Behringer SX3242FX User Manual

SX3242FX

Analog Mixer

32x4x2 Live/
Studio Mixer

Premium ultra-low noise,
high-headroom analog mixer

24 state-of-the-art XENYX Mic Preamps
comparable to stand-alone boutique
preamps

Neo-classic “British” 3-band EQs with
semi-parametric mid band for warm
and musical sound

2 independent studio-grade
24-bit stereo FX processors with
99 awesome presets including reverb,
chorus, fl anger, delay, pitch shifter and
various multi-eff ects

High-precision 9-band stereo graphic
EQ allows precise frequency correction
of monitor or main mixes

Revolutionary FBQ Feedback Detection
system instantly reveals critical
frequencies

Peak LEDs, Mute, Main mix and
subgroup routing switches, Solo and
PFL functions on all channels

2 fully featured stereo input channels
with 4-band EQ plus 2 additional
stereo input channels with Level and
pre-fader Aux controls

Inserts on each mono channel and
main mix for fl exible connection of
outboard equipment

4 Subgroup outputs and additional
Mono output with sweepable Low Pass
fi lter for subwoofer application

4 Aux sends per channel: 2 pre/post
fader switchable for monitoring/FX
applications, 2 post fader (for internal
FX or as external send)

Balanced Main mix outputs with ¼"
jack and gold-plated XLR connectors,
separate Control room, Headphone
and stereo Tape outputs

Solo-In-Place and Pre-Fader-Listen
functions plus full-featured Talkback
section

Standby switch mutes all channels
during breaks while background music
is provided via CD/Tape inputs

Long-wearing 60 mm logarithmic­taper faders and sealed rotary controls

Internal autorange power supply for
maximum fl exibility (100 – 240 V~),
noise-free audio, superior transient
response plus low power consumption
for energy saving

High-quality components and
exceptionally rugged construction
ensure long life

Conceived and designed by
BEHRINGER Germany

behringer.com

EURODESK 32-Channel Analog Mixer With 24 XENYX Mic
Preamps and 99 Digital Eff ect Presets

If you want classic analog handling
but can’t skimp on superior digital
eff ects and studio-grade mic preamps,
the SX3242FX is your new best friend.
This mixer’s 24 mic inputs, 8 stereo
inputs and 4 buses give you enough
leeway to handle anything from a
graduation speech to a 5-piece band
to a whole church service with praise

99 awesome presets to provide the
perfect sonic garnish. “Sure they’re
great for live sound, but I have a lot
of cool plug-ins for recording,” we can
hear some of you saying. Truth be
told, you never have too many eff ects.
And when you hear the quality of the
SX3242FX’s FX, you may want to give
your overworked CPU a rest.

band and choir.

Classic control, state-of-the-art
sound

Each of the SX3242FX’s 24 mic
inputs connects to our world-famous,
studio-grade XENYX mic preamps.
They are legendary for their high
headroom, warm natural timbre and
utter lack of background noise. Plug
in a large-diaphragm condenser mic
and track a vocal to hear XENYX’s rich
detail and spaciousness. Plug in a
dynamic mic and stick it inside a bass
drum to appreciate the whopping
headroom.

You may experience side-FX…

Whether you need to add a dab of
reverb or delay to a live vocalist’s mic
or warp a hard day’s studio session
into psychedelic quicksand, the
SX3242FX has you covered. We gave
this mixer two independent studio­grade 24-bit stereo FX processors with

Continued on next page

SX3242FX

32x4x2 Live/
Studio Mixer

Eff ects

PARALLEL EFFECTS:

Cathedral (01-02) Very dense and long reverberation of a large

cathedral

Plate (03-04) Simulates early plate reverb

Concert (05-06) Simulates a small theater or large concert hall

Stage (07-08) Very dense reverb, especially for live applications

Room (09-10) Simulates room’s wall reverb. This particular room

has two windows and yellow wallpaper

Studio (11-12) Adds spaciousness to the sound

Small Hall (13-14) Simulates hallway reverberation

Ambience (15-16) Simulates the reverb of a middle-sized room

without late refl ections

Early Refl ections (17) Dense reverb with pronounced early refl ec tions

Spring Reverb (19-20) Simulates spring reverb

Gated Reverb (21-22) Reverb that’s synthetically cut off

Reverse Reverb (23-24) Reverb that slowly gets louder

Chorus (25-30) Slight detuning of the original signal

Flanger (31-35) A delayed signal is added to the original signal,

causing a phase shift

Phaser (36-39) Another phase-shift eff ect

Rotary Speaker (40-42) Simulation of a rotating electronic organ speaker

Delay (43-52) Delay of the input signal with repetitions

Chorus & Reverb (53-54) Combination of chorus and reverb

Flanger & Reverb (55-56) Flanger combined with reverb

Phaser & Reverb (57-58) Phaser combined with reverb

Rotary Speaker &
Reverb (59-60) Rotary Speaker eff ect combined with Reverb

Delay & Reverb (61-63) Delay combined with Reverb

Delay & Chorus (64-67) Widens the signals and produces repetition eff ects

Delay & Flanger (68-70) Similar to Delay & Chorus, but with audible up/

downward modulation

INSERT EFFECTS:

Compressor (71-73) Soft or loud passages are raised or lowered in

level respectively

Expander (74-76) Noise and hum is reduced in level

Gate (77-78) A gate opens for a specifi c period of time to make a

specifi c signal pass, then closes abruptly

Ultramizer (79-80) Compression through automatic adaptation of

compression parameters

Ultrabass (81-82) Combines sub-harmonics processor, bass exciter,

and limiter

Panner (83-85) The signal “wanders” between the sides of the

stereo basis

Exciter (86-88) Adds synthetic harmonics to the signal, resulting in

increased presence and ”loudness”

Auto Filter (89-91) Level-dependent boost of a specifi c frequency

band, similar to auto-wah or electric guitars

Tube Distortion (92-93) Simulates the tube distortion of classic guitar

amplifi ers

Guitar Amp (94-97) Guitar amp simulation

Vinylizer (98) Adds the clicks and noise of old vinyl records

Test Tone (99) 1-kHz test tone. Virtually indistinguishable from

some genres of techno.

Naturally we gave you a whole
palette of creative eff ects like reverb,
chorus, fl anger, delay and pitch shifter
tones, as well as mind-bending multi­eff ects to take your sound out of
this world. But you also get problem
solving workhorses like compression
and gating plus fi nal eff ects such as
Ultramizer, Ultrabass and Exciter that
can put a PA or studio mix over the top.
And because there are two processors,
you can cue two separate eff ects,
then apply one or both to channels
1 through 28 — compression for the
vocalist, reverb for the vocalist and
snare drum, for example.

What the heck is “British EQ”?

A good thing to have on your side
when you start reaching for those
channel equalization knobs. At a live
concert or in the studio.

Think of it as kinder, gentler, more
musical EQ like the type found on
classic British consoles from the 60’s
and 70’s. Single malt scotch instead of
Everclear. Home-baked cherry cobbler
instead of an artifi cial cherry lollypop.

British EQ’s distinct confi guration
of wider curves/lower Q and harmonic
phase characteristics allows you to add
or subtract EQ more generously than
you can with conventional EQ circuit
designs. When you add low midrange,
you get a fi rmer sound instead of
a nasty bonk. When you back high
frequencies off a bit, treble backs off
just a hair instead of turning muffl ed.

All SX3242FX mono channels
have low and high shelving plus
a sweepable “midrange” you can
move anywhere from 100Hz to 8kHz.
Think of it as your roving English
troubleshooter.

Kill feedback before it maims your
audience.

When it comes to suppressing
feedback, the SX3242FX is like having
a bloodhound trained to spot trouble
frequencies a mile away.

The 9-band graphic EQ (which you
can choose to apply to your main mix
or monitor mix via the MAIN/AUX1
button) features the FBQ Feedback
Detection system. It makes fi nding and
adjusting critical frequencies a snap.
Just push FBQ IN, then watch as LEDs

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on the individual EQ sliders light up,
indicating which frequency bands are
causing feedback. Simply adjust until
the LED goes dim.

The Ins and Outs

Some manufacturers make what
they call 32-input mixers that count
stuff like CD/TAPE IN as an input. But
the SX3242FX really gives you twenty­four honest mono channels plus eight
stereo channels, making it easy to
accommodate a variety of studio or
live performance confi gurations. You
can connect up to 24 microphones
or other mono instruments and up to
four stereo instruments (keyboards or
tone modules, for example).

You can combine these input
in four diff erent sub-mixes (we call
them buses). That allows you to blend
multiple channels—say all the mics
on a drum kit or all the backup singers’
mics—to a single fader, which is easier
to adjust for the overall mix that goes
to the PA speakers. You can also use
one or more of the sub-mix buses to
create custom monitor mixes for picky
members of your band (“More me!
More me!”).

A zillion ways to change the channel

At the top of each mono channel,
you’ll fi nd both a balanced XLR
input with a XENYX mic preamp
and a ¼" input. A phantom power
switch located on the back near the
main power switch accommodates
condenser mics.

Next comes is an insert for connecting
up individual signal processors or
feeding a remote broadcast feed or
multitrack recorder directly.