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Owner’s Manual
Owner’s Manual
Patchbay Description
At the risk of stating the obvious, this is where you
plug everything in: microphones, line-level instruments
and effects, headphones, and the ultimate destination
for your sound: a tape recorder, PA system, etc. A few of
the features described in this section are on top of the
mixer, but most are out back on this “pod.”
See Appendix B (page 27) for further details and
some rather lovely drawings of the connectors you can
use with the 1604-VLZ3.
E-Z INTERFACE
Concerned about levels, balancing, imped-
ances, polarity, or other interface goblins?
Don’t be. On your 1604-VLZ3, you can patch
anything almost anywhere, with nary a care.
Here’s why:
• Every input and output is balanced (except
insert, phones and RCA jacks).
• Every input and output will also accept unbal-
anced lines (except XLR jacks when phantom
power is on).
• Every input is designed to accept virtually any
output impedance.
• The main left and right mix outputs can deliver
28 dBu into as low as a 600 ohm load.
• All the other outputs can deliver 22 dBu into as
low as a 600 ohm load.
• All the outputs are in phase with the inputs.
All we ask is that you perform the Level- Setting Pro-
cedure every time you patch in a new sound source. So
stop worrying and start mixing!
1. MIC INPUTS
We use phantom-powered, balanced microphone
inputs just like the big studio mega-consoles, for exactly
the same reason: This kind of circuit is excellent at
rejecting hum and noise. You can plug in almost any
kind of mic that has a standard XLR-type male mic con-
nector.
Professional ribbon, dynamic, and condenser mics
will all sound excellent through these inputs. The
1604-VLZ3’s mic inputs will handle any kind of mic level
you can toss at them, without overloading. Be sure to
perform the Level-Setting Procedure on page 3.
Not every instrument is made to connect directly to a
mixer. Guitars commonly need a Direct Injection (DI)
box to connect to the mixer's MIC inputs. These boxes
convert unbalanced line-level signals from your guitar,
into balanced mic-level outputs, and provide signal and
impedance matching. They also let you send your gifted
guitar renditions over long cables or audio snakes, with
minimum interference or high-frequency signal loss. Ask
your dealer or guitar maker about their recommenda-
tions for a good DI box.
PHANTOM POWER
Most modern professional condenser mics
are equipped for Phantom Power, which lets
the mixer send low-current DC voltage to
the mic’s electronics through the same wires that carry
audio. (Semi-pro condenser mics often have batteries to
accomplish the same thing.) “Phantom” owes its name
to an ability to be “unseen” by dynamic mics (Shure
SM57/SM58, for instance), which don’t need external
power and aren’t affected by it anyway.
The 1604-VLZ3’s phantom power is globally controlled
by the PHANTOM [22] switch on the rear panel. (This
means the phantom power for all channels is turned on
and off together.)
Never plug single-ended (unbalanced) micro-
phones, or ribbon mics into the MIC input
jacks if phantom power is on.
Do not plug instrument outputs into the MIC
input jacks with phantom power on unless you
know for certain it is safe to do so.
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