REVIEWS| LIVE SOUND
MACKIE
ShowBox All-in-One Performance Rig
TESTED BY JIMMY LESLIE
THE ALL-IN-ONE busker box has become a subgenre in the live sound arena. Mackie makes a range of them, and the new ShowBox takes the concept to the next level. The idea is a bona fide Swiss Army knife that works as everything from a guitar amp to an ensemble PA, with the option of cutting the cord and running guerrilla-style, on battery power. The star of the ShowBox is an ingenious breakaway six-channel mixer. Its feature set includes multiple effects with snapshot recall, amp models, an overdrive, a compressor, a tuner, a looper, Bluetooth and even onboard recording. ShowBox promises a lot. Can it really be all that?
It’s tempting to say “yes.” To begin with, the breakaway mixer control is awesome, giving a player total control over the mix right at the mic stand. iOS apps are fine in this regard, and Mackie’s other batterypowered boxes have them, but they require a reliable Bluetooth connection to a phone or tablet, which is often needed for other stuff. The ShowBox controller is also light and designed specifically with the guitar-playing busker in mind. It can be affixed to practically any stand using the included hardware and the Ethernet cable that provides a powered link to the main unit.