Yamaha Mg164 Owners Manual

 
Making the Most Of Your Mixer 
MG16/4, MG12/4 
11 
 The First Steps in Achieving Great Sound 
Before you even consider EQ and effects, or even the overall mix, it is important to make sure that levels are
properly set for each individual source. This can’t be stressed enough—initial level setup is vitally important for
achieving optimum performance from your mixer! Here’s why … and how. 
3-1. The Head Amplifier “Gain” Control Is the Key! 
Let’s review our simplified mixer block diagram:
Each and every...

 
Making the Most Of Your Mixer 
MG16/4, MG12/4 
12 
3-2. Level Setup Procedure For Optimum Performance 
Now that we know what we have to do, how do we do it? If you take another quick look at the mixer
block diagram you’ll notice that there’s a peak indicator located right after the head amplifier and EQ
stages, and therein lays our answer! Although the exact procedure you use will depend on the type of
mixer you use and the application, as well as your personal preferences, here’s a general outline:...

Making the Most Of Your Mixer
MG16/4, MG12/4
13  External Effects, Monitor Mixes, and Groups
4-1. AUX Buses For Monitor Sends and 
Overall Effects
There are a number of reasons why you might
want to “tap” the signal flowing through your
mixer at some point before the main outputs: the
two most common being 1) to create a monitor
mix that is separate from the main mix, and 2) to
process the signal via an external effect unit and
then bring it back into the mix. Both of these func-
tions, and more, can be...

Making the Most Of Your Mixer
MG16/4, MG12/4
14
4-2. Using Groups
Group buses and faders can greatly simplify the mixing process—particularly in live situations in which
changes have to be made as quickly as possible. If you have a group of channels that need to be adjusted
all together while maintaining their relative levels, grouping is the way to go. Simply assign the group to a
group bus, and make sure that group is also assigned to the main program bus. Then you can adjust the
overall level of the...

Making the Most Of Your Mixer
MG16/4, MG12/4
15
4-3. Channel Inserts for Channel-specific Processing
Another way to get the mixer’s signal outside the box is to use the channel inserts. The channel inserts are
almost always located before the channel fader and, when used, actually “break” the mixer’s internal sig-
nal path. Unlike the AUX sends and returns, the channel insert only applies to the corresponding chan-
nel. Channel inserts are most commonly used for applying a dynamics processor such as a...

Making the Most Of Your Mixer
MG16/4, MG12/4
16 Making Better Mixes
5-1. Approaching the Mix—Where Do 
You Start?
Mixing is easy, right? Just move the faders around
until it sounds right? Well, you can do it that way,
but a more systematic approach that is suited to
the material you’re mixing will produce much
better results, and faster. There are no rules, and
you’ll probably end up developing a system that
works best for you. But the key is to develop a
system rather than working haphazardly. Here are...

Making the Most Of Your Mixer
MG16/4, MG12/4
17
Spread them Out!
Position your instruments so they have room to
“breathe,” and connect in the most musical way
with other instruments. Sometimes, however,
you’ll want to deliberately pan sounds close
together, or even right on top of one another, to
emphasize their relationship. There are no hard-
and-fast rules. Normally (but this is not a rule),
bass and lead vocals will be panned to center, as
will the kick drum if the drums are in stereo.
5-3. To EQ Or...

MG16/4, MG12/4
18
Front & Rear Panels
Note: Within this manual, all panel illustrations show the 
MG16/4 panel.
1GAIN Control
Adjusts the input signal level.
To get the best balance between the S/N ratio and the dynamic
range, adjust the level so that the peak indicator (
2) comes on
only at about maximum input level.
The –60 to –16 scale indicates the MIC input adjustment level.
The –34 to +10 scale indicates the LINE input adjustment
level.
2PEAK Indicator
Detects the peak level of the post-EQ signal,...

Front & Rear Panels
MG16/4, MG12/4
19
6PRE Switch
Selects whether the pre-fader or the post-fader signal is fed to
the AUX1 bus. If you set the switch on ( ), the mixer sends
the pre-fader signal (the signal prior to passage though channel
fader 
A) to the AUX1 bus, so that AUX1 output is not affected
by the fader. If you set the switch off ( ) the mixer sends the
post-fader signal to the AUX1 bus.
Note that this switch applies to AUX1 only. The signal to the
AUX2 bus always passes through the channel...

 
Front & Rear Panels 
MG16/4, MG12/4 
20
1  
ST Master Fader
 
Adjusts the signal level to the ST OUT jacks.
2  
GROUP 1-2 Fader 
 
Adjusts the signal level to the GROUP OUT 1 and GROUP
OUT 2 jacks.
3  
TO ST Switch
 
If this switch is on ( ), the mixer sends the signals processed
by the GROUP 1-2 fader (
2
 
) onto the Stereo bus. The Group 1
signal goes to Stereo L and the Group 2 signal goes to Stereo
R.
4  
Master SEND (AUX1 and AUX2 Controls)
 
Adjust the signal level, respectively. These are the...