User manual SOUNDCRAFT SPIRIT PRO TRACKER

[. . . ] 4 3 5 6 7 8 4 3 5 6 7 8 4 3 5 6 7 8 2 1 2 1 2 1 9 0 10 9 0 10 9 0 10 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 5 2 3 4 2 3 4 5 5 2 3 4 2 3 4 5 5 2 3 4 Contents Introduction Safety Precautions Connections System Overview Controls in Detail Inputs Master Advanced Features Initial Setting Up Applications Specifications Glossary System Block Diagram 5 7 8 9 10 14 15 16 1 1 2 3 Introduction Thank you for buying a SPIRIT ProTracker mixer, brought to you with pride by the SPIRIT team of Trevor, Martin, Gary, Ian, Martin, Peter, George, Colin, Mukesh, Andy and Simon. Owning a SPIRIT console brings you the expertise and support of one of the industrys leading manufacturers and the results of over 22 years experience supporting some of the biggest names in the business. Built to the highest standards using quality components, ProTracker offers superbly clean sound for live recording direct-to-tape, simultaneous recording and monitoring of live concerts, small scale PA or high quality overdub mixing in the smaller studio or bedroom. ProTracker packs tremendous flexibility into a small unit and is designed to be as easy to use as possible, but some time spent NOW, looking through this manual and getting to know your new mixer will give you lots of helpful tips and confidence, away from the pressures of an important session. [. . . ] It is important to set the GAIN of the inputs correctly to give the best performance. Set up the individual channel inputs as follows: o Plug in the chosen source (usually the MIC socket for mics and the LINE jack for anything else). Plug in phantom powered mics before switching the phantom power on using the rear panel switch. Keep all faders down when switching on phantom power. o Set the Mix Master Faders fully down and press the I/P TO MIX button on the Master section to route the channel signals to the monitor path. o Provide the chosen source with a typical signal level and press the latching PFL button by the fader. The level of signal will be shown on the Bargraph Meters and can be monitored on Headphones or the Monitor outputs. o Adjust the input GAIN until the meter is just reaching the amber LED (0dB) at a typical maximum source level with a steady signal. Since the internal LED meters have a true peak-reading response, when the source signal is rich in high-level transients (e. g. drums) a rather higher meter reading of +6/+9 will be needed to achieve an equivalent average level. This leaves enough headroom to cope with peaks in the signal without distortion for live work or analogue recording. If you are using the mixer to record to a DAT machine, remember that, unlike analogue tape machines, they will not tolerate any overload whatsoever before distortion occurs. It is therefore advisable to set a working level of -6 or -12 dB to allow a margin of safety, or preferably to set the level using the meters on the digital multitrack. o Adjust each input channel in the same way. If you find that you cannot set a reasonable level within the range of the GAIN control when using a MIC input, try the LINE input instead. The Stereo Return does not have a GAIN control, since the typical source for these inputs will be external keyboards or effects units which have a much more predictable signal level. The signal may be checked with the PFL switch as described above. o Once all channels have been adjusted, release the I/P TO MIX button. SETTING UP FOR RECORDING Following the procedure above will ensure that the input channels are correctly adjusted for particular source signals. Multitrack Recording makes additional demands because the mixer is not only required to mix down input signals but also to provide a monitor mix for artists to hear previously recorded tracks when overdubbing new parts. A typical setup is as follows: o Connect input sources and set gain as described above. Connect channel Tape Sends to as many tape inputs as required. A switch on each channel, above the Tape Send and Return jacks, allows the Tape Send and Return to be matched to either -10dBV signal levels (switch OUT) or +4dBu (switch IN). [. . . ] Adding the suffix V denotes the ratio is relative to 1V RMS. the practice of connecting an electric musical instrument directly to the input of the mixing console, rather than to an amplifier and loudspeaker which is covered by a microphone feeding the console. a device that allows the boosting or cutting of selected bands of frequencies in the signal path. the use of devices to alter or process the sound to add special effects, e. g. [. . . ]