Members ToHarm Posted January 13, 2010 Members Share Posted January 13, 2010 Hey guys ... noticed recently on my mixer that the Left and Right LED's do not match up ... We have EV QRX tops and QRX bottoms ... tops being amp'ed with a QSC PLX3402 and the subs with a QSC RMX2450. DBX 223XL, DBX 1231 EQ. The mixer is an older 16 channel Mackie, model is escaping me right now, but i'm sure that isn't completely needed. Again, my problem is after setting gains, eq, etc ... when we go to play a gig, the Master LED's (left/right) ... never match up ... the faders (for left/right) we typically have at the same point together ... any hints as to what the problem may be ... ?? is that normal or should it not be like that ... Your help is once again much appreciated !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Coaster Posted January 13, 2010 Members Share Posted January 13, 2010 its probably a ribbon cable issue, but could also be the main inserts are not normalling correctly. for what its worth i have the same issue on my mackie, and to some extent on an older version 2 mixwiz i often use even while everything is panned center. is it way off or just a little off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ToHarm Posted January 13, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 13, 2010 Enough to be noticable Coaster ... consistently the right LED is a good 3 or 4 LED lights lower than the left LED. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shaster Posted January 13, 2010 Members Share Posted January 13, 2010 Have you tried the mixer in a controlled situation with just an iPod, CD or pink... noise? The model number matters if it's one with subgroups. I've inadvertantly turned off or on a L/R assign button on a subgroup and wound up with what you describe - especially if it's drums or vocals in that group. Although, you would probably notice that unless you're running sound from stage. OR it could be as Coaster says; an internal problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Unalaska Posted January 13, 2010 Members Share Posted January 13, 2010 I had an Allen & Heath do this on the right channel. Turns out it was a simple 80cent capacitor and a $325 repair bill. If it is an older 1604 VLZ (or VLZpro) it may not be worth it to fix. They aren't easy to do and as they age often other problems arise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted January 13, 2010 Members Share Posted January 13, 2010 By any chance are you panning any of the channels? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gspointer Posted January 13, 2010 Members Share Posted January 13, 2010 Are your eq's in your mains inserts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ToHarm Posted January 13, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 13, 2010 No panning ... and yes we EQ our mains. WHen you listen at FOH, it does not seem like the left speaker is louder than the right ... so i'm really not sure what the problem is ... when i play a cd, only the one side (left) of the LED lights up and the not the other Shaster ... not sure if that helps ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Coaster Posted January 13, 2010 Members Share Posted January 13, 2010 so which is it, the left side is higher or the right side doesnt work at all? you said you eq the mains but are you using the inserts to do this? so far it sounds like typical mackie stuff, pull all the ribbons, reseat them and see if the issues change. you have to pull the mainboard to get all of them. its worked for me more than once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ToHarm Posted January 13, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 13, 2010 When we are actually playing the gig ... the left is higher than the right ... when w ejust play a cd through a channel ... the left is up, the right isn't up at all. I don't know what you mean by using inserts ? Mains are eq'd through a dbx 1234 ... and we also use the parametric eq on the mixer to adjust vocals and/or instruments ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Coaster Posted January 13, 2010 Members Share Posted January 13, 2010 do you mean 1231? how do you hook up this eq? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ToHarm Posted January 13, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 13, 2010 Yes Coaster, 1231 ... i have Mixer - EQ (1231) - crossover (stereo 2 way - 223XL) - amps - speakers ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Coaster Posted January 13, 2010 Members Share Posted January 13, 2010 try putting a jack into the main inserts and pulling it out a few times, say 10 times. but its probably the ribbons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ToHarm Posted January 13, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 13, 2010 If it's the ribbons would you say to just go out and purchase a new mixer or get it fixed ... the mixer is a 8 year old Mackie .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Coaster Posted January 13, 2010 Members Share Posted January 13, 2010 i keep saying that i have pulled all my ribbons and it works fine for a few years, then do it again. but you have to pull the main board to do it. the issue is that the ribbons mackie used were not made correctly, and the plastic ends do not mate with the ribbons correctly nor do they seat on the pins correctly. whenever i have had issues like your i pull it all apart, clean the pins with deoxit and put it all back together adn it works fine, meters match, dead channels work again etc. its free, and if it doesnt work buy a better board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shaster Posted January 13, 2010 Members Share Posted January 13, 2010 Because it's a Mackie board I'm inclined to agree with Coaster - but there are still a few things that confuse me. But before I go further, it would really help if folks new the exact model number of the board/product in any particular thread (not picking on you). We still don't know whether you have sub groups, or stereo channels (the first Mackies didn't). And you talked about parametric EQs. Did you mean the channel strip EQs or sweep mid, or is this the model with the Graphic EQ (CFX series)? And what's with the CD player only going to one side. Is it in a stereo channel or in the "tape in" jacks? Are there sub group assign buttons on each strip? In other words what model is the mixer? Sorry, I probably asked that already. I'm only asking just in case it's an oops thing - although it's probably not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ToHarm Posted January 13, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 13, 2010 Found it .. it's a Mackie 1604-VLZ PRO. As for the CD, typically we run it line in, into a free channel ... and again, only the LED on the left lights up, the right not ... but when you listen to FOH, the sound is definetly coming out both speakers. We run 2way Mono. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members samkokajko Posted January 13, 2010 Members Share Posted January 13, 2010 Maybe through some crazy routing thing you are seeing an alternate output/control room output/pfl or something? Something other than the main output. If the output is the same in both speakers and the meters are only showing left then I think it may be PFL'ing the channel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shaster Posted January 14, 2010 Members Share Posted January 14, 2010 Found it .. it's a Mackie 1604-VLZ PRO.As for the CD, typically we run it line in, into a free channel ... and again, only the LED on the left lights up, the right not ... but when you listen to FOH, the sound is definetly coming out both speakers. We run 2way Mono. Looks like there ARE sub groups and there are probably still a few other ways to route different signals to your meters and mains (as above) that could give you false readings. I guess you should also check that out first before "popping the hood". Also, regarding your CD player, are you plugging a TRS jack that's acting as a stereo connector into a line in? That could account for some strange LED readings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Coaster Posted January 14, 2010 Members Share Posted January 14, 2010 the one good feature of a mackie is that if you have a PFL/AFL down you know it via blinking RUDE solo light; cant miss it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shaster Posted January 14, 2010 Members Share Posted January 14, 2010 the one good feature of a mackie is that if you have a PFL/AFL down you know it via blinking RUDE solo light; cant miss it! This is certainly true in a perfect world:) Reminds me of the time I was doing some work in an elementary school. The librarian called me in and said her phone didn't work, as she wasn't receiving any incoming calls. I turned the phone over, and someone had turned the ringer off - stranger than fiction! Should have charged her $60.00 for a service call. OP you asked about the feedback trainer.... I found one in the guide for goobers, posted by twostone http://sourceforge.net/projects/sft/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Coaster Posted January 14, 2010 Members Share Posted January 14, 2010 one night the master meters were not working on the gl2200 i was using and i couldnt figure out what was wrong. i checked all the PFL buttons and they all looked "up". the meters would work if i PFL'd something or AFL'd the master fader, so i rode out the night with the master fader AFL'd. at the end of the night the light guy turned of his gear which had been shining on the edge of my mixer all night and i saw the PFL light for channel 24 lit up. apparently on this mixer the PFL button for channel 24 looks "up" even when "down" although it does function correctly. mixer was fine after i released channel 24 PFL button Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members injected Posted January 14, 2010 Members Share Posted January 14, 2010 Found it .. it's a Mackie 1604-VLZ PRO.As for the CD, typically we run it line in, into a free channel ... and again, only the LED on the left lights up, the right not ... but when you listen to FOH, the sound is definetly coming out both speakers. We run 2way Mono. You only run it into one channel? There's your problem, for the one sided cd's playing anyhow. Get a 3.5mm to Stereo 1/4 cable and run them into the Tape returns, or two channels, and pan them left and right to get a proper stereo signal. Then tell us how your levels are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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