Mackie 1202-VLZ4 Owners Manual - Page 15

Owner's Manual 29. Hi EQ This control gives you up +15 to 15 dB boost or cut above +10 12 kHz, and it is also flat +5 at the detent. Use it to 0 add sizzle to cymbals, -5 and an overall sense of -10 transparency, or edge to -15 20Hz 100Hz 1kHz 10kHz 20kHz keyboards, ­vocals, guitar and bacon f­rying. Turn it High EQ down a little to reduce ­sibilance, or to hide tape hiss. Moderation During EQ With EQ, you can also screw things up royally. We've designed a lot of boost and cut into each equalizer circuit, because we know everyone will occasionally need that. But if you max the EQs on every channel, you'll get mix mush. Equalize subtly and use the left sides of the knobs (cut), as well as the right (boost). Very few gold-record-album engineers ever use more than about 3 dB of EQ. If you need more than that, there's usually a better way to get it, such as placing a mic differently (or using a different kind of mic entirely). Each aux send level ranges from off through unity (the center detent position) on up to 15 dB of extra gain (when turned fully clockwise). Chances are you'll never need this extra gain, but it's nice to know it's there if you do. Channel 5-12 aux knobs control the mono sum of the channel's stereo signals for each aux send. For instance, channel 5 (L) and 6 (R) mix together to feed that channel's aux send knobs. We recommend going into a stereo reverb in mono and returning in stereo. We have found that on most "stereo" reverbs the second input just ties up an extra aux send and adds nothing to the sound. There are exceptions, so feel free to try it both ways. If your effects device is true stereo all the way through, use aux 1 to feed its left input and aux 2 to feed the right input. Still with us? Good for you. Here come the tricky parts, the output or master section where the mixing is really done. We have even started it on a new page: 30. Aux 2 Send 31. Aux 1 Send These knobs allow you to tap a portion of each channel signal out to another source for parallel effects processing or stage monitoring. Aux send levels are controlled by these knobs and by the aux 1 master [39]. These are more than just effects and monitor sends. They can be used to generate separate mixes for recording or "mix-minuses" for broadcast. By using aux 1 in the pre mode, these mix levels can be obtained independently of the channel's level control. Aux 1 in post mode and aux 2 are post-low cut, post-EQ and post-level. That is, the sends obey the settings of these controls. Aux 1 in pre mode follows the EQ and low cut settings only. Pan and level have no effect on the pre send (see diagram below). LEVEL PAN MAIN / ALT INPUT GAIN LO CUT INSERT EQ "Pre vs. Post" Signal Flow Diagram "PRE" SIGNAL "POST" SIGNAL "POST" SIGNAL OBEYS MUTE STATUS AUX 2 KNOB AUX 1 KNOB TO AUX SEND 2 LEVEL TO AUX SEND 1 LEVEL AUX SEND 1 PRE/POST SWITCH (IN MASTER SECTION) Owner's Manual 15