Mackie ms1402vlz User Manual

44

plug is connected tip to left, ring to right
and sleeve to ground (earth). Mackie
mixers do not directly accept 1-plug-type
stereo microphones. They must be sepa-
rated into a left cord and a right cord,
which are plugged into the two mic
preamps.

You can cook up your own adapter for a
stereo microphone adapter. “Y” two cables
out of a female 

1

⁄

4

" TRS jack to two male

XLR plugs, one for the Right signal and one
for the Left.

• Balanced mono circuits. When wired as a

balanced connector, a 

1

⁄

4

" TRS jack or plug is

connected tip to signal high (hot), ring to
signal low (cold), and sleeve to ground
(earth).

• Unbalanced Send/Return circuits. When

wired as send/return “Y” connector, a 

1

⁄

4

"

TRS jack or plug is connected tip to signal
send (output from mixer), ring to signal
return (input back into mixer), and sleeve
to ground (earth).

“TS” stands for Tip-Sleeve, the two connec-

tions available on a “mono” 

1

⁄

4

" phone jack or

plug (Figure C). TS jacks and plugs are used in
many different applications, always unbalanced.
The tip is connected to the audio signal and the
sleeve to ground (earth). Some examples:

• Unbalanced microphones

• Electric guitars and electronic instruments

• Unbalanced line-level connections

Mackie mixers use 3-pin female “XLR”

connectors on all microphone inputs, with
pin 1 wired to the grounded (earthed) shield,
pin 2 wired to the “high” (”hot” or positive po-
larity) side of the audio signal and pin 3
wired to the “low” (“cold” or negative polar-
ity) side of the signal (Figure A). All totally
aboveboard and in full accord with the hal-
lowed standards dictated by the AES (Audio
Engineering Society).

Use a male “XLR”-type connector, usually

found on the nether end of what is called a
“mic cable,” to connect to a female XLR jack.

“TRS” stands for Tip-Ring-Sleeve, the three

connections available on a “stereo” 

1

⁄

4

" or

“balanced” phone jack or plug. See Figure B.
TRS jacks and plugs are used in several
different applications:

• Stereo Headphones, and rarely, stereo

microphones and stereo line connections.
When wired for stereo, a 

1

⁄

4

" TRS jack or