MACKIE VLZ3 4BUS - Manual (Page 3)

Owner's Manual 3
Part No. SW0844 Rev. A 06/10
©2010 LOUD Technologies Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Loosely based on a dream involving strong personalities and even stronger
drinks...wait, that wasn't a dream?
Set the levels
It’s not even necessary to hear what you’re doing to
set optimal levels. But if you’d like to: Plug headphones
into the phones output jack, then turn up the phones
knob just a little.
1. Turn on the mixer by pressing the top edge of
the power switch.
2. For one channel, press the solo switch in, and
the rude solo light will turn on.
3. Play something into that input at real-world
levels.
4. Adjust that channel's gain control until the
right main meter stays around the 0 dB LED
(marked "level set").
5. Disengage the channel's solo switch.
6. Repeat steps 2 to 5 for the remaining channels.
7. Turn up the channel fader to the "U" mark.
8. Slowly turn up the main mix fader until you
hear the signals in your headphones.
9. If needed, apply some channel EQ wisely.
10. Adjust the channel levels to get the best mix.
Keep the gain controls and levels fully down on
unused channels.
11. During the performance, if you notice a channel
OL LED turning on during peaks, carefully turn
down that channel's gain control until OL does
not turn on.
Other Notes
• When shutting down, turn off any power
amplifiers or powered speakers first. When
powering up, turn them on last. This will
reduce the chance of turn-on or turn-off
thumps.
• Always turn down the phones level when
making connections, pressing solo, or doing
anything that may cause loudness in the
headphones. This will help protect your
hearing.
• Always turn down the main mix level and
monitor level when making connections to the
mixer. Better yet, turn off the power.
• Save the shipping box!
Quick Start
We realize that you must be really keen
to try out your new mixer. Please read the
safety instructions on page 2, then have
a look through some of the features and
details in this manual.
Setup
Use the mixer in a nice clean and dry environment,
free from dryer lint and dust bunnies.
Zero the controls
1. Fully turn down all the knobs to minimum,
except for the channel EQ and pan controls,
which should be centered.
2. Make sure all buttons are in the out position.
Connections
1. Make sure the AC power switch is off before
making any connections.
2. Push the linecord securely into the IEC
connector on the rear panel, and plug it into a
3-prong AC outlet. The mixer can accept any
AC voltage ranging from 100 VAC to 240 VAC.
3. Plug a balanced microphone into one of the mic
XLR (3-pin) connectors. Or connect any
line-level signal (keyboard, or guitar preamp)
to a line input jack using a TS or a TRS
1/4" plug.
4. If your microphone requires phantom power,
turn on the 48V phantom power button.
5. All mono channels have insert jacks that can be
used to connect an external effects or dynamics
processor into the signal chain.
6. Connect the main outputs of the mixer (either
XLR or TRS 1/4") to the line level inputs of your
amplifier (with speakers already attached) or
to the line level inputs of powered speakers.