I thought prefader was good for fx?
I think these threads have convinced me to buy one too
Prefader means the level going into the effect will not be affected by the level set with the fader on a channel, usually youād want postfader, meaning if you pull down the fader a bit, less signal is going into your effect and if you pull it down completely, no signal from that channel is going into your effect.
With prefader sends, youād still hear reverb or delay or whatever you have on an that aux, even with the fader down as long as the aux send is turned up.
Prefader is perfect for monitoring - you still hear the channels in the monitors, regardless of fader positions.
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I had this same issue and have just started adjusting for it on my H5s input volumes. Have you had any luck getting a good signal from the Aux though? This is my first mixer with the option, and so its kinda my first experience with trying Aux sends out. I think itād be real helpful for a project I am working on currently, but the sound is so subtle I can hardly make out any nuance of changes in the effects settings. I even put a DOD Death Metal and a HM2 in the Aux send and it was still hardly noticeable on both 802s Iāve tried
Yes, itās a shame for sureā¦ And I also found it odd that there was so little mention of it online, especially as it so frequently comes recommended for use in scenarios involving fx boxes. I had to buy the mixer to find out about it, but fortunately I could return it.
Yeah I havenāt really seen anyone talking about, which is what lead me to being convinced it was user error somehow or a faulty unit. What did you end up replacing yours with? Iām not in a rush to replace it, but I am frustrated and think im gonna put some other options on my radar
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first time hearing about this, but I know that Mackie answers their phone have any of you guys called them about it ?
seems like this kinda goes against their pedigree
It isnāt the first time Iāve seen it discussed, not even on this site.
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Of course, when you search for the specific issue you get hits. But I never saw it mentioned in general reviews which is what I was referring to. Like Louis I thought my unit was faulty until I searched for it and discovered it was a thing, and thatās pretty odd for an ubiquitous product such as this imo.
My 802VLZ4 had a huge 2 db difference between the channels, favouring the right channel.
Tried using a reverb effect on the fx loop - it immediately became obvious that it suffered the same problem with the right side reverb being far louder, and having no balance knob thereās no way around it except taking up one of the stereo input channels instead. To be clear: this hasnāt got anything to do with the send being mono (thatās standard behaviour on most mixers), but rather that the stereo return is imbalanced like the rest of the mixer, but without any means to correct that imbalance since the return doesnāt have a balance knob.
@LouisLingg: I went for a Motu Ultralite MK5 interface instead. Also considered Model 12 and SSL Six but in the end Iām happy with the Motu.
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I have that Mackie, and itās a good little mixer, very versatile. Alt 3/4 is brilliant for sampling. The mono send + stereo return is fine, you wonāt miss anything. Only the effected part of the signal loses the stereo field on inputā¦ the dry signal stays in stereo or whatever its original state.
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I havenāt. I bought mine used and never really considered it. Might see if I can get there opinion now since it does seem to be a common problem
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Yeah itās a serious bummer. I āget around itā by marking on the pan pots where 0 is (itās always just a bit right of center) Mackie answered that āit tends to happen in these little mixersā. BS. Fortunately it hasnāt gotten worse.
These days sound is bleeding through when the mixer is totally off!
I donāt know if the OG Mackies didnāt display this behavior or everyone has tinnitus but I would hesitate to recommend the VLZ4 tbh.
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Good to know!