Yamaha MG 6FX, MG16 - page 11

Making the Most Of Your Mixer

MG16/6FX

11

The First Steps in Achieving Great Sound

Before you even consider EQ and effects, or even the overall mix, it is important to make sure that levels are

properly set for each individual source. This can’t be stressed enough—initial level setup is vitally important for

achieving optimum performance from your mixer! Here’s why … and how.

3-1. The Head Ampliﬁer “Gain” Control Is the Key!

Let’s review our simpliﬁed mixer block diagram:

Each and every “stage” in the mixer’s signal path will add a certain amount of noise to the signal: the

head amp, the EQ stage, the summing ampliﬁer, and the other buffer and gain stages that exist in the

actual mixer circuit (this applies to analog mixers in particular). The thing to keep in mind is that the

amount of noise added by each stage is usually not dependent to any signiﬁcant degree on the level of

the audio signal passing through the circuit. This means that the bigger the desired signal, the smaller the

added noise will be in relation to it. In tech-speak this gives us a better “signal-to-noise ratio”—often

abbreviated as “S/N ratio.” All of this leads to the following basic rule:

In our mixer, that means the head ampliﬁer. If you don’t get the signal up to the desired level at the head

ampliﬁer stage, you will need to apply more gain at later stages, which will only amplify the noise con-

tributed by the preceding stages. Just remember that too much initial gain is bad too, because it will over-

load our channel circuitry and cause clipping.

To achieve the best overall system S/N ratio, amplify the input to the desired average

level as early as possible in the signal path.

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MG16-6FX.book Page 11 Saturday, January 25, 2003 10:13 AM

Contents

Main Precautions In case an abnormality occurs during operation Operation CAUTION WARNING For correct operation FCC INFORMATION (U.S.A.) Connector pin assignments Replacement of Consumable Parts Introduction Features Contents Introduction Turning the Power On Before Turning on the Mixer Making the Most Of Your Mixer An Introduction The Sturdy XLR The Versatile Phone Jack The Venerable RCA Pin Jack 1-1. A Plethora Of ConnectorsWhat Goes Where? 1-2. Balanced, UnbalancedWhats the Difference? A balanced cable has three conductors: How Do Balanced Lines Reject Noise? To summarize: 1-3. Signal LevelsDecibel Dos and Donts Master Section Input Channel 2-1. Greatly Simplied Mixer Block Diagram Where Your Signal Goes Once Its Inside the Box Page 3-2. Level Setup Procedure For Optimum Performance 1 2 4 3 External Effects, Monitor Mixes, and Groups Pre/PostWhats the difference? 4-1. AUX Buses For Monitor Sends and Overall Effects 4-2. Using Groups 4-3. Channel Inserts for Channel-specic Processing Making Better Mixes 5-1. Approaching the MixWhere Do You Start? Faders Down Example1: Example2: 5-2. Panning For Cleaner Mixes Spread them Out! 5-3. To EQ Or Not To EQ Cut For a Cleaner Mix Boost With Caution 5-4. Ambience Reverb/Delay Time Reverb Tone Reverb Level 5-5. Built-in Effects & EQ Front & Rear Panels Channel Control Section 5AUX1 and AUX2 Controls 6PRE Switch 7EFFECT Control 8PAN Control (CHs 1 to 8) PAN/BAL Control (9/10 and 11/12) BAL Control (13/14 and 15/16) 9ST Switch Master Control Section 4 2 1 8 8Level-Meter Signal Switches 9C-R/PHONES Control 0Level Meter APOWER Indicator BST GRAPHIC EQUALIZER Rear Input/Output Section 9 4 15B 6A 37 8 2 Page MG16/6FX 25 Setting Up Home Recording Setup Procedure Setup Examples Setting Up Sound Reinforcement for Live Performance Setting Up MG16/6FX 27 Mounting Rack Mounting Appendix General Specications Specications Appendix Output Specications Input Specications Appendix Dimensional Diagrams Unit: mm When mounted on rack 309.6 D 416.6 Page HEAD OFFICE AUSTRALIA OTHER ASIAN COUNTRIES NORTH AMERICA OCEANIA CENTRAL & SOUTH AMERICA EUROPE AFRICA MIDDLE EAST