Samson MPL 1204 Owner'S Manual Download

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Introduction 3

MPL 1204 Features 3

Guided Tour 5

Overview 5
Channels 6
Main Section 8
Rear Panel 11

Connecting The MPL 1204 - General Suggestions 13

Setting Up and Using the MPL 1204 15

Setting the Correct Gain Structure 16

Grounding Techniques 18

Busing, Submixing, and Channel Muting 19

Using Pan 20

Using Equalization 21

Using Aux Sends and Returns 22

Using Inserts 23

PFL/AFL Soloing 24

Applications Notes 25

Using The MPL 1204 As A Recording Mixer 25
Using The MPL 1204 As A Main Live Mixer 26
Using The MPL 1204 As A Keyboard Submixer 27
Linking The MPL 1204 With Other Mixers 28

Appendix A: Block Diagram 29

Specifications 30

Summary of Contents for MPL 1204

Page 1: ...MIXER SAMSON MPL 1204 ...

Page 2: ...cture 16 Grounding Techniques 18 Busing Submixing and Channel Muting 19 Using Pan 20 Using Equalization 21 Using Aux Sends and Returns 22 Using Inserts 23 PFL AFL Soloing 24 Applications Notes 25 Using The MPL 1204 As A Recording Mixer 25 Using The MPL 1204 As A Main Live Mixer 26 Using The MPL 1204 As A Keyboard Submixer 27 Linking The MPL 1204 With Other Mixers 28 Appendix A Block Diagram 29 Spe...

Page 3: ...uire servicing a Return Authorization number RA is necessary Without this number the unit will not be accepted Please call Samson at 1 800 372 6766 for a Return Authorization number prior to shipping your unit Please retain the original packing materials and if possible return the unit in its original carton and packing materials MPL 1204 Features MPL stands for Mic Program Line and the name descr...

Page 4: ...After Fade Listen AFL soloing for each channel PFL allows headphone monitoring of individual channels pre fader but post EQ while AFL enables headphone monitoring of individual channels post fader and post EQ Both types of solo function are non mix destructive in that they do not affect the signal being output either by the Main Bus or Control Room outputs A flexible front panel metering system in...

Page 5: ... OFF R PAN L 10 15 0 15 HIGH 12 0 12 MID 15 0 15 LOW 10 0 10 0 AUX 1 AUX 2 PRE POST MUTE 3 4 SOLO ON OFF R PAN L 10 15 0 15 HIGH 12 0 12 MID 15 0 15 LOW 10 0 10 0 AUX 1 AUX 2 PRE POST MUTE 3 4 SOLO ON OFF R PAN L 10 15 0 15 HIGH 12 0 12 MID 15 0 15 LOW 10 0 10 0 AUX 1 AUX 2 PRE POST MUTE 3 4 SOLO ON OFF R PAN L 10 15 0 15 HIGH 12 0 12 MID 15 0 15 LOW 10 0 10 0 AUX 1 AUX 2 PRE POST MUTE 3 4 SOLO ON...

Page 6: ...ntrol its EQ settings and the position of its Level control For more information see the Using Aux Sends and Returns section on page 20 in this manual 4 Solo On Off switch When pressed in the channel is soloed in headphones only Soloing will be in either PFL Pre Fade Listen or AFL After Fade Listen mode depending upon the setting of the PFL AFL switch in the MPL 1204 main section See 7 and 8 on pa...

Page 7: ...Moving the knob counterclockwise from the 0 position towards causes the signal to be attenuated at the very bottom it is attenuated infinitely in other words there is no sound Moving it clockwise from the 0 position towards 10 causes the signal to be boosted by as much as 10 dB For best signal to noise ratio all Level controls for channels carrying signal should generally be kept at or near the 0 ...

Page 8: ...rn signal is routed to When up the Return s signal is routed to the Bus 1 2 faders and then on to the Bus 1 2 jacks as well as if the Bus L R switch is pressed in see 14 on page 8 the Main and Control Room output jacks When pressed in the channel s signal is instead routed to the Bus 3 4 faders and then on to the Bus 3 4 jacks as well as if the Bus L R switch is pressed in the Main and Control Roo...

Page 9: ... the continuous output level of either Bus 1 2 or Bus 3 4 depending upon the setting of the Meter switch see 10 on page 8 For optimum signal to noise ratio try to adjust all channel levels so that program material is usually at or around 0 VU with occasional but not steady excursions to the red segments See the Setting the Correct Gain Structure section on page 14 in this manual for more informati...

Page 10: ...he knob counterclockwise from the 0 position towards causes the signal to be attenuated at the very bottom it is attenuated infinitely in other words there is no sound Moving it clockwise from the 0 position towards 10 causes the signal to be boosted by up to 10 dB 14 Bus L R switches These switches allow you to route the output from the four buses to the Main left right output jacks and Control R...

Page 11: ...uts WARNING Do not connect a channel s line input if you already have something connected to its microphone input see 4 above all channels are designed to accept only one source or the other 6 Channel Inserts 1 12 Use these to insert an external effects processor such as outboard equalizer compressor limiter or noise gate into any of the MPL 1204 s channels in an effects loop configuration These j...

Page 12: ... on page 11 in this manual for more information 11 Control Room outputs L R In recording applications these will normally be connected to a power amplifier and loudspeakers The Control Room out jacks are electronically balanced so you should use balanced three conductor cabling and 1 4 TRS plugs wherever possible unbalanced two conductor plugs can also be inserted into these outputs but you ll get...

Page 13: ...e and then turn off all connected equipment turning the MPL 1204 off last Try to use balanced connectors and cabling wherever possible These kind of connections do a better job of rejecting extraneous noise and hum and generally provide a cleaner signal Although the MPL 1204 will accept unbalanced connectors throughout it specifically provides electronically balanced inputs for all mic and line in...

Page 14: ...bring in stereo signals that will not need to be equalized Channel and bus insert cables sometimes called Y cords should terminate in standard 1 4 TRS jacks ring to send and tip to return wired as follows The MPL 1204 Aux return jacks are unbalanced stereo inputs with the tip carrying the left input signal and the ring carrying the right input signal with the sleeve carrying common ground as shown...

Page 15: ...s 3 Next make the signal input connections to the mic or line inputs of the various channels WARNING Do not connect a channel s line input if you already have something connected to its microphone input or vice versa each channel is designed to accept only one source or the other 4 Set all channel Trim controls fully counterclockwise to their 4 setting and turn all channel Level controls fully cou...

Page 16: ... on all devices connected to channel line inputs and Aux returns and set their output level controls to unity gain or if there is no unity gain indicated on their output control to maximum If you ve got outboard effects processors connected to Aux returns make sure they are sending completely wet processed signal with no dry unprocessed signal mixed in If condenser microphones are connected to the...

Page 17: ... instrument or sing into the microphone connected to that channel Adjust the input levels of connected outboard effects processors so that their meter shows incoming signal normally in the 0 vu range with only occasional higher excursions Finally optimize the Aux return levels While continuing to play your instrument or continuing to sing into the microphone slowly raise each Aux return level cont...

Page 18: ...audio devices and are experiencing hum or buzz there s a simple test to determine the source of the problem while keeping all devices powered on and connected with audio cabling physically remove each device one by one from the rack If the hum disappears when a particular device is removed you ll know that device is probably the culprit We also recommend that you use balanced audio cabling and con...

Page 19: ...an use each bus to set up a submix within your overall mix For example let s suppose that you re using the MPL 1204 to do live sound and you have eight microphones on the drum kit separate mics for the bass and snare drums as well as for the hi hat another mic for each of three tom toms and an overhead pair for picking up cymbals To get all this signal into the MPL 1204 you re going to have to use...

Page 20: ...king the sound appear left of center and when moved right of center less signal is sent to the left output and more signal is sent to the right output making the sound appear right of center To route a signal hard left or right place the pan knob either fully counterclockwise or fully clockwise You can use stereo panning creatively in a variety of ways For example you might want to have guitars co...

Page 21: ...ted when it is moved left of center the frequency area is being attenuated In most instances the best way to approach equalization is to think in terms of which frequency areas you need to attenuate as opposed to which ones you need to boost boosting a frequency area also has the effect of boosting the overall signal too much EQ boost can actually cause overload Be aware of the phenomenon of maski...

Page 22: ...vel of each paired signal In this way you can actually connect up to four monophonic devices to the MPL 1204 s Aux return section When an Aux return Balance knob is placed at its center detented position both the left and right signals are at equal strength When moved left of center the left input signal remains the same but the right input signal is attenuated when the knob is moved right of cent...

Page 23: ...r into the MPL 1204 without taking up channel line inputs See the Linking the MPL 1204 With Other Mixers Application on page 26 in this manual for more information All MPL 1204 insert jacks accept 1 4 TRS plugs with the ring carrying the send signal and the tip carrying the return signal this will normally be connected to a Y cord see the Connecting The MPL 1204 section on page 12 in this manual f...

Page 24: ...e main drawback to using PFL mode however is that it does not allow you to hear a signal in context Because the PFL soloed signal is monitored pre fader it may sound considerably louder or softer than it actually is in the overall mix depending upon the current position of the channel Level control Therefore you may in some circumstances prefer to use AFL mode which provides post fade and post eq ...

Page 25: ...ls carrying the two track outputs channels 11 and 12 are routed to bus 3 4 via their channel Mute 3 4 switch then connect buses 3 and 4 to the Control Room outputs by pressing in their Bus L R switches CASSETTE or DAT 15db 0 15db 0 15db 15db 15db 15db 0 15db 15db 0 SAMSON SIGNAL PROCESSOR SIGNAL PROCESSOR SERVO 240 SAMSON L R MIDI KEYBOARD L R DRUM MACHINE MIDI TONE GENERATOR L R MULTITRACK Ring T...

Page 26: ...db 15db 0 15db 15db 0 SAMSON SIGNAL PROCESSOR Ring Tip SIGNAL PROCESSOR SERVO 240 SAMSON L R MPL 1204 12 CHANNEL MIC MIXER 1 2 3 4 1 AUX RETURNS STEREO INPUTS UNBALANCED 10KΩ 4dBu S N AVIS RISQUE DE CHOC ELECTRIQUE NE PAS OUVRIR DO NOT EXPOSE THIS EQUIPMENT TO RAIN OR MOISTURE ON OFF AC INPUT 115V 230V 50 60Hz 25W SAMSON TRS STEREO INPUT TIP LEFT RING RIGHT SLEEVE COM TRS BALANCED TIP HI RING LO S...

Page 27: ...IQUE NE PAS OUVRIR DO NOT EXPOSE THIS EQUIPMENT TO RAIN OR MOISTURE ON OFF AC INPUT 115V 230V 50 60Hz 25W SAMSON TRS STEREO INPUT TIP LEFT RING RIGHT SLEEVE COM TRS BALANCED TIP HI RING LO SLEEVE COM TRS INSERT UNBALANCED TIP RETURN RING SEND SLEEVE COM XLR BALANCED 3 LO 2 HI 1 COM FUSE 1A 250V 115V 0 5A 250V 230V CAUTION RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK DO NOT OPEN 115V 230 50 60 Hz 25W POWER RATING 1 2 3 ...

Page 28: ...N UNBALANCED 10KΩ 10dBu 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 12 12 11 11 10 10 9 9 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 1 1 2 2 3 3 MICROPHONE INPUTS BALANCED 4dBu TO 50dBu LINE INPUTS BALANCED 24dBu TO 30dBu CHANNEL INSERTS TIP RETURN RING SEND SLEEVE GND BUS INSERTS UNBALANCED 75Ω 4dBu MIXER LINKING 4 1 2 3 BUS OUTPUTS UNBALANCED 75Ω 4dBu 4 1 2 3 CONTROL ROOM BALANCED 75Ω 4dBu RIGHT LEFT 1 2 3 1 2 3 MAIN BALANCED 75Ω 4dBu...

Page 29: ... A AUX RETURN 3 4 4dBU AUX RETURN 3 4 BALANCE MUTE 1 2 3 4 BUS 1 BUS 3 BUS 2 BUS 4 FADER FADER FADER FADER FADER FADER FADER FADER FADER FADER FADER INSERT I O BUS 1 4dBU INSERT I O BUS 2 4dBU INSERT I O BUS 3 4dBU INSERT I O BUS 4 4dBU OUT BUS 1 4dBU OUT BUS 2 4dBU OUT BUS 3 4dBU OUT BUS 4 4dBU MAIN OUT L 4dBU MAIN OUT R 4dBU CONTROL ROOM OUT L 4dBU CONTROL ROOM OUT R 4dBU BALANCE BALANCE 10 DOT ...

Page 30: ...0 74 dB Mic in to Main out Control Room out 30 84 dB Mic in to Aux send 1 10 64 dB Mic in to Aux send 2 20 74 dB Line in to Main out 10 64 dB Aux return to Main out 30 dB Tape in to Main out 44 dB 5 Residual Noise with 30 kHz LPF EQ center Trim min Main min 97 5 dBu Main max Bus Fader min 80 0 dBu Main max Bus Fader min all channel VR min 62 0 dBu Main max Bus Fader min all channel VR max 52 0 dBu...

Page 31: ...velength for Samson Technologies Corp Copyright 1997 Samson Technologies Corp Printed March 1997 Samson Technologies Corp 575 Underhill Blvd P O Box 9031 Syosset NY 11791 9031 Phone 1 800 3 SAMSON 1 800 372 6766 Fax 516 364 3888 ...

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