Sensitivity/Level Adjustment - The Long Version - Mackie CR-1604 Owner's Manual

SENSITIVITY/LEVEL ADJUSTMENT —
The long version
As we noted at the be-
ginning of this manual
achieving the CR-1604's im-
pressive noise and
headroom specs, requires
adjusting channel sensitiv-
ity to your particular setup.
Can you run the mixer
without this adjustment?
Sure. Chances are that you'll get pretty good
sound. But take a moment to adjust things
properly and you'll get excellent sound. After
all, its your music.
SENSITIVITY ADJUSTMENT STEPS
(repeat for each channel being used)
1. If you have some idea of how the chan-
nel is going to be EQed, set it now. If not,
it's no biggie. EQ will affect levels
somewhat, but not enough to totally
knock things out of whack.
2. Rotate the channel's PAN control hard
RIGHT or hard LEFT. Leaving PAN in the
center position will reduce level indica-
tions by 6dB.
3. Set the channel's Fader to the detent
Unity position.
4. Turn the channel's SENSITIVITY control
fully counter clockwise (+4 UNITY).
That's the small knob just above the
channel line input on the CR-1604's
input/output pod.
5. Press the SOLO TO MAIN button on the
CR-1604's output section. (Optional.)
6. Press the SOLO button on the channel
you're about to adjust. The level will appear
on the CR-1604's LED output meters.
7. Make some appropriate music through that
channel. Don't just play one sustained note,
but rather jam away as you would normally.
If you're adjusting the level for a channel
connected to a microphone, have the
performer(s) sing/blow/strike/play at the
level they're going to record or perform at.
8. If you've set PAN hard left, view the level
on the left LED row. If panned hard right,
the level will appear on the right LED row.
9. While the sound source is activated, turn
the channel's SENSITIVITY control
clockwise until the level on the CR-1604
meter reads about OdB.
10. Un-SOLO the channel and return the
PAN control to center or however you're
going to set it during use.
11. Repeat this procedure for each channel,
using the appropriate kind of source
which will be used with that particular
channel.
• When in actual use, avoid running the level
into the CLIP range of the meter, as your
sound quality may suffer. It's OK for the
+2,+4, and +8 indicators to light up occa-
sionally but only during peaks in the signal
such as drum hits, or when the bass player
accidently gooses one of the backup singers
with the neck of his Steinberger, etc.
• Note that you must add 10dB to the
markings on the SENSITIVITY control
when using the and mic inputs.
• Once you have performed this simple
calibration, there should seldom be a
need to readjust your input sensitivity
unless a different kind of input is being
used with that channel.
• Adjusting the channel this way (with 0dB
as maximum) is a conservative approach
that assumes things could get louder
later on. The sensitivity can be set just a
tad higher, if you watch levels carefully
during use.
LEVEL
SETTING
STEPS
19