Korg SoundLink MW-1608 User manual

1
MW-1608 USER
MANUAL
MW-2408
SOUNDLINK
HYBRID ANALOG/DIGITAL MIXERS

Hook-up/Back panel Analog Controls Digital Controls
2
Important Safety Instructions
The lightning flash with arrowhead symbol, with-
in an equilateral triangle, is intended to alert the
user to the presence of uninsulated “dangerous
voltage” within the product’s enclosure that may
be of sucient magnitude to constitute a risk of
electric shock to persons. The exclamation point
within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert
the user to the presence of important operating
and maintenance instructions in the literature
accompanying the device.
1. Read and keep these instructions.
2. Heed all warnings.
3. Follow all instructions.
4. WARNING: To reduce the risk of fire
or electric shock, do not expose this
apparatus to rain or moisture.
5. Do not use this apparatus near water.
6. Do not block any ventilation openings.
Install in accordance with the
manufacturer’s instructions.
7. Do not install near any heat sources such
as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other
apparatus.
8. Do not defeat the safety purpose of
the polarized or grounding type plug. A
polarized plug has two blades with one
wider than the other. A grounding type
plug has two blades and a third grounding
FCC Compliance
Supplier’s Declaration of
Conformity (for USA)
Responsible Party:
KORG USA INC
Address:
316 S. SERVICE RD. MELVILLE, NY
Telephone:
1+ 631-390-6500
Equipment Type:
HYBRID ANALOG/DIGITAL MIXER
Model:
MW-2408 / MW-1608
This device complies with part 15 of the
FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the fol-
This product complies with IEC668- safety
standards. Safety indication label is located on
the bottom panel of the unit.
prong. The
wide blade or
the third prong
are provided
for your safety.
If the provided
plug does not
fit into your
outlet, consult
an electrician for replacement of the
obsolete outlet.
9. Protect the power cord from being
walked on or pinched particularly at
plugs, convenience receptacles, and the
point where they exit from the apparatus.
10. Use only with the cart, stand,
tripod, bracket, or table
specified by the manu-
facturer, or sold with
the apparatus. When a cart
is used, use caution when moving the
cart/apparatus combination to avoid
injury from tip-over.
11. Unplug this apparatus during lightning
storms or when the apparatus has been
damaged in any way, such as power-
supply cord or plug is damaged, liquid
has been spilled or objects have fallen
into the apparatus, the apparatus has
been exposed to rain or moisture,
does not operate normally, or has been
dropped.
12. WARNING: The apparatus must be
connected to an AC power output
(MAINS) with a protective grounding
(earthing) connection.
13. Where a main AC connection (MAINS)
or appliance coupler, such as power strip
is used as the disconnect device, the
disconnect device shall remain readily
operable.
14. Only use attachments/accessories
specified by the manufacturer.
15. Clean only with dry cloth.
16. This product must be disposed of
correctly.
This symbol indicates that
this product must not be
disposed of with household
waste, according to the
WEEE Directive (2012/19/
EU) and/or your national or
regional law. This product
should be taken to a collection center
licensed for the recycling of electronic
waste and electronic equipment (EEE).
The mishandling of this type of waste
could have a possible negative impact on
the environment and human health due
to potentially hazardous substances that
are generally associated with EEE. At the
same time, your cooperation in the
correct disposal of this product will
contribute to the efficient use of natural
resources. For more information
concerning EEE recycling, contact your
local city office or your household waste
collection service.
lowing two conditions: 1)This device may not
cause harmful interference;
2) This device must accept any interference
received, including interference that may cause
undesired operation.
Note: This equipment has been tested and
found to comply with the limits for a Class B
digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC
Rules. These limits are designed to provide
reasonable protection against harmful inter-
ference in both a commercial and residential
installation.
This equipment generates, uses and can
radiate radio frequency energy and, if not
installed and used in accordance with the
instructions, may cause harmful interference to
radio communications.
However, there is no guarantee that interfer-
ence will not occur in a particular installation.
If this equipment does cause harmful interfer-
ence to radio or television reception,which can
be determined by turning the equipment off
and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct
the interference by one or more of the follow-
ing measures:
1. Reorient or relocate the receiving
antenna.
2. Increase the separation between the
equipment and receiver.
3. Connect the equipment into an outlet on
a circuit different from that to which the
receiver is connected.
4. When connecting this mixer to another
product use only quality shielded cables.
5. Use AC power outlets (MAINS) that
are on a different branch circuit (circuit
breaker or fuse), or employ a power filter/
conditioner.
6. Consult the dealer or an experienced
radio/TV technician for help.
7. Unauthorized changes or modification to
this system can void the user’s authority
to operate this equipment.

Hook-up/Back panel Analog Controls Digital Controls
Greg Mackie founded TAPCO in the
70’s to make the first practical band
mixers. Then in 1990, he formed
the eponymous company truly
revolutionized both live and studio
recording for cash-strapped musicians
and seasoned pros alike. After retiring
from that company in 2002, he’s been
busy designing for others and himself.
3
Welcome…and thank you!
Born in London, UK, Peter worked
at Trident Audio for 18 years (10
years as Head of R&D) assembling,
testing and designing now-legendary
high-end analog studio and mixers.
He moved to the USA to join Mackie
Designs, staying for 7 years as VP of
Engineering and Chief Designer for
Digital Mixers and related products.
In 2003 Peter founded Stonepower
Ltd as an independent professional
audio design house, working on
projects for numerous brands.
A few words from Greg Mackie.
I’ve been designing mixers for over 40 years.
A few years ago, I helped create a compact
all-digital mixer. For a while, I used it in my own
live mixing, which includes talent shows, open
mic nights and three-bands-in-one-night at a
club. Here, I had to deal with feedback, groups
I’d never mixed before, more feedback, micro-
phone mishandling and timid vocalists, three
mics on one act and sixteen on the next…oh, did
I mention feedback?
I discovered that the
all-digital interface simply could not let me make
changes and corrections fast enough — too
many menus and scrolling! On the other hand,
I loved the equalization, effects, and presets of
digital.
SoundLink is my and Peter Watts’ hybrid
solution superbly interpreted and executed
by KORG. It gives you analog’s instant control
for the emergencies that inevitably happen in
live mixing, but with the power of high-quality
digital where it counts.
You have made a good
choice.
We are glad that you have chosen
a KORG SoundLink MS mixer.
Here are some of the highlights:
]True hybrid design developed with mixer
design legends Greg Mackie and Peter
Watts
]24 x 8 x 2 or 16 x 8 x 2 models
]Peter Watts-designed HiVolt mic
preamps, with more headroom than
any comparably-priced mixer (+/-16.5V
internal voltage on mono and stereo
channels)
]Velvet Sound™ A/D & D/A converters with
0.004% THD,
]L/R Monitor, ¼” and XLR main outs, eight
¼” Group Outs, four XLR Aux Outs, two
¼” Musician’s Phones outputs linked to
Aux 3 & 4, front panel Headphone output,
stereo USB output
]Eight mono/four stereo individual output
buses (true 8-bus design)
]Unique Musician’s Phones Monitor
Section gives two musicians individual
control of how much of “me” versus the
total mix they hear
]Only mixer in its class with Mute Groups
to quickly create and recall various input
combinations of on-stage musicians
]Mono channels have Peter Watts-derived
HI (12k), MID (250 hz - 5k sweepable) and
LO (100 Hz) EQ; Stereo channels feature
HI, HI MID (2.5k), LO MID (250 hz) and LO
EQ
]Digital section includes three each of
Peter Watts-designed Compressors,
Limiters and Noise Gates, each with
editable, recallable parameters
]Three ingenious 9/31-band ParaGraphic
equalizer that each address nine bands
out of a possible 31
]Twenty of KORG’s renowned 32-bit digital
eects — 10 at once, with save and recall
user settings
]Foot switch control for FX
]Talkback to L/R or to Aux 1-4
]Peter Watts-inspired rack-mount-
processor-grade, one-knob Compressor
on all mic channels
]Best Automatic Feedback Control of any
compact mixer
]USB stereo output/input Input for
recording out and backing tracks in
]Optional foot switch
]Super-useful touches such as all-XLR
speaker outputs and enhanced Break
Switch with 1/8” input
]Silky-smooth, long-life ALPS®faders and
rotary controls
]MW-2408 fits in a 19” rack

Hook-up/Back panel Analog Controls Digital Controls
4
IMPORTANT! First set correct input levels
Level Setting Procedure…
ten simple steps.
This procedure is so important
that we put it on the pages
before the Table of Contents,
diagrams of various mixer parts
or anything else. It’s that critical!
Correctly setting each chan-
nel’s GAIN control achieves the
maximum amount of signal
“headroom” before distortion
and the least possible amount of
noise.
You will need:
RYour new mixer
RSound sources such as a
microphone, guitar, drum kit,
keyboards, music player, etc.
— whatever gear you will be
using during a sound mixing
session;
RThe right cables to hook your
sound sources to the mixer.
(We go into more detail about
connectors later on);
RMonitor speakers or head-
phones.
Let's begin.
.Plug your SoundLink mixer
into a wall socket.
«
Set a channel’s GAIN (volume) too
low and there will be noise (hiss) in
that channel, even when no voice or
instrument is present.
If GAIN (volume) is set too high, the
signal will distort and sound scratchy
when the singer or instrument gets
very loud.
3Connect monitor speakers
to the SoundLink mixer
rear panel MAIN OUT (1a) or
MONITOR OUT (1b) jacks, or
plug headphones into the
PHONES jack (1c).
$Let’s start with Channel .
/Make sure that Channel ’s
PAN, COMP, and all four EQ
knobs are set to the center
( o’clock) position.

Avoid
ever
lighting
the red
LED.
5
Trying to set levels by saying “Test-
ing 1, 2, ” into the mic doesn’t
really work. Instead, sing some vocals
or play an instrument at a realistic
level.
Hit a cymbal, tom or kick drum as
hard as the drummer will during the
performance; jam on that guitar;
honk that sax; make sure keyboard
output level is set at normal output.
You get the idea.
You can check levels at
any time by pressing a
channel's PFL (PreFad-
er Listen) button. Then
make channel level
changes as necessary.
1Plug a micro-
phone or other
audio source into
the first channel’s
rear panel MIC IN
socket.
4Turn ON the
mixer’s rear panel
POWER switch.
Then turn on your
monitors or their
amp.
2Sing into the mic or play an
instrument at the volume
the musician or presenter
will be using during a per-
formance.
(Press Channel ’s PFL (Pre
Fader Listen) button. The
orange LED just above the
button should light up.
,While watching
the Main Level
Display at
the right of the mixer,
turn Channel 1’s GAIN
knob clockwise until
the LED above ""
flickers occasionally…
but not very often.
"Okay. Here’s the less than-
fun news: you need to do this
procedure for every channel
that you are using for your mu-
sical or A/V performance.
As you probably know, this is
called a Sound Check. Come early
to a major concert and you’ll wit-
ness the same instrument-by-in-
strument, mic-by-mic procedure
being performed.
The good news is, your MW-
6 or MW-8 is now ready
to mix at its best settings with
maximum headroom and lowest
noise.
Take our word for it: These
steps are worth it!
Ten Steps to Level Setting
This is the
desired range

6
Table of Contents
If you’re a beginner…
…it’s a good idea to read through
this whole manual. We’ve tried
to use non-techy language, and
explain stuff most other manuals
don’t.
The biggest mistake beginners
make is to not take advantage
of all the time-saving, prob-
lem-solving, make-you-sound-
better features on their mixer.
Well, the second biggest mis-
take; the first is not doing proper
level setting.
We hope that this manual can
help you get the best perfor-
mance possible. Read on!
If you’re experienced…
…SoundLink has some features
and twists you don’t usually find
in mixers at this price point. For
the “Been there, done that” crowd,
we’ve marked these in the Table
of Contents like this...
A few words from Greg Mackie.............. 3
Why do we start with the back
of the mixer?......................................... 8
Power supply section ......................................... 9
POWER switch..................................................... 9
Power input connector....................................... 9
Mono input channels.......................................... 9
Stereo input channels. ....................................... 9
USB input / output............................................. 11
USB In ................................................................. 11
USB Out .............................................................. 11
Foot Switch input............................................... 11
Talkback input.................................................... 11
Main Out............................................................. 12
Monitor Out........................................................12
Group Out (sub buses).......................................12
Aux Out...............................................................13
Musician Phones ...............................................13
Channel 25-26 (or Channels 17-18)
and Phones ........................................................13
Mono Channel Strips............................19
Gain Control. ......................................................19
Comp (Compressor) and indicator....................19
EQ (Equalization), Mono Channels.................. 20
Aux Sends...........................................................22
Aux PRE Switch..................................................22
FX Send...............................................................22
Pan......................................................................23
Mute button/indicator.......................................23
OL (Overload) LED..............................................23
—20 (Signal present) LED. .................................23
Bus Assign switches...........................................23
Channel fader.....................................................23
Dierent than Mono Channels............ 24
Same as Mono Channels...................... 24
PFL switch / indicator....................................... 24
Source Mic / Line (stereo channels)................ 24
MID EQ (stereo channels)..................................25
A few more tips on equalization.......................25
Further reading about mixing..........................25
Master Control Section ....................... 26
Aux Master......................................................... 26
Aux Master AFL buttons and indicator. .......... 26
Musician's Phones. ........................................... 26
A traditional Monitor Mix vs. a better way. .....27
Talkback..............................................................27
FX Master Section. .............................. 28
Meter section. ................................................... 28
STEREO IN knob................................................ 28
MONITOR section.............................................. 28
BREAK button/indicator .................................. 29
Group Master Section. ........................ 29
MAIN MIX (L/R) fader. ...................................... 29
Selecting channels for a Mute Group.............. 30
How the band is set up on the mixer............... 30
The "pusha-bunch-'0' buttons" approach to
creating a mute group. .................................... 30
MUTE GROUPS TO THE RESCUE. ...........31
Un-doing the "pusha-bunch-'0' buttons"
approach to creating a mute group. ...............31
Program a Mute Group…...................................32
"Hard muting"....................................................33
Creating a Mute Group. .....................................33
Adding to or subtracting channels
from a Mute Group. .......................................... 34
Combining Hard Mutes and Mute Groups. ......35
Saving and Recalling Mute Groups. ................ 36
Digital Eects (DFX)............................ 37
Selecting the DFX type......................................37
Applying a Digital Eect................................... 38
Editing an eect................................................ 38
Using the TAP button to set the delay time.... 39
Saving a Digital Eects setting........................ 39
Recalling a DFX preset. ...................................40
Gee, they don't sound like eects!..................40
Equalization........................................41
Feedback Suppressor........................................41
Saving a Dynamics setting...............................44
Recalling a Dynamics preset. ..........................44
Selecting Narrow or
Wide 9-band equalization................................46
Adjusting 9-band EQ (Wide Mode).................. 47
Adjusting EQ Narrow Mode EQ (31 /9-band)..48
Saving Equalizer settings................................. 50
Recalling an Equalizer Setting......................... 50
Feedback Suppressor: Routing options. .........52
Locking feedback suppressor state..................53
Global menu.......................................54
Saving a Global Scene ......................................54
Recalling a Global Scene...................................55
Other GLOBAL options. .....................................55
More on Factory Reset (restoring the factory
default settings).................................................57
Reference
Specification.....................................................58s
Block Diagram...................................................60
Settings that can be saved...............................60
Rack mounting (MW-2408 only)......................64
Hook-up/Back panel Analog Controls Digital Controls
Click to
navigate
to these
sections.

7

8
Hooking up your SoundLink mixer.
First things first.
The only difference between
the SoundLink MW-8 and
the MW-6 is the number of
channels.
The controls, functions and
Why do we start with the
back of the mixer?
Because hooking stuff up is the
first thing you’re going to want to
do. And most all of the connec-
tions are on the back
connections are identical. All the
drawings and photos in this man-
ual are of the MW-6 because
this PDF fits small screens better
We’ll start with a guided tour of
the SoundLink back panel; then
some sample hook-ups for vari-
ous applications.
Hook-up/Back panel Analog Controls Digital Controls

9
Hooking up your SoundLink
Hook-up/Back panel Analog Controls Digital Controls
Power supply section
POWER switch
Turns this unit’s power on (ON)
or off.
Turning the power o
and then immediately on
might cause
malfunctions.
Wait at least five seconds
between operations
of the power switch.
When turning phantom
power on, make sure
that no elctronic external
device is connected to a
mic input jack. Failing to
observe this precaution
might cause an external
device to malfunction.
Do not connect or discon-
nect a channel’s MIC jack
immediately after turn-
ing phantom power o.
Doing so may cause a
malfunction.
Power input connector
Connect the included power
cord here. First connect the pow-
er cord to your SoundLink, and
then plug the power cord into an
AC outlet.
48V MIC PHANTOM switch
Turns the PHANTOM power on/
off. Turn this on if you’re using a
device that operates using phan-
tom power, such as a condenser
mic or a direct box.
If this is on, the V indicator
just below the L/R meter is lit,
and DC+V is supplied to the
MIC IN (XLR jack) of each input
channel.
Before turning phantom power
on/off, reduce the GAIN knob or
fader of each channel to 0 (-').
The noise that occurs when
phantom power is turned on/
off might be amplified to output
a high-volume noise that could
damage your hearing or make a
device malfunction.
Mono input channels.
The balanced mono XLR MIC
IN jacks (round ones with three
pins in them) are for hooking up
either condenser or dynamic mi-
crophones. Behind those input
sockets are our HiVolt micro-
phone preamplifiers with excep-
tional headroom and clarity.
The balanced ¼” LINE IN inputs
are for mono (-channel) com-
ponents such as guitar direct
boxes.
Stereo input channels.
Only the ¼” LINE IN jacks are
actually stereo. They can be used
for keyboards, drum ma-
chines, and audio/video

«
10
When you’re just getting
into pro sound, you hear these
phrases batted around a lot.
They represent the two kinds
of audio connectors and cables
you’re going to encounter
There’s a big dierence.
An unbalanced cable has
two conductors — a signal
wire and a ground
wire. You can easily
iden-
tify an unbal-
anced cable by
its connectors
because each
wire requires
only two con-
ductors at the
connector. A
standard TS (or
“tip-sleeve”)
guitar cable
an unbalanced
cable: so is a
standard RCA cable used for
many audio/video components
such as DVD players.
An unbalanced cable does
a decent job of rejecting noise
over short, but unfortunately,
the wire itself also acts like an
antenna and picks up noise in
long runs.
Unbalanced
cables
should not be more than
about-20 feet (4-6 meters) in
length, especially when used in
noisy environments and with
signals that are medium level to
begin with, such as those from
keyboards or MP3 devices, etc.
The connector on the end of an
unbalanced ¼” TS (Tip-Sleeve)
jack has two sections.
A balanced cable has three
conductors in the connector and
three wires in the cable. Because
12
Balanced versus unbalanced: what’s the deal here?
Hooking up your SoundLink
Hook-up/Back panel Analog Controls Digital Controls
devices such as DVD players or
feeds from a laptop (the balanced
mono XLR MIC IN jack on each
stereo channel is for connecting
a mono microphone only).
The stereo LINE IN jacks are
marked LEFT (MONO) and RIGHT.
If you are only connecting a
mono input, use the LEFT (MONO).
Mic In and Line In jacks
on these channels
CANNOT be used at the
same time.
How do stereo input chan-
nels know if they’re being sent
a mono or stereo input? You
“tell them” via the SOURCE MIC/
LINE LINE button on each stereo
channel.
In the LINE button up position,
the channel defaults to mono mi-
crophone input; press LINE and
the channel is ready to receive
left and right components of a
balanced stereo input.

11
of this, balanced cables can
support much longer cable
runs. Even shorter runs will
often use balanced wiring to
protect against noise.
In a pro sound system,
wiring for microphones, and
the interconnect cables be-
tween active speakers, signal
processors, and amps, etc., are
typically balanced. Standard
connectors designed for use
with balanced signals are XLR
and TRS (Tip-Ring-Sleeve).
R
1
1

2
3
3USB input / output.
This port is used to input and
output USB audio. (./8 kHz,
6/-bit).
Connect it to a PC/MAC or an
iOS device (e.g., iPhone/iPad)
with a USB . connection.
]This operates with Windows®, Mac®OS, or
iOS default drivers.
]If you are using an ASIO-compatible
application on Windows, install the KORG
Basic Audio Driver which is available from
the KORG website.
]To connect to an iPhone/iPad that is
equipped with a Lightning connector, you
will need a Lightning to USB 3 camera
adaptor. When connecting an iPhone/
iPad, we recommend that you enable
"airplane mode."
USB In
The signal that is input from the
connected device is sent to the
right-most stereo input channel:
Channels  &  on the MW-
; Channels  & 6 on the
MW-6.
The signal is input before the
channel EQ. You can use the
channel EQ to adjust the tone.
USB Out
This is sort of a digital duplicate
of the MAIN OUTPUT output jacks.
The left/right Main out is sent to
a laptop, tablet or cell phone. is
output to the connected device.
Use the MAIN MIX (L/R) fader to
adjust the output level.
Foot Switch
input.
When you plug a
foot switch into this
jack, you can make
announcements to
the audience, yell at
the band members,
tell bad jokes, etc.
We recommend a
KORG PS- or PS- foot switch.
Talkback input.
Plug a dynamic mic into this jack
for giving instructions to musi-
cians or presenter on stage, or to
make general announcements to
your audience / congregation.
Hooking up your SoundLink
Hook-up/Back panel Analog Controls Digital Controls

Group Out (sub buses).
Bus, sub group, or sub bus are all
names for a path along which you
can route one or more audio sig-
nals to a particular destination.
They are “mixers inside your mix-
er” and are the reason SoundLink
mixers are called “8 bus”.
Sub Groups ( sub buses) are
extremely useful for organizing
and controlling multiple chan-
nels from one fader. Let’s say you
have three back-up singers, each
with their own mic input. To
control the level, you would need
12
Main
Out.
These are
your Sound-
Link’s main
outputs
for connecting to main PA loud-
speakers or power amplifiers.
Use the main L/R fader to control
the volume output.
You can use both the XLR
and ¼” TRS outputs at
the same time. In other
words, four total outputs.
Hooking up your SoundLink
Monitor
Out.
Connect
these to your
studio monitor (or amps pow-
ering your passive monitors) if
you are using the SoundLink in a
studio situation. Use
the MONITOR knob to
adjust the level.
Normally, this out-
put if fed by the MAIN
L/R bus. When the AFL/PFL
function is enabled, this outputs
the signal of a specific channel or
bus.
to simultaneously move three
faders in unison.
Instead, you can
route the singer
channels to a sub
group titled “Back
Up” by selecting one
of Bus Assign
buttons next
to each of the
vocal faders
(we picked
-).
Now all
three vocal channels will
be routed into Sub Group
-. and controlled by the
Sub Group Mix - fad-
er. Press the SUB GRP
ASSIGN TO L/R button
and control its level in
the overall mix with
one fader.
Hook-up/Back panel Analog Controls Digital Controls

13
$If you want to add the Sub
Group to your main L/R
mix, press one of Sub Group
Assign to L/R buttons.
This is also especially useful for
drums that are mic-ed with lots
of microphones. Six mics; one
fader. But we digress.
Among other tasks, the GROUP
OUT jacks are useful for record-
ing. You can distribute Sound-
Link’s 6 or  inputs into 8
outputs fed to an audio/digital
interface.
Aux Out.
These balanced XLR outputs
are used to send signals to the
performers’ monitor speakers,
in-ear monitors or to an external
effect processor.
Create up to  AUX mixes using
the AUX controls on each channel
strip. There is more explanation
further on in this manual.
Musician Phones
(AUX OUT 3 OR 4 + L/R INJECT)
This is a unique Greg Mackie fea-
ture that lets two musicians per-
fect their monitor mixes without
having to upset the AUX setting
of all the channels. Described in
detail farther on.
Channel 25-26
(or Channels 17-18)
and Phones
/8" input for MP3 players. ¼"
jack for headphones.
In review, to build a Sub Group:
.Use the small buttons to the
right of the channel faders
to pick which channels you
want in your Sub Group.
Press the same button on
each channel.
That routes the channels’ signals
to the Sub Group bus you’ve
chosen.
3If you have a special purpose
for the Sub Group, use the
GROUP OUT jack on the back
to send it to a subwoofer,
balcony fill, extra monitor,
etc
Hooking up your SoundLink
Hook-up/Back panel Analog Controls Digital Controls

If the phrase “Your
results may vary”
ever fit somewhere,
it’s here.
These four hook-up
examples are just
that: examples.
They are intended
to show various
options that are
possible with
Sound-Link
Chances are you
won't use every
input and output
like we have
shown. But
you could.
14
Hooking up your SoundLink TYPICAL BAND
Hook-up/Back panel Analog Controls Digital Controls

15
Hooking up your SoundLink SMALL to MEDIUM CHURCH or LARGE CHURCH ACTIVITY HALL
Hook-up/Back panel Analog Controls Digital Controls

Hooking up your SoundLink CORPORATE PRESENTATION or EVENT CENTER
16
Hook-up/Back panel Analog Controls Digital Controls

Hooking up your SoundLink 8-CHANNEL RECORDING
17
Hook-up/Back panel Analog Controls Digital Controls

Hooking up your SoundLink ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE
18

19
Mono Channel Strips.
All these massed knobs and
buttons makes the top of a mixer
look somewhat like a Boeing 
airplane cockpit. But never fear.
It's more simple than it looks.
Each strip is the same controls
repeated in long, tall rows.
With the exception of the fader,
you will probably set the con-
trols on each channel strip just
once before your event (during
the sound check when you do
the all-important Level Setting
procedure.)
Gain Control.
We’ve already
covered this con-
trol somewhat in
the Level Setting
Procedure, which
is its primary
use. The rotary
control sets the
level of the signal
entering the channel. For weak
signals, you turn it clockwise;
overly strong signals, counter-
clockwise. You get your cues
from the Main L/R meter levels.
Stay around dB.
HPF (High Pass Filter)
The High Pass Filter,
also called a Low Cut
Filter, reduces fre-
quencies under Hz (lowest
bass).There are a lot of reasons
to do this.
All have to do with cutting
out “rumble”. Rumble happens
through bad mic handling, reso-
nance from a flimsy stage, trucks
driving by, air conditioning rum-
ble, wind noise if you’re perform-
ing outside, herds of stampeding
elephants, among other things.
Rumble can suck a lot of pow-
er from your PA system. Even
if your system is capable repro-
ducing under-Hz sound, it’s
generally boomy, unpleasant and
muddles your overall PA sound.
If your system doesn’t do well
reproducing ultra-low frequen-
cies, HPF lets the PA sound better
above Hz.
While helping edit this
manual Greg said we
were being too gentle.
According to him HPF
should be used ALL THE
TIME on ALL CHANNELS
except low bass stu
such as kick drums, bass
guitar, etc.
Comp (Compressor)
and indicator.
Think of the
Compressor as
an automatic
volume control.
Until recently
this incredibly
useful tool was not available on
analog mixers, We didn’t invent
“one-knob” compression, but we
think we did a better job of it.
Compression is the process
of lessening the dynamic range
between the loudest and quiet-
est parts of an audio signal. This
is done by reducing the louder
signals.
It is truly useful on vocal and
bass guitar.
Consider the example of a tim-
id lead vocal where some words
and phrases are sung more quiet-
ly or mumbled. A “normal” fader
setting will “lose” the vocalist
when they get quiet.
But if you raise the level so that
Analog Controls
Hook-up/Back panel Analog Controls Digital Controls

50 100 200 500 1k 2k 5k 10k 20k
Bass VOCALS Soprano
KEYBOARD
KICK DRUM
BASS GUITAR
FLOOR TOM
GUITAR
SNARE / GUITAR / PERCUSSION ATTACK
SNARE / GUITAR /ACOUSTIC INSTRUMENT CLARITY
CYMBALS/STRING INSTRUMENTS / SNARE SIZZLE
HI-HAT / CYMBALS
Analog Controls
Without compression, wide swings in dynamics.
Compression levels things out.
EQ (Equalization),
Mono Channels
Equalization is another name for
“tone control”. But EQ is a lot
more sophisticated on Sound-
Link mixers than tone control is
on a car stereo or MP3 player.
Both mono and stereo Sound-
Link channels split the frequency
range into three parts: Hi, Mid
(midrange) and Lo.
Every instrument covers a
broad range of frequencies.
the mumbled syllables come
though, the rest of the vocal
will be overwhelming. No single
fader setting gives a good balance
because the difference between
the highest and lowest signal
levels (the "dynamic range") is
too large.
Compressors remedy this by
reducing a sound’s dynamic
range: compression reduces the
level differences between the
quieter mumbled and un-mum-
bled words, making it easier to
find a single fader setting that
works. The compressor does this
by turning down (or compress-
ing) the louder signals so that
they match the quieter signals
more closely —an automatic vol-
ume control.
A similar trick works for vo-
calists who have a consistent
dynamic range. Compression can
“raise” them in the mix without
having to increase their actual
volume.
Compression is also useful
for presenters and pastors who
speak in a normal voice most
of the time BUT SOMETIMES
SHOUT!!!!, and for mic-ing
drums where compression can
add “punch”.
Note that there is also a digital
Compressor function that works
with AUX , AUX  and main L/R
and has several variable parame-
ters. We cover that further on.
Greg's mixes-almost-
every- weekend advice
on equaliztion: Find the
problem areas and CUT
as needed. Then consider
boosting. Otherwise you
"chase your tail".
Hook-up/Back panel Analog Controls Digital Controls