Ol Leds; Channel Solo; Phantom Power; Trim - Mackie 16-8 BUS Owner's Manual

to achieve 87dB attenuation. You get far better
channel separation plus freedom from level shifts
caused by channel assignment and panning. In
addition, our pan pots are constant loudness.
When you sit between a pair of monitors and pan
from side to side, the apparent volume at your
ears should stay the same, no matter where the
signal is positioned. Our special pan circuitry
maintains consistent apparent energy whether the
pot is dead center, hard left or hard right.
–20 AND OL LEDs
The two LEDs (5) next to the PAN control check
the channel strip signal level at three important cir-
cuit points: at the output of the mic/line preamp,
after the EQ and after the channel fader amplifier.
The green LED marked –20 is there to assure
you that, yes, something is plugged into the channel
(and yes, it does have some output). Most signals
more interesting than tape noise will cause the
green LEDs to flicker, so they give you a good visual
indication of which channels are active. Any peaks
higher than –20dBu (@ 1kHz) trigger the indicator.
When we say "channel", we mean the signal going
through the channel fader... but not the signal
going through the MIX B Section. Please refer to the
MIX B section of this manual, starting on the next
page, for more details.
The red LED, labeled OL for overload, lights
when the signal level is high enough to cause clip-
ping at any of the three test points. In normal
operation it will almost never light. If it is flashing at
you, your level in that channel is much too high. You
need to turn something down.
• First try the mic/line trim. If that has no effect,
• Turn down the EQ and/or the insert device,
and if that doesn't fix it,
• Turn down the channel. If this doesn't fix it, your
input signal is too hot (gasp). Use an external pad
to reduce the level (see the sidebar on page 24).

CHANNEL SOLO

The channel SOLO switch (6) assigns the output
of the channel PAN control to the stereo solo buses
and disconnects all other sources from the monitor
section. SOLO does not interrupt the eight Submas-
ters, the L/R Mix or the AUX sends, and can be
used at any time without affecting the recording
process.
SOLO is handy for spot-checking the presence
and quality of individual inputs while setting up,
recording and mixing. More than one SOLO switch
may be pressed at the same time, allowing you to
listen to the blend of any combination of channels
throughout the console in stereo.
On the Mackie 8•Bus console, the SOLO
assignments are stereo except for the AUX sends.
SOLO maintains the perspective set up with the
PAN controls. When any SOLO button on the con-
sole is depressed, its associated SOLO LED will glow
steadily, and the RUDE SOLO LITE above the
8•Bus LED meters blinks annoyingly, serving as a
reminder with an attitude.
The channel SOLO function is normally post-
fader/post-mute, but can be modified for PFL or
Pre-Fade (and pre-mute) Listen. See Appendix B:
Options, Add-Ons, and Extra Stuff.
Note: All the SOLO buttons on the 8•Bus
Series operate in the same way (although
they're not all stereo like the channel SOLO).
SOLO does not interrupt recording; it only
affects the control room monitor.
HIGHLY, MEGA-MONDO-
IMPORTANT: SOLO is
intended for more than just
"soloing." It is THE way to set
levels for best noise and head-
room. Complete instructions on proper level
setting using SOLO are in Section 3: General In-
formation, starting on page 19.

PHANTOM POWER

CAUTION: After switching PHANTOM Power
on or off, wait 1 minute before changing any
mic/line switch settings in that 8-channel block.
At the top of every eight channels is a PHANTOM
Power switch (7). Pressing it sends +48VDC to
the eight XLR sockets to the switch's left. For
instance, depressing the PHANTOM switch above
Channel 8 sends phantom power to the XLRs on
channels 1 through 8. NOTE: It is always a good
idea to check with the Mic manufacturer to
verify phantom power requirements.

TRIM

The TRIM control (8) sets the gain of the
input amplifier for the MIC and LINE inputs.
Proper setting of the TRIM control is essential
for good noise and headroom performance. Trim
pot settings may vary widely depending upon
the input level. The output of different key-
boards, drum machines, guitar effects boxes,
etc., vary from extremely weak to so hot that
they can practically be connected directly to
speakers. See pages 1, 19, or 24 for advice.

MIC/LINE SWITCH

Now we've jumped back to the top of the
strip. Sorry, but logically the input to the chan-
nel is the next thing to talk about. That's
because it's the source of the signal applied to
the channel fader and PAN control.
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