Mackie 1604-VLZ PRO AUX SENDS SOLO, AUX RETURNS (LEVEL), EFFECTS TO MONITORS, MAIN MIX TO SUBS (AUX RET 3), 1–2/3–4(AUX RET 3)

AUX SENDS SOLO

Once again, in a live sound situations AUX SEND 1 and 2 are likely to feed your stage monitors. You’ll want to check the mix you’re sending them, and that’s what these two buttons are for. (AUX 3 through AUX 6 have no such switch.) Beside each switch is a green LED that, just like the channel’s –20LED , helps you find the rogue SOLO switch.

The only thing different about AUX SENDS SOLO is that it’s not really PFL (pre-fader lis- ten), and it’s not really SIP (solo-in-place), it’s actually AFL (after-fader listen, and yes, we know there’s no fader in this case.) During NORMAL (AFL) mode , you’ll get AUX SEND 1’s solo signal, post-AUX SENDS master level, in the left side of the C-R OUTS, PHONES output and meter display, and AUX SEND 2 on the right side. (If you ever use AUX 1 and 2 to create a stereo monitor mix, you’ll understand why.) In LEVEL SET (PFL) mode, you’ll get the signal dead-center, but still post- AUX SENDS master level.

AUX RETURNS (LEVEL)

				These four controls set the overall level of
				effects received from the stereo AUX RETURN
				input jacks		. These controls are designed to
				handle a wide range of signal levels — each
				knob goes from off, to unity gain at the detent,
				to 20dB gain fully clockwise, to compensate for
						low-level effects. Signals passing
	1604-VLZPRO				12V	through the STEREO AUX
						RETURN level controls will pro-
WITH PREMIUM XDRTM MIC PREAMPLIFIERS
	16-CHANNEL MIC/LINE MIXER				0.5A	ceed directly to the MAIN MIX
					LAMP
						fader , with exceptions that
	U		U	U
1		1		1	TO AUX	we’ll discuss in a moment.
					SEND 1
OO	+10	OO	+20	OO	+15 EFFECTS TO	Typically, these knobs can
	U		U	U	MONITORS
2		2		2	SEND 2	just live at the center detent,
					TO AUX	and the effects device’s output
OO	+10		+20	OO	+15
AUX						control should be set at what-
SEND			U	ASSIGN OPTIONS
1		3				ever they call unity gain (check
SOLO				MAIN MIX	1–2
		OO	+20	TO SUBS	3–4	their manual). If that turns out
2			U
		4				to be too loud or too quiet, ad-
SOLO
			C-R / PHNS		RETURNS	just the effects device’s outputs,
PHAN PWR		OO	+20	ONLY	SOLO
			STEREO AUX RETURN			not the mixer. That way, the
					LEFT RIGHT
			U			mixer’s knobs are easy to
					0 dB=0 dBu
					28	relocate at the center detent.
OO	MAX	OO	+20		10
CTL ROOM / PHONES		TAPE IN			7
					4
TAPE		TAPE TO			2
		MAIN MIX			0
SUBS 1–2					2
					4
		OO	MAX	LEVEL	7
SUBS 3–4		SOLO		SET
					10
					20
MAIN MIX		MODE			30
CTL ROOM		NORMAL (AFL)		RUDE
SOURCE		LEVEL SET (PFL)		SOLO
				LIGHT

EFFECTS TO MONITORS

If you want to add reverb or delay to the stage monitor mixes, these are the knobs for you. Operating independently of their respectively numbered AUX RETURNS level controls, these knobs are exactly the same as the AUX 1 and AUX 2 knobs found in the channel strip .

These two knobs feed AUX RETURN signals to their respective AUX SEND outputs : TO AUX SEND 1 feeds AUX RETURN 1 to AUX SEND 1 master, and TO AUX SEND 2 feeds AUX RETURN 2 to AUX SEND 2 master. They are off when turned fully down, deliver unity gain at the center detent, and can provide up to 15dB of gain turned fully up. AUX RETURN 3 and AUX RETURN 4 have no such knobs.

MAIN MIX TO SUBS (AUX RET 3)

With this switch up, AUX RETURN 3 behaves like all the others — it delivers a stereo signal, regulated by its level knob, to the MAIN MIX . When you engage this switch, the signals are removed from the MAIN MIX buses and sent to the 1-2/3-4switch, which diverts the signal once more. We’re not finished. Please read on.

1–2/3–4 (AUX RET 3)

As you’ve just read, if the MAIN MIX TO SUBS switch is disengaged, the 1–2/3–4switch does absolutely nothing. Let’s now assume it’s engaged. AUX RETURN 3’s stereo signal will not be sent to the MAIN MIX, but to subgroup faders 1 and 2 (1–2/3–4switch up) or subgroup faders 3 and 4 (switch down).

Let’s say you’ve made a stereo drum submix on subgroup faders 1 and 2, so you can ride those two faders instead of the seven channels that the drums came from. Subgroup fader 1 has its ASSIGN TO MAIN MIX, LEFT button engaged and subgroup fader 2 has its ASSIGN TO MAIN MIX, RIGHT button engaged, blending the drum submix back into the MAIN MIX. The drum channels are also sending signals to your reverb via the AUX sends and the reverb outputs are patched into AUX RETURN 3. So far so good.

Even though you could send AUX RETURN 3 directly to the MAIN MIX (MAIN MIX TO SUBS switch up), you don’t want to. Instead, engage the MAIN MIX TO SUBS switch and make sure the 1–2/3–4 switch is up. Now the reverb return will be blended into the drum submix, and as you ride those two faders, the reverb level will follow.

Why do we want that? Because if you had just sent the reverb directly to the MAIN MIX

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