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9. Object and Liquid Entry — Do not drop objects or spill CAUTION AVIS liquids into the inside of the LM-3204 Console. RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK 10. Damage Requiring Service — The LM-3204 Console DO NOT OPEN RISQUE DE CHOC ELECTRIQUE should be serviced only by qualified service personnel when: NE PAS OUVRIR A. LM-3204 Console power-supply cord or the plug has CAUTION: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK been damaged; or DO NOT REMOVE COVER (OR BACK) NO USER-SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE REFER SERVI
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PLEASE! SAVE THE SHIPPING BOX! LAYOUT Top Ten Reasons for PANEL LAYOUT AND AND saving your shipping box: FUNCTION FUNCTION 10. It’s here. 9. It’s yours. 8. It’s paid for. 7. It’s strong and sturdy. GENERAL GENERAL 6. It fits your mixer perfectly. INFO 5. You will need it if you ever ship your mixer. INFORMATION 4. We may have to sell you another one if you need to ship your mixer and you don’t have it. 3. It will impress your friends who have no USING THE USING THE lives when they see it in your
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SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION The Mackie LM-3204 is a 32-input, 2+2 Bus line level sound mixer. Each of the 16 stereo in- put modules is fitted with gain, balance, EQ and auxiliary send controls. The LM-3204 is designed for applications re- quiring control of a number of stereo/mono line level sources, while providing exceptional audio It marks information that is absolutely critical or performance in a small (and very affordable) is unique to the LM-3204. rack-mounted unit — it makes the ideal center
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IMPORTANT SENSITIVITY ADJUSTMENT PROCEDURE! So important we put it first, before anything For a meter reading of 0dBu with +4dBu else. input (line level) signals, the settings in step 3 To fully achieve the LM-3204 Mixer’s should be just about right. Adjust the channel impressive headroom and specs, you should Gain control slightly so that you get peaks that always “tune” the input sensitivity for each regularly hit 0dB on the Left and Right meters. channel. For –10dBV signals, you may have to t
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SECTION 2: PANEL LAYOUT & FUNCTION 16 THE GAIN CONTROL ON THE LEFT SIDE U 3 Most of the LM-3204 front panel (four-fifths, At the bottom of each strip is the white Gain 1 +15 STEREO knob, which is a stereo gain control for that precisely) is occupied by the 16 stereo, line U channel’s signal. In the time-honored Mackie level input modules or channel strips. Each 4 2 tradition, the Gain control has a tremendous +15 strip sports identical features, functions, knobs MONO SHIFT AUX and buttons, so w
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To make matters even easier, the crack Mackie show you somebody’s home. We designed it to Detent Crew have put a little mechanical “pot- be ultra-responsive, so, with a little practice, hole” or detent at the Unity Gain point on every you can probably tell what’s on the channel (or LAYOUT rotary control. Adding detents is a precise, tedious at least the difference between the kick drum AND and largely thankless job, so think of those guys channel and a keyboard channel). However, it’s FUNCTION e
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the red OL light will flash. will also light that pulsating flambeau, that im- This is to be avoided. Overloading a mixer cir- pudent alarm, that ruby pharos guarding the 16 U cuit forces the audio signal to clip and seriously Mackie shore, the Rude Solo Light. 3 distort the sound. When the OL light flashes, it MUTE/ALT 3–4 1 +15 means something is too loud. It could be the STEREO U level of the unit connected to the LM-3204 input Next up is the Mute switch, which lives up to 4 jacks or a devic
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16 U 3 1 +15 STEREO EQ AUX SENDS U 4 In keeping with the stereo theme of this entire The LM-3204 offers 4 separate sets of auxil- 2 +15 mixer, the engineers at Mackie have decided to iary sends from each input module. Two sets MONO SHIFT AUX provide stereo equalization as well. Just like the of sends per module can be selected at any HI U 12k stereo Gain control, the EQ knobs have both left one time. The Shift switch allows you to and right EQ sections ganged on a single shaft. choose either se
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0dBu (.775 volts rms) at the rear output Return 3 control and circuitry. jacks. The LM-3204’s main outputs are This allows you to use Alt 3–4 as a pair of 0dBu=0dB Meter whether you are using submix buses and then re-mix them back into balanced or unbalanced cables. the main Left and Right buses. The meters are switched by the same circuits AUX RETURN TO CONTROL ROOM ONLY that switch the Control Room and Phones moni- tors. So whatever you are hearing in the monitors It has such a long name that
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Quick recap: In the up position, the Tape NOTE: While dynamic Monitor switch selects the main Left and mics ignore phantom Right bus outputs for the monitor circuits and power, ribbon mics don’t. LAYOUT the meters. In the down position, the Tape Make sure that the Phan- AND Monitor switch selects the Tape Inputs for the tom Power switch is off FUNCTION monitor circuits and the meters. before plugging in a ribbon mic. Wouldn’t ® want to barbecue your Beyer … MICROPHONE PREAMPLIFIERS The Long Arm
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REAR-PANEL CONNECTIONS WARNING: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO CAUTION EXPOSE THIS EQUIPMENT TO RAIN OR MOISTURE. DO NOT REMOVE COV RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK NO USER SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE. REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED LM-3204 • STEREO • LINE • MIXER DO NOT OPEN With the exception of the handy Phones out- AVIS: RISC DE CHOC ELECTRIQUE NE PAS OUVRIR CONCEIVED, DESIGNED, AND MANUFACTURED REPLACE WITH THE SAME TYPE FUSE AND RATING. UTILISE UN FUSIBLE DE RECHANGE DE M BY MACKIE D
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N N I I NOT SERIAL NUMBER MANUFACTURING DATE 120VAC ER. STEREO MONO PLUG MONO PLUG ERSONNEL. PLUG 50/60 HZ 60W POWER 1A/250V SLO BLO INSERT ONLY INTO THE ME TYPE. INSERT ALL THE WAY IN TO TIP OUT TO EFFECTS DEVICE FUSIBLE "FIRST CLICK" THE "SECOND CLICK" RING RETURN FROM EFFECTS ON CHANNEL INSERT OPTIONS LAYOUT DIRECT OUT WITH DIRECT OUT WITH FOR USE AS AN NO SIGNAL SIGNAL EFFECTS LOOP AND INTERRUPTION INTERRUPTION (TIP = SEND, TO MASTER TO MASTER RING = RETURN) OFF FUNCTION FUSE
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AUX Sends 1 and 3 each have a left-right pair 1 of line level, unbalanced ⁄4" TS phone jacks for STEREO BALANCED OR UN connection to the outside world. 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 If you want to use AUX Send 1 and/or AUX (MONO) L Send 3 as a good old mono AUX send (like 2 and 4), just plug your cord into the Left (MONO) AUX Send output. Then both the Left and Right R signals will be summed into that output. Sends 2 and 4 have one mono, unbalanced CONTROL ROOM MAIN/TAPE OUTPUTS TAPE INPUTS OUTPUT
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N N I I CONTROL ROOM OUTPUTS EXPANDER IN This is where you plug in your monitor The Expander In jack is where you plug in your power amplifier. The Left and Right Control optional LM-3204E expander. See Appendix B. LAYOUT 1 Room Outputs are line level unbalanced ⁄4" AND TS jacks, controlled by the Control Room STEREO AUX RETURNS FUNCTION fader on the front panel. 1234 (MONO) CONTROL ROOM MAIN/TAPE OUTPUTS L OUTPUTS L R L R L R R AUX SENDS 12 3 4 L R L R ALT 3/4 MONO MAIN INSERTS OUTPUTS
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SECTION 3: GENERAL INFORMATION Maybe you don’t need to read this at all. grinding distortion. Somewhere between the noise and the Battle-scarred pros: skip to Section 4. clipping is an optimum level for your signal: Beginners: face the blackboard, please. high enough above the noise floor to render Many of you reading this the hiss inaudible, and far enough below the manual have a lot of experi- distortion point to allow range for loud peaks ence in using mixers and of music to pass without clip
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But if your music is sounding good, don’t The solo circuits are designed not to interrupt worry if you’re in the yellow a lot or if some the recording process. The solo bus signal is sent parts of the track hardly read at all. You’ll directly to the Control Room and Headphone quickly get a feel for what works for you, when outputs without affecting any of the other inputs, you can get away with really smacking the tape outputs or recording buses. Solo circuits on the or the electronics. LM-3204
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more punch and more CONNECTORS sizzle without making If you’ve used a Mackie MicroSeries 1202, a Midrange peak the mix muddy or harsh. CR-1604 or a Mackie 8-Bus Series, you’re famil- The MID EQ section iar with the various kinds of connectors used is a peaking/dipping with or mixers. If you’re new to the whole thing, equalizer with a bell- review the drawings below. They’re also de- shaped response curve. scribed in detail in Appendix A on page 30 of The frequency is centered this manual. at 2.5
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SECTION 4: USING THE LM-3204 If you’re a seasoned patch-cord weaver and hooked up to a synthesizer, tickle those general propellor-head, just refer the to the plastic ivories! On the other hand, you might way-cool hook-up drawings that start on page have to deviate from this approach on certain 22 of this section. channels. For example, you don’t want to set If, you’re a glutton for verbal effluvia, read on. the hi-hat cymbal channel at 0dB. Use your judgement on this. IMPORTANT SENSITIVITY ADJU
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sound engineer feels when you come at her So, use your LM-3204 as a musical instrument with your 12 output cables. submixer. Connect your banks of instruments We figure that if you bought an LM-3204 for into the stereo inputs of the LM-3204, and stage use, you already have an equipment rack patch the main Left and Right outputs into a just about full of fine electronic musical technol- pair of inputs on your main console. Suddenly, ogy. So, we designed the LM-3204 to be 19" wide more mixing inpu
