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USER GUIDE
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IMPORTANT Please read this manual carefully before using your mixer for the first time. © Harman International Industries Ltd. 2006 All rights reserved Parts of the design of this product may be protected by worldwide patents. Part No. ZM0342-01 Soundcraft is a trading division of Harman International Industries Ltd. Infor- mation in this manual is subject to change without notice and does not repre- sent a commitment on the part of the vendor. Soundcraft shall not be liable for any loss or dama
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Contents IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS 4 SAFETY SYMBOL GUIDE 6 INTRODUCTION 7 WIRING UP 8 BLOCK DIAGRAM 12 MONO INPUT CHANNEL 13 STEREO INPUT CHANNELS 16 MASTER SECTION 18 USING YOUR MPM CONSOLE 22 FITTING OPTIONAL RACK-MOUNT BRACKETS (MPM12/2) 24 DIMENSIONS 24 APPLICATIONS 25 TYPICAL CONNECTING LEADS 28 MARK-UP SHEETS 30 TYPICAL SPECIFICATIONS 31 WARRANTY 32 3
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IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS Read these instructions. Keep these instructions. Heed all warnings. Follow all instructions. Do not use this apparatus near water. Clean only with a dry cloth. Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other apparatus (including amplifiers) that produce heat. Do not defeat the safety purpose of a polarised or grounding type plu
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with liquids, such as vases, on the apparatus. No naked flame sources, such as lighted candles, should be placed on the apparatus. Ventilation should not be impeded by covering the ventilation openings with items such as newspapers, table cloths, curtains etc. THIS APPARATUS MUST BE EARTHED. Under no circumstances should the safety earth be disconnected from the mains lead. The mains supply disconnect device is the mains plug. It must remain accessible so as to be readily operable when the app
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For your own safety and to avoid invalidation of the warranty please read this section carefully. SAFETY SYMBOL GUIDE For your own safety and to avoid invalidation of the warranty all text marked with these symbols should be read carefully. WARNINGS The lightning flash with arrowhead symbol, is intended to alert the user to the presence of un-insulated “dangerous voltage” within the product’s enclosure that may be of suffi- cient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to persons. CAUTI
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INTRODUCTION Thank you for purchasing a Soundcraft MPM mixer. The MPM range is our most cost- effective mixing solution, bringing you all the features and performance that you expect from a Soundcraft product, at an extraordinarily low price. The packaging, which your MPM arrived in, forms part of the product and must be retained for future use. Owning a Soundcraft console brings you the expertise and support of one of the industry’s leading manufacturers, and the results of nearly 3 decades of
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WIRING UP Mic Input The MIC input accepts XLR-type connectors and is designed to suit a wide range of BALANCED or UNBALANCED low-level signals, whether from deli- cate vocals requiring the best low-noise performance, or drum kits needing maximum headroom. Professional dynamic, condenser or ribbon mics are best because these will be LOW IMPEDANCE. While you can use low-cost HIGH IMPEDANCE mics, you do not get the same degree of immunity to interference on the microphone cable and as a result t
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A ‘Y’ lead may be required to connect to equipment with separate send and return jacks as shown below: Stereo Inputs STEREO 1/2 These accept 3-pole 6.35mm (1/4") jacks, or 2-pole mono jacks which will automatically ground the ‘cold’ input. Use these inputs for sources such as keyboards, drum machines, synths, tape machines or as returns from processing units. The input is BALANCED for low noise and immunity from interference, but you can use UNBALANCED sources by wiring up the jacks as shown
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Polarity (Phase) You will probably be familiar with the concept of polarity in electrical signals and this is of particular importance to balanced audio signals. Just as a balanced signal is highly effective at cancelling out unwanted interference, so two microphones picking up the same signal can cancel out, or cause serious degradation of the signal if one of the cables has the +ve and -ve wires reversed. This phase reversal can be a real prob- lem when microphones are close together and you
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PROBLEM SOLVING Basic problem solving is within the scope of any user if a few basic rules are followed. • Get to know the Block Diagram of your console (see page 12). • Get to know what all controls and/or connections in the system are supposed to do. • Learn where to look for common trouble spots. The Block Diagram is a representative sketch of all the components of the console, showing how they connect together and how the signal flows through the system. Once you have become familiar with th
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BLOCK DIAGRAM 12
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MONO INPUT CHANNEL 1 Mic Input The MIC input accepts XLR-type connectors and is designed to suit a wide range of BALANCED or UNBALANCED signals. Professional dynamic, condenser or ribbon mics are best because these will be LOW IMPEDANCE. You can use low-cost HIGH IMPEDANCE mics, but the level of background noise will be higher. If you turn the PHANTOM POWER on (top right-hand side of the mixer) the socket provides a suit- able powering voltage for professional condenser mics. ONLY connect con
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The Send may also be tapped off as an alternative pre-fade, pre-EQ direct output if required, using a lead with tip and ring shorted together so that the signal path is not interrupted (see below). 5 Gain This knob sets how much of the source signal is sent to the rest of the mixer. Too high, and the signal will distort as it overloads the channel. Too low, and the level of any background hiss will be more noticeable and you may not be able to get enough signal level to the output of the mixer
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POST-FADE), but for Foldback or Monitor feeds it is important for the send to be independent of the fader (this is called PRE-FADE). AUX SENDS 1 and 2 are both globally switchable between pre and post-fade (see master section on page 21). Aux 3 is always post-fade. 8 PAN This control sets the amount of the channel signal feeding the Left and Right MIX buses, allowing you to move the source smoothly across the stereo image. When the control is turned fully left or right you are able to route the
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STEREO INPUT CHANNELS 1 INPUTS STEREO 1/2 These inputs accept 3-pole 6.35mm (1/4") jacks. Use these inputs for sources such as keyboards, drum machines, synths, tape machines or processing units. The inputs are BALANCED for low noise and top quality from professional equipment, but you can use UNBALANCED sources by wiring up the jacks as shown in the ‘Wiring Up’ section earlier in this manual, although you should then keep cable lengths as short as possible. Mono sources may be used by pluggi
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7 FADER The 60mm FADER gives you smooth control of the overall signal level in the channel strip, allowing precise balancing of the various source signals being mixed to the Master Section. It is important that the input level is set correctly to give maximum travel on the fader which should normally be used at around the “0” mark. See the “Initial Setup” section on page 22 for help in setting the right level. 8 PFL When the latching PFL switch is pressed, the pre-fade pre-mute signal is fed i
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MASTER SECTION 18
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1 POWER INDICATOR This LED lights to show when power is connected to the console. 2 PHANTOM POWER Many professional condenser mics need PHANTOM POWER, which is a method of sending a powering voltage down the same wires as the mic signal. Press the switch to enable the +48V power to all of the MIC inputs. The adjacent LED illuminates when the power is active. WARNING: TAKE CARE when using unbalanced mics which may be damaged by the phantom power voltage. Balanced dynamic mics can normally be
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12 HEADPHONES SOCKET The PHONES output is a 3-pole 6.35mm (1/4") jack, wired as a stereo output, ideally for headphones of 200Ω or greater. 8Ω headphones are not recommended. 13 METERS & AFL/PFL ACTIVE LED The three-colour peak reading BARGRAPH METERS normally show the level of the signal(s) selected by the monitor source-select switches, giving you a constant warning of excessive peaks in the signal(s) which might cause overloading. Aim to keep the signal within the amber segments at peak lev
