Mackie 1620 32. Internal TALKBACK MIC, 33. TALKBACK LEVEL, 37. TALKBACK Switch, MAIN MIX and POWER LED, 38.MAIN MIX Fader, 34. EXTERNAL MIC Switch, 35. TALKBACK to PHONES

32. Internal TALKBACK MIC

This is where the built-in talkback microphone is located. This is an omni-directional dynamic microphone, so it will pick up your voice from anywhere in front of the mixer.

33. TALKBACK LEVEL

Use this knob to control the level of the talkback signal being routed to the PHONES or AUX 1-2 outputs. This controls the talkback level for either the internal or external TALKBACK MICs.

	37. TALKBACK Switch	Owners’
	37. TALKBACK Switch
	This is a momentary switch, meaning it’s only active
	when you hold the switch down. As long as you hold
	this switch down, the talkback signal is routed to the
	outputs determined by the destination switches (35/36).
	Release the switch, and the talkback circuit is turned off.	Manual
	MAIN MIX and POWER LED	Manual
	MAIN MIX and POWER LED
	These are a few more important features that
	shouldn’t be overlooked.

You should start with the TALKBACK LEVEL control turned down, and then slowly turn it up until you get conﬁrmation from whoever is listening to headphones or monitors that they can hear you. Once you have set the level, you can leave it there for the duration of the

38.MAIN MIX Fader

The MAIN MIX

AUX MASTERS AUX RETURNS

PRE		1		1
PRE		+15		+10
POST	OO	+15	OO	+10

session (or the gig).

34. EXTERNAL MIC Switch

If you are in a noisy environment, the built-in talkback mic may not work as well because it picks up the ambient noise as well as your voice. You will probably have better results if you use an external microphone that you can talk directly into.

fader controls the output level just before the MAIN OUTPUTS (1/4" and XLR) (42/48) and the TAPE OUTPUTS (43). When MAIN MIX is selected

for the CONTROL ROOM/PHONES

PRE POST

+15

+15	TO
	MON

+15

+10

If you are using an external mic, you must push in the EXTERNAL MIC switch. The indicating LED lets you know when the switch is pushed. When the switch is out, the built-in TALKBACK MIC is used, regardless of whether or not you have an external mic plugged in. When the switch is pushed in, the built-in mic is disconnected and only the external mic is used.

35. TALKBACK to PHONES

Push in the CR/PHONES switch to route the talkback signal to the PHONES (24) output. Use this to communicate with the talent in the studio through the headphones during a recording session. When the talkback circuit is activated (by pushing the TALKBACK (37) switch) and the CR/PHONES switch is in, the CONTROL ROOM outputs are attenuated by 20 dB to allow the engineer’s voice to come through loud and clear.

36. TALKBACK to AUX 1-2

This switch routes the talkback signal to the AUX 1 and 2 outputs (50). Use this to communicate with the musicians on-stage through their monitors during a live performance.

By the way, it is okay to have both destination switches pushed in at the same time. The talkback signal will be routed to both destinations. But if you don’t have either of the destination switches pushed in, the talkback signal won’t go anywhere. You might as well be talking to a brick wall.

SOURCE (20), the MAIN MIX fader

(38)also controls the main mix level in the CONTROL ROOM and PHONES outputs (40/24).

When the fader is fully down, the MAIN MIX is off.

The “U” marking indicates unity gain, and fully up provides 10 dB of additional gain. Typically, this fader is set near the “U” label and left alone, but it can

be used for song fade-outs or quick system-wide mutes.

39. POWER LED

This LED performs one function —it lets you know when the Onyx 1620 is turned on and ready to go!

TALK

BACKMIC

POWER

TALKBACK		MAIN
TALKBACK		MIX
		MIX
		dB
		10
OO	MAX	5
LEVEL		5
LEVEL
		U
		5
EXTERNAL		10
EXTERNAL
MIC		20
		20
DESTINATION		30
		30
		40
CR/	AUX	50
CR/	AUX	60
PHONES	1-2	OO

TALKBACK

Owner’s Manual