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Owner’s Manual
Owner’s Manual
Part No. 0019816 Rev. C
©2007 LOUD Technologies Inc. All Rights Reserved. Printed in China.
Loosely based on a dream sequence in which the entire Mackie marketing
department dance "The Twist" on a live TV pop music show back in 1966.
Other Nuggets of Wisdom
For optimum sonic performance, the channel fad-
ers and the MAIN MIX fader should be set near the “U”
(unity gain) markings.
Always turn the MAIN MIX fader and CTL ROOM/
PHONES knob down before making connections to and
from your 1604-VLZ3.
If you shut down your equipment, turn off your ampli-
fi ers fi rst. When powering up, turn on your amplifi ers
last.
Save the shipping box! You may need it someday.
Instant Mixing
Here’s how to get going right away, assuming you have
a microphone and a keyboard:
1. Plug your mic into Channel 1’s MIC input.
2. Turn on the 1604-VLZ3.
3. Perform the Level-Setting Procedure.
4. Connect cords from the MAIN OUT jacks to
your amplifi er.
5. Hook up speakers to the amp and turn it on.
6. Set channel 1’s fader to the “U” mark.
7. Engage (push in) Channel 1’s L-R switch.
8. Set the MAIN MIX fader one-quarter of the way
up.
9. Sing like a canary!
10. Plug your keyboard into channels 3 and 4.
11. Turn channel 3’s PAN knob fully left and chan-
nel 4’s PAN knob fully right.
12. Set those faders to the “U” mark.
13. Perform the Level-Setting Procedure.
14. Engage the L-R switch on these channels.
15. Play like a madman and sing like a canary!
Read This Page!
We realize that you must be keen to
try out your new 1604-VLZ3. All we ask is
that you read this page NOW, and the rest
can wait until you’re good and ready. But
do read it — you’ll be glad you did.
WARNING: Before you plug the AC power
cord into the mixer, make sure the VOLTAGE
SELECTOR switch is set to the same voltage
as your local AC mains supply (see page 13).
Level-Setting Procedure
Message to seasoned pros: do NOT set levels using the
old “Turn the trim up until the clip light comes on, then
back off a hair” trick. When a Mackie mixer clip light
comes on, you really are about to clip.
This procedure really works — it assures low noise
and high headroom. Please read on.
It’s not even necessary to hear what you’re doing to
set optimal levels. But if you’d like to: Plug headphones
into the PHONES output jack, then set the CTL ROOM/
PHONES knob about one-quarter of the way up.
The following steps must be performed one channel at
a time:
1. Turn the GAIN, AUX send and fader controls
fully down.
2. Be sure the 1–2, 3–4 and L–R channel assign-
ment switches are all disengaged.
3. Set the EQ knobs at the center detents.
4. Connect the signal source to the MIC or LINE
channel input.
5. Engage (push in) the channel’s SOLO switch.
6. Push in the MODE switch in the output section
(LEVEL SET (PFL) mode) — the LEVEL SET
LED will light.
7. Play something into the selected input, at real-
world levels.
8. Adjust the GAIN control so that the display on
the meter stays around “0.” (Only the left meter
is active in the Level-Setting Procedure.)
9. If you’d like to apply some EQ, do so now and
return to the previous step.
10. Disengage that channel’s SOLO switch.
11. Repeat for each of channels 1–16.
Please write your serial number here for future
reference (i.e., insurance claims, tech support,
return authorization, make dad proud, etc.)
Purchased at:
Date of purchase: