Mackie 1604VLZ4 Musical Toy Instrument User Manual


 
17
Owner’s Manual
Owner’s Manual
ThelowEQprovidesupto
15dBboostorcutbelow80Hz.
Thecircuitisat(noboostor
cut)atthecenterdetentposi-
tion.Thisfrequencyrepresents
thepunchinbassdrums,bass
guitar,fatsynthpatches,andsomereallyseriousmale
singerswhoeatbrokenglassforbreakfast.
Usedinconjunctionwiththelowcut[33]switch,
youcanboostthelowEQwithoutinjectingatonof
subsonicdebrisintothemix.Werecommendusing
thelowcutfeatureonallchannels,exceptlow
frequencysignals,likekickdrumsandbassguitars.
ThemidEQ,or“midrange,”hasaxedbandwidthof
1octave.Themidknobsetstheamountofboostorcut,
upto15dB,andiseffectivelybypassedatthecenter
detent.Thefrequencyknobsetsthecenterfrequency,
sweepablefrom100Hzto8kHz.
Mostoftherootandlowerharmonicsthatdenea
soundarelocatedinthe100Hz–8kHzfrequencyrange,
andyoucancreatedrasticchangeswiththesetwo
knobs.ManyengineersusemidEQtocutmidrange
frequencies,notboostthem.Onepopulartrickistoset
themidfullyup,turnthefrequencyknobuntilyound
apointwhereitsoundsjustterrible,thenbackthemid
downintothecutrange,causingthoseterriblefrequen-
ciestodisappear.Soundssilly,butitworks.Sometimes.
ThehiEQprovidesyouup
to15dBboostorcutabove
12kHz,anditisalsoatatthe
detent.Useittoaddsizzleto
cymbals,anoverallsenseof
transparency,oranedgeto
keyboards,vocals,guitarand
baconfrying.Turnitdownalittletoreducesibilance
ortomasktapehiss.
WithtoomuchEQ,youcanscrewthingsuproyally.
We’vedesignedalotofboostandcutintoeachequalizer
circuitbecauseweloveyou,andknowthateveryone
willoccasionallyneedthat.ButifyoumaxtheEQon
everychannel,you’llgetmixmush.Equalizesubtlyand
usetheleftsidesoftheknobs(cut),aswellastheright
(boost).Ifyoundyourselfrepeatedlyusingfullboost
orcut,consideralteringthesoundsource,such
asplacingamicdifferently,tryingadifferentkindof
mic,changingthestrings,orgargling.
20
Hz
100
Hz
1k
Hz
10k
Hz
20k
Hz
–15
–10
–5
0
+5
+10
+15
20
Hz
100
Hz
1k
Hz
10k
Hz
20k
Hz
–15
–10
–5
0
+5
+10
+15
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Hz
100
Hz
1k
Hz
10k
Hz
20k
Hz
–15
–10
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31. Pan
Thisadjuststheamountofchannelsignalsentto
theleftversustherightoutputs.Pandeterminesthe
fateoftheL-Rassignment,subgroups1–2and3–4,
andthesolo(inAFLmode).Withthepanknobhard
left,thesignalwillfeedtheleftmainmix,subgroup1,
subgroup3andleftnormal(AFL)solomode(assuming
theirassignmentswitchesareengaged).Withtheknob
hardright,signalfeedstherightmainmix,subgroup2,
subgroup4andrightnormal(AFL)solomode.Withpan
setsomewherein-betweenleftandright,thesignalwill
bedividedbetweentheleftandrightbuses.
Stereo Sources
Yourlifewillbeeasierifyoufollowthisstandard
convention:Whenpatchingstereosoundsources
toamixer,alwaysplugtheleftsignalintoan“odd”
channel(1,3,5,etc.)andtherightsignalintothe
adjacent“even”channel(2,4,6,etc.).Thenpanthe
oddchannelhardleftandtheevenchannelhardright.
Constant Loudness ! ! !
The1604VLZ4’spancontrolsemployadesign
called“ConstantLoudness.”Ithasnothingto
dowithlivingnexttoafreeway.Asyouturn
thepanknobfromlefttoright(therebycausingthe
soundtomovefromthelefttothecentertotheright),
thesoundwillappeartoremainatthesamevolume
(orloudness).
Ifyouhaveachannelpannedhardleft(orright)and
reading0dB,itmustdipdownabout4dBontheleft
(orright)whenpannedcenter.Todootherwise,like
thoseBrandXmixers,wouldmakethesoundappear
muchlouderwhenpannedcenter.
32. 3-Band Mid-Sweep EQ
The1604VLZ4hasa3-band,mid-sweepequalization:
lowshelvingat80Hz,midsweeppeakingfrom100Hz
to8kHz,andhishelvingat12kHz.It’sprobablyall
theEQyou’lleverneed!(Shelvingmeansthatthe
circuitryboostsorcutsallfrequenciespastthe
speciedfrequency.Forexample,the1604VLZ4’s
lowEQboostsbassfrequenciesbelow80Hzand
continuingdowntothelowestnoteyouneverheard.
Peakingmeansthatcertainfrequenciesforma“hill”
aroundthecenterfrequency.)
20
Hz
100
Hz
1k
Hz
10k
Hz
20k
Hz
–15
–10
–5
0
+5
+10
+15