked: Poor drum tones
GUITARIST RATING
GIT340.rev_quick 138 2/25/11 2:44:22 PM