help please, mixer and compressor (for mic) issue

[jinque]

I have a Mackie 1402-VLZ Pro (manual: http://www.mackie.com/pdf/1402vlzpro_om.pdf and a t.c. electronic C300 (http://www.tcelectronic.com/c300.asp). My setup works fine w/o the compressor inserted, but I can not get the mic to work with the compressor.

 

I am using a Y cable with the TRS plugged into the channel 1 insert, tip plug goes into send insert on compressor for input and the ring plug goes into the return insert for output. According to the Mackie website, and other web guides I've read, it's that simple, but I haven't been able to figure out what's wrong for days. The compressor unit isn't metering any signal, so I was thinking maybe it's not receiving correctly, at the least.

 

Any advice or tips to where I can get some help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

[Imwithpepe]

I know it sounds dumb but first things first, are you sure the comp. works? Second, are you sure that insert on that channel works? After you verify that the comp is functional, try to insert it on another channel and see if it passes a signal then...

[Mogwix]

Sounds like it's hooked up correctly. Is the mic signal being passed to the channel when the compressor is inserted? Check to be sure that all the connections are seated properly; make sure the connectors are plugged all the way in.

 

... did you try turning up the preamp gain on the mixer??

[jinque]

yeah the connections and mic works just fine without a plug in the channel insert. there's 6 mic channels on the mixer and i've tried them all. they work fine with just the mic but same problem when using the channel inserts. i don't think i have any other way of testing the compressor, so i can't say if it's working.

 

the compressor has 2 meters, an input meter and damp meter. if it were to receive a signal, it should light up right?

 

sorry i'm quite new to all this, so there aren't any noob questions to me . thanks for the help. it seems like plug and play to me... there's even a faq on mackie's site concerning pairing a compressor with my series of mixer. so i don't think i'm missing any settings?

[RoadRanger]

I am using a Y cable with the TRS plugged into the channel 1 insert, tip plug goes into send insert on compressor for input and the ring plug goes into the return insert for output.

Just to eliminate the obvious, your wording here is a bit off. This "Y cable" you're using is hopefully an "insert cable" with a TRS plug on one end and two wires coming out of it both terminated with TS (not TRS!) plugs, one labeled "Tip" and the other "Ring"? As that compressor has neither a "send insert" nor a "return insert" hopefully you have the wire labeled "Tip" plugged into either the "Left" or "Right" input of the compressor and the wire labeled "Ring" plugged into the matching ("Left" or "Right") output?

[monkeyland]

a agree with roadranger. make sure you are using the proper cable. once you have verified that then try reversing the two plugs that are going into the comp. you may have them backwards which of course would be a big problem.

[jinque]

yeah i had the tip and ring plugs connected corrected. i've also tried reversing the plugs because the mackie manual said that in rare cases it's switched around. thanks.

 

i just went to guitar center and picked up a new compressor. exact same connections.. and works perfectly. so i'm just going to stick with it and assume the other one is broken =/.

 

thanks everyone that looked into this for me. much appreciated!