Mackie 1202-VLZ Pro Owner's Manual - Page 23

RUDE SOLO LIGHT This flashing Light Emitting Diode serves two purposes - to remind you that at least one channel is in SOLO, and to let you know that you're mixing on a Mackie. No other company is so concerned about your level of SOLO awareness. If you work on a mixer that has a solo function with no indicator lights, and you happen to forget you're in solo, you can easily be tricked into thinking that something is wrong with your mixer. Hence the RUDE SOLO LIGHT. It's especially handy at about 3AM when no sound is coming out of your monitors but your multitrack is playing back like mad. ASSIGN TO MAIN MIX Let's say you're doing a live show. Intermission is nearing and you'll want to play a soothing CD for the crowd to prevent them from becoming antsy. Then you think, "But I have the CD player plugged into the TAPE inputs, and that never gets to the MAIN OUTS!" Oh, but it does. Simply engage this switch and your SOURCE matrix selection, after going through the CONTROL ROOM / SUBMIX knob, will feed into the MAIN MIX, just as if it were another stereo channel. Another handy use for this switch is to enable the ALT 3-4 mix to become a submix of the MAIN MIX , using the CONTROL ROOM/SUBMIX knob as its level control. Side effects: (1) Engaging this switch will also feed any soloed channels into the MAIN MIX, which may be the last thing you want. (2) If you have MAIN MIX as your SOURCE matrix selection and then engage ASSIGN TO MAIN MIX, the MAIN MIX lines to the SOURCE matrix will be interrupted to prevent feedback. Then again, why on earth would anyone want to assign the MAIN MIX to the MAIN MIX? METERS - MANY DISPLAYS IN ONE! The 1202-VLZ PRO's peak metering system is made up of two columns of twelve LEDs. Deceptively simple, considering the multitude of signals that can be monitored by it. If nothing is selected in the SOURCE matrix and no channels are in SOLO, the METERS will just sit there and do nothing. To put them to work, you must make a selection in the SOURCE matrix (or engage a SOLO switch). Why? You want the meter display to reflect what the engineer is listening to, and as we've covered, the engineer is listening either to the CONTROL ROOM outputs or the PHONES outputs. The only difference is that while the listening levels are controlled by the CONTROL ROOM / SUBMIX knob, the meters read the SOURCE mix before that control, giving you the real facts at all times, even if you're not listening at all. Thanks to the 1202-VLZ PRO's wide dynamic range, you can get a good mix with peaks flashing anywhere between -20 and +10dB on the METERS. Most amplifiers clip at about +10dB, and some recorders aren't so forgiving either. For best real-world results, try to keep your peaks between "0" and "+7". You may already be an expert at the world of "+4" (+4dBu=1.23V) and "-10" (-10dBV=0.32V) operating levels. Basically, what makes a mixer one or the other is the relative 0dB VU (or 0VU) chosen for the meters. A "+4" mixer, with a +4dBu signal pouring out the back will actually read 0VU on its meters. A "-10" mixer, with a -10dBV signal trickling out, will read, you guessed it, 0VU on its meters. So when is 0VU actually 0dBu? Right now! At the risk of creating another standard, Mackie's compact mixers address the need of both crowds by calling things as they are - 0dBu (0.775V) at the output shows as 0dB VU on the METERS. What could be easier? By the way, the most wonderful thing about standards is that there are so many to choose from. Remember, audio meters are just tools to help assure you that your levels are "in the ballpark." You don't have to stare at them (unless you want to). 23