Mackie 2404-VLZ4 Owners Manual - Page 20

The OL (overload) LED will come on when the channel's input signal is too high. This should be avoided, as distortion will occur. If the OL LED comes on regularly, check that the gain control [23] is set correctly for your input device, and that the channel EQ is not set with too much boost. The OL LED will also illuminate when a channel's mute switch [38] is engaged. 40. SIG LED This LED also indicates the channel's signal level after the gain and EQ controls, but just before the channel's level. So even if the level is turned down, you can see if a signal is present. The SIG (signal) LED will come on when the channel's input signal (at least -20 dBu) is present. It should illuminate non-stop if signal above 0 dBu is present in that channel. This LED will be solid when a channel's solo switch [41] is engaged. With the pan knob at the center detent, the left and right sides receive equal signal levels (main mix L-R, group 1-2, and group 3-4). To feed only one side or the other, turn the pan knob accordingly. If you are doing a mixdown to a 2-track, for example, simply engage the main mix switch on each channel that you want to hear, and they will be sent to the main mix bus. If you want to create a group of certain channels, engage either the 1-2 or 3-4 switches instead of the main mix, and they will be sent to the appropriate group faders. From there, the groups may be sent back to the main mix (using the group assign switches [73] above the group faders [74]), allowing you to use the group faders as a master control for those channels. If you are creating new tracks or bouncing existing ones, you will also use the 1-2 and 3-4 switches, but not the main mix switch. Here you do not want the groups sent back into the main mix bus, but sent out, via the group out jacks [11], to your multitrack inputs. 41. Solo Whenever a channel's solo switch is engaged, you will hear only the soloed channel(s) in the headphones and monitor outputs. This gives you the opportunity to audition the channels before they are added to the main mix. In PFL mode you can hear the solo signal, even when the channel's fader is down. Solo is also used to set the gain of each channel correctly. When a channel is soloed, adjust the channel gain [23] until the input source reaches the level of the 0 dB LED of the left meter. Select PFL on the SOLO MODE switch [60] for gain setting. Solo signals reaching the headphones and monitor outputs are not affected by the channel level (unless the SOLO MODE switch is set to AFL) or main level; therefore, turn down the phones level [69] and monitor level [68] first, as soloed channels may be loud. The rude solo light [59] will turn on as a reminder that what you are listening to in the headphones and control room is just the soloed channel(s), 2-track return, stereo return(s), aux(es), and/or group(s). If the solo source is an input channel, that channel's SIG (signal) LED [40] will illuminate when that channel is soloed. 42. Assign Alongside each channel fader are three buttons referred to as channel assignment switches. Used in conjunction with the channel's balance knob [37], they are used to determine the destination of the channel's signal. 43. Channel Fader This is the last control in a channel's signal path, and it adjusts the level of each channel onto the main mix. The "U" mark i­ndicates unity gain, meaning no increase or decrease of signal level. All the way up provides an additional 10 dB, should you need to boost a section of a song. If you find that the overall level is too quiet or too loud with the level near unity, check that the gain control [23] is set correctly. 44. FX1 and FX2 When engaged, these switches, located just below the stereo channels' gain controls [23], indicate that you want to return the internal FX processor signal to the stereo channel. The TRS inputs are disengaged when the switch is depressed. Remember to turn the FX processor level controls to aux 1/2 and main all the way down to avoid double-bussing the FX return. See Appendix E (page 37) for a list of the effects provided and a description of each one. 45. USB Switch The USB switch on the last stereo channel provides stereo playback of iTunes®, or a DAW via the USB connection. Like any other input, this signal may also be EQ'd, sent to an aux bus, or mixed in with the other signals and assigned to subgroups or main outs. This switch overrides both the TRS inputs [5] and the FX2 switch [44]. 20 VLZ4 4•Bus