TM TM TM USER GUIDE 1
IMPORTANT Please read this manual carefully before using your mixer for the first time. © Harman International Industries Ltd. 2007 All rights reserved Parts of the design of this product may be protected by worldwide patents. Part No. ZM0358-02 Soundcraft is a trading division of Harman International Industries Ltd. Information in this manual is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of the vendor.
Contents IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS SAFETY SYMBOL GUIDE INTRODUCTION THE 60-SECOND GUIDE WIRING UP BLOCK DIAGRAM MONO INPUT CHANNELS STEREO INPUT CHANNELS MASTER SECTION Lexicon® FX PROCESSOR OVERVIEW FX OPERATION FX PROCESSOR CONTROLS REVERBS REVERB CONTROLS DELAYS DELAY CONTROLS MODULATED EFFECTS FACTORY RESET EFFECTS DATA CHART USING YOUR MFX CONSOLE MARK-UP SHEETS FITTING OPTIONAL RACK-MOUNT BRACKETS DIMENSIONS APPLICATIONS TYPICAL CONNECTING LEADS MFX TYPICAL SPECIFICATIONS WARRANTY GLOSSARY 4 6 7
IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS Read these instructions. Keep these instructions. Heed all warnings. Follow all instructions. Do not use this apparatus near water. Clean only with a dry cloth. Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other apparatus (including amplifiers) that produce heat. Do not defeat the safety purpose of a polarised or grounding type plug.
with liquids, such as vases, on the apparatus. No naked flame sources, such as lighted candles, should be placed on the apparatus. Ventilation should not be impeded by covering the ventilation openings with items such as newspapers, table cloths, curtains etc. THIS APPARATUS MUST BE EARTHED. Under no circumstances should the safety earth be disconnected from the mains lead. The mains supply disconnect device is the mains plug.
For your own safety and to avoid invalidation of the warranty please read this section carefully. SAFETY SYMBOL GUIDE For your own safety and to avoid invalidation of the warranty all text marked with these symbols should be read carefully. WARNINGS The lightning flash with arrowhead symbol, is intended to alert the user to the presence of un-insulated “dangerous voltage” within the product’s enclosure that may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to persons.
INTRODUCTION Thank you for purchasing a Soundcraft MFX mixer. The MFX range is our most costeffective mixing solution, bringing you all the features and performance that you expect from a Soundcraft product, at an extraordinarily low price. The packaging, which your MFX arrived in, forms part of the product and must be retained for future use.
THE 60-SECOND GUIDE To get you working as fast as possible, this manual begins with a 60-second guide. Here you can find quick information on any feature of the console. 1 MIC INPUT (XLR) 2 LINE INPUT (¼” Jack) 3 INSERT POINT (¼” Jack) 4 GAIN CONTROL 5 PEAK LED 6 HPF 7 EQ STAGE 8 AUX 1 & 2 SENDS 9 FX SEND 10 PAN CONTROL 11 MUTE SWITCH 8 Connect Microphones here. If you are using a condenser mic, ensure phantom power is supplied by pressing the switch at the top of the master section.
12 PFL When pressed the signal will appear on the monitor and headphone outputs - use this to monitor the post-EQ signal from the channel. 13 MIX/SUB SWITCH When this switch is up, the channel’s post-pan-pot signal is routed to the Mix (left and right) buses. When the switch is depressed, the post-pan-pot signal is routed to the Sub-group (left and right) buses. 14 SP LED The SP LED glows when a signal is present. The feed point for the LED is post-EQ, pre-mute.
WIRING UP Mic Input The MIC input accepts XLR-type connectors and is designed to suit a wide range of BALANCED or UNBALANCED low-level signals, whether from delicate vocals requiring the best low-noise performance, or drum kits needing maximum headroom. Professional dynamic, condenser or ribbon mics are best because these will be LOW IMPEDANCE.
A ‘Y’ lead may be required to connect to equipment with separate send and return jacks as shown below: Stereo Inputs STEREO 1/2 These accept 3-pole 6.35mm (1/4") jacks, or 2-pole mono jacks which will automatically ground the ‘cold’ input. Use these inputs for sources such as keyboards, drum machines, synths, tape machines or as returns from processing units.
Polarity (Phase) You will probably be familiar with the concept of polarity in electrical signals and this is of particular importance to balanced audio signals. Just as a balanced signal is highly effective at cancelling out unwanted interference, so two microphones picking up the same signal can cancel out, or cause serious degradation of the signal if one of the cables has the +ve and -ve wires reversed.
PROBLEM SOLVING Basic problem solving is within the scope of any user if a few basic rules are followed. • Get to know the Block Diagram of your console (see page 14). • Get to know what all controls and/or connections in the system are supposed to do. • Learn where to look for common trouble spots. The Block Diagram is a representative sketch of all the components of the console, showing how they connect together and how the signal flows through the system.
BLOCK DIAGRAM 14
MONO INPUT CHANNELS 1 Mic Input The MIC input accepts XLR-type connectors and is designed to suit a wide range of BALANCED or UNBALANCED signals. Professional dynamic, condenser or ribbon mics are best because these will be LOW IMPEDANCE. You can use low-cost HIGH IMPEDANCE mics, but the level of background noise will be higher. If you turn the PHANTOM POWER on (top right-hand side of the mixer) the socket provides a suitable powering voltage for professional condenser mics.
The Send may also be tapped off as an alternative pre-fade, pre-EQ direct output if required, using a lead with tip and ring shorted together so that the signal path is not interrupted (see below). 5 Gain This knob sets how much of the source signal is sent to the rest of the mixer. Too high, and the signal will distort as it overloads the channel. Too low, and the level of any background hiss will be more noticeable and you may not be able to get enough signal level to the output of the mixer.
POST-FADE), but for Foldback or Monitor feeds it is important for the send to be independent of the fader (this is called PRE-FADE). AUX SENDS 1 and 2 are both globally switchable between pre and post-fade (see master section on page 20). 8 FX SEND This control sets the level of the post-fade signal being sent to the FX bus; from there it is routed to the FX processor. The FX Send is always post-fader.
STEREO INPUT CHANNELS 1 INPUTS STEREO 1/2 These inputs accept 3-pole 6.35mm (1/4") jacks. Use these inputs for sources such as keyboards, drum machines, synths, tape machines or processing units. The inputs are BALANCED for low noise and top quality from professional equipment, but you can use UNBALANCED sources by wiring up the jacks as shown in the ‘Wiring Up’ section earlier in this manual, although you should then keep cable lengths as short as possible.
7 MUTE All outputs from the channel are enabled when the MUTE switch is released and muted when the switch is down. The MUTE switch’s inbuilt LED glows when the channel is muted. 8 FADER The 60mm FADER gives you smooth control of the overall signal level in the channel strip, allowing precise balancing of the various source signals being mixed to the Master Section. It is important that the input level is set correctly to give maximum travel on the fader which should normally be used at around the “0” mark.
MASTER SECTION 20
1 POWER INDICATOR This LED lights to show when power is connected to the console. 2 PHANTOM POWER Many professional condenser mics need PHANTOM POWER, which is a method of sending a powering voltage down the same wires as the mic signal. Press the switch to enable the +48V power to all of the MIC inputs. The adjacent LED illuminates when the power is active. WARNING: TAKE CARE when using unbalanced mics which may be damaged by the phantom power voltage.
12 HEADPHONES SOCKET The PHONES output is a 3-pole 6.35mm (1/4") jack, wired as a stereo output, ideally for headphones of 150Ω or greater. 8Ω headphones are not recommended. 13 METERS & AFL/PFL ACTIVE LED The three-colour peak reading BARGRAPH METERS normally show the level of the signal(s) selected by the monitor source-select switches, giving you a constant warning of excessive peaks in the signal(s) which might cause overloading.
AUX 22 AUX MASTERS These controls set the output levels of the two Aux Outputs. 23 AFL These After Fade Listen switches route their respective aux output signal to the monitor/headphones outputs. 24 PRE/POST SWITCHES These two switches globally switch the AUX 1 and AUX 2 feeds, respectively, on all the input modules to be either pre-fade or post-fade. 25 AUX OUTPUTS 1 & 2 These outputs are on 3-pole 6.35mm (1/4") jacks and are balanced.
Lexicon® FX PROCESSOR OVERVIEW The effects within the console have been designed with both live sound reinforcement and home recording in mind. Featuring the deep, rich reverb algorithms that Lexicon® are renowned for the effects processor offers increased versatility and high quality effects, all instantly accessible via the extremely intuitive front panel controls.
FX PROCESSOR CONTROLS 1. Tempo Button - Tapping this button twice sets the Delay Time of the selected program. The LED flashes to indicate current tempo. Can be tapped in time with music source to synchronise the delay. 2. Store Button - Stores program modifications to one of the program locations. Press and hold for three seconds will store the preset in the current location. The LED will flash rapidly during the store operation and then stay illuminated for 1 second to show the operation is complete. 3.
REVERBS Reverberation (or “reverb” for short) is the complex effect created by the way we perceive sound in an enclosed space. When sound waves encounter an object or boundary, they don’t just stop. Some of the sound is absorbed by the object, but most of the sound is reflected or is diffused. In an enclosed space, reverb is dependent on many features of that space, including the size, shape and the type of materials that line the walls.
Reverse Reverb Reverse reverb works in the opposite fashion from normal reverb. Whereas a normal reverb has the loudest series of reflections heard first that then become quieter over time, the Reverse reverb has the softest reflections (essentially the tail of the reverb) heard first, and then grows louder over time until they abruptly cut off. Ambience Reverb Ambience is used to simulate the effect of a small or medium sized room without noticeable decay. It is often used for voice, guitar or percussion.
Shape This control helps give a sense of both room shape and room size. Low values for Shape keep the majority of sound energy in the early part of the reverb tail. High values move the energy to later in the reverb, and are helpful in creating the sense of a strong rear wall or “backslap. Boing This is a unique parameter to the Spring reverb, designed to increase or decrease the amount of spring rattle that is a physical characteristic of spring tank reverbs.
increase the time between repeats. Range 0-72. See the Effects Data Chart for exact note values. Feedback Controls the number of delay repeats by feeding the delay output signal back into the delay input. This creates a series of delay repeats, each slightly attenuated until they become inaudible. Higher settings create more repeats; lower settings reduce the number of repeats.
Knob 3: Voices Controls the number of additional Chorus voices. Up to 8 voices can be added, continuously variable in 100 individual steps. Flanger This effect was originally created by simultaneously recording and playing back two identical programs on two tape recorders, then using hand pressure against the flange of the tape reels to slow down first one machine, then the other.
speaker. Knob 3: Stereo Spread Increases or decreases the stereo imaging of the Rotary effect. Vibrato Vibrato is obtained by smoothly varying the pitch of the signal just sharp and flat of the original at a determined rate. Vibrato Stereo (Wet only) Rotary Mono (Wet only) Tremolo/Pan Stereo (Wet only) Knob 1: Speed Controls the modulation rate of Vibrato. Knob 2: Depth Controls the maximum amount of pitch shift.
No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 NAME SMALL HALL LARGE HALL VOCAL HALL DRUM HALL SMALL PLATE LARGE PLATE VOCAL PLATE DRUM PLATE ROOM STUDIO CHAMBER AMBIENCE ARENA GATED REVERSE SPRING STUDIO DELAY DIGITAL DELAY TAPE DELAY PONG DELAY MOD DELAY REVERSE DELAY CHORUS FLANGER PHASER TREMELO/PAN ROTARY VIBRATO REV/DEL SHORT REV/DEL LONG PHASE DELAY ROTARY DELAY ADJUST1 PREDELAY PREDELAY PREDELAY PREDELAY PREDELAY PREDELAY PREDELAY PREDELAY PREDELAY PREDEL
USING YOUR MFX CONSOLE The final output from your sound system can only ever be as good as the weakest link in the chain, and especially important is the quality of the source signal because this is the starting point of the chain. Just as you need to become familiar with the control functions of your mixer, so you must recognise the importance of correct choice of inputs, microphone placement and input channel settings.
• • Repeat this procedure on other channels as required. As more channels are added to the mix, the meters may move into the red section. Adjust the overall level using the Master Faders if necessary. Listen carefully for the characteristic sound of “feedback”. If you cannot achieve satisfactory input level setting without feedback, check microphone and speaker placement and repeat the exercise.
MARK-UP SHEETS You may freely copy this page, and use it to record the settings used for particular applications/gigs.
FITTING OPTIONAL RACK-MOUNT BRACKETS (MFX12/2 & MFX8/2) The rack-mount kit part numbers are: for MFX12/2 = RW5753, for MFX8/2 = RW5765 (note that this kit includes an extender plate to pad the console out to fit a 19” rack).
DIMENSIONS 37
APPLICATIONS APPLICATION 1 - LIVE SOUND REINFORCEMENT 38
APPLICATION 2 - MULTISPEAKER APPLICATIONS This configuration demonstrates how multiple speaker configurations can be driven by the EPM.
APPLICATION 3 - PLACES OF WORSHIP This configuration uses the Aux 2 output to drive an induction loop for the hard of hearing. Aux 1 output is used to generate foldback monitoring for the speaker/singer. The main outputs are used to drive the main speaker system. The record and playback connections are used to pass audio to and from a DAT machine or CDR.
APPLICATION 4 - RECORDING The insert points on channels 1-8 may be used to feed a multitrack recorder as shown (link the send and return signals). The Mix outputs are used for a preliminary stereo mix on a DAT recorder.
TYPICAL CONNECTING LEADS 42
MFX TYPICAL SPECIFICATIONS Frequency Response Mic / Line Input to any Output ...........................................+/-1.5dB, 20Hz – 20kHz T.H.D. Mic Sensitivity -30dBu, +14dBu @ Mix output .............................< 0.02% @ 1kHz Noise Mic Input E.I.N. (maximum gain) ............................………..-127dBu (150Ω source) Aux, Mix and Masters (@ 0dB, faders down)....................................………< -85dBu Crosstalk (@ 1kHz) Channel Mute.............................................................
WARRANTY 1 Soundcraft is a trading division of Harman International Industries Ltd . End User means the person who first puts the equipment into regular operation. Dealer means the person other than Soundcraft (if any) from whom the End User purchased the Equipment, provided such a person is authorised for this purpose by Soundcraft or its accredited Distributor. Equipment means the equipment supplied with this manual.
GLOSSARY AFL After-fade listen: a function that allows the operator to monitor the post-fade signal in a channel independently of the main mix. Auxiliary send An output from the console comprising a mix of signals from channels derived independently of the main stereo mix. Balance The relative levels of the left and right channels of a stereo signal. Balanced A method of audio connection which ‘balances’ the wanted signal between two wires, these wires also have a screen which carries no signal.
Pre-fade Rolloff Shelving Spill Transient Unbalanced +48V The point in the signal path before a fader, and therefore unaffected by the fader position. A fall in gain at the extremes of the frequency response. An equaliser response affecting all frequencies above or below the break frequency i.e. a highpass or lowpass derived response. Acoustic interference from other sources. A momentary rise in the signal level.
