Mackie 1604 Musical Toy Instrument User Manual


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Owner’s Manual
Owner’s Manual
Patchbay Description
1
Attheriskofstatingtheobvious,thisiswhereyou
plugeverythingin:microphones,line-levelinstruments
andeffects,headphones,andtheultimatedestination
foryoursound:PAsystem,DAW,etc.Afewofthe
featuresdescribedinthissectionareontopofthe
mixer,butmostareoutbackonthis“pod.”
SeeAppendixB(page27)forfurtherdetailsand
someratherlovelydrawingsoftheconnectorsyou
canusewiththe1604VLZ4.
EZ Interface
Concernedaboutlevels,balancing,impedances,
polarity,orotherinterfacegoblins?Youcanpatch
anythingalmostanywhereonthe1604VLZ4,with
naryacare.Here’swhy:
• Everyinputandoutputisbalanced(except
insert,phonesandRCAjacks).
• Everyinputandoutputwillalsoaccept
unbalancedlines(exceptXLRjackswhen
phantompowerison).
• Everyinputisdesignedtoacceptvirtuallyany
outputimpedance.
• Themainleftandrightmixoutputscandeliver
28dBuintoaslowasa600ohmload.
• Alltheotheroutputscandeliver22dBuinto
aslowasa600ohmload.
• Alltheoutputsareinphasewiththeinputs.
Allweaskisthatyouperformthelevelsetting
procedure[page5]everytimeyoupatchinanew
soundsource.Sostopworryingandstartmixing!
1. Mic Ins
ThisisafemaleXLRconnectorthatacceptsa
balancedmicorlinelevelinputfromalmostanytype
ofsource.TheseOnyxmicpreampsfeaturehigher
delityandheadroomrivalinganystandalonemic
preamponthemarkettoday.Thesecircuitsare
excellentatrejectinghumandnoise.
TheXLRinputsarewiredasfollows:
Pin1=Shieldorground
Pin2=Positive(+orhot)
Pin3=Negative(–orcold)
Professionalribbon,dynamic,andcondensermicsall
soundexcellentthroughtheseinputs.Themic/line
inputswillhandleanykindoflevelyoucantossat
them,withoutoverloading.
Noteveryinstrumentismadetoconnectdirectlyto
amixer.GuitarscommonlyneedaDirectInjection(DI)
boxtoconnecttothemixer'smicinputs.Theseboxes
convertunbalancedline-levelsignalsfromyourguitar,
intobalancedmic-leveloutputs,andprovidesignaland
impedancematching.Theyalsoletyousendyourgifted
guitarrenditionsoverlongcablesoraudiosnakes,
withminimuminterferenceorhigh-frequencysignal
loss.Askyourdealerorguitarmakerabouttheir
recommendationsforagoodDIbox.
Phantom Power
Mostmodernprofessionalcondensermicsare
equippedforphantompower,whichletsthemixer
sendlow-currentDCvoltagetothemic’selectronics
throughthesamewiresthatcarryaudio.(Semi-pro
condensermicsoftenhavebatteriestoaccomplishthe
samething.)“Phantom”owesitsnametoanabilityto
be“unseen”bydynamicmics(ShureSM57/SM58,for
instance),whichdon’tneedexternalpowerandaren’t
affectedbyitanyway.
The1604VLZ4’sphantompowerisgloballycontrolled
bythephantom[22]switchontherearpanel.
(Thismeansthephantompowerforallchannels
isturnedonandofftogether.)
Neverplugsingle-ended(unbalanced)
microphones,orribbonmicsintothemic
inputjacksifthephantompowerison.
Donotpluginstrumentoutputsintothe
micinputjackswithphantompoweron
unlessyouknowforcertainitissafetodoso.
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