Alesis 1622, Reference Manual

Page 1: ...ALESIS 1622 Mixer Reference Manual ...

Page 2: ...UTPUTS 7 CHANNEL INSERTS 8 SENDS 8 RETURNS 8 HEADPHONE 8 SUB OUT 8 SUB INSERT 8 MAIN OUT 8 MAIN OUT LEVEL SELECTOR 8 MAIN INSERT 8 MONITOR OUT 8 POWER SUPPLY CONNECTOR 8 ON OFF SWITCH 9 SIGNAL FLOW IN THE 1622 9 SECTION 2 SETTING UP THE 1622 12 CONNECTIONS TO THE MIXER 12 INTERFACING TO A MULTITRACK TAPE RECORDER 4 TRACK THROUGH 8 TRACK RECORDING 12 INTERFACING TO THE MULTITRACK TAPE RECORDER VIA ...

Page 3: ...ACK A MIX FROM THE MIXDOWN TAPE DECK 26 PLAYBACK TIPS 26 SOUND REINFORCEMENT APPLICATIONS IN MONO 27 USING THE SUB MASTERS 28 LINE INPUTS USED AS ADDITIONAL MIC INPUTS 29 USING THE SUB MASTERS FOR SEPARATE OUTPUTS 29 STAGE MONITOR MIX FROM THE PRE FADER SENDS 30 DEDICATED MIDI KEYBOARD MIXER 30 SECTION 4 TROUBLESHOOTING 32 NO SOUND 32 NO SOUND WHEN CHANNEL IS SOLOED 32 NO SOUND WHEN MONITOR LEVEL ...

Page 4: ...Alesis1622 Monolithic Integrated Surface Audio Console USER S MANUAL ...

Page 5: ...so allows for adjustment of monitoring levels independent of recording levels FEATURES 16 INPUT CHANNELS WITH EQ Plenty of inputs for keyboards microphones or effects 6 AUXILIARY SENDS Sends signal to up to 6 outboard effects devices or 4 outboard effects devices and 2 mono or 1 stereo headphone cue mixes 8 AUXILIARY RETURNS Special dedicated inputs designed to blend the returns of any combination...

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Page 7: ...nts at 10KHz and 100Hz This means that the maximum boost or cut begins from 10KHz and 100Hz for the low frequency EQ and maintains this shelf or plateau from 10KHz to 20KHz The frequencies below 10KHz are also affected but less and less so as the frequency of the signal gets further away from 10KHz See Figure 1 FIGURE 1 HI AND LO SHELVING EQ OF THE 1622 MIXER 15dB 15dB 100Hz 10KHz SHELF 15dB 15dB ...

Page 8: ... SENDS SENDS 3 through 6 are derived from the signal path after the Channel Fader which means that their levels will be changed in direct relationship to the Channel Fader level This means that when the Channel Fader is either increased or decreased the send level will also be increased or decreased and the effects or headphones would get louder or softer Since this wouldn t be too great for a hea...

Page 9: ...POST FADER SEND TO HEADPHONES OR EFFECTS INSTRUMENT MIC EFFECTS DEVICE B POST FADER SEND WITH CHANNEL FADER DOWN CHANNEL FADER 3 0VU 10 20 30 40 50 60 INPUT LED METER MASTER ASSIGN SWITCH Routes the channel signal directly to the MASTER Stereo Buss SUB MASTER ASSIGN SWITCH Routes the channel signal directly to the SUB MASTER MUTE SWITCH Turns the channel off The MUTE switch does not affect the sig...

Page 10: ...l SEND TAPE MONITOR SWITCH When the 1622 MIXER is used for recording this switch will determine what you hear in the control room monitor speakers When in the TAPE position the signal from the Mixdown Tape Deck will be heard and can be adjusted from the MONITOR VOLUME pot When in the MONITOR position the signal from the console as adjusted by the MASTER Faders and MONITOR VOLUME pot will be heard ...

Page 11: ... the level of any input channel that has its SOLO engaged SOLO POWER LEDS The SOLO LED lights whenever a solo is switched on The POWER LED lights whenever AC power is connected to the unit BACK PANEL MIC LINE INPUTS Channels 1 through 16 can be accessed via a 1 4 phone jack Normally this would be used for line level signals such as synthesizers or tape machines but it is also possible to feed a mi...

Page 12: ...n of an outboard effects device such as a compressor like the Alesis MICRO LIMITER or reverb like a MICROVERB II into the signal path of the SUB MASTER MAIN OUT The outputs of the MAIN OUT are available for connection to the inputs of a Mixdown Tape Machine sound system or amplifier MAIN OUT LEVEL SELECTOR This switch selects the proper level for use with either professional or semi professional e...

Page 13: ...ays be the first device turned on in the system and the last device turned off SIGNAL FLOW IN THE 1622 To help you better understand the way that the 1622 operates the following is a Signal Flow Diagram of the complete signal path of the 1622 FIGURE 4 1622 SIGNAL FLOW ...

Page 14: ...L R Master Faders L R Master Outs L R From Mixdown Deck Tape Line Monitor Switch Control Room Monitor Volume To Headphone Jack Monitor Outputs L R Mute Solo to Solo Buss Now using the above Signal Flow Diagram let s see what happens to a vocal as it goes from the input of a channel all the way to tape Starting at the top of the diagram the signal from the mic enters the console through the channel...

Page 15: ...s grouped with signal from other channels and sent to the submaster buss the master buss or both First off let s say the Submaster Assign Switch is enabled Before the vocal and the other instrument signals get to the faders that will determine their overall level you have a chance to send them out of the board effect them as a group and return them back into the SubMaster buss using either of the ...

Page 16: ... 4 Mono UNBALANCED SUB MASTER OUTPUTS 1 4 Mono UNBALANCED MAIN STEREO OUTPUTS 1 4 Mono UNBALANCED CONTROL ROOM MONITOR 1 4 Mono UNBALANCED TAPE RETURN 1 4 Mono UNBALANCED HEADPHONE 1 4 Stereo UNBALANCED INTERFACING TO A MULTITRACK TAPE RECORDER 4 TRACK THROUGH 8 TRACK RECORDING Interfacing the 1622 MIXER to your Multitrack Tape Deck is easy to do See Figure 6 1 Connect any microphones or instrumen...

Page 17: ...both the inputs and outputs of the 1622 MIXER Multitrack Tape Deck and all of the outboard equipment This is a slightly more convenient but more expensive method and is not absolutely necessary for operation you can get along just fine without it In this case the patching is the same as in the above example except that it is now done on the patchbay instead of at the rear of the Console and Multit...

Page 18: ...ct the MAIN OUT Left and Right to the Inputs of the Mixdown Deck 2 Connect the Outputs of the Mixdown Deck to the TAPE Left and Right jacks of the 1622 In order to hear the playback of the mixdown deck the TAPE MON switch must be in the TAPE position See Figures 6 8 INTERFACING THE 1622 MIXER TO THE CONTROL ROOM MONITOR SPEAKERS 1 Connect the MON left and Right jacks to the inputs of the amplifier...

Page 19: ...n be connected to either 1 2 3 4 5 6 or 7 8 See Figures 6 8 PLEASE NOTE Sends 1 and 2 can also be used as extra Effects Sends while mixing While sends 1 and 2 are pre fader and normally used for monitoring they are perfectly suitable as effect sends especially during mixdown when you will want to maximize your ability to add effects to independent channels Just remember that when you move a fader ...

Page 20: ...ts on the loudest peaks If any distortion from signal overload is still heard due to possible brief peaks that don t register on the meter continue to decrease the TRIM control until the distortion goes away See Figure 11 B MAINTAIN PROPER FADER LEVELS Ideally both the input and output faders should be run at about the 0 position about the 3 4 of the way up the fader travel if possible This positi...

Page 21: ...oad distortion problems See Figure 11 2 If several hot channels are assigned to a SUB MASTER it is possible that the SUB MASTER will overload Once again it may be necessary to decrease either the TRIM controls the Channel FADERS or both of each of the channels assigned to the SUB MASTER See Figure 11 FIGURE 11 POSSIBLE POINTS OF SIGNAL OVERLOAD 1 TRIM 2 EQ 3 CHANNEL FADER 6 CONTROL ROOM VOLUME 5 M...

Page 22: ... since there are many mixes that can occur simultaneously Often there are 3 separate mixes sometimes more happening simultaneously in order to complete the task of just a simple overdub The comprehensive systems and logistical layout of the 1622 MIXER will make it relatively easy for you to accommodate even the most complex monitoring requirements The following are a few of the typical mixes that ...

Page 23: ... track of the tape machine into source or input and raise the Channel Fader of the 1622 MIXER where the tape return from the Multitrack is connected i e Track 1 to Channel 9 Track 2 to Channel 10 etc See Section 2 INTERFACING and HOW TO ADJUST LEVELS Follow instructions for playback OR FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR TWO OR MORE SOURCES TO 1 TRACK TWO OR MORE SOURCES TO 1 TRACK 1 With microphones or i...

Page 24: ...TERS of the 1622 MIXER to the inputs of the 2 tracks to be recorded on the Multitrack Tape Deck 5 The SUB MASTER Faders will now control the level going to tape For cleanest recording the SUB MASTER Faders should be adjusted so that the level going to tape should reach 0 VU on peaks on the meters of the Multitrack Tape Deck The exception to this would be for percussive instruments with lots of hig...

Page 25: ...d as Tape Returns by switching their MASTER assign switches to the On position 4 Raise the MASTER Faders to where the peaks briefly light the red LED s 5 Turn the rotary MONITOR VOLUME pot to the desired volume level The TAPE MON switch must be in the MON position HOW TO SET UP A CUE MIX The Cue mix will be created using SENDS 1 2 on the 1622 because the signals from these sends are derived Pre Fa...

Page 26: ...o the Mixdown Tape Machine HOW TO CREATE A DEPENDABLE MIX Creating a mix is easy creating a great mix one that jumps off of the tape is a lot harder There are those engineers who are in demand just for mixing because their sense of balance between instruments causes the mix to come alive with excitement Although outboard effects and tonal adjustment are important you d be surprised at how good a d...

Page 27: ...gs organs sustained guitar chords or a synthesizer ELEMENT 4 MELODY The Melody Element is the focal point of the mix This is usually a lead vocal or solo instrument ELEMENT 5 FILLS Fills are instrumental or percussion occasionally vocal passages that occur between the melody line Most of the time only 4 Elements should occur at any one time with the Melody and Fills alternating between each other ...

Page 28: ... added FIGURE 12 MIX LEVEL REFERENCE CHART RELATIVE MIX LEVELS RHYTHM MOTION PAD MELODY FILLS Snare 0 VU Rhythm Gtr 10 VU Keys 30 VU Lead Vocal 8 VU All Inst 10 VU Kick 2 VU Perc Keys 10 VU Strings 30 VU Solos 8 VU Toms 0 VU Hat 15 VU Percussion 15 VU Cymbals 15 VU Bass Gtr 6 VU Once again THIS IS ONLY A STARTING POINT Each song is unique as are your mixing preferences Blending the levels EQ and e...

Page 29: ...30 10 5 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 5 20 25 35 1 2 KICK SNARE L DRUMS R HOW TO PLAYBACK A MIX FROM THE MIXDOWN TAPE DECK 1 Place the TAPE MON switch of the 1622 MIXER to the TAPE position See Section 1 TAPE MON SWITCH and Section 2 2 Turn the rotary MONITOR VOLUME pot to the desired volume level See Section 1 MON VOLUME PLAYBACK TIPS For best mixing results get comfortable at a reasonable level not too lo...

Page 30: ...configure the 1622 MIXER in order to achieve a mono mix METHOD A 1 Pan all of the input channels all the way to the left or all the way to the right See Section 1 PAN POT 2 A mono mix will now be present at the Left MASTER Fader or Right MASTER Fader if all of the input channels were panned that way This method will make RETURNS 6 and 8 unavailable or 5 and 7 if all of the input channels are panne...

Page 31: ...PKR AMP MONITOR SPKR Y LEFT AND RIGHT TOGETHER FOR MONO INSTRUMENTS OR MICROPHONES MICRO LIMITER USING THE SUB MASTERS The SUB MASTERS are extremely useful in sound reinforcement work A SUB MASTER can be very useful in controlling the level of several channels with the movement of only one fader For example if you wished to control your group vocals via a SUB MASTER and the vocal mics were located...

Page 32: ...complished by using the 1 4 plug as the microphone input and will require either an XLR to 1 4 adapter or a mic cable with a 1 4 plug on the end See Figure 14 USING THE SUB MASTERS FOR SEPARATE OUTPUTS There may be situations that call for a separate controlled output level beside the ones available from the MAIN OUTPUT such as when the 1622 MIXER is used as an on stage keyboard mixer In this case...

Page 33: ...ny movement of the Channel Faders will not affect the Pre Fader send level See Figure 16 1 On the Input Channels turn SEND 1 and SEND 2 for 2 separate mixes or just SEND 1 for a single mono mix until the desired balance is obtained See Section 1 SENDS and Section 3 HOW TO CREATE A CUE MIX 2 Use SEND MASTER 1 and 2 to increase or decrease the overall volume 3 Usually a 1 3 octave graphic equalizer ...

Page 34: ...e mix containing all music and effects but no dialog which is usually dubbed in later See Figure 17 To accomplish a mix minus feed do the following 1 Raise the Channel Faders to the desired levels See Section 2 HOW TO ADJUST LEVELS 2 Assign the Channel Faders by switching both the MASTER assign switch and the SUB MASTER assign switch to the On position See Section 1 3 Unassign the Input Channels t...

Page 35: ... is engaged Switch to Off position 2 SOLO is activated If SOLO LED is lit find the channel soloed and switch to Off position 3 TAPE MON Switch in the wrong position Swith to MON position to hear the console signal Switch to TAPE position to hear the mixdown tape deck OVERLOAD PROBLEMS DISTORTION HEARD WHEN INPUT CHANNEL IS SOLOED 1 Input too hot Decrease TRIM level 2 Excessive use of EQ Decrease T...

Page 36: ...are expensive and involve installing a separate power source just for the sound system Since this is far from practical in the majority of situations that the 1622 MIXER will be used in here are some easy helpful hints that a professional studio installer might use to keep those stray hums and buzzes to a minimum 1 KEEP ALL ELECTRONICS OF THE SOUND SYSTEM ON THE SAME AC ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT Without ...

Page 37: ...each tape machine and outboard effects device one at a time Either use a ground lifter or flip the polarity until the quietest position is found D You should ve done this in the first place but in case you haven t yet make sure that all of the audio cables are in working order Cables with a detached ground wire will cause a very loud hum ...

Page 38: ... through 6 Return Level 1 8 Return Pan 1 4 SubMaster Faders 1 2 Master Faders 1 2 Monitor Volume INDICATORS 15 Segment LED VU Meters x 2 Power LED Solo LED SWITCHES Master Assignment x 16 SubMaster Assignment x 16 Mute x 16 Solo x 16 Tape Master Control Room Defeat SubMaster to Master Assignment REAR PANEL JACKS Microphone Inputs XLR Main Outputs mono 1 4 Line Inputs mono 1 4 Main Out Inserts 1 4 ...

Page 39: ...ricity The power line on the pole is a buss line The 1622 MIXER has 4 busses the MASTER Left and Right and the SUB GROUP Left and Right See Figure 18 FIGURE 18 A TYPICAL BUSS LINE BUSS LINE CHANNEL FADERS BUSS MASTER OR SUBMASTER TO OUTPUT JACK Chorus A popular signal processing effect Chorus attempts to simulate the sound of a group of instruments by introducing minute changes in pitch and time T...

Page 40: ...s becoming louder or softer after being amplified frequency response unwanted signal artifacts when two or more signals are amplified at the same time intermodulation distortion or certain harmonics of a signal being favored over others harmonic distortion Echo See Delay Edit Bay An Edit Bay is the equivalent of a video mixdown studio where shots from different reels are assembled onto a master re...

Page 41: ...dance The inputs of most audio devices are High Impedance All inputs except the microphone inputs of the 1622 MIXER are High Impedance Inserts Inserts are used to connect signal processing devices into the signal path of a single channel Normally this is a device that shapes the dynamics or tone of a signal such as a compressor gate or EQ rather than an effects device such as a reverb An insert co...

Page 42: ...pical operating level This is usually 10dBV for semi pro and stereo equipment and 4dBV for professional quality equipment The 1622 MIXER can accommodate either Outboard Refers to any piece of equipment that is connected to a mixing console but not an integral part of it Overdubbing A basic process of multitrack recording Overdubbing is the recording of a new part in sync with previously recorded m...

Page 43: ...ature different size spaces give distinctly different sounding reverbs depending upon the size and shape of the space and the texture of the surfaces that the reflections bounce off of Nearly any natural reverberant space that can be imagined and a few artificial ones as well can be simulated by many by the many digital signal processors on the market today including the Alesis MIDIVERB II MIDIVER...

Page 44: ... e T stands for tip R for ring and S for sleeve See Figure 9 Unbalanced Line A circuit that uses a single wire to carry the signal voltage Although unbalanced circuitry is simpler to build than balanced equipment unbalanced lines are more susceptible to outside induced hum and noise This is not a problem at line level where the signal is strong and the induced hum and noise is weak But weak microp...

Page 45: ...evice of European origin chances are it is probably wired this way Check your owners manual to be sure METHOD B The typical way that an XLR connector is wired in North America is Pin 1 Ground Pin 2 Pin 3 To change this connection from balanced to unbalanced simply solder pins 1 and 2 together See Figure 17B This convention is followed only in the United States If you are connecting the 1622 MIXER ...

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Page 47: ...nd Lift 38 43 Ground Loops 37 43 H Headphones 7 13 25 28 41 48 Headroom 8 42 43 High Impedance 43 I Insert Return 12 Inserts 12 17 26 36 43 L Line Input 36 Line level 18 44 47 Low Impedance 44 M Main Insert 14 Main Out Level Selector 14 Main Outputs 13 14 24 26 30 31 33 Master Assign 27 Master Faders 8 9 10 11 25 27 29 32 34 35 Mix Minus 33 44 Mixdown Deck 13 14 24 28 48 Mixdown 22 28 Monitor Defe...

Page 48: ... 26 42 44 47 S Send Master 8 28 32 35 36 Send 7 17 26 48 Shelving 6 Signal to Noise Ratio 8 42 Solo LED 11 36 Solo 7 11 18 35 36 48 Sound Reinforcement 11 29 Stereo Meters 11 Sub Assign 7 10 27 Sub Out 10 13 22 SubGroup 8 10 13 19 22 26 28 29 30 31 33 34 35 48 T Tape Return 11 27 28 48 TAPE MON Switch 9 24 28 29 36 Transients 21 49 Trim 5 18 19 35 49 TRS 49 U Unbalanced 16 40 49 V VU 21 35 49 X XL...