On test Yamaha EMX5000‡12
Powered stage mixer
»most of the connections are unbalanced, which may seem unusual, but then the majority of connections used by gigging musicians, as opposed to professional PA operators, do tend to be unbalanced.
Technically, the mixer has a¥robust but non‡esoteric specification, including a¥20Hz‡20kHz frequency response (+1dB/‡3dB) and
The inevitable tour
This particular mixer has eight mic/line channels and a¥further two stereo line‡only channels. Its mono channels are fairly conventional, with an input‡gain trim control, a¥26dB pad switch and a¥choice of XLR mic or balanced‡jack line inputs. A¥further TRS jack provides a¥channel insert point and there’s also a¥switchable 80Hz low‡cut filter. There’s no mic/line switch — you simply plug into the appropriate socket.
Most mixers of this size have three‡band equalisers and this one is no exception, though the mid frequency is sweepable between 250Hz and 5kHz. Personally, I’d have liked it to go a¥little lower, as there are often boxy artifacts in the 150‡250Hz range
“There are few (if any) features that aren’t needed, and it’s built like a¥tank.”
that need a¥little cut, but you have to accept compromises when the EQ has only three bands. The high and low controls are conventional shelving filters operating at 10kHz and 100Hz respectively, and all three bands have a¥+/‡15dB gain range. Following the EQ are two Aux sends, each switchable from pre‡fade to post‡fade by means of buttons in the channel strip, after which there are two further effects sends dedicated to feeding the two internal effects engines. These two effects busses also feed physical output jacks so that external effects can be used instead of the
On the rear panel you’ll find the speaker outputs, available (usefully) on both Speakon and quarter‡inch jack connectors.
internal ones, if required. That leaves a¥conventional pan control, a¥channel On button, a¥PFL (Pre Fade Listen) button and a¥75mm channel fader.
The On button has a¥bright status LED, while two further LEDs indicate the presence of signal in the channel (green) and levels 3dB below clipping, measured post‡EQ (red). Phantom power (48V) is global and is activated using a¥slide switch above the mic inputs. A¥red status LED above the channel trim controls shows when this is turned on.
The stereo channels have the same general layout as the mono channels but are line‡only, with no pad or filter switches. In addition, the EQ has no swept mid, instead having a¥fixed mid frequency of 2.5kHz. As these are stereo channels, a¥balance control takes the place of the pan control, but the aux and effect send arrangement is identical to that of the mono channels. The inputs are available on both jacks and phonos, allowing the easy connection of CD players and so on.
Two further simple stereo line inputs are available as Sub inputs (they can also be used in mono by inserting a¥jack into only the left input socket) and their controls reside in the master section. These have basic level controls plus sends for Aux 1 and 2, enabling them to be fed to stage monitors. They also have PFL buttons for monitoring purposes via the headphone output, and they can be used as effect returns when connecting external effects devices. Tape inputs and outputs are also available on phonos for recording gigs and playing back the evidence! A¥tape‡return level control is situated in the master section, along with a¥PFL button.
Master section
To the left of the master section are the two effects sections, each controlled by means of a¥16‡way rotary effect‡selector switch and the Parameter control I¥mentioned earlier, which varies the most important parameter of the selected effect. Each
A mono channel strip from the EMX5000‡12.
of the two effect processors also has an Aux 1 and an Aux 2 control, allowing a¥specified amount of effect to be sent to the stage monitor outputs. At the bottom of each effect strip is an On button with a¥bright yellow indicator LED. The second effect processor can be bypassed using an optional footswitch, and a¥second footswitch jack is available for setting the delay tap tempo, which is useful if you’re both performing and mixing yourself from the stage. To the right of the footswitch jacks is an XLR that provides 12V power to an optional lamp — again, extremely useful, especially in dark venues.
All the major functions in the master section have their own fader
—namely Effects Return 1 and 2 for the on‡board effects, Aux 1 and 2 sends, Mono Out and the main Stereo Out. Above the last are the PFL (Pre Fade Listen) and AFL (After Fade Listen) switches (see ‘Jargon explained’ box). The Mono output may be used to feed a¥subwoofer and has a¥recessed switch that brings in a¥low‡pass filter. This operates between 80Hz and 120Hz and can be manually adjusted via a¥recessed pot accessible with a¥screwdriver. When the amp mode is set to ‘PA plus monitor’, as explained earlier, the Mono Out fader also adjusts the level of the ‘speaker B’ outputs and, if mono bridge mode is selected, sets the level of the ‘speaker A’ outputs. The main outputs are unaffected by the low‡pass filter settings, so if you need to restrict the low‡end feed going to the main speakers when using a¥sub‡woofer you’ll have to arrange this some other way — for example, by using an active crossover processor (see ‘Jargon explained’ box).
The switch that changes the amplifier outputs between their various modes (stereo, bridged mono, ‘mono plus monitor’ or two monitors, as listed earlier) is located to the right of the effects section near the top of the panel. Here you’ll also find the three‡way switch that sets the maximum power available, a¥‘Yamaha Speaker Processing’ switch, and a¥standby button that mutes the mono channels but leaves the stereo channels active for carrying interlude music or whatever else you need. Yamaha Speaker Processing is essentially an alternate low‡end voicing that can be used to compensate for the tonality of some speakers. Really, you just have to try
SOUND ON SOUND LIVE November 2004