The dual-purpose Mute/Alt 3-4 bus is a Mackie signature. Naturally, when Greg Mackie was designing our first mixer, he had to include a mute switch for each channel. A mute switch works just like it sounds: it turns off the signal by "routing" it into oblivion.

"Gee, what a waste," Greg reasoned. "Why not have the mute button route the signal somewhere else useful, like a separate stereo bus?" So the Mute/Alt 3-4 buttons on our 1202-VLZ PRO and 1402-VLZ PRO really serve two functions: muting (duh), and signal routing (oh!), where they act as your gateway to an extra stereo bus.

Four buses on two-bus boards.

You simply connect the Alt 3-4 outputs to whatever destination you desire. For instance: When doing multitrack recording, you can use the Alt 3-4 outputs to feed your multitrack.

When doing live sound or mixdown, Alt 3-4 can be used for subgrouping. Simply assign multiple channels to the Alt 3-4 mix, engage it in the Source matrix, and the signals will appear at the Control Room and Phones outputs. If you want the Alt 3-4 signals to go back into the Main Mix, push the Assign to Main Mix button. Now, the Control Room/Phones knob becomes a master control all channels assigned to Alt 3-4.

It's also great for previewing a channel before you bring it into the main mix, or creating a "mix minus" for broadcast production.

Mute/Alt 3-4 is a Mackie Designs exclusive you'll come to appreciate. Take your time and play around with it. It will be your friend. Honest.