Post on 15-Jul-2020
Page 1 SECOND EDITION December 2009
Sound Desk Operation
A Users’ Guide to the sound system in The Ormond Anglican Church
Page 2 SECOND EDITION December 2009
1. Overview ................................................................................................................ 3 1.1. Desk ................................................................................................................. 3 1.2. Amplifiers........................................................................................................ 3 1.3. Inputs ............................................................................................................... 4
1.4. Microphones .................................................................................................... 6 1.5. DI Box ............................................................................................................. 7 1.6. Speakers .......................................................................................................... 8 1.7. Foldback .......................................................................................................... 8 1.8. Children‟s Room speaker ................................................................................ 9
1.9. Sanctuary speaker ............................................................................................ 9 2. Things you Need to Know .................................................................................... 10
2.1. Opening the Desk cabinet ............................................................................. 10 2.2. Turning the Desk on ...................................................................................... 10 2.3. Channels used at 9am & 3pm ........................................................................ 11
2.4. Channels used at 10:45am & 7:00pm ........................................................... 11 2.5. Connecting microphones ............................................................................... 11
2.6. Connecting instruments ................................................................................. 11 2.7. Connecting foldback speakers ....................................................................... 12
2.8. Input controls................................................................................................. 13 2.9. Master Volume .............................................................................................. 15
2.10. Children‟s Room Volume .......................................................................... 16 2.11. Foldback Volume ...................................................................................... 17 2.12. Busses & how to use them ......................................................................... 18
2.13. Managing Foldback ................................................................................... 19 2.14. Monitoring through the headphones .......................................................... 19
3. Things that Might Be Useful ................................................................................ 20 3.1. Sound sent to the PC for recording ............................................................... 20 3.2. Output for recording at the desk .................................................................... 20
3.3. PC playback volume...................................................................................... 20
3.4. Playing from a laptop out the front ............................................................... 20 3.5. Recording from the mixer to a laptop ........................................................... 20 3.6. Playing from an iPod ..................................................................................... 21
3.7. Playing from a CD......................................................................................... 22 3.8. Talking from the desk through Foldback ...................................................... 22
3.9. Setting up a channel from scratch ................................................................. 23 3.10. Equipment Manuals ................................................................................... 23
4. Things that might get you out of TROUBLE ....................................................... 24
4.1. No volume for one input channel .................................................................. 24 4.2. No signal to the PC for recording.................................................................. 24
4.3. Hum from a Guitar ........................................................................................ 24 4.4. No sound in the Foldback Speakers .............................................................. 24
4.5. Radio Interference ......................................................................................... 24 5. What to do with the Sound System after each service ......................................... 25 6. Signal Flow Diagram ............................................................................................ 27
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1. Overview This document is a users‟ guide for the sound system in The Anglican Parish of
Ormond. It aims to give an overview of all the major components, as well as provide
practical guidance in using the system for voice and music.
1.1. Desk
The mixer desk is an Inter-M CMX-3268 Mixing Console with 32 mono inputs and 4
stereo inputs. The console is mounted in a cabinet with locking, top, back and front
doors. A full Operating Manual is located in the front middle cupboard of the cabinet.
Most of the top of the desk is occupied with controls (dials, buttons and faders) for the
input channels or output signals.
1.2. Amplifiers
The amplifiers, CD player and other equipment are located in the cupboards under the
desk. Please do not touch anything on this equipment, other than the CD player.
The left hand cupboard contains:
Rear speakers controller
Front speakers
controller
Subwoofer amplifier
Rear speakers amplifier
Front speakers power
amplifier
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The right hand cupboard contains:
Front of House signal
processor
CD player
Foldback speakers
amplifier
Master power supply
Hearing aid loop
amplifier
1.3. Inputs
Sound signals are fed into the desk from a number of sources.
Microphone inputs for the desk are spread around the front part of the church. These
are XLR balanced connectors. Magnetic labels located above each channel‟s fader
indicate the “normal” use for each channel.
Microphone cables have a different connector on each end.
There is a Stage Box of XLR connectors located under the floor either side of the
platform. Magnetic labels on the top of the box may help you match the connectors
with channels on the desk.
There are also two small boxes in the floor of the centre platform. They each contain
two power points, and XLR connector and a video connector.
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Wireless – two handheld wireless microphones are connected to channels 13
and 14. The microphones and channels are identified with red or yellow tape.
The radio receivers for these microphones are in the centre cupboard of the
cabinet. The red microphone (Handheld 1) is normally used for the service
leader at 9:00am and 10:45am. The yellow microphone (Handheld 2) is often
used by a singer.
Front Of House – channels 17 and 18 (labelled F.O.H 1 and 2) are connected
to the two small floor boxes located in the main platform.
PC – sound from the PC next to the mixer desk is connected to channels 19
and 20.
Stereo – the desk has four stereo inputs (ST1 to ST4).
ST1 is connected to a 3.5mm stereo plug for connecting other sound sources.
ST3 is connected to the CD player.
These channels are labelled iPod and CD.
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1.4. Microphones
Shure vocal – there are three Shure SM58 microphones which are a better
quality vocal microphone, well suited to a male voice.
Shure instrumental – there are two Shure SM57 microphones which are well
suited to non-vocal use.
Wireless – there are two wireless Shure microphones. There is a radio receiver
for each microphone located in the centre cupboard of the console. These
microphones use two AA rechargeable batteries. There is a quick charger that
will take all four batteries at once. A full charge takes 15 minutes. The green
lights go out when the batteries are charged. These microphones use a larger
than standard clip on the microphone stand.
AKG – we have four AKG microphones with a slightly triangular cross
section. These are general purpose microphones for vocal and instrument use.
Two of these microphones are permanently mounted on the piano.
Radio – there are two radio headset/lapel microphones. They are powered by a
9v battery. The transmitter must be turned off after use or the battery will be
flat next time it is needed. With the “Hi-5” headsets these microphone are
suited for vocals. The microphone transmitters and receivers are marked with
white and green tape and are connected to channels 15 and 16.
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Flute – an older microphone is often used for flute, violin or other instrument
when we have run out of the other microphones.
1.5. DI Box
The desk input connectors at the front of the church are XLR balanced microphone
connectors. These are great for microphones, but don‟t work with guitars, keyboards
etc. which have a 1/4” plug.
A Direct Input (DI) box is used to convert the signal from these instruments into XLR
balanced signals.
We have an eight channel DI box that is connected to one of the stage boxes.
Musicians may also have their own single channel DI devices.
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1.6. Speakers
Two main speakers provide sound to the body of the church. They are located to the
left and right of the platform. Two secondary speakers provide sound in the extension
at the rear of the church, behind the mixing desk.
A single subwoofer provides deep bass sounds and is located inside the pulpit.
1.7. Foldback
Foldback speakers are used to allow musicians up the front to hear what they and the
other musicians are playing.
There are four foldback speakers connected into two foldback channels.
Foldback speakers should face the back of the playing area.
Note that pointing the front of a microphone towards these speakers may cause
feedback (and subsequent aggravation amongst the musicians and congregation) and
should be avoided.
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1.8. Children’s Room speaker
There is a speaker mounted above a doorway in the children‟s room.
The blue volume fader on the desk marked “Mono” controls this speakers.
1.9. Sanctuary speaker
There is a speaker near the organ in the sanctuary.
It is controlled with the main church speakers, but there is also a volume knob on the
speaker itself.
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2. Things you Need to Know
2.1. Opening the Desk cabinet
The cabinet has locks on the top, back and cupboard doors. The back is normally left
ajar. Open all the cupboards when the desk is in use to allow air to circulate to cool
the amplifiers.
2.2. Turning the Desk on
There is one main power switch for the whole cabinet located behind the middle door.
Turn the power on and off with the large red switch.
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2.3. Channels used at 9am & 3pm
These services normally only use the red and yellow handheld wireless microphones.
The key controls required are the volume for channels 13 and 14, the master volume
and the children‟s room volume.
The foldback speakers are not generally used for these services.
2.4. Channels used at 10:45am & 7:00pm
Magnetic labels above each channel‟s fader indicate standard usage. The channels for
vocals, piano and keyboard are normally fixed with the channels in between being
configured as appropriate for each band‟s needs.
When setting up for a particular band it is normally easier to label the channels on the
desk and then make the connections from the stage box. There are additional labels in
a plastic bag in the centre console cupboard.
2.5. Connecting microphones
For the 9am and 3pm services no microphone connections are required as the
handheld wireless microphone is used.
For the 10:45am and 7pm services microphones are normally connected to the stage
box on the left side of the platform. Vocal microphones connect to the channels
marked Vocal 1 to 4.
The piano is miked with two AKG microphones to give a stereo sound. These
microphones do not need to be packed away. Channels 1 and 2 control the volume.
Other microphones may be connected for instruments such as flute, clarinet, violin,
cello, acoustic guitar, tin whistle etc.
The red wireless microphone is normally used for the service leader. The yellow
microphone may be used for a vocalist, roaming (eg baptisms) or just as an additional
instrument microphone. The batteries will normally need to be installed and checked
to ensure they are charged. The charger lives in the music room to the left of the
musicians‟ area.
Note that plugging in the microphones before turning on the desk removes any risk
that transient connection noise might damage the desk input channels.
2.6. Connecting instruments
Instruments such as electric guitars, acoustic guitars with a pickup, keyboards etc
normally use a cable with a ¼” plug. Connect these to the INPUT socket of the DI
box and then into an appropriately labelled connector on the XLR box.
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If a player has their own DI box or effects box with an XLR output that can be
connected directly into the XLR box.
Sometimes a guitarist may want to use a small amplifier pointing at themselves. In
this case a microphone can be placed directly in front of the amplifier‟s speaker and
connected into the XLR box. One of the black AKG microphones is usually used.
There is a small boom microphone stand that works well in this situation.
2.7. Connecting foldback speakers
By convention channel 1 is used for foldback to singers and channel 2 is used for
foldback to players. This is indicated on the mixing desk with magnetic labels.
The sockets for the foldback channels are located in the left hand stage box.
Normally all four speakers are connected to the two channels1. Run a speaker cable
(not instrument cable2) from the socket to the INPUT socket on one foldback speaker.
Run another speaker cable from the OUTPUT socket to the INPUT socket of the
second speaker. Repeat for the other channel.
1 You can run the foldback with just one speaker per channel, but the default volume might need
adjusting. 2 Speaker cable is normally thicker than instrument cable. Speaker cable is made to carry a powerful
current from the amplifiers, instrument cable is made to carry a quiet signal without extra noise.
Page 13 SECOND EDITION December 2009
Note that foldback speakers should be directed
towards the back of a microphone, not the front. For
this reason they are normally pointed directly away
from the entrance end of the church. They should also
be about ½ to 1 meter in front of the microphone.
2.8. Input controls
Each channel has controls that allow you to manage
the quality of the sound and direct it through the
mixer. The controls for each of the 32 channels are
identical, so when you understand one you understand
them all. Many of the channel controls do not need to
be changed on a day-to-day basis.
The Fader (19 in the diagram) is the main volume
control for the channel. The “normal” position is 0db.
You may need to use the fader to maintain a steady
volume, for example as the service leader‟s
microphone is used by different people of different
heights and voice volumes.
The TRIM control (3 in the diagram) is used to adjust
for different strength signals from microphones and
instruments. The idea is to adjust the Trim so that
normal volume occurs when the Fader is at 0. For
9am and 3pm you should rarely need to adjust the
trim. For 10:45am and 7pm the default positions
should be OK, except when a different model
microphone is used or a different sort of instrument.
If an instrument‟s signal is too large the mixer will
distort (shown by the PEAK LED at 1 in the diagram)
and you will need to turn the trim down.
Note that when you adjust the trim you also adjust
that channel‟s volume in the foldback, so it is easier
to leave it alone if you can.
The Equaliser controls (7 in the diagram) allow you
to adjust the treble, midrange and bass of the channel.
Leave these alone unless you have a big ego!
The AUX1 and AUX2 controls (8 in the diagram)
allow you to set the volume of this channel in the two
foldback channels AUX1 feeds foldback channel 1
(To singers) and AUX2 feeds foldback channel 2 (To
players).
The PAN control (15 in the diagram) allows you to
adjust the signal from this channel somewhere
Page 14 SECOND EDITION December 2009
between the left speaker and the right speaker. Straight up is centred.
The red MUTE switch (16 in the diagram) on each channel allows you to quickly
silence that channel in the main speakers. Note that it does not silence it from the
foldback speakers and does not normally help in fixing feedback.
The SOLO switch (18 in the diagram) allows you to listen to the channel through the
headphones, which is useful to listen to individual singers and instruments and to
check that a particular instrument signal is coming through.
The MIX-B level control (12 in the diagram) feeds the signal sent to the PC for
recording. This is normally only used for the two wireless microphone channels and
the headset radio microphone for recording the reading and sermon in the services
where this is done.
The Buss switches (17 in the diagram) are used to direct the signal for this channel
and are explained in the section on Busses. Note that for channels used at 9am and
3pm the L/R buss switch must be selected.
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2.9. Master Volume
The master volume faders control the loudness of the main speakers.
The faders are labelled “L-MIX-R” and “SPEAKERS MAIN”.
The normal position of the faders is 0. Use these faders to manage the overall volume
of sound.
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2.10. Children’s Room Volume
The volume of the small speaker in the children‟s room is
controlled by the blue fader labelled “MONO”.
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2.11. Foldback Volume
The two foldback channel controls are labelled “F’back to vocalists” and “F’back to
inst’ists” for channels 1 and 2 respectively.
Foldback volume should be sufficient for the musicians to hear each other, but not so
load as to overwhelm the main speakers for people in the main body of the room. Too
high a level can also cause feedback3.
A level somewhere in the lower left quarter as shown in the picture will be sufficient.
The MUTE switch on each channel allows you to quickly silence the foldback
speakers. If you get feedback this is the quickest way to halt it before everyone‟s ears
suffer.
The SOLO switch allows you to listen to the foldback channel through the
headphones, which may be useful.
Note that foldback is not normally used at 9am and 3pm.
3 That screaming sound discovered by rock guitarists in the „60s which can be quite painful and
distracting in our setting.
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2.12. Busses & how to use them
The mixer provides eight busses giving flexibility in
the management of sound.
For 9am and 3pm the L/R buss switch should be
selected for and microphone channel used and the
volume controlled with the L-MIX-R faders. If you
only mix at these services skip the rest of this
section.
The Busses allow similar channels to be grouped
and controlled together. On our mixer the busses
have been grouped as Singers (1/2), Acoustic
Instruments (3/4), Electric Instruments (5/6) and
Backing (7/8). The Backing group is not normally
used.
By grouping signals together it is easier to manage
the volume of singers relative to instruments. For
example all instruments can be lowered in volume
together with the 3/4 and 5/6 faders.
Channels are allocated to groups using the buss
switches noted in the Input Controls section.
Normally only one switch would be selected, but
there may be occasions when L/R would be selected
as well.
Note that if no buss switches are selected for a
channel then that channel will be mute in the main speaker mix (but not the foldback).
Check that the buss switches are set reasonably (in case the last person driving the
mixer was a fiddler). It doesn‟t matter too much how things are divided between
acoustic and electric instruments. One way to organise this is to call instruments
picked up by microphone as “acoustic” and instruments that directly plug in as
“Electric”, but it doesn‟t matter much. Don‟t change things just for the sake of
changing them.
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2.13. Managing Foldback
The goal of foldback is to allow the singers and players to hear enough of themselves
and each other to sing and play well.
The two foldback channels (1 – To vocalists, 2 – To instrumentalists) allow each
group to hear a different mix. The mix is controlled with the AUX1 and AUX2
controls on each channel. You should not normally need to change these much from
the default settings.
You should aim to have only “just enough” foldback volume. If you have too much
volume you increase the risk that:
The sound from the foldback speakers bounces off the wall behind the
musicians towards everyone else in the church and overwhelms the main mix.
You then lose control of the mix heard by everyone else in the room.
Feedback occurs causing distraction and discomfort.
If you get an incident of feedback the quickest way to stop it is to use the two Mute
switches on the foldback channels. It may only be necessary to mute briefly, though it
may be wise to gently lower the overall foldback volume to prevent re-occurrence.
2.14. Monitoring through the headphones
You can listen to the mix through the headphones. This
removes the sound reaching you ears directly from
sources through the air.
A much more practical use of the headphones is to
monitor individual channels or a group of channels using
the SOLO switches.
For instance you can check if the sound of an instrument
is really coming through much more easily than by
listening to the whole mix. You can listen to singers
individually to find who is holding the melody and adjust
the volume of the vocal microphones accordingly. Or you
can have your own private performance by selecting all
the singers and enjoy their harmonies lifted above the
instruments.
Headphone volume is adjusted by the PHONES control
(6 in the diagram).
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3. Things that Might Be Useful
3.1. Sound sent to the PC for recording
The PC records from MIX-B.
Normally only the two wireless microphones and the headset radio microphone are set
with the MIX-B volume enabled. If the MIX-B control for a channel has been
accidentally turned down the PC will not hear anything from that channel.
If the main MIX-B volume control has been turned down the PC will not hear
anything at all.
3.2. Output for recording at the desk
A 3.5mm stereo plug connects into the Studio Out channel, labelled “Studio OUT”
which gives a copy of the main front of house mix.
This can be used to record in stereo to a laptop or other device placed on the mixing
desk.
3.3. PC playback volume
Channels 19 and 20 are signals from the PC into the mixer. They are used when a
DVD or presentation is played on the PC.
Normally a setting of -30 to -20 is a good starting point for these faders.
These faders should always be turned all the way down to -∞ when not in use as they
have been known to cause feedback.
3.4. Playing from a laptop out the front
Channels 17 and 18, labelled F.O.H 1 and 2 (Front of House) connect to the two small
floor boxes in the platform.
A Laptop can be connected to a floor box XLR socket using a DI.
3.5. Recording from the mixer to a laptop
A 3.5mm stereo plug labelled “Studio OUT” provides a stereo signal the same as the
main mix.
The Studio OUT knob controls the level of this signal.
This can be used to record to a laptop sitting on top of the mixer.
A power cord is available in the bottom of the centre cupboard.
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3.6. Playing from an iPod
A 3.5mm stereo plug connects into the stereo ST1 channel, labelled iPod.
An iPod or other portable
music player can be connected
to this through its headphone
socket.
Use the ST1 fader to control
the volume of sound for this
device.
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3.7. Playing from a CD
The CD player located in the right hand cupboard of the console is connected to ST3
and labelled CD.
Use the ST3 fader to control the volume of sound for this device in the same way as
for an iPod.
3.8. Talking from the desk through Foldback
The microphone connected to the TALK BACK socket can be used to communicate
through the foldback speakers to the musicians.
Press the ON switch (3 in the diagram) to enable the microphone. Use the LEVEL
control (4 in the diagram) to adjust the volume.
Note that the AUX/1/2 button must be selected. If you select the MIX button or any of
groups 1/2, 3/4 or 5/6 your voice will come out of the main speakers!
Page 23 SECOND EDITION December 2009
3.9. Setting up a channel from scratch
You may need to setup a channel that has not previously been used, or that is going to
be used for something quite different.
The mixer Operating Manual provides the following instructions:
FOLLOW THIS SENSITIVITY ADJUSTMENT PROCEDURE FOR EACH
CHANNEL IN USE
1. Assign signal to channel fader:
If the channel is to be used with a microphone, the MIC/LINE switch should
be up and the FLIP switch should be up.
If channel is to be used with line input, the MIC/LINE switch should be down
and the FLIP switch should be up.
If the channel is to be used with a tape input (generally, while mixing), FLIP
switch should be down.
2. Set channel strip controls as follows:
TRIM pot all the way counter-clockwise
AUX SEND controls all the way counter-clockwise
LOW-CUT switch either on or off (on is recommended for mic inputs)
Channel fader at UNITY
PAN pot hard left or right (for sending to a mono Group buss)
SOLO switch on (for monitoring)
3. If the channel is being used for a tape input during mix-down, roll an already-
recorded track from your recorder.
4. The channel‟s -10dB SIGNAL LED should light. The L/R main meters will show
the actual internal operating level.
5. Adjust the TRIM control clockwise to get peaks that regularly hit 0dB on the L/R
meters. (If you use EQ, adjust the TRIM control after the EQ controls are set up.)
6. Repeat Steps 1-5 on the next channel that is being used, switching SOLO off for
the channel you have just set up and switching SOLO on for the next channel.
3.10. Equipment Manuals
A copy of this manual and the mixer manual are
kept in a holder inside the right hand cupboard
door.
Copies of manufacturer‟s user manuals for most
of the sound equipment are kept in a magazine
box in the music store room.
These may be helpful if you are trying to work out what a particular light means, or if
something does not work, but don‟t fiddle with knobs and buttons just for fun.
Page 24 SECOND EDITION December 2009
4. Things that might get you out of TROUBLE
4.1. No volume for one input channel
There are a number of possible causes for this.
Check for:
Wireless microphone switched off4 (or on standby
5) at the microphone
Wireless microphone receiver switched off (receiver in middle cupboard,
power from the four outlet power point on the floor)
Wrong buss switch selected for this channel
No buss switch selected for this channel
The appropriate Group faders are turned down or muted
A loose microphone cable at either end
Electric instrument turned down on the instrument
A loose instrument cable, DI cable etc.
The “-30db PAD” switch depressed on the 8 channel DI box.
4.2. No signal to the PC for recording
The “Mix B” knob is set too low, try around 12 o‟clock.
No channels have sufficient Mix B volume set.
Check that the cable into the PC has not been disconnected.
4.3. Hum from a Guitar
If a significant hum is heard from a guitar or other instrument that is connected via the
DI box try pressing in the “Ground Lift” button on the DI box for that channel.
This may remove the hum.
4.4. No sound in the Foldback Speakers
If there is no sound coming out of the foldback speakers check:
Are the foldback channels muted?
Are the foldback channels turned down? They should normally be at about 9
o‟clock.
Is the foldback amplifier turned on?
Are the foldback speakers plugged into the sockets in the left hand floor box?
4.5. Radio Interference
If there is audible radio interference, eg from taxis etc, look for microphone channels
with the gain turned high.
Try muting these channels to see if the interference goes away. If it does, turn the gain
down a bit.
4 Red light or no light if wireless receiver is off
5 Orange light
Page 25 SECOND EDITION December 2009
5. What to do with the Sound System after each service
9.00am 1. If there is a lectern or anything in the music area, move it elsewhere.
2. Go and have a cup of tea or coffee.
10.45am 1. Put the AA and 9V batteries in their chargers.
2. Pack up the microphones, stands and cables.
3. Hang the XLR cables coiled up on the coat stand.
4. Leave the foldback speakers out and connected.
5. If there is a 3.00pm service that day tidy up a bit and ensure that there is
room for communion along the side of the platform.
6. Turn off the sound system with the master switch.
7. Lock the mixer desk.
3.00pm 1. Put the AA batteries in their charger.
2. Turn off the sound system with the master switch.
3. Lock the mixer desk.
4. Go and have a cup of tea or coffee.
7.00pm 1. Put the AA and 9V batteries in their chargers.
2. Pack up the microphones, stands, XLR cables and DI box.
3. Hang the XLR cables coiled up on the coat stand.
4. Leave the piano microphones and cables.
5. Leave the foldback speakers and cables out (tidily).
6. Mute the two foldback channels, Aux1 & Aux2.
7. Reset anything on the mixer that you have changed significantly back to
the default setting (This includes channels 1 & 2 for the piano, channel 3
for bass and channels 10-16 for vocals and wireless microphones). See the
following page for the default settings.
8. Remember the goal is to help the 10:45am service to be able to setup
quickly in the limited timed between the morning services.
9. Turn off the sound system with the master switch.
10. Lock the mixer desk.
Page 26 SECOND EDITION December 2009
Page 27 SECOND EDITION December 2009
6. Signal Flow Diagram This diagram shows the flow of signals from inputs to outputs.