Mackie 1202 CHANNEL STRIP CONTROLS, 15Gain, 16Pan, 17EQ, 18AUX Sends, THE REST OF THE STORY: CONTROLS

+15

U18

+15

AUX

–15 +15

L R

PAN

+20

GAIN 1

THE REST OF THE STORY: CONTROLS

As we pointed out at the start of this sec- tion, the controls on the MS 1202 are organized into two distinct areas: eight channel strips (four mono and four stereo) and an output section.

CHANNEL STRIP CONTROLS

The eight channel strips look alike, and function identically. The only difference is the four on the left are for individual mics or mono instruments and have more gain avail- able, while the next four are for either stereo or mono line-level sources. (Each of the line- level channel strips is actually two complete circuits. The controls are linked together to preserve stereo.)

15Gain

The rotary GAIN knob controls the channel’s level… from OFF to Unity Gain (no gain or loss) to +20dB. You’ll feel a slight “click”, or detent, at the straight-up position. This is to make it easier to use the channels predictably: when the control is at the detent, you’re set for Unity Gain; no attenuation and no amplification.

16Pan

PAN adjusts the amount of channel signal sent to the left and right outputs. These controls work as pan pots on all eight channel strips as long as you’re using mono signal sources (microphones, LINE 1–4, or the LEFT-only mono inputs of channels 5–12). You can also use Channel 5–12 PAN controls to “skew” stereo inputs left or right, just like the Balance control on your stereo receiver.

17EQ

The MicroSeries 1202 has bass and treble shelving equalization at musically useful points — LO boost/cut at 80Hz and HI boost/ cut at 12kHz. By shelving we mean that the circuitry boosts or cuts all frequencies past the specified frequency, instead of just creating a frequency bump or dip the way a graphic equalizer would. For example, rotating the MS 1202’s LO EQ knob 15dB to the right boosts bass starting at 80 Hz and continuing down to the lowest octave.

LO EQ. This control gives you up to 15dB boost or cut at 80Hz. The circuit is flat at the detented center position. This frequency

represents the punch in bass drums, bass guitar, fat synth patches, and some really serious male singers. Cutting slightly at this frequency can do wonders for muddy tracks and boomy room acoustics; cutting more drastically can help fix poppy microphones.

HI EQ. This control gives you up to 15dB boost or cut at 12kHz, and is also flat at the detent. Use it to add sizzle to cymbals, and an overall sense of transparency, or edge to keyboards, vocals and guitar. Turn it down a little to reduce sibilance, or to fix hiss on a tape track.

You can also screw things up royally. We’ve designed a full 15dB of boost and cut into each equalizer circuit, because we know professionals occasionally need that range. But if you max the EQ’s on every input you’ll get mix mush. If you’re using the MS 1202 for recording, equalize subtly and use the left sides of the knobs (cut), as well as the right (boost).

18AUX Sends

These unbalanced outputs route a portion of each channel signal out to another source for processing or sub-mixing. These outputs are controlled by the AUX 1 and AUX 2 knobs.

These are more than just effects sends. They can be used to generate separate mixes for recording (or “mix-minuses” for broad- cast), or as monitor mixes.

•The AUX sends are post-gain control, post-equalizer. That is, they follow the EQ and level adjustments for each channel.

•PAN has no effect on the sends.

•All sends range from full “off” at the extreme counterclockwise position to Unity with their channel gain controls at the center detent position. There’s an extra 15dB of gain once you pass the detent. However, you should be careful not to overload whatever device you’re sending signal to.

•On Channels 1–4 only, the AUX controls can be changed to pre-fade/pre-equalizer. See page 9 “MS 1202 Modification” for further details.

•Channel 5–12 AUX pots mix the mono sum of their respective stereo inputs.

•We recommend going into a stereo reverb in mono and returning in stereo. We have found that most “stereo” reverb’s second input just ties up an extra AUX send and adds nothing to the sound.