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Owner’s Manual
Owner’s Manual
The LOW EQ provides up to
15 dB boost or cut below 80 Hz.
The circuit is fl at (no boost or
cut) at the center detent posi-
tion. This frequency represents
the punch in bass drums, bass
guitar, fat synth patches, and some really serious male
singers who eat broken glass for breakfast.
Used in conjunction with the LOW CUT [33] switch,
you can boost the LOW EQ without injecting a ton of
subsonic debris into the mix. We recommend using the
LOW CUT feature on all channels, except low frequency
signals, like kick drums and bass guitars.
The MID EQ , or “midrange,” has a fi xed bandwidth of
1 octave. The MID knob sets the amount of boost or cut,
up to 15 dB, and is effectively bypassed at the center
detent. The frequency knob sets the center frequency,
sweepable from 100 Hz to 8 kHz.
Most of the root and lower harmonics that defi ne a
sound are located in the 100 Hz–8 kHz frequency range,
and you can create drastic changes with these two
knobs. Many engineers use MID EQ to cut midrange
frequencies, not boost them. One popular trick is to set
the MID fully up, turn the frequency knob until you fi nd
a point where it sounds just terrible, then back the MID
down into the cut range, causing those terrible frequen-
cies to disappear. Sounds silly, but it works. Sometimes.
The HI EQ provides you up
to 15 dB boost or cut above 12
kHz, and it is also fl at at the
detent. Use it to add sizzle to
cymbals, an overall sense of
transparency, or an edge to
keyboards, vocals, guitar and
bacon frying. Turn it down a little to reduce sibilance or
to mask tape hiss.
With too much EQ, you can screw things up royally.
We’ve designed a lot of boost and cut into each equalizer
circuit because we love you, and know that everyone
will occasionally need that. But if you max the EQ on
every channel, you’ll get mix mush. Equalize subtly
and use the left sides of the knobs (cut), as well as the
right (boost). If you fi nd yourself repeatedly using full
boost or cut, consider altering the sound source, such as
placing a mic differently, trying a different kind of mic,
changing the strings, or gargling.
31. PAN
This adjusts the amount of channel signal sent to the
left versus the right outputs. PAN determines the fate
of the L-R assignment, subgroups 1–2 and 3–4, and the
SOLO (in AFL mode). With the PAN knob hard left, the
signal will feed the left main mix, subgroup 1, subgroup
3 and left NORMAL (AFL) solo mode (assuming their
assignment switches are engaged). With the knob hard
right, signal feeds the right main mix, subgroup 2, sub-
group 4 and right NORMAL (AFL) solo mode. With PAN
set somewhere in-between left and right, the signal will
be divided between the left and right buses.
Stereo Sources
Your life will be easier if you follow this standard con-
vention: When patching stereo sound sources to a mixer,
always plug the left signal into an “odd” channel (1, 3, 5,
etc.) and the right signal into the adjacent “even” chan-
nel (2, 4, 6, etc.). Then pan the odd channel hard left
and the even channel hard right.
CONSTANT LOUDNESS ! ! !
The 1604-VLZ3’s PAN controls employ a de-
sign called “Constant Loudness.” It has noth-
ing to do with living next to a freeway. As you
turn the PAN knob from left to right (thereby
causing the sound to move from the left to the center to
the right), the sound will appear to remain at the same
volume (or loudness).
If you have a channel panned hard left (or right) and
reading 0 dB, it must dip down about 4 dB on the left
(or right) when panned center. To do otherwise, like
those Brand X mixers, would make the sound appear
much louder when panned center.
32. 3-BAND MID-SWEEP EQ
The 1604-VLZ3 has a 3-band, mid-sweep equalization:
LOW shelving at 80 Hz, MID sweep peaking from 100
Hz to 8 kHz, and HI shelving at 12 kHz. It’s probably
all the EQ you’ll ever need! (Shelving means that the
circuitry boosts or cuts all frequencies past the specifi ed
frequency. For example, the 1604-VLZ3’s LOW EQ boosts
bass frequencies below 80 Hz and continuing down to
the lowest note you never heard. Peaking means that
certain frequencies form a “hill” around the center
frequency.)
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100
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z
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