Instruction/ maintenance manual of the product LM-3204 Mackie
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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 + – C.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 +48.
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.
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 +48.
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.
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 +48.
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.
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 +48.
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.
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).
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).
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 .
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.
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.
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 • •.
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 ••••• .
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.
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.
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An important point after buying a device Mackie LM-3204 (or even before the purchase) is to read its user manual. We should do this for several simple reasons:
If you have not bought Mackie LM-3204 yet, this is a good time to familiarize yourself with the basic data on the product. First of all view first pages of the manual, you can find above. You should find there the most important technical data Mackie LM-3204 - thus you can check whether the hardware meets your expectations. When delving into next pages of the user manual, Mackie LM-3204 you will learn all the available features of the product, as well as information on its operation. The information that you get Mackie LM-3204 will certainly help you make a decision on the purchase.
If you already are a holder of Mackie LM-3204, but have not read the manual yet, you should do it for the reasons described above. You will learn then if you properly used the available features, and whether you have not made any mistakes, which can shorten the lifetime Mackie LM-3204.
However, one of the most important roles played by the user manual is to help in solving problems with Mackie LM-3204. Almost always you will find there Troubleshooting, which are the most frequently occurring failures and malfunctions of the device Mackie LM-3204 along with tips on how to solve them. Even if you fail to solve the problem, the manual will show you a further procedure – contact to the customer service center or the nearest service center
