9
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
fidelity 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.
