Mackie Onyx 1620 Owner's Manual - Page 14

ONYX 1620 Control Room Matrix, Metering, and Phones Typically, the engineer sends the MAIN MIX to an audience (if live) or to a mixdown deck (if recording). But what if the engineer needs to hear something other than the MAIN MIX in the control room or headphones? With the Onyx 1620, the engineer has several choices of what to listen to. This is one of those tricky parts, so buckle up. I have the CD player plugged into the TAPE inputs, and that never gets to the MAIN OUTPUTS!" Oh, but it does. Simply engage this switch and your SOURCE matrix selection, after going through the CONTROL ROOM level control, will feed into the MAIN MIX, just as if it were another stereo channel. 20. CONTROL ROOM/PHONES SOURCE Using the SOURCE switches, you can choose to listen to any combination of MAIN MIX, ALT 3-4, TAPE, and FIREWIRE (optional). By now, you probably know what the MAIN MIX is. ALT 3-4 is that additional stereo mix bus. TAPE is the stereo signal coming in from the TAPE IN RCA jacks. FIREWIRE is a 2-track feed coming in through the optional FireWire card from your computer. PREMIUM ANALOG MIXER w/ PERKINS EQ & FIREWIRE OPTION PHONES Selections made in the SOURCE matrix deliver stereo signals to the CONTROL ROOM, PHONES, and Meters. With no switches engaged, there will be no signal at these outputs and no meter indication. CONTROL ROOM/ PHONES SOURCE MAIN MIX FIREWIRE (OPTION) ALT 3-4 TAPE LEFT RIGHT 0dB=0dBu CLIP 20 10 7 4 2 0 2 LEVEL 4 SET 7 10 20 30 The exception to that is the SOLO function. Regardless of the SOURCE matrix selection, engaging a channel's SOLO switch will replace that selection with the SOLO signal, also sent to the CONTROL ROOM, PHONES, and Meters. 21. ASSIGN TO MAIN MIX ASSIGN TO MAIN MIX RUDE SOLO OO MAX CONTROL ROOM OO MAX PHONES PFL AFL SOLO MODE 14 ONYX 1620 Let's say you're doing a live show. Intermission is nearing and you want to play a soothing CD for the crowd to prevent them from becoming antsy. Then you think, "But What if you have a playlist of MP3 files on your laptop you want to play during the break? Get the optional FireWire card and engage the FIREWIRE button to play your MP3s directly from your computer, through the SOURCE matrix, and into the MAIN MIX. 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 level control. Side effects: 1) Engaging this switch also feeds 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 disconnected from the CONTROL ROOM and PHONES outputs, to prevent feedback. Then again, why on earth would anyone want to assign the MAIN MIX to the MAIN MIX? WARNING: Pushing in both the TAPE button (in the SOURCE matrix) and ASSIGN TO MAIN MIX (21) can create a feedback path between TAPE IN and TAPE OUT. Make sure your tape deck is not in record, record-pause, or input monitor mode when you engage these switches, or make sure the CONTROL ROOM knob (22) is turned all the way down (off). 22. CONTROL ROOM Knob This controls the volume at the CONTROL ROOM outputs, from off (∞) to maximum gain (MAX). It also controls the level of the control room signal going to the MAIN OUTS when ASSIGN TO MAIN MIX is selected in the CONTROL ROOM/PHONES SOURCE matrix. 23. PHONES Knob This controls the volume at the PHONES output, from off (∞) to maximum gain (MAX). 24. PHONES This is where you plug in your stereo headphones. It is a 1/4" TRS stereo jack and provides the same signal that is routed to the CONTROL ROOM outputs (40), as determined by the CONTROL ROOM/PHONES SOURCE matrix (20). The volume is controlled with the PHONES knob (23) (right next to the CONTROL ROOM knob).