Output Section Description; Main Mix Fader; Vlz Mix Architecture; Sub Faders - Mackie 1604-VLZ PRO Owner's Manual

1604-VLZ PRO
16-CHANNEL MIC/ LINE MIXER
WITH PREMIUM XDR TM MIC PREAMPLIFIERS
LAMP
U U U
1 1 1
O O +10 O O +20 O O +15
U U U
2 2 2
O O +10 O O +20 O O +15
AUX
SEND U
ASSIGN OPTIONS
1 3
1 – 2
SOLO MAIN MIX
O O +20 3 – 4
TO SUBS
U
2
SOLO
4
C - R / PHNS
RETURNS
O O +20
PHAN PWR ONLY SOLO
STEREO AUX RETURN
LEFT RIGHT
U
0 dB=0 dBu
MAX +20
O O O O
CTL ROOM / PHONES
TAPE IN
TAPE TAPE TO
MAIN MIX
SUBS 1 – 2
MAX
O O
LEVEL
SET
SOLO
SUBS 3 – 4
MAIN MIX MODE
CTL ROOM RUDE
NORMAL (AFL)
SOURCE SOLO
LEVEL SET (PFL)
LIGHT

ASSIGN TO MAIN MIX

LEFT LEFT LEFT LEFT
PHONES
RIGHT RIGHT RIGHT RIGHT
MAIN
1 2 3 4
dB
10
5
U
5
10
20
30
40
50
60
O O
achieved by using Very Low Impedance (VLZ).
To implement VLZ in a mixer, the power supply
must be able to deliver plenty of current to the
circuitry. That's why those "wall wart" mixers are
often noisy — they can't power a VLZ circuit.
22

OUTPUT SECTION DESCRIPTION

You've just learned about the
input channels and how the sig-
12V
0.5A
nals get in and out. The signals
come in via MIC and LINE input
jacks, are manipulated by the
TO AUX
SEND 1
channels, and then sent to the
EFFECTS TO
MONITORS
output section. In the output
TO AUX
section, things get a bit more
SEND 2
complicated, so put on your
thinking caps.

MAIN MIX FADER

This fader controls the lev-
els of signals sent to the MAIN
OUT
1
/ " TRS jacks
4
TAPE OUTPUT RCA jacks
28
All channels and AUX
10
7
RETURNs that are assigned to
4
the MAIN MIX, not muted and
2
0
not turned fully down will ap-
2
pear at the MAIN OUT. Before
4
7
the main mix gets to this fader,
10
the signals pass through the
20
30
MAIN INSERT
The MAIN MIX signals are
off with the fader fully down,
the "U" marking is unity gain,
and fully up provides 10dB ad-
ditional gain. This additional
MIX
dB
gain will typically never be
10
needed, but once again, it's
5
nice to know it's there. The
U
fader itself is a stereo version
5
of the channel and subgroup
10
faders — same supersmooth
20
custom taper, same dead si-
30
lence when turned fully down.
40
50
60
This is the fader to pull down
O O
at the end of the song when
you want "The Great Fade-Out."
VLZ MIX
ARCHITECTURE
When designing a mixing
circuit, the lowest noise and
best crosstalk specs are
At Mackie, audio quality is much more im-
portant than the price of wall warts. All of our
mixers now employ VLZ and built-in power
supplies that deliver more than enough cur-
rent, resulting in sonic specifications that
rival consoles upwards of $50,000!
SUBGROUP FADERS
As you might expect, these faders control the
levels of signals sent to the SUB OUTS. All chan-
nels that are assigned to subgroups, not muted
and not turned fully down will appear at the
SUB OUTS. Unlike the MAIN OUT, the sub-
group signals do not pass through an insert jack
and on their way to the subgroup faders. That's no
. problem — should you want to send these sig-
nals through a serial effects processor, simply
patch from the SUB OUTS to the effect's input,
and from the effect's output to whatever the fi-
nal destination is, usually a multitrack recorder.
The subgroup signals is off when its fader is
fully down, the "U" marking is unity gain, and
fully up provides 10dB additional gain. Re-
. member that if you're treating two subgroups
as a stereo pair, subgroup 1 and 2 for example,
make sure that both subgroup faders "ride"
together, to maintain the left/right balance.
ASSIGN TO MAIN MIX
One popular use of the subgroups is to use
them as master faders for a group of channels
on their way to the MAIN MIX. Let's say you've
got a drum kit hogging up seven channels and
you're going to want to fade them out at a differ-
ent rate than the other channels. You don't want
to try that with seven hands or seven fingers, so
just un-assign these channels from L–R, reassign
them to subgroup 1–2, engage the ASSIGN TO
MAIN MIX, LEFT on subgroup 1 and the AS-
SIGN TO MAIN MIX, RIGHT on subgroup 2.
Now you can ride the entire stereo drum mix
with two faders — 1 and 2.
If you engage just one ASSIGN TO MAIN
MIX switch per subgroup (LEFT or RIGHT),
the signal sent to the MAIN MIX will be the
same level as the SUB OUTS. If you want the
subgroup to appear in the center of the main
mix, engage both the ASSIGN TO MAIN MIX,
LEFT and ASSIGN TO MAIN MIX, RIGHT
switches. The signal will be sent to both sides,
and will be attenuated just enough to pre-
serve constant loudness
channel PAN knobs when set center.
, just like the