Mackie 1402-VLZ3 User Manual

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Owner’s Manual
Owner’
s Manual
Signals passing through these STEREO RETURN level 
controls will proceed directly to main mix, with one ex-
ception (see next paragraph). The STEREO RETURNs 
do not have MUTE/ALT 3-4 switches, so if you want 
these signals to get to the ALT 3-4 mix, you’ll have to 
patch the effects device’s outputs into one of the stereo 
channels, and MUTE/ALT [25] those channels. 
42.  RETURN TO AUX 1
If you want to add reverb or delay to the stage monitor 
mixes, this is the switch for you. The implementation 
leading up to the switch is the tricky part:
With the switch up, STEREO RETURN 1 and 2 behave 
normally — they deliver their signals into the main mix. 
With the switch down, STEREO RETURN 1 still behaves 
normally, but STEREO RETURN 2 will feed AUX SEND 1 
instead of the main mix.
Still with us? Good. So far, with the switch down, we 
have STEREO RETURN 1 feeding the main mix and 
STEREO RETURN 2 feeding AUX SEND 1. Now, suppose 
you only have one effects device, and you want it to feed 
both the main mix and AUX SEND 1. That’s where “jack 
normalling” comes in:
JACK NORMALLING
Jack normalling (not to be confused with Jack 
Normalling, Chicago Cubs utility infi elder, 1952-61, .267 
LBA) is a feature found on almost every mixer, keyboard 
and effects device. These jacks have special spring-
loaded pins that connect to the signal pins, but when 
something is plugged into the jack, that  connection is 
broken.
These normalling pins can be used in all sorts of ways. 
The ubiquitous phrase “LEFT (MONO)” means that if 
you plug a signal into the LEFT side and have nothing in 
the RIGHT side, that signal is also fed to the right input, 
courtesy of jack normalling. As soon as you plug some-
thing in the RIGHT side, that normalled connection is 
broken. 
How does all this relate to the RETURN TO AUX 1 
switch? STEREO RETURN 1’s inputs are normalled to 
STEREO RETURN 2. If you have one effects device, plug 
it into STEREO RETURN 1. Plug nothing into STEREO 
RETURN 2. Now the signals feeding the STEREO RE-
TURN 1 inputs will also be sent to the STEREO RETURN 
2 inputs.
Engage the RETURN TO AUX 1 switch, and now the 
STEREO RETURN 2 knob will become an additional 
AUX SEND 1 knob for the signal at STEREO RETURN 1. 
Say that ten times! Once again, STEREO RETURN 1 will 
behave normally, as always.
Congratulations! You’ve just read about all the fea-
tures of your 1402-VLZ3. You’re probably ready for a cold 
one. Go ahead. The rest of the manual can wait.