Mackie 32.8Bus Owner's Manual - Page 7

to achieve 87dB attenuation. You get far better channel separation plus freedom from level shifts caused by channel assignment and panning. In addition, our pan pots are constant loudness. When you sit between a pair of monitors and pan from side to side, the apparent volume at your ears should stay the same, no matter where the signal is positioned. Our special pan circuitry maintains consistent apparent energy whether the pot is dead center, hard left or hard right. -20 AND OL LEDs The two LEDs (5) next to the PAN control check the channel strip signal level at three important circuit points: at the output of the mic/line preamp, after the EQ and after the channel fader amplifier. The green LED marked -20 is there to assure you that, yes, something is plugged into the channel (and yes, it does have some output). Most signals more interesting than tape noise will cause the green LEDs to flicker, so they give you a good visual indication of which channels are active. Any peaks higher than -20dBu (@ 1kHz) trigger the indicator. When we say "channel", we mean the signal going through the channel fader... but not the signal going through the MIX B Section. Please refer to the MIX B section of this manual, starting on the next page, for more details. The red LED, labeled OL for overload, lights when the signal level is high enough to cause clipping at any of the three test points. In normal operation it will almost never light. If it is flashing at you, your level in that channel is much too high. You need to turn something down. • First try the mic/line trim. If that has no effect, • Turn down the EQ and/or the insert device, and if that doesn't fix it, • Turndownthechannel.Ifthisdoesn'tfixit,your input signal is too hot (gasp). Use an external pad to reduce the level (see the sidebar on page 24). CHANNEL SOLO The channel SOLO switch (6) assigns the output of the channel PAN control to the stereo solo buses and disconnects all other sources from the monitor section. SOLO does not interrupt the eight Submasters, the L/R Mix or the AUX sends, and can be used at any time without affecting the recording process. SOLO is handy for spot-checking the presence and quality of individual inputs while setting up, recording and mixing. More than one SOLO switch may be pressed at the same time, allowing you to listen to the blend of any combination of channels throughout the console in stereo. On the Mackie 8•Bus console, the SOLO PHANTOM assignments are stereo except for the AUX sends. POWER SOLO maintains the perspective set up with the PAN controls. When any SOLO button on the con- sole is depressed, its associated SOLO LED will glow steadily, and the RUDE SOLO LITE above the CHANNEL 8•Bus LED meters blinks annoyingly, serving as a 24 reminder with an attitude. MIC/LINE The channel SOLO function is normally post- LINE IN BAL- UNBAL fader/post-mute, but can be modified for PFL or Pre-Fade (and pre-mute) Listen. See Appendix B: DIRECT OUT Options, Add-Ons, and Extra Stuff. Note: All the SOLO buttons on the 8•Bus Series operate in the same way (although INSERT TIP = OUT RING = IN they're not all stereo like the channel SOLO). SOLO does not interrupt recording; it only affects the control room monitor. HIGHLY, MEGA-MONDOIMPORTANT: SOLO is intended for more than just "soloing." It is THE way to set LINE MI-C10dBGVAIN S CHANNEL 24 ENSITIVITY levels for best noise and headroom. Complete instructions on proper level setting using SOLO are in Section 3: General In- +4 -40dBV MIC/LINE 10dB 50dB TAPE TRIM GAIN FLIP formation, starting on page 19. U PHANTOM POWER HI MID -15 +15 CAUTION: After switching PHANTOM Power 3k on or off, wait 1 minute before changing any 1k 5k FREQ mic/line switch settings in that 8-channel block. At the top of every eight channels is a PHANTOM Power switch (7). Pressing it sends +48VDC to the eight XLR sockets to the switch's left. For instance, depressing the PHANTOM switch above 500 18k 2 NORMAL 3 1 12 U BAND WIDTH OCTAVES LO MID Channel 8 sends phantom power to the XLRs on -15 +15 250 channels 1 through 8. NOTE: It is always a good 220 350 FREQ idea to check with the Mic manufacturer to 45 3k verify phantom power requirements. U TRIM HI 12k -15 +15 U The TRIM control (8) sets the gain of the LO 80 input amplifier for the MIC and LINE inputs. -15 +15 Proper setting of the TRIM control is essential for good noise and headroom performance. Trim pot settings may vary widely depending upon EQ 75 Hz 18dB/oct EQ IN LOW CUT the input level. The output of different keyboards, drum machines, guitar effects boxes, etc., vary from extremely weak to so hot that LR U PAN they can practically be connected directly to LEVEL speakers. See pages 1, 19, or 24 for advice. MIC/LINE SWITCH Now we've jumped back to the top of the OO +15 HI/LO EQ TO MIX-B MIX-B MONITOR SPLIT EQ FLIP SW CHANNEL SOURCE strip. Sorry, but logically the input to the chan- OL nel is the next thing to talk about. That's -20 because it's the source of the signal applied to PAN SOLO the channel fader and PAN control. 5