Return To Aux 1; Jack Normalling - Mackie 1402-VLZ3 Owner's Manual

Signals passing through these STEREO RETURN level
controls will proceed directly to main mix, with one ex-
ception (see next paragraph). The STEREO RETURNs
do not have MUTE/ALT 3-4 switches, so if you want
these signals to get to the ALT 3-4 mix, you'll have to
patch the effects device's outputs into one of the stereo
channels, and MUTE/ALT [25] those channels.

42. RETURN TO AUX 1

If you want to add reverb or delay to the stage monitor
mixes, this is the switch for you. The implementation
leading up to the switch is the tricky part:
With the switch up, STEREO RETURN 1 and 2 behave
normally — they deliver their signals into the main mix.
With the switch down, STEREO RETURN 1 still behaves
normally, but STEREO RETURN 2 will feed AUX SEND 1
instead of the main mix.
Still with us? Good. So far, with the switch down, we
have STEREO RETURN 1 feeding the main mix and
STEREO RETURN 2 feeding AUX SEND 1. Now, suppose
you only have one effects device, and you want it to feed
both the main mix and AUX SEND 1. That's where "jack
normalling" comes in:

JACK NORMALLING

Jack normalling (not to be confused with Jack
Normalling, Chicago Cubs utility infi elder, 1952-61, .267
LBA) is a feature found on almost every mixer, keyboard
and effects device. These jacks have special spring-
loaded pins that connect to the signal pins, but when
something is plugged into the jack, that connection is
broken.
These normalling pins can be used in all sorts of ways.
The ubiquitous phrase "LEFT (MONO)" means that if
you plug a signal into the LEFT side and have nothing in
the RIGHT side, that signal is also fed to the right input,
courtesy of jack normalling. As soon as you plug some-
thing in the RIGHT side, that normalled connection is
broken.
How does all this relate to the RETURN TO AUX 1
switch? STEREO RETURN 1's inputs are normalled to
STEREO RETURN 2. If you have one effects device, plug
it into STEREO RETURN 1. Plug nothing into STEREO
RETURN 2. Now the signals feeding the STEREO RE-
TURN 1 inputs will also be sent to the STEREO RETURN
2 inputs.
Engage the RETURN TO AUX 1 switch, and now the
STEREO RETURN 2 knob will become an additional
AUX SEND 1 knob for the signal at STEREO RETURN 1.
Say that ten times! Once again, STEREO RETURN 1 will
behave normally, as always.
Congratulations! You've just read about all the fea-
tures of your 1402-VLZ3. You're probably ready for a cold
one. Go ahead. The rest of the manual can wait.
Owner's Manual
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