BASIC
EMX512SC/EMX312SC/EMX212S 13
Making the Most of Your Mixer

An Introduction

You’ve got yourself a mixer
and now you’re ready to use it.
Just plug everything in,
twiddle the controls, and
away you go … right?
Well, if you’ve done this
before you won’t have any
problems, but if this is the
first time you’ve ever used a
mixer you might want to
read through this little
tutorial and pick up a few
basics that will help you get
better performance and
make better mixes.

A Place for

Everything and

Everything in its

Place

A Plethora of

Connectors—What

Goes Where?

Questions you’re likely to
encounter when setting up a
system for the first time might
include “Why all these different
types of connectors on the back
of my mixer?” and “What’s the
difference?”.
Let’s start by taking a look at the
most common connector types.
The Venerable RCA Pin
Jack
This is the “consumer connector,”
and the one that has been most
commonly used on home audio
gear for many years. Also known
as “phono” jacks (short for
“phonogram”), but the term isn’t
used much these days—besides,
it’s too easily confusable with
“phone” jacks, below. RCA pin
jacks are always unbalanced, and
generally carry a line-level signal
at –10 dB, nominal. You’re most
likely to use this type of connector
when connecting a CD player or
other home audio type source to
your mixer, or when connecting
the output of your mixer to a
cassette recorder or similar gear.
The Versatile Phone Jack
The name “phone jack” arose
simply because this configuration
was first used in telephone
switchboards. Phone jacks can be
tricky because you can’t always
tell what type of signal they’re
designed to handle just by looking
at them. It could be unbalanced
mono, unbalanced stereo,
balanced mono, or an insert patch
point. The connector’s label will
usually tell you what type of signal
it handles, as will the owner’s
manual (you do keep your
manuals in a safe place, don’t
you?). A phone jack that is set up
to handle balanced signals is also
often referred to as a “TRS”
phone jack. “TRS” stands for Tip-
Ring-Sleeve, which describes the
configuration of the phone plug
used.
The Sturdy XLR
This type of connector is
generally referred to as “XLR-
type,” and almost always carries a
balanced signal. If the
corresponding circuitry is
designed properly, however, XLR-
White
Red
Stereo/TRS phone plug
Mono phone plug
Male
Female