IMPORTANT VERY
LOOK CLOSER A
4SOLO

This control does just what it’s name im- plies. By pushing the SOLO button, you can listen in on only that channel while muting the rest of the mixer’s output.

In order to make this function really useful, we have designed the CR-1604’s SOLO section to allow for multiple inputs to be soloed together while retaining the original stereo placement of each channel in the mix. This feature is not often found outside of large mixing consoles, even though it adds significant application potential to the solo function.

•The effect of this button follows the setting of the SOLO TO MAIN button (i.e. if SOLO TO MAIN is pressed IN, the main and headphone outputs are replaced with the soloed signals. If it’s left in the OUT position, only the headphones will get the soloed signals).

IMPORTANT: The master level of the SOLO signal is controlled by the HEADPHONE/ SOLO fader, not the master faders.

WHAT CONSTANT POWER

PAN POTS MEAN TO YOU When you sit between a pair

of monitors and pan from side to side, the apparent loudness at your ears should stay the same

no matter where the source is positioned.

The CR-1604’s constant power pan pots are so named because they incorporate special circuitry that maintains consistent acoustic power while panning center to side.

When the input module is set to the center de- tent, what you will hear is equal amounts of both left and right outputs.

When the module is panned away from center, you will begin to hear only one side. The side that you are panning into must therefore grow louder to make up for the loss of the other side. The effect is a more realistic shift in dimensional perception (Ooooo… sounds pretty cosmic, doesn’t it? )

Here is an example of how stereo sound be-

haves in real life, why you would want to duplicate the same effect in your productions and how constant power pan pots help:

Imagine that a sax player was standing in front of you playing his horn. You get the same amount of sound at both ears and your ear-brain processing center sez, “This cat is right in front of me.” Now the sax player moves to the left. More sound arrives at your left ear and your brain sez , “He’s over on the left.” But the total amount of sound arriving at your ears is still the same.

Constant power pan pots do the same thing. They move the sound, but don’t reduce the overall amount of sound. Other small mixers don’t have this feature. But like many other of the CR-1604’s nifto-features, we wanted the mixer to perform to the demanding standards of higher priced gear, so that it could be used for professional recording, broadcasting, and film sound where the need for true panning integrity is often an unavoidable re- ality. And low and behold, the CR-1604 IS being used extensively by Hollywood pros for TV and film sound tracks. End of commercial.

•While a channel is in SOLO mode, its signal level is sent to the CR-1604 Level Meters in the Master Output section so you can observe its working level. This allows level setting for each individual channel using just one meter pair.

•The SOLO indicator LED will also blink to remind you that you are in the solo mode. We designed it to be so obnoxiously bright that you can get a suntan from it if you get too close for too long. If you’ve ever used a board with a tiny, obscure SOLO light, you know why we made ours large and rude.

5MUTE-ALT 3/4 (3rd & 4th buses)

Think of this as a “mute button PLUS.” First, it works in the conventional way: push MUTE and that channel goes away, just like you’d expect. But, we reasoned, why send the channel’s output into the ozone when it could go someplace useful? Such as another

set of output buses.

So when you press MUTE, the signal is reassigned to the ALT 3/LEFT and 4/RIGHT stereo outputs.

NOTE: There is no master level control for the ALT-3/4 buses. With the channel set at Unity, the signal will come out at

Unity gain just as if you had a master fader at the center detent position.

There are lot of possibilities via the ALT 3/4 buses with the channel fader set at Unity. Especially combined with the ALT PREVIEW button over in the CR-1604’s Master Output section. For example, you can create two stereo pairs for output to 4-track. Or bounce multiple tracks onto one or two more tracks. Or preview a sound source that hasn’t been introduced into the mix yet.

One of the most common applications for ALT 3/4 is for creating submixes from various combinations of channels. By panning one set of channels hard left and another hard right, you can create two submixes (one from the LEFT ALT and one from the RIGHT ALT out- put) that can be routed back into spare channels on the board, or AUX returns. (See page 16 for more details.)

6OL

The OverLoad LED is a visual indicator that warns you when you’re overdriving the channel. Because it monitors multiple points in the channel’s circuitry, it detects more than just input overload.

4

5

AUX

U

1

00+15

MON

U

2

00+15 U

3

5

00+15 U

4

6

00+15

5/6

SHIFT

0

HI

–15 +15

0

MID

–12 +12

0

LO

–15 +15

EQ

0

LR

PAN

SOLO

1

MUTE

ALT 3/4

OL 6

+20

U

00

7