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I have a band type powered mixer, it's the Yamaha EMX512. Instead of being flat it's vertical and it doesn't have sliders, it has all knobs.

So here is my question, it's almost a poll.
Does your mixer have a little button or some other thing like a knob or a switch on each channel to choose line or mic input? Mine has this on only the first 4 channels which have both XLR and 1/4" jacks. I was wondering if other mixers are different or if they have this little button?

I noticed that depending on which position I choose, when I plug in a microphone, one position requires very little Level at maybe 2 or 3 out of 10 and the other setting needs to be turned way up on the Level control knob. That's what my mixer calls it, Level, and it's the knob at the bottom. There is no knob marked gain or volume. There is a main control knob for the mains and for the monitors, but this is like a master volume control for all the channels.

The button basically enables a pre-amp.

That's because that little button engages a pad as such. Just guessing here but Yamaha quite often uses a 26db pad. It is used to enable the use of a Line level signal or a Mic level signal in the same path. Pro gear Line level in the USA is almost always +4db, where Mic level is generally -40 to -60 db. That's why mics require a pre amp in order to get the signal strength up so your mixer can work with it. Obviously a line level at +4 doesn't require the same treatment, in fact, it needs to be cut back so you push your button and it places a -26db( or there about) pad in the signal path enabling your mixer to deal with it without over driving the signal.
For example without the pad your input could handle an input signal level between -16db to -60db with the pad engaged it could handle an input signal level between +10db and -34 db.
Yes my 5000-12 has a pad switch.

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Quickness of mind will deceive the eye

London Live, is this mic/line selector button a common feature or do most mixers not have it?

Most? That would be almost to broad a question to answer. Some do, some don't. I know almost all of the mixers I've ever owned have had a pad switch in them. I've got an Allen & Heath and three Yamaha's right now that have them, I had a Behringer that didn't. Just because a mixer doesn't have a pad button doesn't necessarily mean that there isn't a provision for a line or a mic in the circuit. For example, I had a Mackie 1604VLZ that didn't have a pad switch but when adjusting the gain or trim ,as some call it, with the knob turned all the way counter clockwise it started at 0 using the mic XLR input, using a line input, and the gain in the same position, the signal was attenuated by 15 db. That's all the gain is on a mixer, a means to adjust the signals input to optimize your mixers ability. Your EMX512 doesn't have a gain control.

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Quickness of mind will deceive the eye

I bought a Mackie dfx 12 that doesn't have the mic/line switch. You can buy an attenuating cable from Radio shack to reduce the singnal strength to Mic level if you need to. I wanted to send the output of my mixer to my video camera's mic input and had to attenuate the signal of the mixer (line level), so it would not overdrive the video camera's preamp (mic level.