Yamaha Audio MG6FX, MG16 User Manual

MIXING CONSOLE

Owner’s Manual

Making the Most Of Your Mixer

Pages 6 to 18

Precautions

—For safe operation—

WARNING

Installation

● Connect this unit’s AC power adaptor only to an AC outlet of the

type stated in this Owner’s Manual or as marked on the unit. Failure to do so is a ﬁre and electrical shock hazard.

● Do not allow water to enter this unit or allow the unit to become

wet. Fire or electrical shock may result.

● Do not place a container with liquid or small metal objects on

top of this unit. Liquid or metal objects inside this unit are a ﬁre and electrical shock hazard.

● Do not place heavy objects, including this unit, on top of the

power cord. A damaged power cord is a ﬁre and electrical shock hazard. In particular, be careful not to place heavy objects on a power cord covered by a carpet.

Operation

● Do not scratch, bend, twist, pull, or heat the power cord. A dam-

aged power cord is a ﬁre and electrical shock hazard.

● Do not remove the unit’s cover. You could receive an electrical

shock. If you think internal inspection, maintenance, or repair is necessary, contact your dealer.

● Do not modify the unit. Doing so is a ﬁre and electrical shock

hazard.

● If lightning begins to occur, turn off the power switch of the unit

as soon as possible, and unplug the power plug from the electrical outlet.

● If there is a possibility of lightning, do not touch the power plug

if it is still connected. Doing so may be an electrical shock hazard.

● Use only the included AC power adaptor (PA-30) for this unit.

Using other types may be a ﬁre and electrical shock hazard.

In case an abnormality occurs during operation

● If the power cord is damaged (i.e., cut or a bare wire is exposed),

ask your dealer for a replacement. Using the unit with a damaged power cord is a ﬁre and electrical shock hazard.

● Should this unit and AC adaptor be dropped or the cabinet be

damaged, turn the power switch off, remove the power plug from the AC outlet, and contact your dealer. If you continue using the unit without heeding this instruction, ﬁre or electrical shock may result.

● If you notice any abnormality, such as smoke, odor, or noise, or

if a foreign object or liquid gets inside the unit, turn it off immediately. Remove the power plug from the AC outlet. Consult your dealer for repair. Using the unit in this condition is a ﬁre and electrical shock hazard.

CAUTION

Installation

Keep this unit away from the following locations:

●

- Locations exposed to oil splashes or steam, such as near cooking stoves, humidiﬁers, etc.

- Unstable surfaces, such as a wobbly table or slope.

- Locations exposed to excessive heat, such as inside a car with all the windows closed, or places that receive direct sunlight.

- Locations subject to excessive humidity or dust accumulation.

● Hold the power plug when disconnecting it from an AC outlet.

Never pull the cord. A damaged power cord is a potential ﬁre and electrical shock hazard.

● Do not touch the power plug with wet hands. Doing so is a

potential electrical shock hazard.

To relocate the unit, turn the power switch off, remove the power

●

plug from the AC outlet, and remove all connecting cables. Damaged cables may cause ﬁre or electrical shock.

Operation

● Do not cover or wrap the AC power adaptor with a cloth or blan-

ket. Heat may build up under the cloth or blanket, melting the case, or causing ﬁre. Use only in a well-ventilated environment.

● If you know you will not use this unit for a log period of time,

such as when going on vacation, remove the power plug from the AC outlet. Leaving it connected is a potential ﬁre hazard.

MG16/6FX

—For correct operation —

Precautions

Connector pin assignments

● XLR-type connectors are wired as follows

Pin 1: ground; Pin 2: hot (+); Pin 3: cold (–).

● INSERT TRS phone jacks are wired as follows

● Use of a mobile phone near this unit may induce noise. If noise

occurs, move the phone further from the unit.

Interference from Cell Phones

Sleeve: ground; Tip: send; Ring: return.

Replacement of Consumable Parts

The performance of components with movable contacts—such

●

as switches, rotary controls, faders, and connectors—deteriorates over time. While the rate of wear may vary greatly according to usage conditions, some amount of wear is unavoidable. When parts wear out, consult your dealer about appropriate replacements.

● Always turn the power off when the mixer is not in use.

● Even when the power switch is in the “STANDBY” position, electricity is still ﬂowing to the mixer at the minimum level. When you are

not using the mixer for a long time, make sure you unplug the AC power adaptor from the wall AC outlet.

Copying of commercially available music data and/or digital audio ﬁles, except for personal use, is strictly prohibited.

Illustrations in this manual are for explanatory purposes only, and may not match the actual appearance of the product during operation.

Company names and product names used in this Owner’s Manual are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

FCC INFORMATION (U.S.A.)

1. IMPORTANT NOTICE: DO NOT MODIFY THIS UNIT!

This product, when installed as indicated in the instructions contained in this manual, meets FCC requirements. Modiﬁcations not expressly approved by Yamaha may void your authority, granted by the FCC, to use the product.

2. IMPORTANT: When connecting this product to accessories

and/or another product use only high quality shielded cables. Cable/s supplied with this product MUST be used. Follow all installation instructions. Failure to follow instructions could void your FCC authorization to use this product in the USA.

3. NOTE: This product has been tested and found to comply with

the requirements listed in FCC Regulations, Part 15 for Class “B” digital devices. Compliance with these requirements provides a reasonable level of assurance that your use of this product in a residential environment will not result in harmful interference with other electronic devices. This equipment generates/uses radio frequencies and, if not installed and used according to the instructions found in the users manual, may cause interference harmful to the operation of other electronic devices. Compliance

* This applies only to products distributed by YAMAHA CORPORATION OF AMERICA. (class B)

IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR THE UNITED KINGDOM

Connecting the Plug and Cord

IMPORTANT. The wires in this mains lead are coloured in accordance with the following code:

BLUE : NEUTRAL

BROWN : LIVE As the colours of the wires in the mains lead of this apparatus may not correspond with the coloured makings identifying the terminals in your plug proceed as follows: The wire which is coloured BLUE must be connected to the terminal which is marked with the letter N or coloured BLACK. The wire which is coloured BROWN must be connected to the terminal which is marked with the letter L or coloured RED. Making sure that neither core is connected to the earth terminal of the three pin plug.

with FCC regulations does not guarantee that interference will not occur in all installations. If this product is found to be the source of interference, which can be determined by turning the unit “OFF” and “ON”, please try to eliminate the problem by using one of the following measures:

Relocate either this product or the device that is being affected by the interference.

Utilize power outlets that are on different branch (circuit breaker or fuse) circuits or install AC line ﬁlter/s.

In the case of radio or TV interference, relocate/reorient the antenna. If the antenna lead-in is 300 ohm ribbon lead, change the lead-in to co-axial type cable.

If these corrective measures do not produce satisfactory results, please contact the local retailer authorized to distribute this type of product. If you can not locate the appropriate retailer, please contact Yamaha Corporation of America, Electronic Service Division, 6600 Orangethorpe Ave, Buena Park, CA90620

The above statements apply ONLY to those products distributed by Yamaha Corporation of America or its subsidiaries.

• This applies only to products distributed by Yamaha-Kemble Music (U.K.) Ltd. (2 wires).

MG16/6FX

Introduction

Thank you for your purchase of the YAMAHA MG16/6FX mixing console. This mixing console combines ease of operation with support for multiple usage environments, and is ideal for SR setups, installed systems, and many other such applications.

Please read through this Owner’s Manual carefully before beginning use, so that you will be able to take full advantage of this mixer’s superlative features and enjoy trouble-free operation for years to come.

Features Contents

● The MG16/6FX provides 16 input channels and mixes the sig-

nals into Stereo and Group outputs.

● With high-quality digital effects built in, the MG16/6FX can

deliver a wide range of sound variations even when used on its own. It also includes an EFFECT SEND jack that can be used to connect an external effector.

● The monitor includes a convenient C-R OUT jack. This jack can

be used to monitor the main Stereo output, the PFL signal, or the Group 1-2 signals.

The mixer includes dual AUX SEND jacks and a single

●

RETURN jack. The two independent AUX buses may be used as sends to external effectors and monitor systems.

● Phantom power supply enables easy connection to condenser

microphones that run on external power.

The mixer provides channel-speciﬁc INSERT I/O jacks for input

●

channels 1 to 8. These jacks make it possible to insert different effectors into different channels.

● Input channels 1 to 8, 9/10, and 11/12 are each equipped with

both an XLR mic input jack and a TRS phone-type line jack. Input channels 13/14 and 15/16 are each equipped with both a TRS line input jack and an RCA line input jack. This wide assortment of connectors enables connection to many different devices, from microphones to line-level devices to stereo-output synthesizers.

Introduction ............................................................... 4

Features ............................................................... 4

Contents .............................................................. 4

Before Turning on the Mixer ................................. 5

Turning the Power On .......................................... 5

Making the Most Of Your Mixer ................................. 6

1 A Place For Everything and Everything

In Its Place ....................................................... 7

2 Where Your Signal Goes Once It’s Inside

the Box .......................................................... 10

3 The First Steps in Achieving Great Sound .... 11

4 External Effects, Monitor Mixes,

and Groups .................................................... 13

5 Making Better Mixes ...................................... 16

Front & Rear Panels ................................................ 19

Channel Control Section .................................... 19

Master Control Section ...................................... 21

Rear Input/Output Section ................................. 23

Setting Up ............................................................... 25

Setup Procedure ................................................ 25

Setup Examples ................................................ 25

Rack Mounting ................................................... 27

Appendix ................................................................. 28

Speciﬁcations .................................................... 28

Dimensional Diagrams ....................................... 30

Block Diagram and Level Diagram .................... 31

MG16/6FX

Introduction

Before Turning on the Mixer

(1) Be sure that the mixer’s power switch is in the STANDBY

position.

Use only the PA-30 adaptor included with this mixer. Use of a different adaptor may result in equipment damage, overheating, or ﬁre.

(2) Connect the power adaptor to the AC ADAPTOR IN con-

nector (1) on the rear of the mixer, and then turn the fastening ring clockwise (2) to secure the connection.

Turning the Power On

Press the mixer’s power switch to the ON position. When you are ready to turn the power off, press the power switch to the STANDBY position.

Note that trace current continues to ﬂow while the switch is in the STANDBY position. If you do not plan to use the mixer again for a long while, please be sure to unplug the adaptor from the wall outlet.

(3) Plug the power adaptor into a standard household power outlet.

• Be sure to unplug the adaptor from the outlet when not using the mixer, or when there are lightning storms in the area.

• To avoid generating unwanted noise, make sure there is adequate distance between the power adaptor and the mixer.

MG16/6FX

Making the Most Of Your Mixer

An Introduction

You’ve got yourself a mixer and now you’re ready to use it.

Just plug everything in, twiddle the controls, and away you go … right? Well, if you’ve done this before you won’t have any problems, but if this is the ﬁrst time you’ve ever used a mixer you might want to read through this

little tutorial and pick up a few basics that will help you get better

performance and make better mixes.

MG16/6FX

Making the Most Of Your Mixer

A Place For Everything and Everything In Its Place

1-1. A Plethora Of Connectors—What Goes Where?

Questions you’re likely to encounter when setting up a system for the ﬁrst time might include “Why all these different types of connectors on the back of my mixer?” and “What’s the difference?”.

Let’s start by taking a look at the most common connector types.

The Venerable RCA Pin Jack

This is the “consumer connector,” and the one that has been most commonly used

White

Red

on home audio gear for many years. Also known as “phono” jacks (short for ”phonogram”), but the term isn’t used much these days—besides, it’s too easily confusable with “phone” jacks, below. RCA pin jacks are always unbalanced, and generally carry a line-level signal at –10 dB, nominal. You’re most likely to use this type of connector when connecting a CD player or other home audio type source to your mixer, or when connecting the output of your mixer to a cassette recorder or similar gear.

The name “phone jack” arose simply because this conﬁguration was ﬁrst used in telephone switchboards. Phone jacks can be tricky because you can’t always tell what type of signal they’re designed to handle just by looking at them. It could be unbalanced mono, unbalanced stereo, balanced mono, or an insert patch point. The connector’s label will usually tell you what type of signal it handles, as will the owner’s manual (you do keep your manuals in a safe place, don’t you?). A phone jack that is set up to handle balanced signals is also often referred to as a “TRS” phone jack. “TRS” stands for Tip-Ring-Sleeve, which describes the conﬁguration of the phone plug used.

The Sturdy XLR

This type of connector is generally referred to as “XLR-type,” and almost always carries a balanced signal. If the corresponding circuitry is designed properly, however, XLR-type connectors will also handle unbalanced signals with no problem. Microphone cables usually have this type of connector, as do the inputs

Male

and outputs of most professional audio gear.

The Versatile Phone Jack

Stereo/TRS phone plug

Mono phone plug

Female

MG16/6FX

Making the Most Of Your Mixer

1-2. Balanced, Unbalanced—What’s the Difference?

In a word: “noise.” The whole point of balanced lines is noise rejection, and it’s something they’re very good at. Any length of wire will act as an antenna to pick up the random electromagnetic radiation we’re constantly surrounded by: radio and TV signals as well as spurious electromagnetic noise generated by power lines, motors, electric appliances, computer monitors, and a variety of other sources. The longer the wire, the more noise it is likely to pick up. That’s why balanced lines are the best choice for long cable runs. If your “studio” is basically conﬁned to your desktop and all connections are no more than a meter or two in length, then unbalanced lines are ﬁne—unless you’re surrounded by extremely high levels of electromagnetic noise. Another place balanced lines are almost always used is in microphone cables. The reason for this is that the output signal from most microphones is very small, so even a tiny amount of noise will be relatively large, and will be ampliﬁed to an alarming degree in the mixer’s highgain head ampliﬁer.

To summarize:

Microphones: Use balanced lines. Short line-level runs: Unbalanced lines are ﬁne if you’re in a relatively noise-free environment. Long line-level runs: The ambient electromagnetic noise level will be the ultimate deciding factor, but

balanced is best.

How Do Balanced Lines Reject Noise?

■

** Skip this section if technical details make you queasy. **

Balanced lines work on the principle of “phase cancellation”: if you add two identical signals out of phase (i.e. one signal is inverted so its peaks coincide with the troughs in the other signal), the result is … nothing. A ﬂat line. The signals cancel each other out.

Normal-phase signal.

No signal.

(Phase cancellation)

Reverse-phase signal.

A balanced cable has three conductors:

1) A ground conductor which carries no signal, just the “ground” or “0” reference against which the signal in the other conductors ﬂuctuates.

2) A “hot” or “+” conductor which carries the normal-phase audio signal.

3) A “cold” or “–” conductor which carries the reverse-phase audio signal.

While the desired audio signals in the hot and cold conductors are out of phase, any noise induced in the line will be exactly the same in both conductors, and thus in phase. The trick is that the phase of one signal is reversed at the receiving end of the line so that the desired audio signals become inphase, and the induced noise suddenly ﬁnds itself out of phase. The out-of-phase noise signal is effectively canceled while the audio signal is left intact. Clever, eh?

Normal-phase signal

+ normal-phase noise.

Desired signal

with no noise.

Normal-phase signal

+ reverse-phase noise.

MG16/6FX

Making the Most Of Your Mixer

1-3. Signal Levels—Decibel Do’s and Don’ts

From the moment you start dealing with things audio, you’ll have to deal with the term “decibel” and its abbreviation, “dB”. Things can get confusing because decibels are a very versatile unit of measure used to describe acoustic sound pressure levels as well as electronic signal levels. To make matters worse there are a number of variations: dBu, dBV, dBm. Fortunately, you don’t need to be an expert to make things work. Here are a few basics you should keep in mind:

● “Consumer” gear (such as home audio equipment) usually has line inputs and outputs with a nomi-

nal (average) level of –10 dB.

● Professional audio gear usually has line inputs and outputs with a nominal level of +4 dB.

●

You should always feed –10 dB inputs with a –10 dB signal. If you feed a +4 dB signal into a –10 dB input you are likely to overload the input.

●

You should always feed +4 dB inputs with a +4 dB signal. A –10 dB signal is too small for a +4 dB input, and will result in less-than-optimum performance.

●

Many professional and semi-professional devices have level switches on the inputs and/or outputs that let you select –10 or +4 dB. Be sure to set these switches to match the level of the connected equipment.

● Inputs that feature a “Gain” control—such as the mono-channel inputs on your Yamaha mixer—will

accept a very wide range of input levels because the control can be used to match the input’s sensitivity to the signal. More on this later.

MG16/6FX

Making the Most Of Your Mixer

Where Your Signal Goes Once It’s Inside the Box

At ﬁrst glance the block diagram of even a modest mixer can look like a space-station schematic. In reality, block diagrams are a great aid in understanding how the signal ﬂows in any mixer. Here’s a greatly simpliﬁed block diagram of a generic mixer to help you become familiar with the way these things work.

2-1. Greatly Simpliﬁed Mixer Block Diagram

Input Channel Master Section

1234 5

■

Input Channel

1 Head Amp

The very ﬁrst stage in any mixer, and usually the only stage with signiﬁcant “gain” or “ampliﬁcation.” The head amp has a “gain” control that adjusts the mixer’s input sensitivity to match the level of the source. Small signals (e.g. mics) are ampliﬁed, and large signals are attenuated.

2 Equalizer

Could be simple bass and treble controls or a full-blown 4-band parametric EQ. When boost is applied the EQ stage also has gain. You can actually overload the input channel by applying too much EQ boost. It’s usually better to cut than boost.

Signals from the mixer’s other input channels (if they are assigned to this master output or “bus”).

3 Channel Peak LED & Fader

The channel peak LED is your most valuable tool for setting the input “gain” control for optimum performance. Note that it is located after the head amp and EQ stage.

■ Master Section

4 Summing Ampliﬁer

This is where the actual “mixing” takes place. Signals from all of the mixer’s input channels are “summed” (mixed) together here.

5 Master Fader & Level Meter

A stereo, mono, or bus master fader and the mixer’s main output level meter. There could be several master faders depending on the design of the mixer— i.e. the number of buses or outputs it provides.

MG16/6FX

+ 23 hidden pages