Owner's Manual
19
31. AUX SENDS 1-4
These controls allow you to set up to four independent
mixes, typically for running stage monitors or external
effects processors.
The controls are off when turned fully down, deliver
unity gain at the center, and can provide up to 15 dB
of gain turned fully up. Chances are that you will never
need this extra gain, but it's nice to know that it's there
if you do.
Aux Sends 1-4 [6] are line-level outputs, and are used
if you want to connect external processors, powered
stage monitors, or external power amps with passive
stage monitors. Aux Returns 1-4 [7] are line-level
inputs, typically used to return the output from external
processors back to the main mix.
Carefully adjust how much of each channel appears
in your aux mixes. For example, if you are running stage
monitors, and someone wants "more me, and less them,"
adjust these carefully.
The aux sends can either be pre or post fader,
depending on the position of the aux pre/post switches
[46]. For stage monitor work, use pre, so the stage
monitors do not increase in volume when the channel
level is adjusted. For external processors, use post. In
this way, the feed to external processors will vary with
the channel level, keeping them in the same ratio
(wet/dry).
32. PAN
For mono channels 1-8, this control allows you to
adjust how much of the channel signal goes to the left
main mix, and how much goes to the right main mix.
It has no effect on the aux, as these are mono. In the
center position, the mono channel is split equally to the
left and right.
Pan also affects the channel output to the Alt 3–4 mix
if a channel mute switch is engaged.
For channels 9-16, pan acts in a similar way to a home
stereo balance control (panning left turns down the
right channel, and panning right turns down the left
channel).
If you have a stereo source and the mixer's stereo
inputs are already taken, connect the source's left
output into channel 1, and the right into channel 2. Pan
the channel 1 fully left, and channel 2 fully right, then
the source will appear in the main mix in full stereo.
The pan control employs a design called “Constant
Loudness.” If you have a channel panned hard left (or
right) and then pan to the center, the signal is
attenuated about 3 dB to maintain the same apparent
loudness. Otherwise, it would make the sound appear
much louder when panned center.
33. MUTE switch and ALT 3–4
The dual-purpose mute/alt 3-4 switch is a Mackie
signature. When Greg was designing our first product,
he had to include a mute switch for each channel. Mute
switches do just what they sound like they do. They turn
off the signal by “routing” it into oblivion. “Gee, what
a waste,” he reasoned. “Why not have the mute button
route the signal somewhere else useful, like a separate
stereo bus?”
So mute/alt 3-4 really serves two functions—muting
(often used during mixdown or live shows), and signal
routing (for multitrack and live work) where it acts as
an extra stereo bus.
To use this as a mute switch, all you have to do is not
use the alt 3-4 outputs [14]. Then, whenever you assign
a channel to these unused outputs, you’ll also be
disconnecting it from the main mix, effectively
muting the channel. The mute switch also disconnects
the channel from the post-fader aux send bus. The
channel’s signal is still present on the pre-fader aux
send bus, so muting a channel does not affect your stage
monitors, and the quiet and gentle disposition of your
lead singer.
To use this as an alt 3-4 switch, all you have to do is
connect the alt 3-4 outputs to whatever destination you
desire. Here are two popular examples:
When doing multitrack recording, you can use the
alt 3-4 outputs as a stereo or dual-mono feed to your
multitrack.
When doing live sound or mixdown, it’s often handy
to control the level of several channels with one knob.
That’s called subgrouping. Simply assign these channels
to the alt 3-4 mix, engage alt 3-4 in the control room/
phones source matrix [38], and the signals will appear
at the control room [12] and phones [17] outputs. If
you want the alt 3-4 signals to go back into the main
mix, engage the assign to main mix switch [39] and the
control room knob [40] will control the levels of all the
channels assigned to alt 3-4.
Another way to do the same thing is to assign the
channels to the alt 3-4 mix, then patch out of the alt
3-4 out (left/3 and right/4) back into an unused stereo
channel (9-16). If that’s your choice, don’t ever engage
the mute/alt 3-4 switch on that stereo channel, or you’ll
have every dog in the neighborhood howling at your
feedback loop.
Another benefit of the alt 3-4 feature is that it can act
as an “afl” (after fader listen). Just engage a channel’s
mute/alt 3-4 switch and the alt 3-4 switch in the source
matrix and you’ll get that channel, all by itself, in the
control room and headphones.
