21
Owner’s Manual
Owner’
s Manual
Engaging a solo switch will cause this dramatic turn
of events: Any existing source matrix selections will be
replaced by the solo signals, appearing in the control
room, headphones and meter display. The audible solo
levels are controlled by the solo [46] level knob.
The solo levels appearing on the meter display
are not controlled by anything — you wouldn’t want
that. You want to see the actual channel level on
the display, regardless of how loud you’re listening.
44. Mode (AFL/PFL)
The 1604VLZ4’s solo system comes in two flavors:
AFL (sometimes called SIP, or solo-in-place) and PFL
(sometimes called PFL, or pre-fader-listen).
In AFL, the soloed channel’s signal is sent directly
to the control room, headphones and meter display just
as it would sound to the channel’s assignment switches:
post-EQ [32], post-fader [25] and post-pan [31].
The only difference is that solo works regardless
of the channel’s assignment positions, and that
makes it really handy — you can check out a
channel before you assign it.
AFL is the preferred mode during mixdown:
If the channel has some midrange boost at 4.236kHz,
is panned a smidgen to the left, and its fader is at
–5.385dB, that’s exactly what you’ll hear if you solo
during AFL mode. It’s just as if you took the time to
mute all the other channels.
PFL solo is the key player in the all-important
level-setting procedure . It’ll send the channel’s
actual internal levels to the meters so you’ll know
just what’s going on, level-wise. This procedure should
be performed every time a new sound source is patched
into a channel’s mic [1] or line [2] input jacks.
PFL is also the preferred mode for SR (sound
reinforcement, or live sound), to preview channels
before they are let into the mix. It won’t give you stereo
placement, but will give you signal even if the fader
is turned down.
Remember, PFL taps the channel signal before
the fader. If you have a channel’s fader set way
below “U” (unity gain), solo won’t know that
and will send a unity gain signal to the control room,
headphones, and meter display. That may result in a
startling level boost at these outputs, depending on the
position of the solo [46] level knob.
45. Level Set LED
When the mode switch [44] is engaged, it’s in PFL
mode, the mode you must be in to set levels. Now, when
you engage any solo switch, this LED will be a “green
light” to set levels. If you tried to set levels during AFL
mode, the meter display would be at the mercy of the
channel fader, and that would be a big problem.
46. Solo (Level)
This knob controls the level of the signals coming
from the solo system. After the solo level is determined,
the solo signals will proceed to take over the control
room, headphones, and meter display.
Once again, PFL solo taps the channel signal
before the fader. If you have a channel’s fader
set way below “U” (unity gain), PFL solo
won’t know that and will send a unity gain signal to
the control room, headphones, and meter display. This
may result in a startling level boost at these outputs,
depending on the position of the solo level knob.
47. Rude Solo Light
This flashing LED (light emitting diode) serves
two purposes — to remind you that you’re in solo,
and to let you know that you’re mixing on a 1604VLZ4.
No other company is so concerned about your level of
solo awareness. We even force the soloed chan nel’s –20
LED to play along, so you can find that rogue switch fast.
If you work on a mixer that has a solo function with
no indicator lights, and you happen to forget you’re
in solo, you can easily be tricked into thinking that
something is wrong with your mixer. Hence the rude
solo light. It’s especially handy at about 3:00 in the
morning, when no sound is coming out of your monitors,
even though your multitrack is playing back like mad.
