Mackie ProFX10v3

My wife is an ex pro singer and use the Mackie Pro FX10v3 Mackie SRM 450 speakers for charity gig`s in Spain. At the gig`s we get very good feed back on the quality of sound and effects. being a solo singer and using backing tracks it?s size is small but has everything to give good sound and am constantly asked what I am using. The strength of volume with out distortion or feed back appears to shock other artists. the USB connection is second to none again enhancing the Quality of the input to output. I have used many combinations over 40 years of performing and this is the best so far! I can not fault this equipment!!

I needed to replace my old Mackie 1202 VLZ3 because of the failure of the transformer and the preamp of 1 channel after more than 15 years of service. I had the choice between going for the VLZ4 version and try something new that could allow me not to pass through a dedicated digital audio interface for pc recording.
Mackie ProFX10v3 seemed to be the good choice in the same price range. Wrong choice! The more I use it the more I see its limitations.

the pros:
- USB connection (whatever limited to 2 channel recording)
- compressor on 2 channels
- HI impedence switch on 2 channels

the cons:
- junk onboard effects, almost unusable because of the lack of control over them (you can control just the mix, no parameters are tweakable). must be a reason if the more complete Mackie ProFX10v3+ is 40% more expensive!
- limited routing possibilities (on the 1202 VLZ you had the ALT 3-4 option)
- only 1 fx send (on the 1202 VLZ you had 2 fx send)
- 8 real channels (line 9-10 are almost used for USB connection or for a 1/8 TRS)
- absence of the useful (for me, at least) tape-in and tape-out connection (for additional connection to other audio sources) in addition to the "real" 12 channels

All in all, the feeling I have is that Mackie tried to jump in the USB DAI mixer segment adding gadgets and betting on brand reputation. For good amateur USB DAI mixers better look elsewhere. Just a false light, unfortunately.