Above these switches are the six sends for each channel. Sends 1 and 2 are pre-faders sends, and sends 3 through 6 are post-fader sends. To the right of each row of 16 sends are the send master pots, nicely labeled to indicated which are pre and which are post-fader.
Above the send pots are the EQ pots for each channel. The EQ of the 1622 is shelving EQ with the bottom "shelf" at 100Hz and the top "shelf" at 10kHz. Most production consoles utilize parametric EQ. Basically, the shelving EQ of the 1622 boosts/cuts frequencies below 100Hz with the bottom pot or boosts/cuts frequencies above 10kHz with the other pot. This EQ is sufficient for touching up the EQ of a music track or sound effect, but more precise EQ is desireable on voice tracks. For this reason, any serious EQ-ing should be done with outboard EQ. There is no midrange EQ on the 1622.
At the top of the mixer are the trim pots for each channel. The range on the trims is +30 to -10dB which will accommodate both line and mike input levels. Note that there is no phantom power available on the 1622 should you plug mikes directly into the unit.
On the right side of the mixer panel, starting at the bottom, we find the master faders for both the stereo master and the stereo sub-master busses. Above the sub-master faders are two pan pots. The left and right sub-master faders can be assigned to any point in the stereo spectrum. This comes in very handy in several applications. The sub-master buss, for instance, could be used as a mono mix buss which would turn your sub-master outputs into two separate mono mix outputs. A "Sub-Master to Master" assign switch above the pan pots sends the signal on the sub-master to the master buss. Let's say you were mixing a spot with three separate voices on three separate tracks of your multi-track. By assigning those three tracks to the left sub-master, flipping the Sub-Master to Master switch on, and setting the left sub-master pan to center, you can have control over the overall level of the three voice tracks with just one fader. The sub-master can also be set up so that the mixer, in effect, becomes a four buss mixer.
On the far right hand side of the mixer are the controls for the returns. The 1622 has a healthy eight returns. The first four can be panned anywhere in the stereo field. Returns 5 and 7 are hardwired to the left master buss, and returns 6 and 8 are hardwired to the right master buss. Since these returns are actually additional inputs to the master buss, coupled with the fact that there are so many, you could use them for things other than the standard effect returns. For instance, since returns 5 through 8 are pre-assigned to the left and right channels, they could be used as inputs for a second 2-track, a CD player, or any other stereo device. Because of the extreme versatility of the 1622, there are limitless setups available depending upon your application.
Moving up to the top right corner of the mixer, we find the Monitor Volume control which controls the level at the Monitor Outputs on the back as well as the headphone level. To the left of this control are two switches. The Tape/Master switch switches the monitor output between what is on the master buss and whatever you have plugged into the Tape Input on the rear panel, such as your 2-track mastering deck. The Control Room Defeat switch mutes the output of the Monitor jacks on the back panel, but leaves the headphone jack active. This would be your "speaker mute" switch when opening a mike in the same room as your monitors are in.
Above the Monitor Volume pot are two LED's. The Power LED is exciting and red. The green Solo LED illuminates whenever a channel is assigned to solo. Above these LED's are the two 15-LED meters for the stereo master buss. These LED's are the only lights on the mixer. What? No peak LED's? Right. When a channel is soloed, the meters will show the level of the input to that channel. This is how you set your trims, by soloing each input and adjusting the trims accordingly.
The shell of the 1622 is made of hard plastic. This, along with an external power supply and the fact that there is much less weight involved in all the faders and pots, brings the 1622 in at a lightweight fourteen pounds. The 1622 sits on a flat surface at a convenient angle or is ready to occupy fifteen spaces of an equipment rack, if so desired.
