User manual SOUNDCRAFT LIVE 8

[. . . ] User Guide 1 IMPORTANT Please read this manual carefully before using your mixer for the first time. © Harman International Industries Ltd. 2005 All rights reserved Parts of the design of this product may be protected by worldwide patents. ZM0335-02 Soundcraft is a trading division of Harman International Industries Ltd. Information in this manual is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of the vendor. [. . . ] You do not need to unplug anything in the MIC socket if you want to use the LINE input. The UltraMic+TM input provides very wide gain control (without the need for a pad), high CMRR and +28dBu input capability. An impedance balanced DIRECT output is provided, fed from the output of the fader buffer, which is therefore unaffected by the position of the ROUTING switches or PAN control. This provides an ideal source for external processing units, the output of which may be brought back to the console through the STEREO INPUTS or STEREO RETURNS, or to directly send to the tracks of a tape machine for multitrack recording. This provides as many Tape Sends as there are mixer channels, without using the group or mix outputs. An unbalanced INSERT is provided which is a break point in the input channel signal path. It allows the signal to be taken out of the mixer, through an external piece of equipment and then back into the mixer to continue through to the final output. The Insert is a 3-pole 1/4" `A' gauge Jack Socket, which is normally by-passed. When a jack plug is inserted, the signal path is broken at a point just after the Hi-Pass Filter, but before the EQ section. The signal from the channel appears on the TIP of the plug and is returned on the RING. The insert point allows limiters, compressors and other signal processing units to be added as required to particular input channels and because it is located PRE EQ, noise generated by the external equipment may be reduced by a small amount of H. F. cut in the Equaliser. 1 +48V The +48V switch applies phantom powering to the MIC input socket for condenser microphones. Transformer-coupled dynamic microphones may be used without causing damage, even when the +48V power is connected, but care must be taken when using unbalanced sources, because of the voltage present on pins 2 and 3 of the XLR connector. NOTE: Phantom powered mics should not be plugged in with the +48V switched on. Also you should be aware that some microphones draw an unusually large current which may overload the power supply, resulting in distortion. Consult your microphone supplier for guidance if necessary. 2 PHASE SWITCH The Phase switch reverses the polarity of the input signal to compensate for phase differences due to microphone placement or incorrect wiring of input cables. This switch should be released for normal operation. 3 INPUT SENSITIVITY This knob sets how much of the source signal is sent to the rest of the mixer. Too high and the signal will distort as it overloads the channel (shown by illumination of the PEAK LED), and causes clipping. Too low, and the level of any background hiss will be more noticeable and you may not be able to get enough signal level to the output of the mixer. Set the knob fully anticlockwise as a preliminary position for LINE level sources. An individual channel meter monitors the input level at the Insert point, making it easy to spot input overload. 4 HI-PASS FILTER Pressing this switch inserts an 18dB per octave 100Hz Hi-Pass Filter in the signal path, immediately after the input amplifier. This is particularly useful in live PA situations to reduce stage rumble or `popping', and its use is strongly recommended, even on male vocals. [. . . ] Note that `0' on the bargraph scale corresponds to a nominal +4dBu. 25 Applications APPLICATION 1 - LIVE SOUND REINFORCEMENT This drawing shows a typical configuration for sound reinforcement, with the main PA fed from Mix L/R and a secondary system fed from the Matrix outputs. The illustration shows the flexibility of the inputs to the mixer and how the direct outputs are available as sources for a multitrack tape machine. The Aux Sends are used for reverb (Aux 5 & 6 which are pre-fade) and for artists foldback (Aux 1-4), with Aux 3 & 4 switched globally to pre-fade. 26 APPLICATION 2 - LIVE SOUND WITH CENTRE CLUSTER This configuration is similar to application 1, but with the addition of a voice cluster and mono fill, both fed from the Matrix outputs. The source for the Matrix could be the main Mix, or a combination of Mix and Groups. [. . . ]