25. TALKBACK LEVEL

Use this knob to control the level of the talkback signal being routed to the various outputs. This controls the talkback level for either the internal or external TALKBACK MICs.

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 session (or the gig).

26. 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.

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.

27. DESTINATION

Push in the CR/PHONES switch to route the talkback signal to the PHONES [30] 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 [28] 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.

Push in the AUX 1-4 switch to route the talkback signal to the AUX 1 through 4 outputs [62]. Use this to communicate with the musicians on-stage through their monitors during a live performance, or to studio musicians through a headphone distribution system.

Push in the AUX 5-6 switch to route the talkback signal to the AUX 5 and 6 outputs. This splits up the talkback signal in the AUX SENDS so you can talk to one group without the other group hearing (e.g., “Yeah, I know the drummer sucks. We’re firing him on Monday!”)

Push in the SUB 1-4 switch to route the talkback signal to the SUB 1-4 OUTs [60].By the way, it is okay to have any combination, or

all, of the destination switches pushed in at the same time. The talkback signal will be routed to all the destinations. But if you don’t have any of the destina-

tion switches pushed in, the talkback signal won’t go

s’Owner

 

 

anywhere. You might as well be talking to a brick wall.

 

 

28. TALKBACK Switch

 

 

This is a momentary switch, meaning it’s only active

 

 

when you hold the switch down. As long as you hold

Manual

this switch down, the talkback signal is routed to the

 

 

outputs determined by the destination switches [27].

 

 

Release the switch, and the talkback circuit is turned off.

 

 

29. LAMP

 

 

This female BNC connector provides 12 volts DC on its

 

 

center pin. Connect any quality gooseneck lamp here.

 

 

30. PHONES

 

 

This is where you plug in your stereo headphones. It is a

 

 

1/4" TRS stereo jack and provides the same signal that is

 

 

routed to the CONTROL ROOM outputs [59], as determined

 

 

by the CONTROL ROOM/PHONES SOURCE matrix [18].

 

 

The volume is controlled with the PHONES knob [21].

 

 

 

WARNING: The headphone amp is

 

 

 

 

 

 

designed to drive any standard head-

 

 

 

phones to a very loud level. We’re

 

 

 

not kidding! It can cause permanent

 

 

 

hearing damage. Even intermediate

 

 

levels may be painfully loud with some headphones.

 

 

BE CAREFUL! Always start with the PHONES level

 

 

turned all the way down before connecting headphones

 

 

to the PHONES jack. Keep it down until you’ve put on

 

 

the headphones. Then turn it up slowly. Why? Always

 

 

remember: “Engineers who fry their ears, find them-

 

 

selves with short careers.”

 

 

31. LEFT/RIGHT Level Meters

 

 

The Onyx 1640’s peak meters are made up of two

 

 

columns of twelve LEDs, with three colors to indicate

 

 

different ranges of signal level, traffic light style. They

 

 

range from –30 at the bottom, to 0 in the middle, to +20

 

 

(CLIP) at the top.

 

 

The 0 LED in the middle is labeled LEVEL SET

 

 

to show where the level should be when adjusting a

 

 

channel’s gain in the solo mode, as described in “Set the

 

 

Levels” on page 5.

 

 

If nothing is selected in the CONTROL ROOM/

 

 

PHONES SOURCE matrix [18] and no channels are

 

 

in SOLO, the meters won’t do anything. To display a

 

 

signal level, a source must be selected in the CONTROL

 

 

ROOM/PHONES SOURCE matrix, which feeds the CON-

 

 

TROL ROOM [59] and PHONES [30] outputs. The meters

 

 

reflect the program level of the selected source prior to

 

 

the CONTROL ROOM and PHONES [20/21] level knobs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Owner’s Manual

15