Mackie lm3204 User Manual

sound engineer feels when you come at her
with your 12 output cables.

We figure that if you bought an LM-3204 for

stage use, you already have an equipment rack
just about full of fine electronic musical technol-
ogy. So, we designed the LM-3204 to be 19" wide
and a mere 5 rack units high. To fit in your rack.

The LM-3204 will let you submix all your in-

struments in stereo, add your effects and provide
stage amp, sound reinforcement, monitor or re-
cording feeds. Not only does it make the
impossible possible and clean up that nest of
cables, but it leaves the balance, EQ and effects
blend in your hands, right there in your rack.

All of your electronic instruments (and CD

players and DAT players) can patch directly
into the LM-3204 stereo inputs. Guitar and
bass preamps, whether rack-mount units or
built into the amp heads, can patch in here
too. If you have a mono instrument, simply
plug its output into the Left (MONO) jack of
the LM-3204 channel input you select.

Use the LM-3204 main Left and Right out-

puts to connect to the main house PA mixer, or
feed them directly into your stage amp. In fact,
you can connect to both at once, using the
main 1/4" outputs for the house mixer and the
RCA Tape outputs (which carry the same sig-
nal) for your amplifier.

You can use the Control Room outputs to

feed a small amp next to you, if you’d like. This
output will also allow you to Solo various
LM-3204 inputs to check MIDI patches, verify
presets, send a click track (via AUX Return 4’s
“AUX Return to Control Room Only” switch) to
yourself only, and so on, without affecting the
main outputs. You can also use headphones on
the Phones output.

Effects such as reverb, delay or chorus

can easily be patched into the AUX send and
return circuits in the LM-3204. Gates and
compressors will usually be connected to
either a stereo pair of channel strip Insert
jacks (channel 1–4 inserts for mics, drum
machines, guitars…) or to the main Left and
Right Insert jacks. After you’ve adjusted the
compressor or gate settings as you want, ad-
just the effect’s overall gain for unity, so that
the level of your signal is about the same
with the insert device in or out of the circuit.

MIDI suites and project studios run into the

same problems as large stage setups: racks full
of synthesizers and samplers eating up all the
mixing console inputs.

So, use your LM-3204 as a musical instrument

submixer. Connect your banks of instruments
into the stereo inputs of the LM-3204, and
patch the main Left and Right outputs into a
pair of inputs on your main console. Suddenly,
more mixing inputs appear!

And as long as we’re discovering more inputs for

your studio, consider your main console auxiliary
returns: do you have enough? An LM-3204 can
give you an additional 16 stereo returns with the
added bonus of EQ on the returns.

Keep the routing of the sends from your main

console the same; but run all your many effects’
stereo returns through the LM-3204, and patch
the LM-3204 Left and Right outputs back into
one pair of auxiliary returns (or into a pair of
channel inputs).

There’s no reason why you can’t use the

LM-3204 as your main mixer. Not everybody’s in
love with adjusting mixes with rotary controls,
but it’s not hard to get used to (a gazillion
MS1202 mixers owners can’t be all wrong). And
remember, the LM-3204 has the same legendary
sound quality that’s allowed our CR-1604 to be
used for tracking and mixing of all sorts of hits.
Plus, we’ll send you a free T-shirt if you send us a
CD or cassette mixed on the LM-3204 (see page
39 for details).

For a small act with entirely electronic instru-

ments and only two vocalists, the LM-3204 is an
extremely affordable, compact and easy-to-oper-
ate sound reinforcement mixer.

Plug your mics into the two preamps in the

rear and patch the preamp outputs into a pair of
channel strips, using the Left (MONO) jacks.
Now connect your drum machines, keyboards
and samplers to more inputs. Connect your ef-
fects to the AUX sends and returns, and patch
the main Left and Right (or Control Room) out-
puts to your power amplifier. Turn on the
spotlights, smoke generator and bubble ma-
chine, and you’re ready.

You can use the same setup to record a

demo of your band. Simply connect a stereo
recorder to the Tape In and Tape Out jacks.
To check out what you’re recording, plug in
some headphones (or use the Control Room
outputs) and press the Tape Monitor switch.
You can record and check playback as you are
performing, if you want, without affecting
what your audience is hearing (unless a bit of
button-pushing gets you off tempo).