I own the original Mackie 1202-VLZ and after comparing it with the VLZ3 I can tell you the differences between the two are very minimal. I say this as a good thing because my good old 1202 has been a loyal and reliable mixer for me since the early 90's. The sound on my mixer is still amazing. The amplification is super quiet, which means no worrying about pumping up the volume only to hear more static noise. The knobs and buttons are studio grade, which means they have just the right amount of tension and feel just as smooth as the day I bought it. For all the basic mixing needs the Mackie delivers and then some.

It's funny how the extra features on some mixers tend to degrade the quality. I used a Behringer Eurorack that is just as quiet as my Mackie on the surface. However when you use the included effects processor the noise level goes from professional quality to garage band levels of fidelity. While the VLZ doesn't have it's own effect processor it does have plug in capabilities for outboard effects units, and the effects bus Mackie uses is just as seamless and quiet. Same goes for the phantom power, which is a really nice bonus for a mixer like this. No more having to use dodgy dynamic mics when you are looking for the subtle nuances a condenser mic can give.

So now you know how awesome my 'old' mixer is, but you are likely wondering, "what does this have to do with the VLZ3?" I'm glad you asked. Essentially you are getting the exact same mixer. Same engineering. Same circuitry. Same quality. The only difference between the two is the newer model has an even better mic preamp. That's right. They have gotten this little mixer's microphone power tweaked to the point where you can practically use it for full studio quality voice recordings.

So there you have it. The Mackie 1202VLZ from almost two decades ago is just about as good as the VLZ3. Yeah that sounds like I'm saying, "why bother with the new one then? I'll just get a used one." And that is certainly your option. However the real reason for this boast is to say that Mackie is the same company it has been. Some companies skimp on quality over the years to keep their earnings high, yet Mackie has only improved upon their mixers in all this time. If you are heavy into vocal mixing the VLZ3 is the mixer for you, both live and in the home studio. If you just need instrument mixing then maybe go with the non-VLZ Mackies, or go used if you plan on doing some microphone work.
I own the original Mackie 1202-VLZ and after comparing it with the VLZ3 I can tell you the differences between the two are very minimal. I say this as a good thing because my good old 1202 has been a loyal and reliable mixer for me since the early 90's. The sound on my mixer is still amazing. The amplification is super quiet, which means no worrying about pumping up the volume only to hear more static noise. The knobs and buttons are studio grade, which means they have just the right amount of tension and feel just as smooth as the day I bought it. For all the basic mixing needs the Mackie delivers and then some. It's funny how the extra features on some mixers tend to degrade the quality. I used a Behringer Eurorack that is just as quiet as my Mackie on the surface. However when you use the included effects processor the noise level goes from professional quality to garage band levels of fidelity. While the VLZ doesn't have it's own effect processor it does have plug in capabilities for outboard effects units, and the effects bus Mackie uses is just as seamless and quiet. Same goes for the phantom power, which is a really nice bonus for a mixer like this. No more having to use dodgy dynamic mics when you are looking for the subtle nuances a condenser mic can give. So now you know how awesome my 'old' mixer is, but you are likely wondering, "what does this have to do with the VLZ3? " I'm glad you asked. Essentially you are getting the exact same mixer. Same engineering. Same circuitry. Same quality. The only difference between the two is the newer model has an even better mic preamp. That's right. They have gotten this little mixer's microphone power tweaked to the point where you can practically use it for full studio quality voice recordings. So there you have it. The Mackie 1202VLZ from almost two decades ago is just about as good as the VLZ3. Yeah that sounds like I'm saying, "why bother with the new one then? I'll just get a used one. " And that is certainly your option. However the real reason for this boast is to say that Mackie is the same company it has been. Some companies skimp on quality over the years to keep their earnings high, yet Mackie has only improved upon their mixers in all this time. If you are heavy into vocal mixing the VLZ3 is the mixer for you, both live and in the home studio. If you just need instrument mixing then maybe go with the non-VLZ Mackies, or go used if you plan on doing some microphone work.