Mackie SR24•4 Owner's Manual page 17

PFL SOLO
MODE
(When the Solo
MODE button in the
Monitor/Output section
is up.) PFL stands for
PRE FADER
IN PLACE AFL
pre-fade listen, also
referred to as PRE
FADER on the solo
AUX SUB
MODE switch in the
Monitor/Output Section.
The channel strip SOLO switch routes the
channel audio to the PFL solo bus from a
point in the circuit after the EQ and MUTE
switch but before the fader. PFL is handy for
checking a signal at its full level, before it's
affected by the fader and pan control.
Remember, pressing a SOLO switch does
not affect any of the SR24•4 main or auxiliary
outputs. It is safe to use at any time.
SOLO IN PLACE (SIP)
(When the Solo MODE button in the
Monitor/Output section is pressed in.) Solo-
in-place signals are taken at the channel's
output; after the EQ, Mute switch, fader and
pan pot. Some mixers call this AFL (After-
Fade-Listen) which is why we added that to
the graphics.
In addition to the routing for PFL men-
tioned above, the SOLO switch on each
SR24•4 channel strip also assigns the signal
in that channel to the stereo solo-in-place
buses. This solo signal is tapped off after the
pan control, the channel fader and the EQ cir-
cuits, and will be affected by all these settings.
Once again, pressing a SOLO switch does
not affect any of the SR24•4 main or auxiliary
outputs. It is safe to use at any time.
MUTE/SOLO LED
When a SOLO switch is pressed, the chan-
nel MUTE/SOLO LED [7] will blink to
indicate the channel's solo status. So, steady
on MUTE/SOLO LED means mute; blinking
MUTE/SOLO LED means solo. OK? As an
additional clue, soloing a channel will also
start the RUDE SOLO LIGHT in the Moni-
tor/Output Section to blinking madly. More
explicit details about the RUDE SOLO
LIGHT later.
NOTE: The channel's MUTE switch must
be in the up position for the SOLO switch
to function.
SETTING LEVELS WITH SOLO
Each SOLO switch also triggers circuitry
which disconnects the meters and the control
room and phones outputs from their normal
duties and reconnects them all to the output
of the solo buses. Not only can you listen to
the soloed tracks but you can measure them
precisely on the 13-segment main meters.
In fact, this is the recommended way to
adjust input levels. As you are initially set-
ting up an input, put the SR24•4 into PFL
mode and push the SOLO button. Now set the
input level to the range you want (probably by
tweaking TRIM, since your other controls
should start out around unity gain) simply by
checking out the main meters.
And, of course, depressing any SOLO switch
anywhere on the mixer will set in motion a
complicated chain of events deep in the
unfathomable silicon heart of the SR24•4
involving multivibrators and algorithms and
Mandelbrot sets and who knows what else —
culminating in the grave and solemn pulsing
illumination of... the RUDE SOLO LIGHT.
NOTE: Also see Important Sensitivity Ad-
justment Procedure! repeated several times
in this manual.
Layout
and Function
15