Filter
Top Products
November 2004
most of the connections are unbalanced,
which may seem unusual, but then the
majority of connections used by gigging
musicians, as opposed to professional PA
operators, do tend to be unbalanced.
Technically,the mixer has a¥robust but
non‡esoteric specification, including
a¥20Hz‡20kHz frequency response
(+1dB/‡3dB) and a¥mic-amp EIN (Equivalent
Input Noise) figure of ‡128dB. Distortion is
less than 0.5 percent from input to speakers
and the quoted levels of hum and crosstalk
are more than adequately low for a¥product
of this type.
The inevitable tour
This particular mixer has eight mic/line
channels and a¥further two stereo line‡only
channels. Its mono channels are fairly
conventional, with an input‡gain trim
control, a¥26dB pad switch and a¥choice of
XLR mic or balanced‡jack line inputs.
A¥further TRS jack provides a¥channel insert
point and there’s also a¥switchable 80Hz
low‡cut filter.There’s no mic/line switch —
you simply plug into the appropriate socket.
Most mixers of this size have three‡band
equalisers and this one is no exception,
though the mid frequency is sweepable
between 250Hz and 5kHz. Personally, I’d
have liked it to go a¥little lower, as there are
often boxy artifacts in the 150‡250Hz range
that need a¥little cut, but you have to
accept compromises when the EQ has only
three bands.The high and low controls are
conventional shelving filters operating at
10kHz and 100Hz respectively, and all three
bands have a¥+/‡15dB gain range. Following
the EQ are two Aux sends, each switchable
from pre‡fade to post‡fade by means of
buttons in the channel strip, after which
there are two further effects sends
dedicated to feeding the two internal
effects engines.These two effects busses
also feed physical output jacks so that
external effects can be used instead of the
internal ones, if required.That
leaves a¥conventional pan
control, a¥channel On button,
a¥PFL (Pre Fade Listen) button
and a¥75mm channel fader.
The On button has a¥bright status
LED, while two further LEDs indicate
the presence of signal in the channel
(green) and levels 3dB below clipping,
measured post‡EQ (red). Phantom
power (48V) is global and is activated
using a¥slide switch above the mic
inputs. A¥red status LED above the
channel trim controls shows when this
is turned on.
The stereo channels have the same
general layout as the mono channels
but are line‡only, with no pad or filter
switches. In addition, the EQ has no
swept mid, instead having a¥fixed mid
frequency of 2.5kHz. As these are
stereo channels, a¥balance control
takes the place of the pan control, but
the aux and effect send arrangement
is identical to that of the mono
channels.The inputs are available on
both jacks and phonos, allowing the
easy connection of CD players and so
on.
Two further simple stereo line
inputs are available as Sub inputs
(they can also be used in mono by
inserting a¥jack into only the left input
socket) and their controls reside in the
master section.These have basic level
controls plus sends for Aux 1 and 2,
enabling them to be fed to stage
monitors.They also have PFL buttons
for monitoring purposes via the
headphone output, and they can be
used as effect returns when
connecting external effects devices.
Tape inputs and outputs are also
available on phonos for recording gigs
and playing back the evidence!
A¥tape‡return level control is situated
in the master section, along with
a¥PFL button.
Master section
To the left of the master section are
the two effects sections, each
controlled by means of a¥16‡way
rotary effect‡selector switch and the
Parameter control I¥mentioned earlier,
which varies the most important
parameter of the selected effect. Each
of the two effect processors also has
an Aux 1 and an Aux 2 control,
allowing a¥specified amount of effect
to be sent to the stage monitor
outputs. At the bottom of each
effect strip is an On button with
a¥bright yellow indicator LED.The
second effect processor can be
bypassed using an optional
footswitch, and a¥second footswitch
jack is available for setting the delay
tap tempo, which is useful if you’re
both performing and mixing yourself
from the stage.To the right of the
footswitch jacks is an XLR that
provides 12V power to an optional
lamp — again, extremely useful,
especially in dark venues.
All the major functions in the
master section have their own fader
— namely Effects Return 1 and 2 for
the on‡board effects,Aux 1 and 2
sends, Mono Out and the main Stereo
Out. Above the last are the PFL (Pre
Fade Listen) and AFL (After Fade
Listen) switches (see ‘Jargon
explained’ box).The Mono output
may be used to feed a¥subwoofer
and has a¥recessed switch that brings
in a¥low‡pass filter.This operates
between 80Hz and 120Hz and can be
manually adjusted via a¥recessed pot
accessible with a¥screwdriver.When
the amp mode is set to ‘PA plus
monitor’, as explained earlier, the
Mono Out fader also adjusts the level
of the ‘speaker B’ outputs and, if
mono bridge mode is selected, sets
the level of the ‘speaker A’ outputs.
The main outputs are unaffected by
the low‡pass filter settings, so if you
need to restrict the low‡end feed
going to the main speakers when
using a¥sub‡woofer you’ll have to
arrange this some other way — for
example, by using an active crossover
processor (see ‘Jargon explained’ box).
The switch that changes the
amplifier outputs between their
various modes (stereo, bridged mono,
‘mono plus monitor’ or two monitors,
as listed earlier) is located to the right
of the effects section near the top of
the panel. Here you’ll also find the
three‡way switch that sets the
maximum power available, a¥‘Yamaha
Speaker Processing’ switch, and
a¥standby button that mutes the
mono channels but leaves the stereo
channels active for carrying interlude
music or whatever else you need.
Yamaha Speaker Processing is
essentially an alternate low‡end
voicing that can be used to
compensate for the tonality of some
speakers. Really, you just have to try
On test
SOUND ON SOUND LIVE
Yamaha EMX5000‡12
Powered stage mixer
A mono channel strip from the EMX5000‡12.
“There are few (if any)
features that aren’t
needed, and it’s built
like a¥tank.”
On the rear panel you’ll find the speaker
outputs,available (usefully) on both
Speakon and quarter‡inch jack
connectors.
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