The gigging muso has to carry around a lot of gear, usually involving a van and a bad back!!  To put on a polished show the artsiste needs to lug around : a mixer with enough inputs to combine the various mics, instruments and electronic gear and outputs to external and recording gear, FX to polish the sound, EQs to tame feedback, power amps for FOH and foldback, limiters to prevent distortion and protect the speakers….and the list goes on and on! Want all of this in one easily carried box? Meet the replacement for the old faithful EMX640, the all new EMX660, with more power and expanded effects options. It's a compact, covered in traditional black carpet, has corner protectors, and plastic feet on two sides. Best of all it only weighs 35 Lbs / 17 Kgs!!

INPUTS

Each input channel has a main level control, a monitor level control, and an FX send level control. They all have basic, fixed 3-band EQ - Low, Mid and High which allow a cut or boost of up to 15 dB. While there are no 'sweepable' mids, the fixed bands provide usable tone controls for the input sources.

The first four channels give you the option of either a low-impedance XLR - with switchable global +15V phantom power or a high-impedance 1/4 -inch input, (but you can’t use both at once!). The first four input channels also have a selectable 30 dB attenuation pad for use when you’re connecting line-level gear or mics with very hot outputs.

Channels 5 and 6 are the opposite - they have three inputs each, one XLR and two unbalanced 1/4 -inch, all of which you can use at the same time!! [Although there's only one set of level and tone controls for all three inputs on channel 6, and one set for the inputs on channel 5.] The 1/4 -inch inputs on channel 5 are for stereo line-level signals, such as those from keyboards, synthesizers, or a submix from another mixer, while channel 6 offers two high-impedance instrument inputs, primarily for guitars and basses, but also for other line-level sources such as synths and drum machines.

ONBOARD FX

There's a simple digital FX processor onboard containing two kinds of delay and six varieties of reverb. There's no parameter controls for the FX, but as they sound a lot like the legendary old SPX90, that's not as bad as it seems! Solo musos will be happy as there is an optional footswitch to turn the FX on and off. An FX level pot on each channel sets the amount of signal sent to the effects processor, and you can adjust the amount of the effect returning to the mix via the effect return knobs in the master monitor and main sections.Providing even more flexibility, an FX send jack can route the output of the effects bus to the input of an external processor. You can then route the output of the outboard unit back into the EMX660 via the Aux In jack, and control the level of return with a knob in the Main section. Cool!

THE POWER AMPS The EMX660 is 3-bus, mono powered mixer that packs plenty of punch for its size. The built-in amp provides 300W of output power (4 ·) to each of two output channels, or 600W (at 8 ·) bridged. A 3-position switch on the front panel allows you to use one of three different power and speaker configurations: the main bus to both speaker output channels, the main bus to channel 1 and the monitor bus to channel 2, or the main bus to the bridge connection. A single 1/4"jack is provided for connection of a single speaker in bridged mode. To indicate output signals, Yamaha includes a ±10 dB LED level meter, but only on the master and monitor output sections. For added flexibility, both the main and monitor output channels have a pair of 1/4 -inch speaker jacks for parallel hookup of up to two speakers each. There are two 7-band graphic equalizers across the outputs, to adjust the overall frequency response and control feedback from FOH and Foldback. To top it off, there's a built-in limiter prevents distortion and protects the speakers. Finally, the EMX660 also allows us to expand the system as crowds and venue sizes grow. The Main & Monitor line-level output jacks send the mix - post-graphic EQ and master level control - to external amps, and therefore to more speakers. [Yippee, even bigger noise!!]

SUMMING UP

I've heard the EMX660 at a few small to mid-size venues with solos, duos and bands, and it sounded great. The flexibility of inputs and outputs, as well as the built-in FX, Limiters and output EQ make it a great workhorse. The portability - and price - of the unit make it a must try for the working muso. Have a listen for yourself.

“LIVE-AUDIO WORKSHOP: A Hands-on Guide to Rigging and Operating PA Systems.” ISBN 0 646 36408 1.

© Giraffe Communications 1998.

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