Mackie 1642-VLZ3 Owner's Manual download pdf (Page 16)

164-VLZ3

1642-VLZ3

CONSTANT LOUDNESS ! ! !

The 1642-VLZ3’s PAN [31]

controls employ a design

called “Constant Loudness.”

It has nothing to do with living next to

a freeway. As you turn the PAN knob

from left to right (thereby causing

the sound to move from the left to the

center to the right), the sound will ap-

pear to remain at the same volume (or

loudness).

If you have a channel panned hard

left (or right) and reading 0 dB, it

must dip down about 4 dB on the left

(or right) when panned center. To do

otherwise, like those Brand X mixers,

would make the sound appear much

louder when panned center.

32. 3-BAND MID-SWEEP EQ

The eight mono channels have a

3-band, mid-sweep equalization: LOW

shelving at 80 Hz, MID sweep peaking

from 100 Hz to 8 kHz, and HI shelving

at 12 kHz. It’s probably all the EQ you’ll

ever need! (Shelving means that the

circuitry boosts or cuts all frequen-

cies past the speciﬁed frequency. For

example, the 1642-VLZ3’s LOW EQ

boosts bass frequencies starting at 80

Hz and continuing down to the lowest

note you never heard. Peaking means

that certain frequencies form a “hill”

around the center frequency.)

The LOW EQ provides up to 15 dB

boost or cut below 80 Hz. The circuit

is ﬂat (no boost or cut) at the center

detent position. This frequency repre-

sents the punch in bass drums, bass

guitar, fat synth patches, and some

really serious male singers.

Used in conjunction with the LOW CUT [34] switch,

you can boost the LOW EQ without injecting a ton of

subsonic debris into the mix. We recommend using the

LOW CUT feature on all channels, except low frequency

signals, like kick drums and bass guitars.

The MID EQ , or “midrange,” has a ﬁxed bandwidth of

1 octave. The MID knob sets the amount of boost or cut,

up to 15 dB, and is effectively bypassed at the center

detent. The frequency knob sets the center frequency,

sweepable from 100 Hz to 8 kHz.

Most of the root and lower harmonics that deﬁne a

sound are located in the 100 Hz–8 kHz frequency range,

and you can create drastic changes with these two

knobs. Many engineers use MID EQ to cut midrange

frequencies, not boost them. One popular trick is to set

the MID fully up, turn the frequency knob until you ﬁnd

a point where it sounds just terrible, then back the MID

down into the cut range, causing those terrible frequen-

cies to disappear. Sounds silly, but it works. Sometimes.

The HI EQ provides you up to 15 dB boost or cut

above 12 kHz, and it is also ﬂat at the detent. Use it to

add sizzle to cymbals, an overall sense of transparency,

or an edge to keyboards, vocals, guitar and bacon frying.

Turn it down a little to reduce sibilance or to mask tape

hiss.

With too much EQ, you can screw things up royally.

We’ve designed a lot of boost and cut into each equal-

izer circuit because we know everyone will occasionally

need that. But if you max the EQ on every channel,

you’ll get mix mush. Equalize subtly and use the left

sides of the knobs (cut), as well as the right (boost).

If you ﬁnd yourself repeatedly using full boost or cut,

consider altering the sound source, such as placing a

mic differently, trying a different kind of mic, changing

the strings, or gargling.

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Mackie 1642-VLZ3 Owner's Manual Page 16

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