Mackie 1604 Musical Toy Instrument User Manual


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Owner’s Manual
Owner’s Manual
4. Insert
Theseunbalanced1/4"jacksareforconnectingserial
effectsprocessorssuchascompressors,equalizers,
de-essers,orlters.Theinsertpointisafterthegain
[3]control,butbeforethechannel’sEQ[32],lowcut
[33],fader[25]andmute[30]controls.Insertcables
mustbewiredthusly:
Tip=send(outputtoeffectsdevice)
Ring = return(inputfromeffectsdevice)
Sleeve = commonground
Eventhoughchannels1–8alreadyhavedirectout[5]
jacks,insertjackscanalsobeusedaschanneldirect
outputs;post-gain,pre-lowcut,andpre-EQ.Seethe
connectorsectiononpage29showingthreewaystouse
insertcables.
5. Direct Out
Foundonlyonchannels1–8,thesebalanced1/4"
jacksdeliverthesignalfromtheveryendofthechannel
path;post-gain[3],post-EQ[32],post-lowcut[33],
post-fader[25],andpost-mute[30].Theyarethekey
playerin“splitmonitoring,”makingthe1604VLZ4
perfectforan8-trackstudio.
Split Monitoring
Withsplitmonitoring,youusethersteight
channelsforyoursoundsources:vocalmics,
drummics,keyboard/synthoutputs,guitar
effectsoutputs,thatsortofthing.Fromthere,the
channelsmanipulatethesound,butarenotassignedto
theoutputsection.Instead,they’repatchedfromthe
channel’sdirectout[5]jackstothecorresponding
multitrackinput(directout1tomultitrackinput1,2to
2,3to3,etc.).Thesignalswillnowberecordedorpass
directlythroughthemultitrack,dependingoneach
track’srecord-readystatus.
tip
This plug connects to one of the
mixer’s Channel Insert jacks.
ring
tip
ring
sleeve
SEND to processor
RETURN from processor
(TRS plug)
multitrack
machine
sound sources
direct
outputs
group
outputs
1–8 9–16
Theoutputsofthemultitrackarethenpatched
tothenexteightline[2]inputsonthe1604VLZ4
(multitrackout1tolineinput9,2to10,3to11,etc.).
Thesechannels(9–16)willbeassignedtothemixer’s
outputsection,deliveringthesignalstotheirultimate
destination,whichmaybeyourmixdown2-track,your
controlroomsystem,oryourheadphones.
Butlet’snotforgetthatthe1604VLZ4isa4-bus
mixer.Thesebusesleadtothesubouts[8],andare
designedtoaccomplishthetaskofgettingchannels
tothemultitrackwithoutusingthedirectoutputs.
Forexample,achannelisassignedtosubout1.
Subout1’soutputispatchedtomultitrackinput1.
Fromthere,themultitrackoutputgoestothemixer’s
channel9lineinput,aswejustdiscussed.(Hottip:
Tofeedan8-trackdeckwith4suboutputs,simplyuse
Y-cords:subout1feedstracks1and5,2feeds2and6,
3feeds3and7,and4feeds4and8.Tracksinrecord
modewillacceptthesignal,andtracksinsafemode
willignorethesignal.)
Theadvantages:Youcanassignanychanneltoany
track,withoutrepatching.Youcanassignmultiplechan-
nelstoonetrackandcontroltheoveralllevelofthat
subgroup.Youcan’tbouncetrackswithoutthisfeature.
Perhapsthebestmethodistodoboth:Usethesub
outstofeedmultichannelsubmixes(likeadrumkit)
tosomeofthetracks,andthedirectoutjackstofeed
single-channelsignals(likebassguitar)totheother
tracks.
Thepointisthatyouneverlistendirectlytothe
sourcechannels(1–8).Youlistentothemonitorchan-
nels(9–16)andthey’relisteningtothemultitrackthat
islisteningtothesourcechannels.(Makesuretoassign
themonitorchannels9-16totheL/Rmix,andnotthe
sourcechannels1-8.)Themainadvantageisthatyou
won’tbeforcedtoconstantlyrepatchyourmultitrack—
justsetitupandforgetit.You’llalsoknowforcertain
thatthesignalsareindeedgettingtothemultitrack,
sinceyou’reconstantlylisteningtoit.
Anothermethodofinterfacingamultitrackiscalled
inlinemonitoring,andrequiresadedicatedmixing
console.Eachofitschannelsisactuallytwochannels:
onecarryingthemic/linesoundsourceandtheother
carryingthemultitrackoutput.
6. Aux Sends
These1/4"jacksusuallypatchtotheinputsof
aparalleleffectsdevicesortotheinputsofstage
monitoramps.Fordetailssee
“
AuxTalk
”
onpage23.
Effects: Serial Or Parallel?
You’vehearduscarelesslytossaroundtheterms
“serial”and“parallel.”Here’swhatwemeanbythem:
“Serial”meansthattheentiresignalleavesthemixer
[insert(4)send],isroutedthroughtheeffectsdevice,
andreturnstothemixer[insertreturn].Examples:
compressor/limiters,graphicequalizers.
“Parallel”meansthataportionofthesignalinthe
mixeristappedofftothedevice(auxsend),processed
andreturnedtothemixer(stereoreturn)tobemixed
withtheoriginal“dry”signal.Thisway,multiple
channelscanallmakeuseofthesameeffectsdevice.
Examples:reverb,digitaldelay.
Dry Signal
Processed
Signal
Insert
Send
Insert
Return
Dry Signal(s)
Dry Signal(s)
Aux
Send
Aux
Return
Wet Signal
Channel Path
Mix
Stage
Output
Section
Processed
Signal
Signal Processor
(e.g., Compressor)
Signal Processor
(e.g., Reverb)
Dry Signal
Processed
Signal
Insert
Send
Insert
Return
Dry Signal(s)
Dry Signal(s)
Aux
Send
Aux
Return
Wet Signal
Channel Path
Mix
Stage
Output
Section
Processed
Signal
Signal Processor
(e.g., Compressor)
Signal Processor
(e.g., Reverb)
Dry Signal
Processed
Signal
Insert
Send
Insert
Return
Dry Signal(s)
Dry Signal(s)
Aux
Send
Aux
Return
Wet Signal
Channel Path
Mix
Stage
Output
Section
Processed
Signal
Signal Processor
(e.g., Compressor)
Signal Processor
(e.g., Reverb)
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