User manual SUMMIT MPC-100A

[. . . ] Save the carton and packing material should it be needed for future shipping. Before powering the unit, read this manual. Please observe the cautions for HIGH VOLTAGE. Set the line voltage switch to the proper position 2. [. . . ] The Tube Drive light should be blinking or steady yellow. Turn the compressor gain up to 6 or more, and the associated Tube Drive light should also be yellow. Set the compressor to your favorite settings (try Threshold ­5dB and Slope 5 with a fast attack and release time), then slowly turn up the output until you reach the desired recording/ monitoring level. Getting a clean microphone signal: Plug the microphone into the mic input on the back of the MPC-100A and set the input switch to mic (or 48 for condensor mics needing 48 volt phantom power). Make sure both the preamp and compressor gains are turned all the way down. Turn the output gain up very high, then slowly turn up the preamp gain and compressor gain to the desired recording/ monitoring level. Set the compressor to your desired settings (try threshold 0 dB, slope 5. 5 with fast attack and medium release times). Getting a warm bass tone: Plug the bass directly into the Hi-Z input. Set the Loading to about . 1M ohm and turn the preamp gain up until the Tube Drive light just starts to flash while the bass is being played (the flashing light indicates soft clipping). Increase the compressor gain until that Tube Drive just starts to flash occasionally, and set the compressor to the desired settings (try ­10 dB threshold, a slope of 5, with fast attack and medium release). Turn the output knob until you achieve the desired recording/ monitoring level. This can also be done if the bass is plugged into a DI box. Just take the XLR out of the DI into the Mic input on the MPC-100A, and set the input switch to Mic. De-essing: (Requires external EQ) Plug a TRS insert cable into the side chain jack on the back of the MPC-100A. Plug the send (tip) of the insert cable to the input of the EQ, and the return (ring) of the cable to the EQ output. Boost the frequencies on the EQ that you want to compress (de-ess). Ducking: Send the output of the "lead" program material into the side chain input after inserting the MPC-100A on the "background" program material. Example: Send the output of the lead guitar mic into the side chain, with the MPC-100A inserted on the rhythm guitar track. As the lead guitar player plays, the rhythm guitar will decrease in amplitude. This is perfect for broadcast use when the DJ needs to speak over music, live use when the lead singer needs to be heard over the lead guitar, or film sound when an actor's voice has to overcome a noisy background tone. Further Notes. . . . . . Linking: use a 1/4" mono patch cord with tip~signal and sleeve~ground; the MPC100A which is set for more compression will act as the master controller for both units; slope and threshold are the only controls effected [note: an MPC-100A can also be linked to a TLA-100A] Side Chain Insertion: use a 1/4" stereo patch cord with tip~send, ring~return, and sleeve~ground; to execute "ducking" (compression of principle audio signal, triggered by an external audio signal) tie tip and sleeve to ground, and bring the triggering signal in on the ring; to execute "de-essing" (engaging a frequency dependence in the compression of the principle signal) send to the outboard equalizer on the tip, return from the EQ to the compressor on the ring and tie the sleeve to ground - then boost the frequency you want to compress and roll off the frequencies you want uncompressed; this can be particularly useful in removing sibilance from vocal tracks. Sleeve Ring Tip Input Ground Side Chain EQ Output Side Chain connections are unbalanced Unbalanced Connection: to go into the line input XLR jack of the MPC-100A unbalanced, it is necessary to connect the signal to pin 3 and tie pin 2 and pin 1 to ground; unbalanced out has its own dedicated 1/4" mono jack Tonality: because there are two stages of vacuum tube gain in the MPC-100A as well as a discrete, solid state gain stage, the range of tonality in the unit is significantly wide; we recommend that you experiment with moderately overdriving either or both of the tubes and compensating for desired output level using the discrete gain control; be aware that when one of the yellow LED's comes on, it is indicating that the signal is reaching soft clipping "saturation" in the vacuum tube; for the most transparent signal tone set the solid state gain to maximum and adjust the tube gains only as high as your necessary output level requires. A Word About Tubes The tubes that are used in the MPC-100A are selected to give the best possible performance in the position that they are in the circuit. Switching them to different positions might cause performance deterioration of the audio path. Replacing them with "gold" or high end tube types may not be desirable. In cases that we have measured, these tubes have shown higher distortion and noise compared to the tubes we have selected. [. . . ] Summit Audio devices are the highest quality professional audio gear and the specifications below are made with the flattest possible unweighted measurements, giving the most accurate results. Specifications: · Output: +4 dBu corresponds to 0 VU. The output is balanced or unbalanced using 990 operational amplifiers. The recommended output load is 600 or more. · Input: The input transformer is balanced. [. . . ]