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50. AUX SENDS SOLO and LED
In live sound situations, AUX SEND [6] outputs 1
and 2 are likely to feed your stage monitors. You'll want
to check the mix you're sending them, and that's what
these two buttons are for. (AUX 3 and 4 have no such
switch.) Beside each switch is a green LED that, just
like the channel's –20 LED, helps you find the rogue
SOLO switch.
The only thing different about AUX SENDS SOLO is
that it's not really PFL (pre-fader listen), and it's not
really SIP (solo-in-place), it's actually AFL (after-fader
listen.) Read on:
In the NORMAL (AFL) position of the MODE [44]
switch, you'll get AUX SEND 1's solo signal, post-AUX
SENDS [49] master level, in the left side of the control
room, headphones, and meters, and AUX SEND 2 on
the right side. (If you ever use AUX 1 and 2 to create a
stereo monitor mix, you'll understand why.)
In the LEVEL SET (PFL) position of the MODE
switch, you'll get the signal dead-center, but still post-
AUX SENDS master level.
51. STEREO RETURNS (LEVEL)
These four controls set the overall level of effects
received from the STEREO RETURN [7] input jacks.
These controls are designed to handle a wide range of
signal levels — each knob goes from off, to unity gain at
the detent, to 20 dB gain fully clockwise, to compensate
for low-level effects. Signals passing through these con-
trols proceed directly to the MAIN MIX [37] fader, with
exceptions that we'll discuss in a moment.
Typically, these knobs can just live at the center
detent, and the effects device's output control should
be set at whatever they call unity gain (check their
manual). If that turns out to be too loud or too quiet,
adjust the effects device's outputs, not the mixer. That
way, the mixer's knobs are easy to relocate at the center
detent.
52. TO AUX 1 and TO AUX 2
If you want to add reverb or delay to the stage monitor
mixes, these are the knobs for you. Operating indepen-
dently of their respectively numbered STEREO RE-
TURNS [51] level controls, these knobs are the same as
the AUX 1 [35] and 2 knobs in the channel strip.
These two knobs feed STEREO RETURN signals to
their respective AUX SEND [6] outputs: TO AUX 1 feeds
STEREO RETURN 1 to AUX SEND 1 [49] master, and
TO AUX 2 feeds STEREO RETURN 2 to AUX SEND 2
master. They are off when turned fully down, deliver
unity gain at the center detent, and provide up to 15 dB
of gain turned fully up. STEREO RETURN 3 and 4 have
no such knobs.
164-VLZ3
53. MAIN MIX TO SUBS (for RETURN 3)
With this switch up, STEREO RETURN 3 behaves like
all the others — it delivers a stereo signal, regulated
by its level knob, to the main mix. When you engage
this switch, the signals are removed from the main mix
buses and sent to the 1-2/3-4 switch [54], which diverts
the signal once more. We're not finished. Please read on:
54. 1–2/3–4 (for RETURN 3)
If the MAIN MIX TO SUBS [53] switch is disengaged,
the 1–2/3–4 switch does absolutely nothing. Let's now
assume it's engaged. STEREO RETURN 3's stereo signal
will not be sent to the main mix, but to SUBGROUP
FADERS [38] 1 and 2 (this switch up) or 3 and 4 (this
switch down).
Let's say you've made a stereo drum submix on SUB-
GROUP FADERS 1 and 2, so you can ride those two fad-
ers instead of the seven channels that the drums came
from. SUBGROUP FADER 1 has its ASSIGN TO MAIN
MIX [39], left button engaged and SUBGROUP FADER
2 has its ASSIGN TO MAIN MIX, right button engaged,
blending the drum submix back into the main mix. The
drum channels are also sending signals to your reverb
via the AUX SENDS [6], and the reverb outputs are
patched into STEREO RETURN 3 [7]. So far so good.
Even though you could send STEREO RETURN 3 di-
rectly to the main mix (MAIN MIX TO SUBS [53] switch
up), you don't want to. Instead, engage the MAIN MIX
TO SUBS switch and make sure the 1–2/3–4 switch is
up. Now the reverb return will be blended into the drum
submix, and as you ride those two faders, the reverb
level will follow.
Why do we want that? Because if you had just sent the
reverb directly to the main mix (MAIN MIX TO SUBS
switch up) and you did a drum fade-out using SUB-
GROUP FADERS 1 and 2, the "dry" signals would fade
out, but the "wet" signals would keep on singing. All you
would hear is the drum reverb (the "wet"), and none of
the original drum signals (the "dry"). That's because the
reverb is being fed by the channel's AUX sends, and they
have no idea that you've pulled down the SUBGROUP
FADERS. That's why we threw in these switches.
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