Mackie 1202-VLZ4 Owner's Manual

Owner’

s Manual

check out what a particular channel is up to anytime
during a session. You can solo as many channels at  
a time as you like.

Solo is also the key player in the level- setting  

procedure on page 5.

Soloed channels are sent to the source mix, which

ultimately feeds your control room, phones and meter
display. Whenever solo is engaged, all source selections
(main mix, alt 3-4 and tape) are defeated, to allow the
soloed signal to do just that — solo!

WARNING: Pre-fader solo taps the  
channel signal before the level knob.  
If you have a channel’s level knob set below

“U” (unity gain), solo won’t know that and will send  
a unity gain signal to the control room, phones and
meter display. That may result in a startling level boost
at these outputs.

The dual-purpose mute/alt 3–4 bus is our signature.

When Greg was designing our first product, he had to
include a mute switch for each channel. Mute switches
do just what they sound like they do. They turn off the
signal by “routing” it into oblivion. “Gee, what a waste,”
Greg reasoned. “Why not have the mute button route the
signal somewhere else useful… like a separate stereo
bus?” So mute/alt 3–4 really serves two functions —
muting (often used during a mixdown or live show), and
signal routing (for multitrack and live work) where it
acts as an extra stereo bus.

To use this as a mute switch, all you have to do is  

not use the alt 3–4 [16] outputs. Then, whenever you
press this switch, you will assign a channel to these  
unused outputs, disconnecting it from the main mix,
and effectively muting the channel.

To use this as an alt 3–4 switch, all you have to do is

connect the alt 3–4 outputs to whatever destination you
desire. Here are two popular examples:

When doing multitrack recording, use the alt 3–4

outputs to feed your multitrack. With most decks, you
can "mult" the alt 3–4 [16] outputs, using Y-cords or
mults, to feed multiple tracks. So, take alt output L and
send it to tracks 1, 3, 5 and 7, and alt output R and send
it to tracks 2, 4, 6 and 8. Now, tracks that are in record
or input modes will hear the alt 3–4 signals, and tracks
in playback or safe modes will ignore them.

When doing live sound or mixdown, it’s often handy

to control the level of several channels with one knob.
That’s called subgrouping. Simply assign these channels
to the alt 3–4 mix, engage alt 3–4 in the source [33]
matrix, and the signals will appear at the control room

The eight channel strips look alike, and function  

identically. The only difference is that the four on the
left are for individual mics or mono instruments and
have more gain available, while the next four are for
either stereo or mono line-level sources. (Each of the
stereo channel strips is actually two complete circuits.
The controls are linked together to preserve stereo.)
We’ll start at the bottom and work our way up…

VLZ4 mixers have a “U” symbol on almost every level

control. This “U” stands for “unity gain,” meaning no
change in signal level. Once you have adjusted the input
signal to line-level, you can set every control at “U” and
your signals will travel through the mixer at optimal  
levels. What’s more, all the labels on our level controls
are measured in decibels (dB), so you’ll know what
you’re doing level-wise if you choose to change a  
control’s settings.

You won’t have to check it  

here and check it there, as you
would with some other mixers.
In fact, some don’t even have any
reference to actual dB levels  
at all! You were smart — you're
using a 1202VLZ4.

This adjusts the channel’s

level… from off, to unity gain  
at the detent, on up to 12 dB  
of additional gain.

The level knob is the  

equivalent of a channel fader,  
so sometimes we lapse and say
the word fader.

Channels 1 through 4 use mono

controls, and channels 5 through
12 use stereo controls, and so
they may feel slightly different.
Not a problem.

This lovable switch allows  

you to hear signals through  
your headphones or control  
room without having to route
them to the main mix or alt 3-4
mix. You don’t even have to have
the channel’s level [23] knob

turned up. Folks use solo in live work to preview  
channels before they are let into the mix, or to just