Mackie 1642-VLZ4 Owners Manual - Page 22

1642VLZ4 50. Aux Sends Solo and LED 53. Main Mix To Subs (Stereo Return 3) Once again, in live sound situations aux send 1 and 2 are likely to feed your stage monitors. You'll want to check the mix you're sending them, and that's what these two buttons are for. (Aux 3 and 4 have no such switch.) Beside each switch is a green LED that, just like the channel's -20 LED, helps you find the rogue solo switch. The only thing different about aux sends solo is that it's not really PFL (pre-fader listen), and it's not really SIP (solo-in-place), it's actually AFL (after-fader listen). During AFL [44] mode , you'll get aux send 1's solo signal, post-aux sends [49] master level, in the left side of the control room outputs, phones output and meter display, and aux send 2 on the right side. (If you ever use aux 1 and 2 to create a stereo monitor mix, you'll understand why.) In PFL mode, you'll get the signal dead-center, but still post-aux sends master level. 51. Stereo Returns (Level) These four controls set the overall level of effects received from the stereo ­return [7] input jacks. These controls are designed to handle a wide range of signal levels - each knob goes from off, to unity gain at the detent, to 20 dB gain fully clockwise, to compensate for low-level effects. Signals passing through these level controls will proceed directly to the main mix fader [37], with exceptions that we'll discuss in a moment. Typically, these knobs can just live at the center detent, and the effects device's output control should be set at whatever they call unity gain (check their manual). If that turns out to be too loud or too quiet, adjust the effects device's outputs, not the mixer. That way, the mixer's knobs are easy to ­relocate at the center detent. 52. To Aux 1 and To Aux 2 If you want to add reverb or delay to the stage monitor mixes, these are the knobs for you. Operating independently of their respectively numbered stereo returns [51] level controls, these knobs are exactly the same as the channel strip aux 1 [35] and aux 2 knobs. With this switch up, stereo return 3 ­behaves like all the others - it delivers a ­stereo signal, regulated by its level knob, to the main mix. When you engage this switch, the signals are removed from the main mix buses and sent to the 1-2/3-4 switch, which diverts the signal once more. We're not finished. Please read on. 54. 1-2/3-4 (Stereo Return 3) If the main mix to subs [53] switch is disengaged, this switch does absolutely nothing. Let's now assume it's engaged. Stereo return 3's stereo signal will not be sent to the main mix, but to subgroup faders 1 and 2 (this switch up) or subgroup faders 3 and 4 (this switch down). Let's say you've made a stereo drum submix on subgroup faders 1 and 2, so you can ride those two faders instead of the seven channels that the drums came from. Subgroup fader 1 has its ­assign to main mix [39], left button engaged and subgroup fader 2 has its ­assign to main mix, right button engaged, blending the drum submix back into the main mix. The drum channels are also sending signals to your reverb via the aux sends [6], and the reverb outputs are patched into stereo return 3 [7]. So far so good. Even though you could send stereo return 3 directly to the main mix (main mix to subs [53] switch up), you don't want to. Instead, engage the main mix to subs switch and make sure the 1-2/3-4 switch is up. Now the reverb return will be blended into the drum submix, and as you ride those two faders, the reverb level will follow. Why do we want that? Because if you had just sent the reverb directly to the main mix (main mix to subs switch up) and you did a drum fade-out using subgroup faders 1 and 2, the "dry" signals would fade out, but the "wet" signals would keep on singing. All you would hear is the drum reverb (the "wet"), and none of the original drum signals (the "dry"). That's because the reverb is being fed by the channel's aux sends, and they have no idea that you've pulled down the subgroup faders. That's why we threw in these switches. These two knobs feed stereo return signals to their respective aux send [6] outputs: To aux send 1 feeds stereo return 1 to aux send 1 master, and: To aux send 2 feeds stereo ­return 2 to aux send 2 master. They are off when turned fully down, deliver unity gain at the center detent, and can provide up to 15 dB of gain turned fully up. Stereo return 3 and 4 have no such knobs. 22 1642VLZ4