Channel Strip Description

The ten channel strips look alike, and function identi- cally. The only difference is that the six on the left are for individual mics or mono instruments, and have more gain available, while the next four are for either stereo or mono line-level sources. (Each of the stereo channel strips is actually two complete circuits. The controls are linked together to preserve stereo.) We’ll start at the ­bottom and work our way up…

“U” LIKE UNITY GAIN

Mackie mixers have a “U” symbol on almost every level control. This “U” stands for “unity gain,” meaning no change in signal level. Once you have adjusted the input signal to line-level, you can set every control at “U” and your signals will travel through the mixer at optimal levels. What’s more, all the labels on our level controls are measured in decibels (dB), so you’ll know what you’re doing level-wise if you choose to change a control’s settings.

The 1402-VLZ3 has "dual-mode solo." The SOLO MODE [35] switch in the Master section determines which mode you'll be hearing. With the switch up, you'll get "AFL" (After-Fader-Listen), which is post-FADER, post-PAN, making it ideal for mixdown soloing. With the switch down, you're in "PFL" (Pre-Fader-Listen), used in the Level Setting Procedure.

Soloed channels are sent to the SOURCE mix, which ultimately feeds your control room, phones and meters. Whenever SOLO is engaged, all SOURCE selections (MAIN MIX, ALT 3-4 and TAPE) are defeated, to allow the soloed signal to do just that — solo!

25. MUTE/ALT 3–4

The dual-purpose MUTE/ALT 3–4 bus is a Mackie sig- nature. When Greg was designing our first product, he had to include a MUTE switch for each channel. MUTE switches do just what they sound like they do. They turn off the signal by “routing” it into oblivion. “Gee, what a

UAUX

OO

+15

 

U

OO

+15

UEQ

HI

12kHz

-15 +15

U

MID

2.5kHz

-15 +15

U

LOW 80Hz

-15 +15

PAN

L R

25 1

MUTE

ALT 3–4

24 dB10

SOLO

 

23 U5

5

10

20

30

40

50

60

You won’t have to check it here and check it there, as you would with some other mixers. In fact, some don’t even have any reference to actual dB levels at all! Ever seen those “0–10” fader markings? We call these AUMs (Arbi- trary Units of Measurement), and they mean nothing in the real world. You were smart — you bought a Mackie.

23. CHANNEL FADER

These faders control the channel’s level… from off, to unity gain, on up to 10 dB of additional gain. Channels 1 through 6 use mono faders, and channels 7 through 14 use stereo faders, and may feel slightly different. Not a problem.

24. SOLO

This lovable switch allows you to hear signals through your headphones or control room without having to route them to the main mix or ALT 3-4 mix. You don’t even have to have the channel’s fader turned up. Folks use solo in live work to preview channels before they are let into the mix, or to just check out what a particular channel is up to anytime during a session. You can solo as many channels at a time as you like.

Solo is also the key player in the Level-Setting Procedure on page 3.

waste,” Greg reasoned. “Why not have the mute button route the signal somewhere else useful… like a separate stereo bus?” So MUTE/ALT 3–4 really serves two functions — muting (often used during a mixdown or live show), and signal routing (for multitrack and live work) where it acts as an extra stereo bus.

To use this as a MUTE switch, all you have to do is not use the ALT 3–4 [16] outputs. Then, whenever you assign a channel to these unused outputs, you’ll also be disconnecting it from the main mix, effectively muting the channel.

To use this as an ALT 3–4 switch, all you have to do is connect the ALT 3–4 outputs to whatever destination you desire. Two popular examples:

When doing multitrack recording, use the ALT 3–4 outputs to feed your multitrack. With most decks, you can mult the ALT 3–4 outputs, using Y-cords or mults, to feed multiple tracks. So, take ALT OUTPUT L and send it to tracks 1, 3, 5 and 7, and ALT OUTPUT R and send it to tracks 2, 4, 6 and 8. Now, tracks that are in Record or Input modes will hear the ALT 3–4 signals, and tracks in Playback or Safe modes will ignore them.

When doing live sound or mixdown, it’s often handy to control the level of several channels with one knob. That’s called subgrouping. Simply assign these channels to the ALT 3–4 mix, engage ALT 3–4 in the SOURCE

[33]matrix, and the signals will appear in the control room and headphones. If you want the ALT 3–4 signals to go back into the main mix, engage the ASSIGN TO MAIN MIX [37] switch, and the CONTROL ROOM/ SUBMIX fader [34] controls the levels of all channels assigned to ALT 3–4.

Owner’s Manual

Manual Owner’s

13