802VLZ4
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802VLZ4
Whatever your selection, you can also use the control
room [10] outputs for other applications. Its sound
quality is just as impeccable as the main outs [16 and
17]. It can be used as additional main mix output, which
may sound silly since there are already three, but this
one has its own level control. However, should you do
something like this, be sure that you do not engage a
solo switch, as that will interrupt your source selection.
A Word About Pre-Fader Solo (PFL)
Engaging a channel’s solo [22] switch will cause
this dramatic turn of events: any existing control room
source selections will be replaced by the solo signal,
appearing in the control room, headphones, and in the
meter. The audible solo levels are then controlled by
the control room / submix [32] knob and phones [31]
knob. The solo levels appearing on the meter display are
not controlled by anything — you wouldn’t want that.
You want to see the actual channel level on the meter
regardless of how loud you’re listening.
“Pre-fader” solo means that the channel signal is
being tapped before the channel’s level [21] knob .
It does, however, obey gain [7], low cut [5] and EQ
[25–27] settings, making it the perfect tool for quick
inspections of suspect channels. The channel’s pan [24]
and mute/alt 3-4 [23] settings have no effect on the solo
signal.
Note: for stereo channels 3-8, the solo signal is
the mono sum of the left (odd-numbered) and right
(even-numbered) signals for that channel strip.
Warning:
Pre-fader solo [22] taps the
channel signal before the level knob. If you
have a channel’s level knob set below "U" solo
won’t know that, and will send a unity gain signal to the
control room, phones and meter display, that may result
in a startling level boost at these outputs.
33. Assign to Main Mix
Let’s say you’re doing a live show. Intermission is
nearing and you’ll want to play a soothing CD for the
crowd to prevent them from eating the furniture. Then
you think, “But I have the CD player plugged into the
tape inputs, and that never gets to the main outs!”
Oh, but it does. Simply engage this switch and your
control room source selection, after going through the
control room / submix [32] knob, will feed into the
main mix, just as if it were another stereo channel.
Another handy use for this switch is to enable the
alt 3-4 mix to become a submix of the main mix, using
the control room/submix knob as its level control.
Side effects: (1) engaging this switch will also feed
any soloed channels into the main mix, which may be
the last thing you want. (2) If you have the main mix
as your control room source selection and then engage
assign to main mix, the main mix lines to the control
room will be interrupted to prevent feedback. Then
again, why would anyone want to assign the main mix
to the main mix?
34. Rude Solo
If you happen to forget you’re in solo, you can easily be
tricked into thinking that something is wrong with your
mixer. Hence the flashing rude solo light. This will come
on whenever a channel solo switch [22] is engaged.
It’s especially handy at about 3 a.m. when no sound
is coming out of your monitors but your multitrack is
playing back like mad.
35. Meters
The 802VLZ4’s peak metering system is made up
of two columns of twelve LEDs. Deceptively simple,
considering the multitude of signals that can be
monitored by it.
If nothing is selected in the source matrix and no
channels are in solo, the meters will just sit there and
do nothing. To put them to work, you must make a
selection in the source matrix [30], or engage a solo
switch [22]. Why? You want the meter display to reflect
what the engineer is listening to, and as we’ve covered,
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