User manual ALESIS MODFX PHLNGR

[. . . ] Reference Manual This page intentionally left blank 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Copyright 2002, Alesis. 7-51-0114-A 8/2002 Table of Contents Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Welcome!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 About the Phlngr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Important features of your Phlngr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Phlngr Key Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 How to Use This Manual. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Safety Instructions/Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Important Safety Instructions (English). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Safety symbols used in this product. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Please follow these precautions when using this product: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Connecting to the inserts on an instrument amplifier: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Connecting to equipment with XLR inputs and outputs:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 About audio cables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Using the ModLink. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Using the Phlngr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 About flanging. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Stereo source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Mono source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 What is Tempo Sync?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 To turn Tempo Sync off:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Description of Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Depth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Regen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 TYPE Rocker Switch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 1 Table Of Contents Reset Mod. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Tap Tempo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Bypass. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Using the Foot Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Sample Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Blank Settings Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Troubleshooting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Troubleshooting Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Avoiding ground loop noise. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Line conditioners and spike protectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Care and Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Cleaning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Refer all servicing to Alesis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Obtaining repair service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Audio Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Audio Output. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Audio Performance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Mechanical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Warranty/Contact Alesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Alesis Limited Warranty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Alesis Contact Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 2 Introduction Welcome! Thank you for making the Alesis Phlngr a part of your studio. [. . . ] 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 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. 24 3 Using the Phlngr This section defines flanging, and explains the functions of the Phlngr's controls in greater detail. A little technical knowledge will help you get the most out of your gear. . . it's really pretty simple. About flanging In the 1960's, when engineers had learned how to synchronize two analog reel-to-reel tape recorders, someone discovered that if the same audio was recorded on both recorders, and you deliberately slowed one down by dragging your finger on the flange of one of the tape reels, a deep comb-filtering effect happened as the waveforms from each recorder drifted back and forth in time, trying to lock together again. This jet-airplane-like sound became famous on recordings by Jimi Hendrix, and the Small Faces. Today, instead of on tape recorders, the audio is recorded in digital memory. It gets played back a few milliseconds later, at a point that varies according to the setting of an LFO (Low Frequency Oscillator). This gives you total control of the flanging effect (and, it's a lot less hassle). Flanging is achieved by delaying one part of the signal, then varying the time delay with an LFO. The delayed signal is then mixed with the original "straight" or "dry" sound, producing a complex series of phase additions and subtractions at different frequencies. By feeding back a part of the output of the delay line to the input (REGEN), these frequency nodes become more dramatic as oscillations begin to occur at different frequencies. DRY SIGNAL Flanging vs. Phasing These two effects sometimes sound alike, but they are achieved in different ways. In both cases, the characteristic sound is created by peaks and dips in frequency response when the shifted signal is recombined with the unprocessed signal. Flanging has a much more complex series of additions and cancellations (peaks and troughs in the frequency response) than phasing does. It also slightly changes the pitch of the sound, which phasing doesn't. Try out the Alesis Faze to hear one of the best phase shifters available today. Left input feeds both sides if nothing's plugged into the RIGHT jack DRY SIGNAL FEEDBACK LEFT FLANGED OUTPUT DELAY LFO DELAY RIGHT FLANGED OUTPUT FEEDBACK DRY SIGNAL 25 3 Using the Phlngr How the controls work inside the flanger Picture it this way: there's a block of audio in delay memory several milliseconds long, always being loaded with new audio from the input jacks. A "pointer" picks up this audio at some particular point in the delay for playback. If the pointer stays in one place, it's just a static delay line--and when you mix the veryslightly delayed output with the original input, you get a comb filter (phase cancellations at certain frequencies, additions at others). If you move the pointer back and forth in this block quickly, the pitch will change: higher as it moves towards the start of the block, lower as it moves towards the end of the block. This also changes the shape of the frequency response, when it's mixed in with the original signal. The [DEPTH] control sets how big the "block" of audio is, from start to finish. [. . . ] Customers outside of the USA and Canada are not covered by this Limited Warranty and may or may not be covered by an independent distributor warranty in the country of sale. Do not return products to the factory unless you have been given specific instructions to do so. 46 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: 47 6 Specifications This page intentionally left blank. 48 Index amplifier, 21 ASYNC STEREO, 26, 32 BYPASS, 16, 35 with foot switch, 35 cables, 22 CENTER, 16, 29 effect on RESET MOD, 34 CONTRARY STEREO, 26, 32 Deep Mono, 33 DEPTH, 16, 28 interaction with RATE, 29 digital converters, 4, 35, 47 doppler effect, 29 DSP, 4, 47 Effect Send/Return, 20 feedback controlled by REGEN knob, 29 Flanging defined, 25 stereo, 26 FOOT SWITCH, 16, 35 Ground Loop, 43 grounding, 7 guitar, 18 Hums and buzzes, 43 Hyper Tri, 30 INPUTS, 15 INPUTS and OUTPUTS, 16 Insert Cables, 18 levels, 22 LFO, 25 mixing console hookup, 19 ModLink, 4, 5, 16, 23 MODULATION SELECT switch, 16, 30 Mono sources, 26 OUTPUTS, 15 on ModLink slave units, 23 Pattern, 31 Phasing, 25 power adapter, 16, 17 Power cable, 7 Rack mounting, 17 radio/TV interference, 9 RATE, 16, 28 REGEN, 16, 25, 29 Reset Mod, 16, 34 in Triggered Mode, 30 Safety, 7 SIGNAL LED, 15, 16, 18, 22 stereo, 18 sources, 26 TYPE mode, 32 Tap Tempo, 16, 27, 34 Tempo Sync, 27 effect on RATE knob, 28 Through Zero, 33 transformers, 22 Triangle, 30 Triggered, 30 by RESET MOD, 34 TRIM, 15, 16, 18 active in bypass mode, 35 TYPE, 16, 32 Uncertainty, 31 XLR, 22 49 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. 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