Mackie has announced that the Spike Powered Recording System is now shipping to authorized dealers throughout Europe.

Spike is an all-inclusive compact recording system that includes all of the hardware and software necessary to ad 24-bit 96kHz music production to a Mac or PC. Included with the Spike Powered Recording System is the Mackie XD-2 USB Audio/MIDI interface, as well as a copy of Tracktion audio recording and MIDI sequencing software.

The XD-2 features two of Mackie’s low-noise mic preamps as well as SPDIF I/O, MIDI I/O, stereo monitor outputs and front panel headphone jack and level control. Also onboard is a SHARC DSP chip supports a full suite of dynamics and EQ processing while reducing drain on the host CPU. The DSP chip also allows for low latency monitoring of effects while recording. On-board processing includes a 4-band parametric EQ, a Compressor/Limiter and a Gate/Expander, all of which can be re-arranged in the desired order along the signal path for each channel.

The software bundle included with the Spike Powered Recording System begins with a copy of Tracktion, a highly-intuitive multi-track recording and MIDI sequencing software that offers unlimited track count, full VST and VSTi support, automation, ReWire support, as well as a number of pre-loaded effects and soft synths.

Also included is the Nomad Factory Warmer-Phaser XD-78 plug-in and Mackie’s own Final Mix stereo mastering plug in.