to achieve 87dB attenuation. You get far better channel separation plus freedom from level shifts caused by channel assignment and panning. In addition, our pan pots are constant loudness. When you sit between a pair of monitors and pan from side to side, the apparent volume at your ears should stay the same, no matter where the signal is positioned. Our special pan circuitry maintains consistent apparent energy whether the pot is dead center, hard left or hard right.

–20 AND OL LEDs

The two LEDs (5) next to the PAN control check the channel strip signal level at three important circuit points: at the output of the mic/line preamp, after the EQ and after the channel fader amplifier.

The green LED marked –20 is there to assure

you that, yes, something is plugged into the channel (and yes, it does have some output). Most signals more interesting than tape noise will cause the green LEDs to flicker, so they give you a good visual indication of which channels are active. Any peaks higher than –20dBu (@ 1kHz) trigger the indicator. When we say “channel”, we mean the signal going through the channel fader… but not the signal going through the MIX B Section. Please refer to the MIX B section of this manual, starting on the next page, for more details.

The red LED, labeled OL for overload, lights

when the signal level is high enough to cause clipping at any of the three test points. In normal operation it will almost never light. If it is flashing at you, your level in that channel is much too high. You need to turn something down.

•First try the mic/line trim. If that has no effect,

•Turn down the EQ and/or the insert device, and if that doesn’t fix it,

•Turn downthechannel.If this doesn’t fix it,your inputsignal is too hot(gasp).Usean external pad to reduce the level (see the sidebar on page 25).

CHANNEL SOLO

The channel SOLO switch (6) assigns the output of the channel PAN control to the stereo solo buses and disconnects all other sources from the monitor section. SOLO does not interrupt the eight Submas- ters, the L/R Mix or the AUX sends, and can be used at any time without affecting the recording process.

SOLO is handy for spot-checking the presence and quality of individual inputs while setting up, recording and mixing. More than one SOLO switch may be pressed at the same time, allowing you to listen to the blend of any combination of channels throughout the console in stereo.

On the Mackie 8•Bus console, the SOLO assignments are stereo except for the AUX sends. SOLO maintains the perspective set up with the PAN controls. When any SOLO button on the console is depressed, its associated SOLO LED will glow steadily, and the RUDE SOLO LITE above the 8•Bus LED meters blinks annoyingly, serving as a reminder with an attitude.

The channel SOLO function is normally post- fader/post-mute, but can be modified for PFL or Pre-Fade (and pre-mute) Listen. See Appendix B: Options, Add-Ons, and Extra Stuff.

Note: All the SOLO buttons on the 8•Bus Series operate in the same way (although they’re not all stereo like the channel SOLO). SOLO does not interrupt recording; it only affects the control room monitor.

HIGHLY, MEGA-MONDO-

IMPORTANT: SOLO is

intended for more than just

“soloing.” It is THE way to set levels for best noise and

headroom. Complete instructions on proper level setting using SOLO are in Section 3: General Information, starting on page 20.

PHANTOM POWER

CAUTION: After switching PHANTOM Power on or off, wait 1 minute before changing any mic/line switch settings in that 8-channel block.

At the top of every eight channels is a PHANTOM Power switch (7). Pressing it sends +48VDC to the eight XLR sockets to the switch’s left. For in- stance, depressing the PHANTOM switch above Channel 8 sends phantom power to the XLRs on channels 1 through 8. NOTE: It is always a good idea to check with the Mic manufacturer to verify phantom power requirements.

TRIM

The TRIM control (8) sets the gain of the input amplifier for the MIC and LINE inputs. Proper setting of the TRIM control is essential for good noise and headroom performance. Trim pot settings may vary widely depending upon the input level. The output of different keyboards, drum machines, guitar effects boxes, etc., vary from extremely weak to so hot that they can practically be connected directly to speak- ers. See pages 1, 20, or 25 for advice.

MIC/LINE SWITCH

Now we’ve jumped back to the top of the strip. Sorry, but logically the input to the channel is the next thing to talk about. That’s because it’s the source of the signal applied to the channel fader and PAN control.

PHANTOM

POWER

CHANNEL

16

MIC/LINE

LINE

IN

BAL-

UNBAL

DIRECT

OUT

INSERT

TIP = OUT

RING = IN

 

 

 

 

CHANNEL

 

IC

GAI

16

 

 

 

M

 

N

 

 

–10dBV

S

 

 

E

 

N

IN

 

 

E

 

 

 

I

L

 

 

 

S

 

 

 

T

 

 

 

 

I

 

 

 

 

V

 

 

 

 

I

 

 

 

 

T

 

 

 

 

Y

 

+4

-40dBV

MIC/LINE

 

10dB

 

50dB TAPE

TRIM

GAIN

FLIP

U

HI

MID

–15 +15 3k

1k 5k FREQ

500 18k

NORMAL

2

BAND

WIDTH

OCTAVES

31

12

U

LO

MID

–15 +15 250

220350 FREQ

453k

U

HI

12k

–15 +15

U

LO

80

–15 +15

EQ

EQ IN

75 Hz 18dB/oct

LOW CUT

PAN

LR

U

LEVEL

OO +15

 

HI/LO EQ

 

TO MIX-B

 

MIX-B

 

MONITOR

SPLIT EQ

 

FLIP SW

CHANNEL

SOURCE

OL

-20

PAN

SOLO

5