POWERMATE3
HINT: Use the MUTE button for muting temporarily not used input channels without changing the settings of the FX/AUX/MON controls and the channel fader.
13 - PFL
Engaging the PFL button routes the audio signal to the headphones bus, so that it is present at the phones output con- nector. The meter instrument in the master section is simultaneously switched, so that the left LED-chain indicates the level of the actually chosen channel (in dBu), which allows optimally matching the level of the signal source. The phones output volume does not dependent on the setting of the corresponding channel fader (Pre Fader Listen), which provides the possibility to listen to or shape the sound of the selected audio signal, without need to include it in the master mix.
14 - SIG / PK INDICATOR
The signal-peak indicator plays a key role when setting input levels. Unlike the mixers of many other manufacturers that either only provide a peak indicator or no channel indicator at all, the PK (peak) LED of the PowerMate provides optical indication of the risk of occurring overdrive before you would actually hear the distortion over the connected speaker systems. As outlined in the setting instructions, the Signal-LED should blink in the rhythm of the incoming signal. If this is not the case, you have to increase the gain. If the PK LED, on the other hand, blinks frequently or lights continuously, the corresponding channel is likely to enter clipping and you have to turn the gain control a bit to the left. The Signal- LED lights at levels -30 dB below clipping while the peak LED lights at a level of -6 dB below the occurrence of overdrive. Keeping an eye on the indicator during a performance is also a good idea, because some very dynamically performing members of a band or changing keyboard setups can easily lead to channel clipping, resulting in the degradation of the overall sound.
15 - FADER
The channel faders set the volume of the corresponding channels, establishing an accurately proportioned mix. The channel faders should be positioned within the range of -5 dB to 0 dB, leaving you with a degree of control that allows the precise matching of relative big differences in the channels’ level settings. The overall volume is set through the use of the master faders. Even though the channel faders offer an additional amplification of +10 dB, we would like to advise you to exceed the +5 dB mark only in very few exceptional cases. If the PowerMate’s summing bus gets “overloaded” with too many “high level” input channels, despite its special gain structure, the summing amplifier could be driven into clipping. Once you register, that some channel faders are set above the 0 dB marking, lowering the setting of each chan- nel fader by about -5 dB and increasing the overall output level by elevating the master faders is the wiser solution. The proportion of the mix and the overall volume stay the same while the risk of clipping is banished.