Mackie HMX-56, Owner'S Manual

Page: 5 / 16

5
Owner’s Manual
Owner’
s Manual
Getting Started
READ THIS PAGE!!
Even if you’re one of those people
who never reads manuals, all we ask
is that you read this page now before
you begin using the HMX-56. You’ll
be glad you did!
Zero the Controls
1. Turn down all the SOURCE, EFFECTS SEND,
EFFECTS RETURN, and PHONES LEVEL controls.
2. Turn the POWER switch off.
Connections
1. Connect the left and right outputs from your mixer
(main mix out or control room out) to the LEFT
and RIGHT MAIN LINE INPUTS on the rear of the
HMX-56.
2. Connect any specific outputs (mix buses, subgroups,
or aux sends can be used, or a direct output from a
specific device will also work) to the four SOURCE
INPUTS on the rear of the HMX-56.
3. If you have an external effects device you want to
use in the headphone mixes, connect the EFFECTS
SEND to the input of the external effects box, and
connect the output(s) from the external effects to
the LEFT and RIGHT EFFECTS RETURNS on the
rear of the HMX-56. If the effects return is a mono
signal, use a “Y” cord to connect the signal to both
the left and right return jacks.
4. Plug in six sets of headphones to the six PHONES
jacks on the rear of the unit.
5. Connect the detachable linecord to the AC socket
on the back, connect it to an AC outlet properly
configured for your particular model, and turn on
the HMX-56’s power switch.
Set the Levels
1. On your mixing console, get a reasonable stereo mix
going.
2. If you are using a subgroup or aux send connected
to one of the source inputs on the HMX-56, go
ahead and get the mix that you want for each
source input.
3. With music going through the main mix, don the
headphones for headphone amp 1 and S-L-O-W-L-Y
turn up the PHONES LEVEL control on the front
panel for the corresponding headphone amp. Adjust
for a comfortable listening level.
Note: There is no input level control for the Main
Input on the HMX-56. If the volume gets really loud,
really fast, turn down the Main Mix level control on
your mixer until you can turn up the headphone amp
LEVEL control at least halfway. Conversely, if you have
to turn the headphone amp LEVEL control all the way
up, turn up the Main Mix level control a little more.
4. S-L-O-W-L-Y turn up the SOURCE A, B, C, and D
level controls. Adjust for a comfortable listening
level, equivalent to the volume level of the main
mix.
5. Repeat for headphone amps 2-6.
6. Now the individual performers can tweak their own
headphone mixes to suit their individual tastes.
Other Nuggets of Wisdom
There are two ways to use the HMX-56 to let
musicians dial up their own mix:
1) Use the stereo input and all four mono inputs to
combine together into one mix. For example, a stereo
drum mix (from the main mixing console’s subgroup
outs) coming in on the stereo input, and bass, lead
vocal, guitar 1, and guitar 2 coming in on the four
mono inputs. In this method, the mix is derived from a
combination of all five knobs.
2) You have a monitor mix coming in on the stereo
input from the mixing console, and the four mono inputs
getting various direct outs from instruments or vocals
that the various band members might want to boost in
their own monitor mixes. In this method, the engineer
determines the main monitor mix, and the musicians
can boost up individual inputs to enhance their own mix.
• Always turn the HMX-56 off before making or
changing connections.
• Never listen to loud music for prolonged periods.
Please see the Safety Instructions on page 2 for
information on hearing protection.
• Save the shipping box! You may need it someday,
and you don’t want to have to pay for another one.
That’s it for the “Getting Started” section. Next comes
the “Hookup” section that shows you some typical ways
that you might use the HMX-56 in real applications.
After that, you can take the grand tour of the HMX-56,
with descriptions of every knob, input, and output. We
encourage you to take the time to read all of the feature
descriptions, but at least you know it’s there if you have
any questions.