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PREMIUM LIVE ANALOG MIXERS
w/PERKINS EQ & ONYX MIC PREAMPS
O W N E R ’ S M A N U A L
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17.This apparatus has been designed with Class-I construction and must Important Safety Instructions be connected to a mains socket outlet with a protective earthing con- nection (the third grounding prong). 1. Read these instructions. 18.This apparatus has been equipped with a rocker-style AC mains power switch. This switch is located on the rear panel and should remain 2. Keep these instructions. readily accessible to the us
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Owner’s Manual Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................4 Getting Started ..........................................................................................................5 Zero the Controls .......................................................................................................................................5 Connections ...............................................
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Introduction HOW TO USE THIS MANUAL Thank you for choosing a Mackie Onyx 4•Bus profes- We know that many of you can’t wait to get your new sional live mixing console. The Onyx 4•Bus mixers fea- mixing console hooked up, and you’re probably not going ture all-new analog circuitry and the latest technologies to read the manual first (sigh!). So the next section is a for live sound reinforcement in a durable, road-worthy Quick-Start Guide to help you get the mixer set up fast package. so you ca
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Owner’s Manual output. Be sure that the volume of the input source is the same as it would be during normal use. If it Getting Started isn’t, you might have to readjust these levels during the middle of the set. READ THIS PAGE!! 3. Adjust the channel’s GAIN [4] control so that the LEDs on the Left MAIN MIX meter stay around “0” Even if you’re one of those people and never go higher than “+10.” who never read manuals, all we ask is that you read this page now before 4. If you’d like to
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CHANNEL INPUTS STEREO RETURNS IN-TAPE-OUT PHONES MONTIOR MATRIX DIRECT OUT OUT OUT OUT 1-8 This hookup diagram demonstrates how you can make a live multitrack recording using the DIRECT Hookup Diagrams OUTs. The DIRECT OUTs provide an analog balanced direct output for each channel, pre-EQ. The Matrix outputs are used to create a stereo recording for backup. Aux Send 4 is used for stage monitors, and a graphic EQ is connected to the Aux 4 Insert jack, serving as a dedicated in-line EQ
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Owner’s Manual CHANNEL INPUTS STEREO RETURNS IN-TAPE-OUT PHONES MONTIOR MATRIX DIRECT OUT OUT OUT OUT 1-8 TALKBACK MIC Bass Guitar In Mono Compressor 1 1 1 11 Out 2 2 2 12 Electric Guitar 3 3 3 13 4 4 4 14 In 5 5 5 15 Stereo Compressor Out 6 In 6 6 16 Out 7 7 7 17 Electric Guitar Line Out 8 DI Box 8 8 18 Mono Power Stage Monitor 9 Amplifier 9 9 19 10 Bass Amp 10 10 20 11 Mono Power Stage Monitor 11 Line Out Amplifier DI Box 12 Mono EQ 12 In 1 4 Out 13 Vocal Mics 1
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CHANNEL INPUTS STEREO RETURNS IN-TAPE-OUT PHONES MONTIOR MATRIX DIRECT OUT OUT OUT OUT 1-8 Bass Guitar Mono Compressor 1 In 1 1 11 Out 2 2 2 12 Electric Guitar 3 3 3 13 4 4 4 14 In 5 5 5 15 Stereo Compressor Out In 6 6 6 16 Out 7 7 7 17 Electric Guitar Line Out 8 DI Box 8 8 18 9 9 9 19 10 Bass Amp 10 10 20 11 11 Line Out DI Box 12 12 Headphones 1 4 13 for Studio 13 In Stereo EQ Vocal Mics 2 5 Out Guitar Amp 14 14 In DI Box 3 6 Keyboard or Synth Out Stereo Gu
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Owner’s Manual CHANNEL INPUTS STEREO RETURNS IN-TAPE-OUT PHONES MONTIOR MATRIX DIRECT OUT OUT OUT OUT 1-8 Bass Guitar Mono Compressor 1 In 1 1 11 Out 2 2 2 12 Electric Guitar 3 3 3 13 4 4 4 14 In 5 5 5 15 Stereo Compressor Out In 6 6 6 16 Out 7 7 7 17 Electric Guitar Line Out 8 DI Box 8 8 18 9 9 9 19 10 Bass Amp 10 10 20 Stage Monitors Mono Power 11 Line Out 11 Amplifier DI Box 12 Mono EQ 12 In 1 4 Out 13 13 Vocal Mics 2 5 Guitar Amp 14 DI Box 14 3 6 Keyboar
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Onyx 4•Bus Features Mono Channel Strips . 48V Phantom Power Switch The Onyx 24•4 has 20 mono channel strips and two Most professional condenser mi- 1 stereo channels, and the Onyx 32•4 has 28 mono channel crophones require phantom power, strips and two stereo channels. Each mono channel has a which is a low-current DC voltage PAD mic and line input connector and an insert jack for con- delivered to the microphone on necting an external signal processor. pins 2 and 3 of the XLR micr
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Owner’s Manual 5. HIGH EQ . LOW MID FREQ +15 This control gives you This knob ranges from +10 up to 15 dB boost or cut at 100 Hz to 2 kHz and +5 12 kHz, and is flat at the determines the center 0 center detent. Use it to frequency for the LOW –5 add sizzle to cymbals, and MID EQ filter. This allows –10 an overall sense of trans- you to zero in on the –15 parency or edge to the precise narrow band of 20Hz 100Hz 1kHz 10kHz 20kHz keyboards, vocals, gu
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1 PAD 4 48 8V V 30 U 20 40 U 60 - 20dB + 40dB GAIN U EQ HIGH 12kHz - 15 +15 2k FREQ 400 8k U HIGH MID - 15 +15 400 FREQ 1 00 2k U LOW MID - 15 +15 U LOW 80H z - 15 +15 OUT EQ IN down to the lowest note you ever heard. “Peaking” means AUX 15. Channel Fader that the frequencies around the center frequency are less affected by the EQ the further away they are. The fader controls the channel’s 1 MAX level…from off to unity gain at the “U” marking, on up t
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Owner’s Manual VERY IMPORTANT: Remember, PFL 17. GROUP and MAIN MIX ASSIGN Switches mode taps the channel signal before the fader. If you have a channel’s fad- Alongside each channel fader are three buttons er set way below “U” (unity gain), PFL referred to as channel assignment switches. Used in solo won’t know that and will send a conjunction with the channel’s PAN knob, they are used unity gain signal to the MONITOR OUT and PHONES to determine the destination of the channel’s signal.
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range. The HIGH MID EQ frequen- 7. MUTE cies include the female vocal range as well as the fundamentals and Press this switch to mute the channel. This discon- harmonics for many instruments. nects the channel’s signal from all the Groups, the Main Mix, and Aux Send buses (pre* and post-fader). You can still solo the channel in PFL mode when the MUTE . LOW MID EQ switch is pushed in. This is
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Owner’s Manual MAIN GRP 1-2 MIX GRP OFF 3-4 Matrix, Compressor, and Metering Section tantly, auto-gain compensation that provides the ap- . MATRIX A and B Input Controls propriate amount of makeup gain based on the amount of compression taking place. The Matrix A and B controls allow you to create sepa- rate mixes, or a stereo mix, from Groups 1 through 4 and The following knobs and switches are used to control the Left and Right Mix outputs. Simply adjust the six the compressor. matri
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MAIN GRP MIX 1-2 GRP OFF 3-4 8. COMP ASSIGN 41. COMPRESSOR Meters Use this switch to assign the compressor to either the The INPUT meter indicates the signal level at the MAIN MIX, GROUP 1-2, GROUP 3-4, or OFF (not assigned). input of the compressor. Use this to help determine the setting of the THRESHOLD control. Once the input level When the compressor is assigned to the MAIN MIX, it crosses the threshold setting, the G.R. (Gain Reduction) is inserted in the signal flow after the MAIN M
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Owner’s Manual signal trickling out will read, you guessed it, 0 VU on its PHONES level turned all the way down before connect- meters. So when is 0 VU actually 0 dBu? Right now! ing headphones to the PHONES jack. Keep it down until you’ve put on the headphones. Then turn it up slowly. Mackie mixers show things as they really are. When 0 Why? Always remember: “Engineers who fry their dBu (0.775 V) is at the outputs, it shows as 0 dB VU on ears, find themselves with short careers.” the meter
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TALKBACK Section Auxiliary Section The talkback feature allows the engineer to com- This section includes the AUX SEND MASTERS and municate with the talent either through the AUX 1-6 the STEREO RETURNS. These can be a bit confusing [87] Sends, or the MAIN L/R [82] outputs. Connect an to the uninitiated, so here’s the whole idea behind aux external microphone to the TALKBACK MIC XLR [81] sends and returns: sends are outputs and returns ar
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Owner’s Manual you are using the Aux send to go to an effects processor. 60. TO MON/PHONES Switch This way, when fader changes are made, the “wet” signal going to the effects processor moves up and down along Press this switch to route the CD/TAPE signal to the with the “dry” signal, maintaining a balance between Monitor and Phones outputs when there are no solo them. switches engaged. The Main Mix and CD/TAPE signal is overridden in the Monitor and Phones outputs by any The pre-fader Au
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6. SHIFT Switch 68. GROUP Fader The Stereo Returns have two Aux Send controls. This fader controls the Group’s signal level, from off to When t
