Microplane LUNATEC V2 - Manual (Page 5)

5
OPERATION
SETTING THE GAIN
Turn the gain control fully counter-clockwise, turn the trim control fully clockwise and check
that the +48V phantom power is off. Connect the microphone to the preamplifier and then
turn the phantom power switch on if required. When sending a signal to a tape recorder
that has fixed input levels, simply increase the gain until the optimum recording level is
reached.
When sending a signal to a tape recorder with a variable input use the following procedure:
Turn the gain control fully counter-clockwise, turn the trim control fully clockwise. Set the
record level control on the recorder to 12 o’clock or midway between minimum and
maximum. With the sound source present, turn the preamplifier gain control clockwise until
the peak LED begins flashing red, then reduce the gain until the red stops flashing. Since
red indicates a peak level which is 10dB before clipping, it is OK for it to come on
occasionally during recording. Adjust the recorder input control for the optimum recording
level.
The trim control can be used for ultra fine output level adjustment as well as for level riding
during recording. It should be noted that the maximum output level of the preamplifier is
reduced by the amount of output attenuation being used. For instance, if the trim is set to -
6dB the maximum output level of the preamplifier will drop from +26dBu to +20dBu. Since
the LED peak indicator monitors signal level before the trim control it will always monitor
the actual preamplifier headroom regardless of the trim control setting. It is best to leave
the trim control fully clockwise for normal recording operations. This ensures that the
preamplifier will be operated at the minimum necessary gain setting.
USING THE V2 IN M-S MODE
In MS mode the preamplifier accepts the Mid signal in channel 1 and the Side signal in
channel 2. The channel 1 output (XLR or RCA) provides the “sum” of the inputs and the
channel 2 output (XLR or RCA) provides the “difference” of the inputs. In the MS mode the
CH 1 GAIN control adjust the amount of Mid signal in the “sum” and “difference” outputs.
The CH 2 GAIN control adjusts the amount of SIDE signal in the “sum” and “difference”
outputs. It is best to leave the TRIM controls at “0” and use the gain controls to adjust the
stereo field. Equal gain on both channels will provide the widest stereo perspective while
reducing the gain of the SIDE channel will decrease the width of the stereo field.