Mackie 1202-VLZ4 Owner's Manual

Owner’

s Manual

Whatever your selection, you can also use the control

room [15] outputs for other applications. Its sound
quality is just as impeccable as the main outs [11 and
13]. It can be used as additional main mix output, which
may sound silly since there are already three, but this
one has its own level control. However, should you do
something like this, be sure that you do not engage a
solo switch, as that will interrupt your source selection.

Engaging a channel’s solo [24] switch will cause

this dramatic turn of events: Any existing control room
source selections will be replaced by the solo signal,
appearing in the control room, headphones, and in the
right meter. The audible solo levels are then controlled
by the control room / submix [34] knob. The solo levels
appearing on the right meter display are not controlled
by anything — you wouldn’t want that. You want to see
the actual channel level on the meter display regardless
of how loud you’re listening.

“Pre-fader” solo means that the channel signal is  

being tapped before the channel’s level [23] knob  
(not really a fader in this case, but we were afraid  
you’d laugh if we called it pre-knob solo). It does,  
however, obey gain [4], low cut [3] and EQ [27]  
settings, making it the perfect tool for quick inspections
of suspect channels. The channel’s pan [26] and mute/
alt 3-4 [25]settings have no effect on the solo signal.

Note: For stereo channels 5-12, the solo signal is  

the mono sum of the left (odd-numbered) and right
(even-numbered) signals for that channel strip.

WARNING: Pre-fader solo [24] 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.

This flashing Light Emitting Diode serves two  

purposes — to remind you that at least one channel  
is in solo, and to let you know that you’re mixing on  
a 1202VLZ4. No other company is so concerned about
your level of solo awareness. If you work on a mixer  
that has a solo function with no indicator lights, and  
you happen to forget you’re in solo, you can easily be
tricked into thinking that something is wrong with your
mixer. Hence the rude solo light. It’s especially handy  
at about 3 a.m. when no sound is coming out of your
monitors but your multitrack is playing back like mad.

Let’s say you’re doing a live show. Intermission is  

nearing and you’ll want to play a soothing CD for the
crowd to prevent them from eating the furniture.  
Then you think, “But I have the CD player plugged into
the tape inputs, and that never gets to the main outs!”
Oh, but it does. Simply engage this switch and your  
control room source selection, after going through  
the control room / submix [34] knob, will feed into  
the main mix, just as if it were another stereo channel.

Another handy use for this switch is to enable the  

alt 3-4 mix to become a submix of the main mix, using
the control room/submix knob as its level control.

Side effects: (1) Engaging this switch will also feed

any soloed channels into the main mix, which may be
the last thing you want. (2) If you have main mix as
your control room source selection and then engage  
assign to main mix, the main mix lines to the control
room will be interrupted to prevent feedback. Then
again, why would anyone want to assign the main mix  
to the main mix?

The 1202VLZ4’s peak metering system is made up  

of two columns of twelve LEDs. Deceptively simple,
considering the multitude of signals that can be  
monitored by it.

If nothing is selected in the source matrix and  

no channels are in solo, the meters will just sit there
and do nothing. To put them to work, you must make a
selection in the source matrix (or engage a solo switch).

Why? You want the meter display to reflect what the

engineer is listening to, and as we’ve covered, the  
engineer is listening either to the control room [15]
outputs or the phones [12] outputs. The only difference
is that while the listening levels are controlled by the
control room / submix [34] knob, the meters read the
source mix before that control, giving you the real facts
at all times, even if you’re not listening at all.

Thanks to the 1202VLZ4’s wide dynamic range,  

you can get a good mix with peaks flashing anywhere
between –20 and +10 dB on the meters. Most  
amplifiers clip at about +10 dB, and some recorders
aren’t so forgiving either. For best real-world results,  
try to keep your peaks between “0” and “+7”.

You may already be an expert at the world of “+4” (+4

dBu=1.23 V) and “–10” (–10 dBV=0.32 V) operating
levels. Basically, what makes a mixer one or the other
is the relative 0 dB VU (or 0 VU) chosen for the meters.
A “+4” mixer, with a +4 dBu signal pouring out the back
will actually read 0 VU on its meters. A “–10” mixer,
with a –10 dBV signal trickling out, will read 0VU on its
meters. So when is 0 VU actually 0 dBu? Right now!