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SHOWBOX BATTERY POWERED ALL-IN-ONE PERFORMANCE RIG WITH BREAKAWAY MIX CONTROL

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Effect

Description

Example of its use

SMALL CHORUS (FX1 + FX2) 

LARGE CHORUS (FX1 + FX2)

These effects provide a soft, ethereal sweeping effect 

that is useful for thickening and for making a particular 

sound pop out of the mix. 

Perfect for enhancement of electric and acoustic guitar 

and bass, or to add a dramatic effect to vocals, particu-

larly group harmonies and choirs.

FAST DELAY (FX1 + FX2) 

SLOW DELAY (FX1 + FX2)

These two effects provide delay with delay times of fast 

and slow.

These work best with full, up-beat music like  

rock where the delay needs to cut through the mix.

DELAY + CHORUS (FX1 + FX2)

Delay + chorus combined as one adds rich, warm  

character, but with modulated tails of delay.

Pink Floyd guitarist, David Gilmour, often used  

this effect in his setup.

FLANGER (FX1 + FX2)

The flange effect is a modulated delay with feedback 

(and shorter delay times than a chorus), which creates 

the characteristic “whooshing” sound often used to 

describe the flange sound.

Check out Heart’s  “Barracuda”!

PHASER (FX1 + FX2)

The phaser uses a series of all pass filters to alter the 

phase of the signal so that when it adds to the dry signal, 

you get notches in the output.

Guitarist King Edward (R.I.P.) used a phaser all over the 

early Van Halen albums.

TREMOLO (FX1 + FX2)

The tremolo effect produces a slight, rapid variation in 

loudness. i.e. volume modulation

[Not to be confused with a guitar’s tremolo bar which  

fluctuates the pitch of the sound, not the volume.]

Green Day – Boulevard of Broken Dreams,  

Audioslave – Like a Stone and many more.

SMALL PLATE (FX2) 

LARGE PLATE (FX2)

Plate reverbs emulate vintage mechanical reverberation 

that is generated with a metal plate. Its sound  

is characterized by lots of early reflections  

and no pre-delay.

Perfect for adding a long sustain to percussion such  

as tambourine or hand-claps, or thickening backup 

vocals or other tight vocal arrangements.

SMALL ROOM (FX2)

The small room reverb simulates the reverberation (per-

sistence of sound) in a typical small room. Small rooms 

are typically coined “dead” rooms with little to no reverb.

Some artists record guitars (and/or bass) from  

a bathroom to get a “punchier” sound out of their amp.

LARGE ROOM (FX2)

The large room reverb simulates the reverberation 

(persistence of sound) in a typical large room. Large 

rooms are typically coined “live” rooms since they have a 

lot of reverb.

Sound tends to carry in large rooms with a lot of open 

space. This works well for a good, boomy, deep sound.

SMALL HALL (FX2) 

LARGE HALL (FX2)

These reverbs simulate the sound of a spacious,  

yet cozy, heavily draped and carpeted hall  

with an especially warm tone.

These reverbs should be chosen when trying  

to “thicken up” and/or add “space” to a song  

(or passage). Think “music hall” or “symphonic hall”.

SPRING REVERB (FX2)

A spring reverb uses a transducer at one end of a spring 

and a pickup at the other end to create and capture 

vibrations in a metal spring. The longer the spring, the 

longer the decay time of the reverberation.

A touch of spring reverb adds to the ambience of a song. 

This is a great choice when taking a guitar solo.

DELAY + REVERB

Delay + reverb combined as one allows for more  

sustained delays with confident tones and ambience.

Useful for bands that employ the alternative rock,  

shoegaze and/or experimental rock sound.

Effect

Description

Example of its use

**REVERSE DELAY (FX1 + FX2)

A reverse delay takes the instrument input  

signal, momentarily delays it, then sends  

the reversed signal (of the input) to the output.

Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles perfected  

the sound, but for a more recent suggestion, check 

out ‘Stolen’ by Dashboard Confessional.

** ACOUSTIC GUITAR SIMULATOR (FX1)

Simply put, the acoustic guitar simulator makes a  

standard electric guitar sound like an acoustic-electric.

This is the setting to choose if you only have an  

electric guitar, but need it to sound like an acoustic.

**These FX are available only on channels 2 and 4.

Summary of Contents for SNOWBOX

Page 1: ...OWNER S MANUAL www mackie com BATTERY POWERED ALL IN ONE PERFORMANCE RIG WITH BREAKAWAY MIX CONTROL...

Page 2: ...ions to this device not expressly approved by LOUD Audio LLC could void the user s authority to operate the equipment under FCC rules 17 Any changes or modifications not expressly approved by the part...

Page 3: ...ut Jacks Channels 1 and 3 9 1 4 Input Jacks Channels 2 and 4 9 1 4 Stereo Line Input Jacks Channel 5 6 10 Bluetooth Button and LED 10 1 8 Stereo Line Input Aux Jack 11 1 4 External FX Send Return Jack...

Page 4: ...X Knobs 24 Selecting FX on ShowBox 24 Tuner 25 Snapshots 26 Accessing Snapshots on ShowBox 26 External FX Loop Knob 26 LOOP control 27 Looper Button 27 Working the Looper on ShowBox 27 Loop Level Knob...

Page 5: ...Hookup Diagrams Karaoke Enthusiasts 37 Hookup Diagrams Bands 38 Hookup Diagrams Daisy Chaining 39 Appendix A Service Information 40 Troubleshooting 40 Repair 41 Appendix B Technical Information 42 Spe...

Page 6: ...whole rig in one trip from the car So there you have it Again we hope you like it If you have any questions or comments about this Owner s Manual or other Mackie documentation please don t hesitate t...

Page 7: ...up the ShowBox quickly If you desire a more thorough walk through of ShowBox there is a wealth of information in the following pages 1 Read and understand the Important Safety Instructions on page 2...

Page 8: ...ut jacks then working our way around Power Connector The ShowBox may be powered in two ways 1 This is a standard 3 prong IEC power connector Connect the detachable power cord included in the packaging...

Page 9: ...ound Pin 2 Positive or hot Pin 3 Negative or cold NEVER connect the output of an amplifier directly to a ShowBox s input jack This could damage the input circuitry and we wouldn t want that now would...

Page 10: ...ould damage the input circuitry and we wouldn t want that now would we Bluetooth Button and LED This button will engage the channel s pairing mode allowing the ShowBox to be seen by other Bluetooth de...

Page 11: ...ompress the pedals essentially reducing the tone to hot garbage However plugging a pedal board to these jacks bypasses the input working sort of like an insert jack after the ShowBox s overdriven prea...

Page 12: ...ate them is on pages 24 25 47 48 The FX footswitch also mutes un mutes any pedals connected to the external FX send and return jacks 1 4 Headphone Output Jack This 1 4 TRS connector supplies the outpu...

Page 13: ...ctor allows the ability to transmit a STEREO MIX OF ALL INPUTS TO ShowBox from a connected computer or smartphone USB Audio OUT This connector allows the ability to transmit a STEREO MIX OF ALL INPUTS...

Page 14: ...uality trustworthy name doesn t hurt Some examples we ve heard of SanDisk PNY Lexar Samsung Kingston Once a micro SD card has been selected PLEASE format it before using it There is much more informat...

Page 15: ...eat selection to choose for when live music has wrapped up and you simply want to play music through a PA speaker The EQ curve focuses on low frequency extension and resembles a slight smiley EQ curve...

Page 16: ...for mobile gigging live streaming and more SAFETY FIRST Before installing and using this product please read these instructions carefully Failure to follow the precautions may result in damage injury...

Page 17: ...it s time to insert a different one NOTE Do not force the battery into place There is only one way it fits and there should be no resistance during installation As seen in the drawing above a vertica...

Page 18: ...ed as a wired controller mounted onto a standard mic stand using the included mic stand mount clip see page 35 Breakaway Mixer Data Port This port sends and receives data to from the breakaway mixer v...

Page 19: ...not too high where distortion could occur and not too low where the quieter exquisitely delicate passages might be lost in background noise ShowBox is also blessed with an auto gain feature that will...

Page 20: ...erting back to volume mode and its green LEDs 7 On the bottom of the breakaway mixer is a CliffsNotes version of how to quickly set auto gain or you could always come back here and read the whole sheb...

Page 21: ...l Perkins an industry leader in audio engineering for over four decades and a long time collaborator This neo classic design provides the sweet musicality of the British EQ sound while still maintaini...

Page 22: ...ference in level between the quietest and loudest parts of a song A compressor squeezes the dynamic range resulting in an overall steadier more constant volume level for the signal It helps sources su...

Page 23: ...you STAGE presence Stage presence is the mix of your outfit and onstage charisma and we re here to help If you recall what Colorforms are this works somewhat similarly In short Colorforms are vinyl c...

Page 24: ...ess of choice and channel the FX amount is set to the default position of 12 o clock noon first five LEDs illuminated 5 Rotate the knob to increase decrease the amount of effect for the selected chann...

Page 25: ...ep by step instructions on how to select FX on ShowBox By default the right knob is always on FX2 not snapshot The effects on FX2 are in parallel i e time based effects This means that shared channels...

Page 26: ...rently saved settings Recall Select this to recall the settings of the corresponding snapshot BK Select this to return to the main snapshots mode step 4 above Rotate the knob until the selection you w...

Page 27: ...Doing nothing Just continue playing you only needed one loop everything in its right place 3b Adding additional loop s Simply follow steps 1 and 2 above for however many more loops you want to record...

Page 28: ...ality is something that we have never reached Challenge accepted Q6 Can a footswitch be used to toggle between looper modes A6 Absolutely It is the left button on a two button footswitch Q7 There has...

Page 29: ...he FX2 scribble strip The FX will be displayed again after 4 5 seconds Now that you know how to view the firmware versions here s a friendly reminder that you should let the knob remain peaceful calm...

Page 30: ...or each recording you want to make You may make as many recordings as desired until the micro SD card runs out of storage 4 On the bottom of the breakaway mixer and above the SD record button is a Cli...

Page 31: ...howBox The battery level information is sent from the ShowBox to the LED located in the upper right corner of the breakaway mixer The LED behaves as follows Green 20 100 battery remaining Yellow 5 20...

Page 32: ...hermore these drivers offer an insanely smooth transient response behavior Yes we too are fans of our own products Continuing on the driver has its own compression circuit which helps protect it from...

Page 33: ...ss A suspected problem of poor bass performance is often caused by a weak AC supply to the amplifiers Never remove the ground pin on the power cord or any other component of the ShowBox This is very d...

Page 34: ...ox does not have any fly points and may NOT be flown NEVER attempt to suspend a ShowBox by its handles Check to make sure that the support surface e g floor etc has the necessary mechanical characteri...

Page 35: ...ge can resonate at certain frequencies causing peaks and dips in the frequency response of the room It is better to place it on a sturdy stand designed to handle the weight of the ShowBox Position the...

Page 36: ...in order to turn FX on and off as well as add loops If you don t have a footswitch order the Mackie one PN 2056472 As seen in the previous pages there are a multitude of other features that may be ut...

Page 37: ...me levels EQ settings compressor level FX 1 and 2 and more Additionally a phone is connected via Bluetooth for the heated karaoke matches An XLR cable connects the primary ShowBox to an additional one...

Page 38: ...off as well as add loops From here set up all channel inputs as you see fit This includes the gain volume levels EQ settings compressor level FX 1 and 2 and more As seen in the previous pages there a...

Page 39: ...sy chained via the male XLR connector labeled MIX OUT Simply plug the signal source s e g microphone above into the input jack s and patch that ShowBox s mix out jack to the next ShowBox s input jack...

Page 40: ...to find out how to proceed No Power Our favorite question Is it plugged in whether by power cord or battery Our favorite follow up question If using a battery is it fully charged Are you sure Another...

Page 41: ...warranty information on page 50 Non warranty service for Mackie products is available at a factory authorized service center To locate the nearest service center visit www mackie com click Support and...

Page 42: ...in 203 mm woofer with ferrite High Frequency 1 0 in 25 mm polymer compression driver Power Amplifiers System Power Amplification Rated Power 400 watts peak Low Frequency Power Amplifier Rated Power 35...

Page 43: ...pe Male XLR balanced Mix Out Stereo Headphones Mix Out Impedance 300 balanced FX Send Impedance 300 pseudo balanced Bluetooth and USB Information Bluetooth Protocol 5 1 Bluetooth Function Audio Stream...

Page 44: ...h Cable P N 2056472 T100 Tripod Stand P N 2052464 SPM200 Unthreaded Pole Mount P N 2035170 SPM400 Threaded Pole Mount P N 2051055 Dimensions Size H x W x D 19 7 11 8 9 8 in 500 300 249 mm Weight 20 9...

Page 45: ...SHOWBOX BATTERY POWERED ALL IN ONE PERFORMANCE RIG WITH BREAKAWAY MIX CONTROL 45 WEIGHT 20 9 lb 9 5 kg 11 8 in 300 mm 9 8 in 249 mm 19 7 in 500 mm ShowBox Dimensions...

Page 46: ...SHOWBOX BATTERY POWERED ALL IN ONE PERFORMANCE RIG WITH BREAKAWAY MIX CONTROL 46 ShowBox Block Diagram y Z D h h d W s y Z D...

Page 47: ...SHOWBOX BATTERY POWERED ALL IN ONE PERFORMANCE RIG WITH BREAKAWAY MIX CONTROL 47 yK Y Y h s Y Y D D...

Page 48: ...ox sound faulty or damaged It is not The harmonic overtones dominate the sound and the signal is absolutely clipped A lot of heavy rock and metal bands employ fuzz Some blues and psychedelic artists a...

Page 49: ...s or thickening backup vocals or other tight vocal arrangements SMALL ROOM FX2 The small room reverb simulates the reverberation per sistence of sound in a typical small room Small rooms are typically...

Page 50: ...ackie com support or by calling LOUD technical support at 1 800 898 3211 toll free in the U S and Canada during normal business hours Pacific Time excluding weekends or LOUD holidays Please retain the...

Page 51: ...SHOWBOX BATTERY POWERED ALL IN ONE PERFORMANCE RIG WITH BREAKAWAY MIX CONTROL 51 USA Phone 425 487 4333 Toll free 800 898 32 Fax 425 487 4337 www mackie com...

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