Mackie 406M, Owner'S Manual

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6
READ THIS PAGE!
QUICK START
We know you can’t wait to
get your new mixer set up
and working. Who has time
to read the manual? But
please, take a moment to
read through this section at least to get the
bare essentials.
The Mackie Designs powered mixers are de-
signed to set up and operate quickly and easily.
Just follow these simple directions.
Setup
Place the powered mixer in a position where
it is easy to reach the controls. All the controls
and input connection points are located on the
front panel so you can make quick adjustments
and connections onstage.
Make sure there is at least 6
inches of airspace behind
the powered mixer for ven-
tilation. There is no fan
built into the Mackie PPM
Series. It relies on convection cooling, which
means the heatsink on the back is cooled by the
natural flow of air through the heatsink fins.
Connections
1. Be sure the
POWER
switch on the back
is
OFF
before making any connections.
2. Plug a balanced microphone into one of
the
MIC
XLR (3-pin) connectors on the
front panel. Or you can connect any line-
level signal (keyboard, guitar preamp, DI
box) to the
LINE
jack using a TS or a
TRS 1/4" plug.
3. The
INSERT
jacks are used to connect an
external effects or dynamics processor
into the signal chain. See page 21 for
more info.
4. Plug the speakers (2 ohms or greater)
into the
SPEAKER OUT
jacks on the rear
panel. If you plug two speakers into a side,
each speaker must be 4 ohms or greater
to maintain a 2-ohm minimum load on
the amplifier. Use at least 18 gauge
speaker cable with 1/4" TS plugs.
Don’t use guitar cords for
speaker cables! They’re
not designed to handle
speaker-level signals and
could overheat.
Level Setting
1. Turn down the channel
MON, EFX,
INPUT LEVEL SET,
and
VOLUME
knobs
(fully counterclockwise). Set all the
EQ
controls to center, including the graphic
EQ sliders. Turn down the
MAIN MASTER
and
MONITOR MASTER
controls.
2. If your microphone is a condenser mic,
push in the
PHANTOM POWER
switch. If
you are using both condenser and dynamic
mics, don’t worry. Phantom power will not
hurt most dynamic mics. Check the micro-
phone’s user manual if you’re not sure.
3. Leave the
POWER AMP ROUTING
switch in the OUT position (
MAIN/MAIN
or
STEREO MAINS
).
4. Push the linecord securely into the IEC
connector on the rear panel, and plug it
into a 3-prong AC outlet properly config-
ured for the type of plug supplied with
your powered mixer. Turn on the
POWER
switch, which is located on the rear panel.
5. Play something into the selected input.
This could be an instrument, a singing or
speaking voice, or a line input such as a
CD player or tape recorder output. Be
sure that the volume of the input signal
is the same as it would be during normal
use. If it isn’t, you might have to readjust
these levels during the middle of the set.
6. Turn up the
INPUT LEVEL SET
control
until the LED next to it begins to blink.
7. Turn up the channel
VOLUME
control to
unity (center).
8. Slowly turn up the
MAIN MASTER
control
until you can hear the signal in the speakers.
9. Repeat steps 5, 6, and 7 for the remain-
ing channels.
10. Now you’re ready to rock and roll!
Things You Must Remember:
• Never plug amplifier outputs into
anything except speakers (unless you
have an outboard box specifically
designed to handle high-power speaker-
level signals).
• Before making connections to an exter-
nal amp or reconfiguring an amp’s
routing, turn the amp’s level (gain)
controls down, turn the power off, make
the changes, turn the power back on,
and then turn the level controls back up.
• When you shut down your equipment, turn
off any external amplifiers first. When
powering up, turn on the amplifiers last.
• Save the shipping box and packing
material!
You may need them someday,
and you probably don’t want to have to
pay for them again.