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Today was a gig I did for a local yacht club. I went to the venue, set it up and did a sound check and it seems that volume is way too low. I maxed out my computer volume out, the mixer and the powered speakers (EONs) and I was barely getting a decent sound. I know in the past I got a lot louder sound. And in middle of some song performance, I was getting some crazy feedback that knocked me back. Also, some of the music were getting distorted but when I bring down the volume a pinch, they went away.

I need to know what I need to fix. I am pretty sure it's my Mackie mixer. If those of you with more experience with mixers can push me in the direction of identifying what I need to fix, I would appreciate it.

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Ben which Mackie is it?A single channel would indicate a dirty fader. On a Dfx12 I had a main fader go bad but that only affected one channel as there are 2 faders for the mains.The path form the mixer bus goes thru the EQ to the main faders Try bypassing the EQ. Are the pre lights blinking to indicate a full input? What level are the main bar lights at?

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Audio problems are always so much fun. Was this event outside? We all know that being outside has a way of making you wish you had more power. We'll assume that you've been in the situation before and the equipment wasn't working as expected. The first thing I would do is check all the buttons and switches on your mixer and make sure nothing got changed inadvertently, strange things seem to happen between shows. If that checks out I would then start the procedure of isolating the problem. If your using Eon's you would have the ability to run music directly into them to confirm they are functioning properly. (we'll assume they are but it's still the place to start) Then move on to the mixer section, remove any outboard equipment from the signal path such as Compressors or crossovers. Check your input signal, confirm you can achieve proper gain coming in. If you have proper input (this will also confirm all is well between your computer and the mixer) and still have low output, I would try a different channel, if you still have low output I would start looking at the output stage of the mixer. Check right and left outs separately, changing cables also to make sure that isn't the problem. If the mixer checks out, start adding your external FX back in until the problem reappears. Check all cables involved. If you do narrow it down to the mixer itself open it up and see if it's something simple like a connection that just needs to be reseated. I'm fortunate in the respect that I have duplicates of everything so finding problems is always just a question of time and diligence.

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I would first do a solo test on the channel strip the computer is connected to

1) First, activate the solo switch only on the selected channel strip
2) Select the -10 level if you're using an unbalanced cable from laptop to mixer
3) adjust level on channel strip to 0db (U) and see how strong the signal is on the master level led, it should be close to 0db if the laptop's volume control are ALL at max

Mackie also has the "Solo Mode" switch, click on it and see if the level is near the 0db mark? Note that the solo mode test is done when ONLY one channel is selcted, it's to help calibrate each channel strips...

Good luck!

Thanks for the reply. The mixer is Mackie 1402 VLZ Pro. I think it's Pro, it's locked up in the van and I haven't had a chance to verify. It's not a single channel problem. The volume is low on both my music channel and vocals to 3 of the channels. The overall mix is the issue. The output LED is near full, it redlines once in a while so the signal is good. The signal that goes through the effects is full as I can see it redline on my Behringer as well as when I switched to my old Midiverb. Only the vocals are running through the dbx limiter so that is not it. I have the music channel slider at full and still not much.

The venue is indoors, about 30 x 40 feet room. When I stand in front of the speakers, I can just hear it enough, 20 feet away, it's very low. I have had a venue that was much bigger and I got a bit louder even further away. This problem seems to be gradual so I didn't notice but it definitely has gone down.

Initially I thought it was the speakers or speaker cable. I changed the cable a few times and it's still the same problem. I don't think it's the speakers because I would see one speaker fail but not both at the same time. What's strange is I have not changed any setting on the mixer either. I am so confused. Any help would be appreciated. I may try to diagnose this week. Thanks again.

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Did you accidentally push the +4 -20dBu switch with a finger when inserting an XLR to the main outs? I also have a 1402, and that switch is right in the way and it just totally freaks me out and pisses me off every time I brush it. If you touch it at all it goes in. It's real sensitive.

Of course if it's depressed you're going to get next to nothing. I have no idea why Mackie put it there.

If I did that, then it would only effect one mic input. All my mic inputs have same level, barely adequate range. I don't think that is it. Thanks though.

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What I'm talking about is the switch on the back that governs the output of the whole board. It affects everything.

It's right next to the main XLR outs. If you aren't familiar with it I'll bet you hit it.

edit: OK after looking it's labeled Main Output Level. Either +4 (disengaged where you want it) or Mic. It is right next to the left XLR out.

And once in a while I'll accidentally hit that switch setting up. Usually when I'm in a hurry. And then always it's the same thing... I run things up, the board lights up like a Christmas Tree, and there's next to nothing coming out of the system.

And then I'll go... are my amps up? Is the Driverack on? Did I miss a speaker connection?

And then... oh yeah... that &*%# switch.

After sweating bullets.

Wow, you may be on to something. I just checked it and it was depressed down. I can't test unless I have it set up with speakers, etc., which I will do later. Should it be popped out or depressed down?

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Oops you got on before my edit. If it's engaged you hit it.

I have the same board... It should be popped out I think Bill might of found the problem

OK Eben here's a story for you. The first time it happened to me was on a 1202. The switch is in the same place. I was almost an hour late starting because I was troubleshooting the whole system. Over and over. Cords and all.

I was just about to give up the gig when I notices that little switch when swapping connectors for the zillionth time.

I know why; it's to chain the mixer to XLR mic channel input of another mixer to get more mic channels. Greg thinks of everything, except maybe positioning

I will give this a try and let you now what happened.

Thanks so much.

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Bill, you are a genius. That button was it. I tried it with the button out and almost blew my ear drums. That's quite a difference. Now I feel much better that it's not the system. Now, if I can just buy a nice sub, I could really blow them away. Thanks so much for your advice.

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Oh I'm no genius Eben. Just a longtime Mackie mixer user.

BTW that switch is logically located where it should be. It's just the wrong type. It should be recessed, or a click-type slider switch, or something that can't be accidentally engaged so easily.

Anyway now you know about it and what to do next time.