Mackie LM-3204 manual

L M - 3 204 O W NER’S M A NU A L 10 22 +20 O O U 1 LEVEL +20 O O U 2 +20 O O U 3 LEVEL +20 O O U 4 STEREO AUX RETURNS AUX RETURN TO CONTROL ROOM ONLY SOURCE ALT 3-4 40 30 20 10 7 4 2 0 2 4 7 + – CLIP PHONES O O SOLO +20 O O U TAPE MONITOR LEVEL POWER LM-3204 STERE O LINE MIXER dB 20 15 5 10 O O 5 10 30 40 U dB 20 15 5 10 O O 5 10 30 40 U LEFT R[...]

2 v1.1–10/94 CAUTION AVIS RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK DO NOT OPEN RISQUE DE CHOC ELECTRIQUE NE PAS OUVRIR CAUTION: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK DO NOT REMOVE COVER (OR BACK) NO USER-SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED PERSONNEL ATTENTION: POUR EVITER LES RISQUES DE CHOC ELECTRIQUE, NE PAS ENLEVER LE COUVERCLE. AUCUN ENTRETIEN[...]

3 PLEASE! SA VE THE SHIPPING BOX! T op T en Reasons for saving your shipping box: 10. It’s her e. 9. It’s yours. 8. It’s paid for . 7. It’s strong and sturdy . 6. It fits your mixer perfectly . 5. Y ou will need it if you ever ship your mixer . 4. W e may have to sell you another one if you need to ship your mixer and you don’t have it. 3[...]

4 SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION It marks information that is absolutely critical or is unique to the LM-3204. In addition, sections tagged with this icon: include both in-depth information and our own deeply felt but never biased opinions. Note: one of the icons in the manual is actu- ally a scratch-off icon, which, if you rub long enough with the edge o[...]

5 IMPOR T ANT SENSITIVITY ADJUSTMENT PROCEDURE! So important we put it first, before anything else. T o fully achieve the LM-3204 Mixer’s impr essive headroom and specs, you should always “tune” the input sensitivity for each channel. FOLLOW THIS PROCEDURE FOR EACH CHANNEL IN USE 1. Set the Control Room, Phones, Left and Right Master Fader an[...]

6 SECTION 2: P ANEL LA YOUT & FUNCTION ON THE LEFT SIDE Most of the LM-3204 front panel (four -fifths, precisely) is occupied by the 16 ster eo, line level input modules or channel strips . Each strip sports identical featur es, functions, knobs and buttons, so we’ll take a close look at one and leave it to you to extrapolate. Still with us? [...]

7 LA YOUT AND FUNCTION T o make matters even easier , the crack Mackie Detent Crew have put a little mechanical “pot- hole” or detent at the Unity Gain point on every rotary control. Adding detents is a pr ecise, tedious and largely thankless job, so think of those guys every now and then as you’r e going about your glamorous and exciting liv[...]

8 U +30dB O O BALANCE L –1 5 +1 5 U –1 2 +1 2 U 2 +1 5 O O U –1 5 +1 5 U 1 +1 5 O O U 16 SHIFT -2 0 OL 4 3 12 k STEREO MONO HI 80 LO 2.5k MID EQ SOLO AUX LR 16 CHANNEL MUTE ALT 3- 4 GAIN GAIN will also light that pulsating flambeau, that im- pudent alarm, that ruby pharos guarding the Mackie shore, the Rude Solo Light. MUTE/AL T 3–4 Next up[...]

9 EQ In keeping with the stereo theme of this entir e mixer , the engineers at Mackie have decided to provide ster eo equalization as well. Just like the stereo Gain control, the EQ knobs have both left and right EQ sections ganged on a single shaft. The LM-3204 EQ has thr ee sections, each with a fixed knee or center fr equency and bandwidth. Fr e[...]

10 0dBu (.775 volts rms) at the r ear output jacks. The LM-3204’ s main outputs are 0dBu=0dB Meter whether you ar e using balanced or unbalanced cables. The meters are switched by the same circuits that switch the Control Room and Phones moni- tors. So whatever you are hearing in the monitors is what’ s on the meters. Normally , that would be t[...]

11 Quick recap: In the up position, the T ape Monitor switch selects the main Left and Right bus outputs for the monitor circuits and the meters. In the down position, the T ape Monitor switch selects the T ape Inputs for the monitor circuits and the meters. MICROPHONE PREAMPLIFIERS Another Mackie bonus featur e! How did this come about? W as there[...]

12 REAR-P ANEL CONNECTIONS With the exception of the handy Phones out- put jack, all of the connections to the LM-3204 ar e made on the r ear panel of the unit, back in your equipment rack wher e all the cabling is lurking. LINE INPUTS There ar e 32 line inputs in the LM-3204, a left- right pair for each of the 16 input modules. The channel inputs [...]

13 3. As a send-return insert for processing. Use a 1 ⁄ 4 " TRS (stereo) plug “Y”-ed to two mono (TS) 1 ⁄ 4 " plugs. The tip should be wir ed to send to the effect’ s input, and the ring should be wired as the r eturn from the effect back into the LM-3204. The sleeve is the c om mo n ground connection. See the Insert Jack diagra[...]

14 an insert at lef t, or check the patching illustra- tion on the back of the LM-3204. T APE OUT AND T APE IN The LM-3204 provides a number of ways to feed a tape deck, a cassette or DA T recorder and to monitor the output of the r ecorder as well. The Main Output connections ar e mentioned earlier , and may be used as the primary feed to your r e[...]

15 10 22 40 30 20 10 7 4 2 0 2 4 7 + – CLIP PHONES O O SOLO +2 0 O O U TAPE MONITOR LEVEL CONTROL ROOM OUTPUTS This is where you plug in your m o ni t o r power amplifier . The Left and Right Control Room Outputs are line level unbalanced 1 ⁄ 4 " TS jacks, controlled by the Control Room fader on the front panel. MICROPHONE CONNECTIONS Here[...]

16 SECTION 3: GENERAL INFORMA TION grinding distortion. Somewher e between the noise and the clipping is an optimum level for your signal: high enough above the noise floor to r ender the hiss inaudible, and far enough below the distortion point to allow range for loud peaks of music to pass without clipping. This safe operating zone might be calle[...]

17 But if your music is sounding good, don’t worry if you’r e in the yellow a lot or if some parts of the track hardly r ead at all. Y ou’ll quickly get a feel for what works for you, when you can get away with r eally smacking the tape or the electronics. BUSES More often than not, the goal in a mixing con- sole is to mix two or more inputs [...]

18 more punch and mor e sizzle without making the mix muddy or harsh. The MID EQ section is a peaking/dipping equalizer with a bell- shaped r e s ponse curve. The fr equency is centered at 2.5kHz and the bandwidth is fixed. T he M I D EQ can cut or boost 12dB. CONNECTORS If you’ve used a Mackie MicroSeries 1202, a CR-1604 or a Mackie 8-Bus Series[...]

19 SECTION 4: USING THE LM-3204 hooked up to a synthesizer , tickle those plastic ivories! On the other hand, you might have to deviate from this approach on certain channels. For example, you don’t want to set the hi-hat cymbal channel at 0dB. Use your judgement on this. 5. The channel’s –20dB LED should light. The L/R main meters will show [...]

20 sound engineer feels when you come at her with your 12 output cables. W e figur e that if you bought an LM-3204 for stage use, you alr eady have an equipment rack just about full of fine electronic musical technol- ogy . So, we designed the LM-3204 to be 19" wide and a mer e 5 rack units high. T o fit in your rack. The LM-3204 will let you [...]

21 Note: If you are using turntables and vinyl discs, you must have a ster eo phono pr eampli- fier for each turntable for corr ect impedance matching, gain and EQ r esponse tailoring. Connect the outputs of the phono pr eamplifi- ers into the LM-3204 line input jacks. The Mackie LM-3204 does not have internal phono pr eamplifiers. Sorry . MUL TI-I[...]

22 R L 1234 (MONO) L 15 13 11 CONTROL ROOM OUTPUTS R (MONO) L R R L AL T 3/4 OUTPUTS L R L R EXPANDER IN R L MAIN INSERTS R L MAIN/T APE OUTPUTS STEREO AUX RETURNS 12 3 4 AUX SENDS L R L STEREO MONO R 16 14 12 USE ONLY WITH LM-3204E EXPANDERS. STEREO Digital Delay Stereo Digital Delay Limiter Stereo Reverb R in R out Out L in L out In Out Out Out I[...]

23 97 5 31 STEREO BALANCED OR UNBALANCED LINE INPUTS (MONO) L R L R CHANNEL INSERTS 1 3 2 1 MIC PREAMP OUTPUT MIC IN R L T APE INPUTS 2 1 MIC PREAMP GAIN 10 dB 50 dB G A I N G A I N PHANT OM POWER +48V 2 4 1 0 864 2 10 dB 50 dB LIVE 2trk RECORDING Drum Machine 2 Drum Machine 1 K eyb oar d, or other line level input K eyb oar d, or other line level [...]

24 R L 1234 (MONO) L 15 13 11 CONTROL ROOM OUTPUTS R (MONO) L R R L AL T 3/4 OUTPUTS L R L R EXPANDER IN R L MAIN INSERTS R L MAIN/T APE OUTPUTS STEREO AUX RETURNS 12 3 4 AUX SENDS L R L STEREO MONO R 16 14 12 USE ONLY WITH LM-3204E EXPANDERS. STEREO Digital Delay Stereo Compressor Cassette Deck P ower Am plifier P A Cabinet P A Cabinet Out Out In [...]

25 97 5 31 STEREO BALANCED OR UNBALANCED LINE INPUTS (MONO) L R L R CHANNEL INSERTS 1 3 2 1 MIC PREAMP OUTPUT MIC IN R L T APE INPUTS 2 1 MIC PREAMP GAIN 10 dB 50 dB G A I N G A I N PHANT OM POWER +48V 2 4 1 0 864 2 10 dB 50 dB NIGHTCLUB ACT w/2trk RECORDING Guitar Pre-amp Bass Guitar Pre-amp Drum Machine K eyb oar d, or other line level input K ey[...]

26 R L 1234 (MONO) L 15 13 11 CONTROL ROOM OUTPUTS R (MONO) L R R L AL T 3/4 OUTPUTS L R L R EXPANDER IN R L MAIN INSERTS R L MAIN/T APE OUTPUTS STEREO AUX RETURNS 12 3 4 AUX SENDS L R L STEREO MONO R 16 14 12 USE ONLY WITH LM-3204E EXPANDERS. STEREO Digital Delay Stereo Digital Delay Limiter Stereo Submix Feed to Main Mixing Console Out In Out Out[...]

27 97 5 31 STEREO BALANCED OR UNBALANCED LINE INPUTS (MONO) L R L R CHANNEL INSERTS 1 3 2 1 MIC PREAMP OUTPUT MIC IN R L T APE INPUTS 2 1 MIC PREAMP GAIN 10 dB 50 dB G A I N G A I N PHANT OM POWER +48V 2 4 1 0 864 2 10 dB 50 dB STEREO SUBMIXER Drum Machine 2 Drum Machine 1 K eyb oar d, or other line level input K eyb oar d, or other line level inpu[...]

28 R L 1234 (MONO) L 15 13 11 CONTROL ROOM OUTPUTS R (MONO) L R R L AL T 3/4 OUTPUTS L R L R EXPANDER IN R L MAIN INSERTS R L MAIN/T APE OUTPUTS STEREO AUX RETURNS 12 3 4 AUX SENDS L R L STEREO MONO R 16 14 12 USE ONLY WITH LM-3204E EXPANDERS. STEREO Stereo Digital Delay Stereo Compressor Reverb 2 Out Out Out Out In In In In P ower Am plifier Studi[...]

29 97 5 31 STEREO BALANCED OR UNBALANCED LINE INPUTS (MONO) L R L R CHANNEL INSERTS 1 3 2 1 MIC PREAMP OUTPUT MIC IN R L T APE INPUTS 2 1 MIC PREAMP GAIN 10 dB 50 dB G A I N G A I N PHANT OM POWER +48V 2 4 1 0 864 2 10 dB 50 dB MULTITRACK RECORDING AND MIXING K eyb oar d, or other line level input K eyb oar d, or other line level input Sound Module[...]

30 APPENDIX A: Connections • Stereo Headphones, and rar ely , stereo microphones and ster eo line connections. When wired for ster eo, a 1 ⁄ 4 " TRS jack or plug is connected tip to left, ring to right and sleeve to ground (earth). Mackie mixers do not directly accept 1-plug-type stereo microphones. They must be separated into a left cord [...]

31 1 ⁄ 4 " TS PHONE PLUGS AND JACKS “TS” stands for Tip-Sleeve, the two connections available on a “mono” 1 ⁄ 4 " phone jack or plug (Fig- ure C). TS jacks and plugs ar e used in many different applications, always unbalanced. The tip is connected to the audio signal and the sleeve to ground (earth). Some examples: • Unbalan[...]

32 TRS Send/Receive Insert Jacks The insert jacks on both the LM-3204 input channels 1-4 and on the left and right main buses are the thr ee-conductor , TRS type 1 ⁄ 4 " phone. They are unbalanced, but have both the mixer output (send) and the mixer input (r e- turn) signals in one connector (See Figur e B). The sleeve is the common ground ([...]

33 APPENDIX B: OPTIONS, ADD-ONS AND EXTRA STUFF LM-3204E Stereo Line Expander Nobody ever has enough inputs. And when 16 stereo line inputs ar e finally too few , you, a proud Mackie LM-3204 owner , don’t even need to think about a new mixer . For less than the price of another LM-3204, you can get an LE-3204E Stereo Line Expander and add another[...]

34 APPENDIX C: SPECIFICA TIONS: TECH STUFF LM-3204 Owner’ s Manual Specs Noise (20Hz to 20kHz bandwidth, Line inputs to Main L/R outputs, all channels assigned) : Master fader down, Ch. gains down –104.2dBu Master fader @ unity, Ch. gains down –86.6dBu Master fader @ unity, Ch. gains @ unity –84.0dBu T otal Harmonic Distortion (1KHz @ +14dB[...]

35 7/94 LM-3204 LINE MIXER ©1 994 MA CKIE DESIGNS INC. Dimensions also apply to LM-3204E Expander. LM-3204 WEIGHT 21 lbs. 19.00" 5 rack spaces (5U) 17.50" 9.66" 8.73" 8.65" 9.66" .75 APPENDIX[...]

36 + - + - LEFT (MONO) LINE IN BALANCE BAL/UNBAL INPUTS + - RIGHT LINE IN • • • • • • • • • • • • • L R L R MAIN 1-2 ALT 3-4 INSERT (CH’s 1-4) • • MUTE/ ALT 3-4 • • • • • • • • • • LEVEL LEVEL SOLO AUX 1/3 AUX 2/4 CONTROL STEREO CHANNEL 1 of 16 CLIP LED -20 LED • • • • •• • • • ?[...]

37 APPENDIX L R L R L R AUX 1 AUX 3 AUX 4 AUX 2 SOLO CONTROL • • • • • • • • • • 10 CLIP 7 4 2 0 -2 -4 -7 -10 -20 -30 -40 R L METER LEFT MAIN OUT RIGHT MAIN OUT L ••••• • •• • • • ∑ • • ∑ L MAIN INSERT R MAIN INSERT + - + - • • • • • • • ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑ • • SOLO LEVEL SOLO RELAY DR[...]

38 APPENDIX D: SER VICE PLEASE! SA VE THE SHIPPING BOX! Y es, we know that it’s slightly larger than the suitcase you’r e living out of, but you will need the entir e carton and internal foam if your mixer ever needs service at some time in the future. If your kids make the box into a gerbil pal- ace and cut holes in it — or if you stuff it i[...]

39 4. Write the RA number plainly on the outside of the shipping carton in BIG print (those huge stinky sign markers work well for this). 5. Ship the product in its original shipping carton, freight pr epaid to: Mackie Designs 20205 144th A venue N.E. W oodinville, W A 98072 U.S.A. A FREE T -SHIRT OFFER W e love to hear what folks have created usin[...]

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