Mackie TT24 User Manual

Important Safety Instructions

1.Read these instructions.

2.Keep these instructions.

3.Heed all warnings.

4.Follow all instructions.

5.Do not use this apparatus near water.

6.Clean only with dry cloth.

7.Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

8.Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other apparatus (including amplifiers) that produce heat.

9.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 groundingtype plug has two blades and a third grounding 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.

10.Protect the power cord from being walked on or pinched particularly at plugs, convenience receptacles, and the point where they exit from the apparatus.

11.Only use attachments/accessories specified by the manufacturer.

12.Use only with a cart, stand, tripod, bracket, or table specified by the manufacturer, or sold with the apparatus. When a cart is used, use caution when moving the cart/apparatus combination to avoid injury from tip-over.

13.Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or when unused for long periods of time.

14.Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel. Servicing is required 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.

15.This mixer has been designed with Class-I construction and must be connected to a mains socket outlet with a protective earthing connection (the third grounding prong).

16.This mixer has been equipped with an all-pole, rocker-style AC mains power switch. This switch is located on the rear panel and should remain readily accessible to the user.

17.This apparatus does not exceed the Class A/Class B (whichever is applicable) limits for radio noise emissions from digital apparatus as set out in the radio interference regulations of the Canadian Department of Communications.

ATTENTION — Le présent appareil numérique n’émet pas de bruits radioélectriques dépassant las limites applicables aux appareils numériques de class A/de class B (selon le cas) prescrites dans le réglement sur le brouillage radioélectrique édicté par les ministere des communications du Canada.

18.Exposure to extremely high noise levels may cause permanent hearing loss. Individuals vary considerably in susceptibility to noise-induced hearing loss, but nearly everyone will lose some hearing if exposed to sufficiently intense noise for a period of time. The U.S. Government’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has specified the permissible noise level exposures shown in the following chart.

According to OSHA, any exposure in excess of these permissible limits could result in some hearing loss. To ensure against potentially dangerous exposure to high sound pressure levels, it is recommended that all persons exposed to equipment capable of producing high sound pressure levels use hearing protectors while the equipment is in operation. Ear plugs or protectors in the ear canals or over the ears must be worn when operating the equipment in order to prevent permanent hearing loss if exposure is in excess of the limits set forth here.

Mackie TT24 Digital Live Console Owner’s Manual

Table of Contents

Chapter 1:	Introduction.....................................................................................			9
	1.1	Evolution of the TT24 Console ......................................................		9
	1.2	Summary of Features ..................................................................		10
		1.2.1	DSP Functionality.............................................................	10
	1.3	Terminology and Conventions.....................................................		12
Chapter 2:	Quickstart Tutorial .....................................................................			13
	2.1	Connect Amplifier/Speakers........................................................		13
	2.2	Connect a Mic...............................................................................		13
	2.3	Connect a CD/Tape Device ..........................................................		17
	2.4	Aux Functions ..............................................................................		19
	2.5	Effects ...........................................................................................		21
Chapter 3: Console Surface Controls ....................................................				23
	3.1	Channel Strip...............................................................................		23
		3.1.1	LINE ..................................................................................	24
		3.1.2 48 V Phantom Power.........................................................		24
		3.1.3	GAIN..................................................................................	25
		3.1.4	OL and SIG........................................................................	25
		3.1.5	V-Pot ..................................................................................	25
		3.1.6	MUTE ................................................................................	26
		3.1.7	Bank/Channel Description Area ......................................	26
		3.1.8	SELECT.............................................................................	26
		3.1.9	SOLO .................................................................................	27
		3.1.10 Channel Fader...................................................................		27
	3.2	Bank Select Area..........................................................................		28
		3.2.1	ANALOG............................................................................	28
		3.2.2	DIGITAL............................................................................	28
		3.2.3	RETURNS .........................................................................	28
		3.2.4	MASTER............................................................................	29

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Mackie TT24 Digital Live Console Owner’s Manual

3.3	V-Pot Control Area.......................................................................		29
	3.3.1	TRIM..................................................................................	29
	3.3.2	PAN....................................................................................	30
	3.3.3	HPF....................................................................................	30
	3.3.4	METERS............................................................................	31
	3.3.5	AUX SENDS 1–12.............................................................	31
	3.3.6	AUX PAN...........................................................................	31
	3.3.7	AUX MODE .......................................................................	32
3.4	QuickMix Area .............................................................................		32
	3.4.1	FAT ....................................................................................	34
	3.4.2	EQ ......................................................................................	34
	3.4.3	DYN ...................................................................................	34
	3.4.4	GRP/AUX...........................................................................	34
	3.4.5	AUX MSTR ........................................................................	35
	3.4.6	SNAP..................................................................................	35
	3.4.7	EFX ....................................................................................	35
	3.4.8	MATRIX.............................................................................	35
	3.4.9	Engineer’s Utility ..............................................................	35
	3.4.10 Main Meters and RUDE SOLO LED ...............................		37
3.5	UTILITY Area..............................................................................		38
	3.5.1	TALKBACK.......................................................................	38
	3.5.2	MONITOR .........................................................................	38
	3.5.3	PHONES............................................................................	39
3.6	Snapshots .....................................................................................		39
3.7 Group and Master Controls.........................................................			40
	3.7.1 Changing the Group Bank................................................		40
	3.7.2	Group Assignment ............................................................	41
	3.7.3	Group Parameter Control.................................................	41
3.8	Solo Area.......................................................................................		41
	3.8.1	CLEAR SOLO....................................................................	41
	3.8.2	PFL.....................................................................................	41

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Mackie TT24 Digital Live Console Owner’s Manual

Chapter 4: Rear Panel Connectors..........................................................			43
4.1	Analog I/O.....................................................................................		43
	4.1.1	MIC Inputs 1–24 ...............................................................	43
	4.1.2	LINE Inputs 1–24 .............................................................	44
	4.1.3	INSERTS 1–24 ..................................................................	44
	4.1.4	AUX SENDS 1–12.............................................................	45
	4.1.5 LINE INPUTS 1–8 (RETURNS) ......................................		45
	4.1.6	MONITOR .........................................................................	46
	4.1.7	CD/TAPE A IN/OUT .........................................................	46
	4.1.8	CD/TAPE B Input .............................................................	46
	4.1.9	TALKBACK MIC Input ....................................................	47
	4.1.10 MAINS OUT......................................................................		47
	4.1.11 GROUP/MATRIX OUT .....................................................		47
4.2	Digital I/O.....................................................................................		48
	4.2.1	ADAT DIGITAL I/O ..........................................................	48
	4.2.2	AES/EBU IN/OUT.............................................................	49
	4.2.3	SPDIF IN/OUT..................................................................	49
	4.2.4	WORD CLOCK IN/OUT ...................................................	50
	4.2.5	MIDI IN/OUT ....................................................................	50
	4.2.6	USB....................................................................................	50
4.3	IEC Power Receptacle..................................................................		50
4.4	POWER Switch ............................................................................		50
Chapter 5: DSP and Internal Effect Allocation..................................			51
5.1	Analog, Digital, and Line Inputs.................................................		51
5.2	Master L/R and C/Mono...............................................................		52
	5.2.1 L/R+Mono and LCR Modes...............................................		52
	5.2.2	Six-Band EQ......................................................................	53
	5.2.3	Compressor........................................................................	53
	5.2.4 Fader Position in Signal Path ..........................................		53
5.3	Aux Send ......................................................................................		53
	5.3.1	Six-Band Parametric EQ ..................................................	54
	5.3.2	Compressor........................................................................	54

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Mackie TT24 Digital Live Console Owner’s Manual

5.4	Flex-Group DSP ...........................................................................		54
	5.4.1	Flex-Group Modes .............................................................	54
	5.4.2	Group DSP Allocation .......................................................	56
5.5	Matrix Output ..............................................................................		57
	5.5.1	Delay ..................................................................................	57
5.6	Internal Effects Processors..........................................................		57
5.7	Tabular Summary of DSP and Effects........................................		58
Chapter 6: Touchscreen and TT Control...............................................			63
6.1	TT Control Conventions ..............................................................		63
	6.1.1	TT Control Knob................................................................	64
	6.1.2	TT Control Buttons ...........................................................	65
	6.1.3	TT Control Menus .............................................................	65
	6.1.4	TT Control Graphs ............................................................	65
6.2	Touchscreen Conventions............................................................		66
	6.2.1	Touchscreen Knobs ...........................................................	66
	6.2.2	Touchscreen Buttons.........................................................	67
	6.2.3 Touchscreen Name and Channel/Function......................		67
	6.2.4	Sub Screens .......................................................................	68
6.3	Overview Touchscreens ...............................................................		68
	6.3.1	Analog ................................................................................	68
	6.3.2	Digital ................................................................................	69
	6.3.3	Effect Return .....................................................................	70
	6.3.4	Line ....................................................................................	72
	6.3.5	Aux .....................................................................................	73
	6.3.6	Group .................................................................................	74
	6.3.7	Master................................................................................	75
6.4	Four-Band Equalizer ...................................................................		76
6.5	Six-Band Equalizer......................................................................		78
	6.5.1	Four-Band EQ ...................................................................	78
	6.5.2	Kill Filters .........................................................................	78
6.6	Dynamics ......................................................................................		79
	6.6.1	Compressor........................................................................	79
	6.6.2	Gate/Expander ..................................................................	81

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Mackie TT24 Digital Live Console Owner’s Manual

6.7	Snapshots .....................................................................................		82
	6.7.1	PROTECT ..........................................................................	83
	6.7.2	CLEAR ...............................................................................	84
	6.7.3	STORE ...............................................................................	84
	6.7.4	RECALL .............................................................................	84
	6.7.5	Snapshot Filtering ............................................................	84
6.8	Aux Master...................................................................................		85
6.9	Groups/Auxes ...............................................................................		86
	6.9.1	GROUPS ............................................................................	86
	6.9.2	AUXES ...............................................................................	86
6.10	Matrix Mix....................................................................................		87
	6.10.1 Delay ..................................................................................		89
6.11	Effects ...........................................................................................		90
6.12	Setup	.............................................................................................	90
	6.12.1 ...........................................................................Operation		91
	6.12.2 ..............................................................................General		91
	6.12.3 ................................................................................Digital		92
6.13	Utility ...........................................................................................		93
	6.13.1 .........................................................MONITOR SOURCE		94
	6.13.2 .......................................................................TALKBACK		95
	6.13.3 ................................................STEREO INPUT ASSIGN		95
	6.13.4 .......................................................................METERING		96
6.14	File Management .........................................................................		97
	6.14.1 ........................................................Load and Save Venue		97
	6.14.2 ..................................................DSP Preset Management		98
Appendix A:Specifications ..............................................................................			99
Appendix B: Configurations ...........................and Block Diagrams			103
Appendix C:Service ................................................................Information			107
Appendix D: Warranty ............................................................Information			111

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Mackie TT24 Digital Live Console Owner’s Manual

This manual is based on Build 41 so some screenshots and functions may differ from the version you are using. Regular updates to the manual will be available fromwww.mackie.com.

Web Version: SW0135 Rev. A 01/05

©2005 LOUD Technologies Inc.

All Rights Reserved.

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Mackie TT24 Digital Live Console Owner’s Manual

Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1Evolution of the TT24 Console

The professional live sound industry has been revolutionized over the past few years by high-end digital consoles. However, mid-size digital consoles have tended to emphasize studio applications with user interfaces encumbered by features (i.e., DAW control) not essential for live applications. Some of these consoles conceal their real cost by requiring the purchase of additional cards to supplement their limited physical I/O.

The TT24 Digital Live Console is a mid-size digital mixer with an intuitive interface optimized for live sound applications. We have used our extensive expertise and experience designing analog mixers to produce a powerful, easy- to-use digital console for a wide range of applications and budgets:

•theaters and houses of worship

•permanent concert installations

•professional live music touring companies

TT24 maintains an “analog mentality,” utilizing the engineer’s experience, while providing all the advantages of digital functionality. With all the features of high-end consoles, the TT24 is extremely cost effective.

The design mandate for the TT24 console user interface is simply stated:

Provide quick, intuitive access to any primary live mixing function with no more than two button presses, both within easy reach of the engineer’s two hands.

Make the Touchscreen menu structure flat: no “forward” and “back” buttons or menus to wade through to access the desired function.

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Mackie TT24 Digital Live Console Owner’s Manual	Introduction

1.2Summary of Features

•24-bit/96 kHz mixing console designed for live applications

•24 mic/line inputs with 4-band EQ/comp/gate/HPF/polarity invert (can be stereo linked)

•Eight line inputs with 4-band EQ (can be stereo linked)

•Instant recall of 99 snapshots with filtering

•Rear panel connections: 36x28 analog I/O (24 Mic/Line Inputs, 8 Line Inputs, 4 Tape Inputs) x (8 Matrix Outputs, 3 Main Outputs, 3 Monitor Outputs, 12 Aux Sends);

28x28 digital I/O (24 ADAT optical I/O, 2 AES/EBU I/O, 2 S/PDIF I/O)

•QuickMix section with 5.5-inch touch LCD, 12 push-button rotary encoders, and QuickMix buttons

•29 100-mm motorized faders

•28 multi-function V-Pots

•12 Aux sends with 6-band parametric EQ (includes dual kill filters) and compressor/limiter

•Left-Right and CTR/Mono outputs with 6-band parametric EQ (includes dual kill filters) and compressor/limiter

•Aux Mode enables instant monitor mixing

•11x8 Matrix-Plus with patchable inputs

•Eight user-definable flex-groups

•Dual-console linking for a maximum 96 input console (coming soon!)

•TT control software to control and view console parameters via PC

1.2.1DSP Functionality

The TT24 is loaded with DSP horsepower that is distributed on inputs and outputs in an optimal manner for live sound. The TT24 design team spent a great deal of time implementing and allocating the TT24’s DSP to satisfy the rigorous, real-time demands of live concert applications:

24 Mic/Line Inputs

•Polarity invert

•Variable High-Pass Filter

•Gate/Expander

•Compressor/Limiter

•4-band parametric EQ

•Stereo linking

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Mackie TT24 Digital Live Console Owner’s Manual	Introduction

8 Line Inputs

•4-band parametric EQ

•Stereo linking

Main Outputs (LEFT, RIGHT, CTR/MONO)

•Compressor/Limiter

•6-band parametric EQ (includes dual kill filters)

•L/R + Mono or LCR modes of operation

12 Aux Sends

•Compressor/Limiter

•6-band parametric EQ (includes dual kill filters)

•Stereo linking

8 Flex-Groups with 8 Assignable DSP Blocks

•Compressor/Limiter

•4-band parametric EQ

•Mono, Stereo, LCR, and VCA modes of operation

8 Matrix Outputs

• 600 ms delay is available to matrix outputs

4 Internal Stereo Effects

•Reverb

•Gated Reverb

•Mono/Stereo/Ping-Pong Delay

•Chorus

•Flanger

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Mackie TT24 Digital Live Console Owner’s Manual	Introduction

1.3Terminology and Conventions

The following terms and conventions are used throughout this manual.

•Touchscreen and console controls are represented in bold type using their exact spelling and capitalization (i.e., press the ANLG bank button).

•Touchscreen and console areas are represented by capital letters in plain type (i.e., press the PAN button in the V-POT CONTROL area).

•Activate pertains to switches/buttons that toggle between two values and means “press the button until it lights.”

•Deactivate pertains to switches/buttons that toggle between two values and means “press the button until it is not lit.”

•ADC means analog-to-digital converter

•DAC means digital-to-analog converter

•Intercancel means that pushing one button simultaneously selects that button and automatically deselects the previously selected button. One button is always active. For example, the Bank Select buttons intercancel. Radio button is another term often used to describe this behavior, originating from the push buttons that selected radio stations in pre-1960s cars.

The Touchscreen is a new interface to most audio engineers that requires some new terminology.

•Touch pertains to selection on the Touchscreen (i.e., Touch the EQ button).

•Select describes touching a button or checkbox such that it is activated. This allows a single instruction to describe this action without knowing the control’s previous state. For example, if the control is not selected, touching the control once selects it. If it is already selected, no action is required.

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Mackie TT24 Digital Live Console Owner’s Manual

Chapter 2: Quickstart Tutorial

This Quickstart Tutorial will help you begin using the TT24 quickly and easily by providing step-by-step instructions for its most commonly utilized tasks. Rest assured that our team of design engineers has verified these instructions!

It may be helpful to refer to Appendix B: Configurations and Block Diagrams to see how several useful complete systems are interconnected.

2.1Connect Amplifier/Speakers

1.Plug in a pair of amps/speakers into the MAINS OUT LEFT and RIGHT XLR connectors (Figure 2-1).

2.Connect an amp/speaker to AUX SEND 1.

3.Plug in headphones.

MAINS OUT TALKBACK CD/TAPE A AUX SENDS

LEFT

RIGHT

CTR/MONO

	L
						11			9	8	7		6	5	4	3	2	1
				12				10
												LINE INPUTS							MONITOR
	R
IN
		OUT
				L		R	8		7	6	5		4	3	2	1	L		R		M

12 Aux

Sends

Main Outputs	CD/Tape A	CD/Tape B
	Inputs/Outputs	Inputs

Figure 2-1 Mains and Aux Sends Outputs

2.2Connect a Mic

This section describes how to connect a mic to channel 1, set the gain, route to groups/auxes, and engage/adjust the variable high-pass filter.

Connect mic to channel 1

1.Plug a mic into channel 1’s XLR input (top-right of rear panel).

2.Press the ANLG bank select button (right of Figure 2-2).

3.Set the LINE switch to the up (mic) position.

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Mackie TT24 Digital Live Console Owner’s Manual	Quickstart Tutorial

Mute button

ANALOG ANLG

MUTE

DIGITAL

DGTL

1

Bank Select

Bank/

25

RETURNS

Channel

RTNS

LINE

INPUT

description

AUX

1

SEND

MASTER

MSTR

Select button

Solo button

SELECT

Clear Solo and

CLEAR

PFL

PFL buttons

SOLO

SOLO

TRIM

PAN

V-Pot Control

V-POT

CONTROL

METERS

HPF

Figure 2-2 Top of channel strip (left); Bank Select, Clear Solo, PFL, V-Pot control (right)

4.Set the 48V switch to the down position if the mic uses phantom power; set it to the up position otherwise.

Set the channel gain

5.Activate the PFL button (right of Figure 2-2).

6.Activate channel 1’s SOLO button (above fader) to solo the channel.

7.Provide a representative signal to the mic, watch the meters to the right of the Touchscreen, and listen in phones (the phones level is in the UTILITY area).

The solo level should be between -7 and -10 dBFS.

8.Press channel 1’s SOLO button again or CLEAR SOLO (left of PFL) to unsolo.

Route channel 1 to Main output, Group 1, and Aux 1

9.Press and hold the L/R button in the GROUP ASSIGN area (Figure 2-3) and activate channel 1’s SELECT button.

All the channel SELECT buttons light, indicating that all channels are routed to the Main output. You should hear your mic in the speakers connected to MAINS OUT via the master fader.

Let's route the mic through Group 1 instead of directly to MAINS OUT:

10.Press and hold the L/R button in the GROUP ASSIGN area and deactivate channel 1’s SELECT button (so it is not lit).

Channel 1 no longer sends signal to MAINS OUT.

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Mackie TT24 Digital Live Console Owner’s Manual	Quickstart Tutorial

11.Press and hold the Group 1 button in the GROUP ASSIGN area and activate channel 1’s SELECT button.

The mic is now routed to Group 1.

12.Press and hold the L/R button in the GROUP ASSIGN area and activate Group 1’s SELECT button.

Group 1 is now assigned to LEFT and RIGHT MAINS OUT.

Use the channel, Group, and Master fader to listen to the mic signal in the speakers connected to MAINS OUT.

Group Mute buttons

ANALOG

ANLG

MUTE

MUTE

MUTE

MUTE

														CTR/
				DIGITAL		DGTL		1	2	3	4
Bank Select													MONO
										GROUP ASSIGN/SELECT

RETURNS

RTNS

5

6

7

8

L/R

Master Center/Mono Assign button Group Assign/Select buttons Master Left/Right Assign button

Clear Solo and PFL buttons

Master Select button

MASTER

MSTR

SELECT

SELECT

SELECT

SELECT

SELECT

SOLO

PFL

SOLO

SOLO

SOLO

SOLO

Group Select buttons

MASTER

CLEAR

Group Solo buttons

TRIM

PAN

V-Pot Control

V-POT

CONTROL

HPF

METERS

Aux Mode

Aux Sends

AUX							AUX
PAN						MODE
1	2
3	4
			AUX
		SENDS
5	6

7		8
9	FX1		FX2
					10

Figure 2-3 Aux, Group, and Master areas

13.Press AUX SENDS 1 in the V-POT CONTROL area (Figure 2-3).

14.Increase the Aux 1 level on channel 1 using the V-Pot.

15.Press the AUX MSTR QuickMix button (Figure 2-4).

16.Adjust Aux 1’s master level with its corresponding QuickMix knob (see the Aux Master screen in Figure 2-5).

You should hear your mic in the monitor speaker attached to Aux 1.

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Mackie TT24 Digital Live Console Owner’s Manual	Quickstart Tutorial

Aux Master button

AUX

FAT

MSTR

RECALL

SNAPSHOTS

EQ

SNAP

STORE

SETUP

DYN

EFX

HELP

GRP/

MATRIX

CTRL

UTIL

AUX

COPY

PASTE

Utility

button

Figure 2-4 QuickMix area

AUX 1

Master level

Figure 2-5 AUX MASTER Touchscreen

Engage and adjust the variable high-pass filter

17.Press HPF in the V-POT CONTROL area (Figure 2-2). This assigns the high-pass filter to the channel V-Pots.

18.Engage the high-pass filter for channel 1 by pressing its V-Pot knob so the bottom red LED lights.

19.Rotate the V-Pot to adjust the filter in the range 20–400 Hz to remove unwanted low frequencies.

20.To view the frequency range, select channel 1 and press the QuickMix EQ button.

The Touchscreen now displays the HPF frequency range.

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Mackie TT24 Digital Live Console Owner’s Manual	Quickstart Tutorial

2.3Connect a CD/Tape Device

This section illustrates how to connect a CD/tape device to the dedicated CD/ TAPE A or B connectors (A = RCA, B = TRS), and to channels 23/24 to demonstrate stereo linking and channel strip processing.

Connect CD to CD/Tape input

1.Connect the CD player into CD/TAPE A or B (Figure 2-1).

2.Press the UTIL button (Figure 2-4).

Stereo

Input

Assign

Figure 2-6 Stereo Input Assign

3.Touch STEREO INPUT ASSIGN on the Touchscreen (Figure 2-6).

4.Touch TAPE/CD A or TAPE/CD B in the INPUT SELECTION area (Figure 2-6).

5.Select L/R in the GRP ASSIGN area to route the stereo source to the LEFT and RIGHT MAINS outputs.

6.Adjust MUTE and SOLO from the Touchscreen.

7.Adjust the stereo input fader to desired level from its QuickMix knob.

Connect CD to channels 23 and 24

1.Move the CD to the channel 23 and 24 LINE connectors.

2.Set the LINE switch to the down position (line level).

3.Press and hold channel 23 and 24’s SELECT switches until the Link Channels dialog appears in the Touchscreen.

4.Touch OK to approve the channel linking.

5.Press the PAN button in the V-POT CONTROL area (Figure 2-3).

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Mackie TT24 Digital Live Console Owner’s Manual	Quickstart Tutorial

6.Turn channel 23’s V-Pot hard left.

Channel 24 automatically pans in the opposite direction. Pretty cool!

7.Activate the SOLO button above the fader on either channel to solo. Because PFL is engaged, the linked channel does not also solo.

8.Adjust the channel’s GAIN knob and watch the meters to the right of the Touchscreen.

The level should be between -7 and -10 dBFS.

9.Repeat steps 7 and 8 for the other channel in the linked pair.

NOTE: Stereo linking always operates on a consecutive odd/even channel pair. The odd channel’s parameters are copied to the even channel except Pan, which is inversely linked (i.e., hard left on odd channel translates to hard right on even channel).

Adjust EQ, Dynamics, and channel routing

1.With channel 23 and 24 selected, press the EQ button in the QuickMix area to display the 4-BAND EQ Touchscreen (Figure 2-7).

2.Select the EQ IN toggle switch to enable EQ.

3.Use the 12 QuickMix knobs to adjust the EQ parameters.

Figure 2-7 4-BAND EQ (left) and Dynamics Touchscreens

4.Press the DYN QuickMix button to display the DYNAMICS Touchscreen (Figure 2-7).

5.Select the GATE IN and COMP IN toggle switches on the Touchscreen to engage the processors.

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Mackie TT24 Digital Live Console Owner’s Manual	Quickstart Tutorial

6.Use the 12 QuickMix knobs to adjust the dynamics parameters.

Touch the Gate or Compressor Touchscreen graph to display their more detailed Touchscreen.

7.Press the GRP/AUX QuickMix button to display the GRPS/AUXES Touchscreen (Figure 2-8).

8.Route the selected channel to Groups 1–8, L/R, and C/Mono by selecting their buttons from the GROUPS area in the top-half of the Touchscreen.

9.Adjust the selected channel’s Aux send levels using the QuickMix knobs.

Figure 2-8 GRPS/AUXES Touchscreens

10.Push the QuickMix knobs to toggle each Aux send between preand post-fader.

2.4Aux Functions

This section discusses how to setup, route, and mix the Aux buses. Each of the 12 Aux masters have their own EQ and compressor/limiter.

1.Press the AUX MSTR button (Figure 2-4) to display the AUX MASTER Touchscreen.

2.Select Aux master 1 by pressing the top-left QuickMix knob. Figure 2-9 (left) shows Aux 1 selected.

3.Touch the EQ graph or press the EQ QuickMix button to display the 6-BAND EQ for the selected Aux send 1 (right of Figure 2-9).

The EQ IN/OUT button is located on the top-right of the Touchscreen.

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Mackie TT24 Digital Live Console Owner’s Manual	Quickstart Tutorial

Figure 2-9 AUX MASTER (left) and 6-BAND EQ (right) Touchscreens

The six bands have the following format:

•bands 2 and 3 are full parametric filters (GAIN, FREQ, Q);

•bands 1 and 4 are highand low-shelf filters, respectively;

•bands 5 and 6 are kill filters to remove narrow bands of unwanted frequencies. Push the kill filter’s QuickMix knob to cycle through

-6, -12, or -18 dB settings. As the amount of cut increases, the filter Q increases (i.e., bandwidth narrows). Turn the knob to adjust the frequency.

Press the desired Aux number in the V-POT CONTROL area and use the channel V-Pots to set the channel Aux send levels. All 12 Aux levels for a selected channel can be set using the Touchscreen and QuickMix knobs by pressing the GRP/AUX QuickMix button.

Aux Routing Examples

To send mic channel 1 to all monitors:

1.Press channel 1’s SELECT button.

2.Press the GRP/AUX QuickMix button.

3.Adjust the QuickMix knobs to set each Aux level.

To set one monitor mix:

1.Press the desired Aux number button in the AUX SENDS area.

2.Use each channel’s V-Pots to set the mix.

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Mackie TT24 Digital Live Console Owner’s Manual	Quickstart Tutorial

2.5Effects

Four effects processors can each use one of the following effects: reverb, reverb through gate, mono/stereo/ping pong delay, chorus, and flange. The default effect sends are Aux sends 9–12 but any Aux or Matrix sends can be used. The effect returns are on the Returns bank.

1.Press the ANLG bank button.

2.Press AUX SENDS 9 in the V-POT CONTROL area.

3.Turn channel 1’s V-Pot to 3:00 to set channel 1’s level to Aux 9.

4.Press the EFX QuickMix button.

The INTERNAL EFX Touchscreen opens (left of Figure 2-10).

Figure 2-10 Internal Effects and Chorus screens

5.Touch the Edit button next to Chorus to edit its parameters on its own screen (right of Figure 2-10).

6.Press the RTRNS bank button.

7.Speak into the mic and increase the Returns levels (INT EFX 1L and INT EFX 1R) to set the desired amount of effect.

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Mackie TT24 Digital Live Console Owner’s Manual	Quickstart Tutorial

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Mackie TT24 Digital Live Console Owner’s Manual

Chapter 3: Console Surface Controls

The TT24 console surface is organized into the following areas, each of which is discussed in this chapter:

•Channel Strips

•QuickMix

•Bank Select

•V-Pot Control

•Utility

•Flex-Groups and Master

•Solo

3.1Channel Strip

The TT24 has 24 channel strips bounded at the bottom by a fader and at the top by a LINE switch. Each channel strip can control one input at a time from one of four banks.

The top section of each channel strip (left of Figure 3-1) has the following analog controls that apply only to the Analog bank: LINE mic/line input switch, 48V phantom power switch, GAIN mic/line gain control, and OL (overload) and SIG signal LEDs.

Below that, each channel has a virtual potentiometer (V-Pot), MUTE, SELECT, and SOLO buttons, and a 100-mm motorized fader (right of Figure 3-1).

The V-Pot knob, which performs multiple channel functions one at a time, consists of a push-button rotary encoder surrounded by a 15-segment LED ring (see V-Pot Control Area on page 29).

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Mackie TT24 Digital Live Console Owner’s Manual	Console Surface Controls

Mic/Line level button

48 V phantom power button

Gain knob

Overload

LED

Signal

LED

Mute

MUTE

LINE

button

1

Bank/

25

48V

Channel

LINE

INPUT

30

description

AUX

1

20

40

+

60

Select

SEND

U

GAIN

button

SELECT

Solo

SOLO

button

OL

SIG

1

Channel fader

V-Pot knob

Figure 3-1 Channel strip: top-half (left), bottom-half (right)

3.1.1LINE

Push the LINE button down to access the ¼-inch line input and up for the XLR mic input. For permanent installations that require alternate access to mic and line inputs in the same channel, connect both inputs and toggle between them via the LINE button.

3.1.248 V Phantom Power

Push the 48V button down to supply 48 VDC phantom power, required by most condenser mics, to the channel’s XLR mic input. The TT24 can provide phantom power to all 24 mic inputs simultaneously. Push the button up for dynamic mics that do not require phantom power. The line input is not affected by the 48V phantom power switch.

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Mackie TT24 Digital Live Console Owner’s Manual	Console Surface Controls

3.1.3GAIN

The GAIN knob controls the analog amplifier that adjusts the input sensitivity of the mic or line input signal. The gain range of the mic input is 0–60 dB; the line’s range is -20 to +40 dB. A unity gain indication for the line input appears at the 10:00 position (unity gain for the mic input is fully counterclockwise).

Dual-concentric labels surround the knob indicating the appropriate levels (mic outside, line inside).

3.1.4OL and SIG

The green SIG LED lights when the selected mic/line signal exceeds -15 dBu. The red OL LED lights when the signal is 3 dB below clipping the ADC. The SIG and OL LEDs remain lit only while the signal level is above their corresponding thresholds.

3.1.5V-Pot

The V-Pot displays and controls one of the following functions at a time: pan, HPF, Aux send levels, Aux pan (for linked Aux sends), digital trim, and channel metering. The function is assigned from the V-POT CONTROL area.

The V-Pot has 15 LEDs in a ring from 7:00 to 5:00. They light clockwise as the signal level increases unless otherwise noted. The V-Pot also has a bottom red LED used to indicate different functions including meter clip, default settings, on/off, etc. The 12:00 LED is also sometimes used to indicate a nominal setting (i.e., pan set to center). Each function’s specific behavior is discussed in V-Pot Control Area on page 29.

12:00 LED

Bottom LED

Figure 3-2 V-Pot

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Mackie TT24 Digital Live Console Owner’s Manual	Console Surface Controls

3.1.6MUTE

Push the MUTE button to toggle the channel between muted (button lights) and enabled (not lit).

NOTE: Pre-fader Aux sends can be globally changed to preor post-mute from the SETUPGENERAL Touchscreen (see page 91).

3.1.7Bank/Channel Description Area

This area indicates the audio signal currently controlled by the channel strip. Each channel strip can control one channel from one of the four banks at any given time. For example, Figure 3-1 illustrates channel strip 1. Four channel names are listed in the Bank/Channel Description Area:

•If the ANALOG bank is selected, strip 1 controls analog Channel 1.

•If the DIGITAL bank is selected, strip 1 controls digital Channel 25.

•If the RETURNS bank is selected, strip 1 controls Line Input 1.

•If the MASTERS bank is selected, strip 1 controls Aux Send 1.

3.1.8SELECT

When lit, the SELECT button indicates this channel is selected for:

•display and control of its parameters on the Touchscreen.

•assignment to groups in conjunction with the GROUP ASSIGN/SELECT controls (see Group and Master Controls on page 40).

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Mackie TT24 Digital Live Console Owner’s Manual	Console Surface Controls

Channel Linking

Pressing and holding the SELECT buttons on an odd/even pair of adjacent channels for two seconds links their functions. A Touchscreen window requests confirmation: “Link Channel X and Y?” Touch YES to link the channels or CANCEL to abort the process. To unlink channels, press and hold both SELECT buttons for two seconds again. A Touchscreen window requests confirmation: “Unlink Channel X and Y?” Touch YES to unlink them or CANCEL to leave them linked.

After linking, the odd channel’s settings are copied to the even channel; adjusting a setting on either channel duplicates the setting on the other. The only exception to this rule is panning. The pans are inversely related between linked channels: Panning one channel fully left pans the other fully right; panning one channel to 10:00 pans the other to 2:00.

True stereo compression applies to linked channels so the summed signal is delivered to the stereo compressor.

3.1.9SOLO

Press the SOLO button to solo the channel. This yellow backlit button lights when the channel is soloed. The PFL/AFL global selection is done in the Solo master section (see Solo Area on page 41).

The default Solo behavior is to allow multiple soloed channels. However, enable EXCLUSIVE SOLO mode (in the SETUP-GENERAL Touchscreen) to have each Solo selection deactivate the previous one. In EXCLUSIVE SOLO mode, pressing CTRL+SOLO solos additional channels.

3.1.10Channel Fader

The motorized 100-mm fader controls the channel level. Its function depends on the selected Bank (see Bank Select Area on page 28).

In Aux Mode (page 32), the fader controls the level of the channel Aux sends 1–12 and depends on the Aux selection in the V-POT CONTROL area (see page 29). It is variable from -∞ to +10 dB in logarithmically scaled steps.

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Mackie TT24 Digital Live Console Owner’s Manual	Console Surface Controls

3.2Bank Select Area

The four Bank Select buttons (ANLG, DGTL, RTNS, MSTR) change the mapping to the 24 channel strips (Figure 3-3). The four buttons intercancel and one is always active. All channels retain their settings between Bank changes.

ANALOG ANLG

DIGITAL DGTL

RETURNS RTNS

MASTER MSTR

Figure 3-3 Bank Select buttons

3.2.1ANALOG

Press the ANLG button to select the ANALOG bank. The button lights red and the 24 analog mic/line inputs are assigned to channel strips 1–24.

3.2.2DIGITAL

Press the DGTL button to select the DIGITAL bank. The button lights green and the DIGITAL inputs are assigned to the channel strips 1–24.

At 44.1/48 kHz, there are 24 digital inputs from three ADAT optical connectors on the rear panel. At 96 kHz, there are 12 digital inputs from the three builtin ADAT optical connectors.

3.2.3RETURNS

Press the RTRN button to select the RETURNS bank. The button lights red and the following inputs are controlled on the channel strips:

1–8:	Eight analog line inputs (TRS connectors on rear panel)
9–16:	Four internal stereo effects returns

17–24: Return channels from expansion cards

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Mackie TT24 Digital Live Console Owner’s Manual	Console Surface Controls

3.2.4MASTER

Press the MSTR button to select the MASTERS bank. The button lights green and the following inputs are controlled on the channel strips:

1–12: Twelve Aux send masters 13–20: Eight Group masters

22–24: Left, Right, and Center/Mono Main outputs

NOTE: The Left and Right faders are always linked. The Left-Right and Center/Mono faders may be linked as needed.

3.3V-Pot Control Area

The buttons to the right of the channel faders assign the current function to the channel V-Pots. These include the four V-POT CONTROL buttons (PAN, TRIM, METERS, HPF), AUX SENDS 1–12, and AUX PAN (see Figure 3-4). These buttons all intercancel so only one can be active at a time.

AUX PAN operates for stereo-linked Aux sends only, and does not deselect the selected Aux send button. When selected, a single LED illuminates around the V-Pot to indicate the pan position.

The AUX MODE button is discussed in this section because of its relevance to the other Aux buttons. However, it does not intercancel with the other buttons.

3.3.1TRIM

Digital Trim, available only to the ANALOG bank, is used to adjust the input level just after the ADC, and channel meter, and before the channel DSP. This allows setting the analog gain for the optimal A/D conversion while still having an adjustable input level to the channel DSP. This also provides a method to lower the level of all channel outputs and sends at once: Digital Trim is before the Aux and Group sends in the signal flow.

The Digital Trim provides ±15 dB of attenuation or gain, adjustable in 0.1 dB increments and is indicated by a single, lit LED. When the Digital Trim is set to unity, the top LED (12:00 position) and the bottom V-Pot LED illuminate.

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Mackie TT24 Digital Live Console Owner’s Manual	Console Surface Controls

		TRIM																																PAN
																					V-POT
																		CONTROL
																																			HPF
	METERS
																																		AUX
			AUX
			PAN																														MODE
																																							2
									1
								3																													4
																						AUX
																			SENDS
					5																																	6
																																								8
							7
																				FX1						FX2
						9																														10
																										FX4
																					FX3
																																				12
				11

Figure 3-4 V-Pot Control Area

3.3.2PAN

Pan position is indicated by a single, lit LED. When the pan is exactly centered, the top LED (12:00 position) and the bottom V-Pot LED illuminate.

LR or LCR panning is available on the ANALOG, DIGITAL, and RETURNS banks and the eight groups (mode dependent) of the MASTER bank.

3.3.3HPF

The high-pass filter can remove unwanted low frequencies from an input channel. The filter cutoff frequency range is 20–400 Hz; the default frequency is 80 Hz. The HPF has a fixed slope of 18 dB/octave. The approximate frequency is indicated by a single lit V-Pot LED (frequency increases clockwise). Push the V-Pot to toggle the HPF on/off;the bottom red LED lights when the HPF is on. Press the SELECT button on an individual channel, then press the EQ QuickMix button to see the HPF frequency range as you turn the V-Pot.

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