11
Owner’s Manual
Owner’
s Manual
When connected to the 1/4" jack, there is 20 dB of
attenuation all the way down, and 40 dB of gain fully up,
with a “U” (unity gain) mark at about 10:00.
6. HIGH EQ
This control gives you
up to 15 dB boost or cut
at 12 kHz, and it is also
flat at the center detent.
Use it to add sizzle to
cymbals, and an overall
sense of transparency or
edge to the keyboards,
vocals, guitar, and bacon
frying. Turn it down a little to reduce sibilance, or to
hide tape hiss.
7. HIGH MID EQ
Short for “midrange,”
this knob provides 15 dB
of boost or cut centered
at the frequency deter-
mined by its FREQ knob
(see HIGH MID FREQ
next). Midrange EQ is
often thought of as the
most dynamic because the frequencies that define any
particular sound are almost always found in this range.
The HIGH MID EQ range (400 Hz to 8 kHz) includes
the female vocal range as well as the fundamentals and
harmonics for many instruments.
8. HIGH MID FREQ
This knob ranges from
400 Hz to 8 kHz and
determines the center
frequency for the HIGH
MID EQ filter. This allows
you to zero in on the
precise narrow band of
frequencies you want
to have affected by the
HIGH MID EQ.
9. LOW MID EQ
This is a second mid-
range EQ control that pro-
vides 15 dB of boost or cut
centered at the frequency
determined by its FREQ
knob. It extends down to
100 Hz, which includes
the male vocal range and the fundamentals of some lower
instruments (guitar, lower brass).
10. LOW MID FREQ
This knob ranges from
100 Hz to 2 kHz and
determines the center
frequency for the LOW
MID EQ filter. This allows
you to zero in on the
precise narrow band of
frequencies you want to
have affected by the LOW
MID EQ.
11. LOW EQ
This control gives you
up to 15 dB of boost or
cut at 80 Hz. The circuit
is flat (no boost or cut)
at the center detent
position. This frequency
represents the punch in
bass drums, bass guitar,
fat synth patches, and
some really serious male
singers.
Note:
Used in conjunction with the Low Cut switch,
you can boost the LOW EQ without injecting tons of
infrasonic debris into the mix.
1. EQ IN/OUT Switch
This is a true hardware bypass of the Perkins EQ cir-
cuitry to insure that there is no coloration of the signal
if the EQ is not needed. When this button is out, the EQ
controls have no effect on the signal. You can use this
switch to make an A/B comparison between the EQ’d
signal and the signal without EQ.
We have completely redesigned the
EQ circuits in the Onyx Series of
mixers, based on the designs of Cal
Perkins, an industry-leader in audio
engineering for over three decades
and long-time Mackie collaborator.
This “neo-classic” design provides the sweet musicality
of the British EQ sound, while still maintaining 15 dB of
boost and cut with optimum Q and minimum phase shift
(in other words, it gives you plenty of control and is
pleasing to the ear!).
The 4-band equalization has LOW shelving at 80 Hz,
LOW MID peaking, sweepable from 100 Hz to 2 kHz on
the mono channels, HIGH MID peaking, sweepable from
20
Hz
100
Hz
1k
Hz
10k
Hz
20k
Hz
–15
–10
–5
0
+5
+10
+15
High EQ
20
Hz
100
Hz
1k
Hz
10k
Hz
20k
Hz
–15
–10
–5
0
+5
+10
+15
High Mid EQ
20
Hz
100
Hz
1k
Hz
10k
Hz
20k
Hz
–15
–10
–5
0
+5
+10
+15
Low EQ
20
Hz
100
Hz
1k
Hz
10k
Hz
20k
Hz
–15
–10
–5
0
+5
+10
+15
Mid EQ Freq Sweep
20
Hz
100
Hz
1k
Hz
10k
Hz
20k
Hz
–15
–10
–5
0
+5
+10
+15
Low Mid EQ
20
Hz
100
Hz
1k
Hz
10k
Hz
20k
Hz
–15
–10
–5
0
+5
+10
+15
Mid EQ Freq Sweep