User manual SOUNDCRAFT SPIRIT FOLIO SI

[. . . ] Above all, remember that your SPIRIT mixer is designed to extend your creativity. The more that you explore the controls and the effect they have on the sound output, the more you will appreciate how you can influence and enhance the final sound. SAFETY PRECAUTIONS For your own safety and to avoid invalidation of the warranty please read this section carefully. The FOLIO 4 desk must only be connected through the Power Supply Unit supplied. The wires in the mains lead are coloured in accordance with the following code: Green and Yellow: Blue: Brown: Earth Neutral Live As the colours of the wires in the mains lead may not correspond with the coloured markings identifying the terminals in your plug, proceed as follows: · The wire which is coloured Green and Yellow must be connected to the terminal in the plug which is marked with the letter E or by the earth symbol. · The wire which is coloured Blue must be connected to the terminal in the plug which is marked with the letter N or coloured Black. · The wire which is coloured Brown must be connected to the terminal in the plug which is marked with the letter L or coloured Red. [. . . ] The voltage on pins 2 & 3 of the XLR connector may cause serious damage. Unplug any mics if you want to use the corresponding LINE Input to avoid the load presented by the mic from affecting the Line Input gain. Use this input for sources other than mics, such as keyboards, drum machines, synths, tape machines or guitars. The input is BALANCED for low noise and immunity from interference, but you can use UNBALANCED sources by wiring up the jacks as shown below, although you should then keep cable lengths as short as possible to minimise interference pick-up on the cable. Set the input level using the GAIN knob. Unbalanced Input 3-Pole Jack Balanced Hot (+ve) Cold (-ve) Gnd/Screen Tip Ring Sleeve Unbalanced Signal Gnd/Screen Gnd/Screen GAIN 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. This is shown in the diagram below: Setting the knob to the `U' mark gives unity gain for the LINE input. Note that some sound equipment, particularly that intended for domestic use, operates at a lower level (-10dBV) than professional equipment and will therefore need a higher gain setting to give the same output level. See `Initial Setting Up' for guidance on how to set the GAIN correctly. Clipped Signal Noise If the signal level is too high, clipping distortion may occur. 100Hz HI-PASS FILTER Signal Pressing this switch enables a 12dB/octave Hi-Pass Filter which reduces the level of bass frequencies only, and is a real bonus on a compact mixer. Use this in live PA situations to reduce stage rumble or `popping' from microphones. Noise If the signal level is too low it may be masked by the noise. 13 SPIRIT FOLIO SI INSERT The pre-EQ Insert is a break point in the channel signal path. They would typically be used for Foldback or Monitor feeds, for which it is important that the send should be independent of the fader so that, for instance, the mix to artists headphones is not affected by changes in fader level. AUX SEND 3 This send can be pre-fade, pre-EQ and be used in the same way as Aux Sends 1 & 2 for Foldback or as a Monitor feed, but for Effects it is more appropriate for the Aux Send to fade up and down with the fader (POST-FADE). A Master Section AUX3 PRE switch allows you to switch all channel Aux 3 sends from pre- to post-fade across the whole mixer as required. The send is unaffected by the position of the ON switch if the master section Aux 3 PRE is pressed. AUX SENDS 4-8 These are always POST-FADE and would normally be used to drive effects processing units which are fed back into the mixer and which must fade out with the input channel. Aux 4 is an individual mono send, while the 5/6 STE knob feeds the channel signal via the PAN control (see below) as a stereo pair to either Aux outputs 5 & 6 or, with the 7-8 switch pressed, to Aux outputs 7 & 8. PAN This control sets the amount of the channel signal feeding the Right and Left MIX or GROUP outputs, allowing you to move the source smoothly across the stereo image. Rotation fully anticlockwise feeds the signal solely to the Left mix bus, Group 1 or Group 3, while rotation clockwise sweeps the image to the right bus, Group 2 or Group 4. ON SWITCH The ON switch enables all post-fade outputs from the channel when pressed. Note that the Insert point is unaffected by the ON switch. OUTPUT ROUTING The input channel signal is always routed to MIX or GROUPS as selected by the two ROUTING switches. The upper switch selects MIX when released or GROUPS when pressed, while the lower switch chooses between Groups 1-2 when released or Groups 3-4 when pressed. PEAK INDICATOR This LED indicator warns when an excessively high signal level is present in the channel. The signal is sampled immediately after the EQ section and the LED will illuminate approximately 4dB before clipping. It will therefore take into account the effect of any equipment connected to the Insert point. PFL When the latching PFL switch is pressed, the pre-fade signal is fed to the headphones or monitor outputs, replacing the selected source (either Mix or Tape Return). The PFL/AFL LED on the Master section illuminates to warn that the headphones, monitor outputs and right PPM meter are now responding to the PFL/AFL selection. This is a useful way of listening to any one or more signals without interrupting the main mix, for adjusting signal quality or simply to check that it is there! [. . . ] a method of audio connection which `balances' the signal between two wires and a screen which carries no signal. Any interference is picked up equally by the two wires, but out of phase resulting in cancellation of the interference signal. the onset of severe distortion in the signal path, usually caused by the peak signal voltage being limited by the circuit's power supply voltage. a ratio of two voltages or signal levels, expressed by the equation dB=20Log10 (V1/V2). [. . . ]