Channel Strip Description; U" Like Unity Gain; Level; Pre-Fader Solo - Mackie 1202-VLZ3 Owner's Manual

Channel Strip Description

The eight channel strips look alike, and function iden-
tically. The only difference is that the four on the left
are for individual mics or mono instruments and have
more gain available, while the next four are for either
stereo or mono line-level sources. (Each of the stereo
channel strips is actually two complete circuits. The
controls are linked together to preserve stereo.) We'll
start at the bottom and work our way up...

"U" LIKE UNITY GAIN

Mackie mixers have a "U" symbol on almost every
level control. This "U" stands for "unity gain," meaning
no change in signal level. Once you have adjusted the
input signal to line-level, you can set every control at
"U" and your signals will travel through the mixer at
optimal levels. What's more, all the labels on our level
controls are measured in decibels (dB), so you'll know
what you're doing level-wise if you choose to change a
control's settings.
AUX
U
and check it there, as you would
with some other mixers. In fact,
+15
O O
some don't even have any refer-
U
ence to actual dB levels at all!
You were smart — you bought a
+15
O O
Mackie.
U
EQ
HI

23. LEVEL

12kHz
-15 +15
U
level... from off, to unity gain at
MID
2.5kHz
the detent, on up to 12 dB of ad-
-15 +15
ditional gain.
U
LOW
80Hz
lent of a channel fader, so some-
-15 +15
PAN
times we lapse and say the word
fader.
L R
25
1
controls, and channels 5 through
MUTE
12 use stereo controls, and so they
ALT 3 – 4
may feel slightly different. Not a
24
PRE FADER
SOLO
problem.
U
23

24. PRE-FADER SOLO

+12dB
O O
to hear signals through your head-
LEVEL
phones or control room without
having to route them to the main
mix or ALT 3-4 mix. You don't even
have to have the channel's LEVEL
[23] knob turned up. Folks use
solo in live work to preview chan-
nels before they are let into the
You won't have to check it here
This adjusts the channel's
The LEVEL knob is the equiva-
Channels 1 through 4 use mono
This lovable switch allows you
mix, or to just check out what a particular channel is up
to anytime during a session. You can solo as many chan-
nels at a time as you like.
Solo is also the key player in the Level- Setting Proce-
dure on page 3.
Soloed channels are sent to the SOURCE mix, which
ultimately feeds your control room, phones and meter
display. Whenever SOLO is engaged, all SOURCE selec-
tions (MAIN MIX, ALT 3-4 and TAPE) are defeated, to
allow the soloed signal to do just that — solo!
WARNING: PRE-FADER SOLO taps the
channel signal before the LEVEL knob. If
you have a channel's LEVEL knob set below
"U" (unity gain), SOLO won't know that and will send a
unity gain signal to the control room, phones and meter
display. That may result in a startling level boost at
these outputs.
25. MUTE/ALT 3–4
The dual-purpose MUTE/ALT 3–4 bus is a Mackie
signature. When Greg was designing our fi rst product,
he had to include a mute switch for each channel. Mute
switches do just what they sound like they do. They turn
off the signal by "routing" it into oblivion. "Gee, what a
waste," Greg reasoned. "Why not have the mute button
route the signal somewhere else useful... like a sepa-
rate stereo bus?" So MUTE/ALT 3–4 really serves two
functions — muting (often used during a mixdown or
live show), and signal routing (for multitrack and live
work) where it acts as an extra stereo bus.
To use this as a MUTE switch, all you have to do is
not use the ALT 3–4 [16] outputs. Then, whenever you
press this switch, you will assign a channel to these un-
used outputs, disconnecting it from the main mix, and
effectively muting the channel.
To use this as an ALT 3–4 switch, all you have to do
is connect the ALT 3–4 outputs to whatever destination
you desire. Here are two popular examples:
When doing multitrack recording, use the ALT 3–4
outputs to feed your multitrack. With most decks, you
can "mult" the ALT 3–4 [16] outputs, using Y-cords or
mults, to feed multiple tracks. So, take ALT OUTPUT L
and send it to tracks 1, 3, 5 and 7, and ALT OUTPUT R
and send it to tracks 2, 4, 6 and 8. Now, tracks that are
in Record or Input modes will hear the ALT 3–4 signals,
and tracks in Playback or Safe modes will ignore them.
When doing live sound or mixdown, it's often handy
to control the level of several channels with one knob.
That's called subgrouping. Simply assign these channels
to the ALT 3–4 mix, engage ALT 3–4 in the SOURCE
[33] matrix, and the signals will appear at the CON-
Owner's Manual
13