User manual ALESIS MODFX BITRMAN

[. . . ] Reference Manual This page intentionally left blank 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Copyright 2002, Alesis. 7-51-0112-A 8/2002 Table of Contents Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Welcome!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 About the Bitrman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Important features of your Bitrman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Bitrman Key Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 How to Use This Manual. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Safety Instructions/Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Important Safety Instructions (English). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 CE Declaration Of Conformity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 FCC Compliance Statement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Instructions de Sécurité Importantes (French) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Lesen Sie bitte die folgende Sicherheitshinweise (German) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Quick Start Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 If you can't wait to get started. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Hook it up to a synthesizer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 A quick overview of the controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Rear Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Unpacking and Inspection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Installing in a Rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Power. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Connecting to the Channel Inserts of a mixing console: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Connecting to the Main Outputs of a mixing console: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Connecting to the Effect Send/Return of a mixing console: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Connecting to the inserts on an instrument amplifier: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Connecting to equipment with XLR inputs and outputs:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 About audio cables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Using the ModLink. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Using the Bitrman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 About multieffects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 About the effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 What is Compression?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 What is Distortion? [. . . ] Route cables to the Bitrman correctly by observing the following precautions: · · · Do not bundle audio cables with AC power cords. Avoid running audio cables near sources of electromagnetic interference such as transformers, monitors, computers, etc. Stepping on a cable may not cause immediate damage, but it can compress the insulation between the center conductor and shield (degrading performance) or reduce the cable's reliability. Always unplug by firmly grasping the body of the plug and pulling directly outward. · · 22 Connections Using the ModLink The Bitrman can be connected to other effect boxes in the ModFX family via the ModLink. The ModLink is a cable-free connection between two ModFX units that transfers digital audio and word clock. The 9-pin male connector on the left side of the unit is the ModLink IN port. By directly connecting two ModFX units via the ModLink, audio will pass from the left-most unit to the right-most unit. Inputs AC adapter Outputs 2 What about the 1/4" jacks on the slave units? When a unit is a slave to another unit, its audio input jacks are disabled; it will get its audio input digitally from its ModLink port. The output jacks, however, are always active; so an audio output can be tapped from any linked unit, without interrupting the flow to the rest of the chain. Master First Slave Audio Flow Second Slave The audio signal flows from left to right. The Master will send its digital audio output to the First Slave, and the First Slave will, in turn, send its output to the Second Slave. 23 2 Connections This page intentionally left blank. 24 3 Using the Bitrman This section will explain how the effects work, and explains the functions of the Bitrman's controls in greater detail. About multieffects Think of the Bitrman as being four different effect boxes in one. If you hooked up separate "stomp boxes" with cables, you'd find that the same four boxes will produce radically different sounds when they're connected in different orders. Take, for example, this chain of devices: Compressor Distort Phasor Bitrness The input is compressed first, then distorted, then phased, then modulated. The resulting sound of the above will be very different from this chain: Distort Bitrness Phasor Compressor The fact that the compressor is last in this chain, after all the other effects have taken place, can have a dramatic effect. . . especially if the input is a dynamic source like a guitar, with sudden transients on the attacks that are much louder. In this chain, the distortion will be more dynamic on those attacks; in the first chain, the compressor (if it's turned up) "squeezes" the attacks down to the same levels, so the distortion is more even. In the Bitrman, you can "rearrange the order of the stomp boxes" by using the CONFIGURE switch. After the order of effects has been set, the basic operation of the Bitrman couldn't be simpler. Each of the effects has a single knob, controlling how much the signal will be affected by that particular part of the chain. First, let us explain what each individual effect is designed to do. 25 3 Using the Bitrman About the effects What is Compression? Compression makes things sound louder and more sustained. It's an automatic volume control, with a constant "hand on the fader" regulating the output level faster than any real engineer could. Compression is used in the recording of almost every vocal, guitar, and bass. What is Distortion? Distortion occurs naturally when an amplifier or speaker is driven beyond its capability. When electronics are pushed beyond their limits, they generate frequencies that weren't in the original signal. When the "new" frequencies are an even multiple of the input frequencies, it's called harmonic distortion. An amp that's driven into clipping also generates nonharmonic distortions, i. e. , noise. [. . . ] Do not return products to the factory unless you have been given specific instructions to do so. 44 Specifications Audio Input Input Connectors: Maximum Input Level: Nominal Level: Input Impedance: Input Converter Resolution: 2 unbalanced 1/4" jacks +10 dBV -10 dBV 470k 24-bit, 48 kHz sampling All measurements done over a 22Hz ­ 22kHz range with a 1kHz sine wave at -1dBFS input. Impedances are measured at 1kHz. Audio Output Output Connectors: Maximum Output Level: Output Impedance: Output Converter Resolution: 2 unbalanced 1/4" jacks +9 dBV 500 24-bit, 48 kHz sampling Audio Performance (Analog In to Analog Out) Signal To Noise Ratio: THD+N: Frequency Response: Internal DSP Resolution: Power Consumption: >100 dB A-weighted < 0. 005% ± 1dB from 22Hz to 22kHz 28-bit 7 Watts max (9VAC Alesis P3) Mechanical Size: 2. 1" H x 5. 8" W x 3. 9" D (53mm H x 148mm W x 98mm D) 12. 6oz. (357 g) Weight: 45 6 Specifications This page intentionally left blank. 46 Index amplifier, 21 BIT REDUCER, 28, 30 BITRNESS, 16, 27, 30 order in configurations, 31 quantized in BIT REDUCER, 28 switch, 16, 31 BYPASS, 16, 33 with foot switch, 33 cables, 22 COMB filter, 27, 30 COMPRESS, 16, 30 Compression, 26 configurations, 25, 32 CONFIGURE switch, 16, 25, 31 DECIMATOR, 27, 30 digital, 28 digital converters, 33, 45 DISTORT, 16, 30 Distortion, 26 DSP, 45 DUAL PHASOR, 16, 26, 30 Effect Send/Return, 20 FM, 28, 30 FOOT SWITCH, 16, 33 FREQ SHIFT, 29, 30 Ground Loop, 41 grounding, 7 guitar, 18 Hums and buzzes, 41 INPUTS, 15 INPUTS and OUTPUTS, 16 Insert Cables, 19 levels, 22 mixing console hookup, 20 ModLink, 16, 23 modulation, 30 multieffects, 25 OUTPUTS, 15 on ModLink slave units, 23 Phasor. See DUAL PHASOR POWER, 15 adapter, 17 cable safety, 7 Rack mounting, 17 RING MOD, 29, 30 Safety, 7 SIGNAL LED, 15, 16, 18, 22 stereo, 18 in RING MOD mode, 29 transformers, 22 TRIM, 15, 16, 18 active in bypass mode, 33 vibrato, 28 XLR, 22 47 Warranty / Contact Alesis Alesis Limited Warranty ALESIS CORPORATION ("ALESIS") warrants this product to be free of defects in material and workmanship for a period of one (1) year for parts and for a period of one (1) year for labor from the date of original retail purchase. [. . . ]