TL Audio 5060 - Manual (Page 18)

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relevant input of the 5060 (mics will connect to the rear panel XLR input, line level signals such as mixer or tape machine
outputs will connect to the 5060 line inputs, while guitars, basses and keyboards will use the 5060 front panel instrument
inputs).
Select the relevant input source on the input selector switch at the top left of the 5060 front panel. ‘Mic 48V’ is necessary
for condenser type microphones that require 48V phantom power.
When using dynamic and ribbon type microphones the
‘Mic’ position only should be selected. Take care not to select the Mic 48V position when using such microphones as
potentially the 48 Volt feed could harm the microphone. The 5060 will route the microphone signal to both the left and
right output channels. If a mono instrument (or mono line level source) is connected to the left input (marked 1/mono) the
signal will be routed to both left and right channels. Connecting a mono signal to the right input only will send the signal to
the right hand output only. Recording direct to the multitrack recorder (thus bypassing the console) is a common technique
these days as it keeps the signal path short, and of the highest quality. No unnecessary console stages are passed through,
thus maintaining quality.
b)
Many mixers have sockets called ‘insert points’, which allow processors such as dynamics devices and EQs to be
patched in-line into the mixer signal path. Insert points are generally provided on a single TRS stereo jack socket, wired so
that one of the pins is a ‘send’, one is a ‘return’ and the third pin is the earth. A special cable (called an ‘insert’ or ‘Y’
cable) is required to then patch in and out of the 5060 – this cable will have a stereo jack at one end (the end that
connects to the mixer) and two mono jacks at the other end (the end that connects to the 5060). Of the two mono jacks,
one will be a ‘send’ that connects to the 5060 line input, and the other will be a ‘return’ that connects to the 5060 line
output. This way the signal path is routed out of the mixer, through the 5060 and back again, thus completing the signal
path.
The channel insert point routes the channel signal out and then back into the desk directly after the preamp stage. This
insert point send/return facility is usually before the EQ section on the desk (‘pre EQ’), but some mixers allow for optional
pre or post EQ insert points. There is understandably confusion between insert points and auxiliary sends/returns on mixers:
essentially they both send and return signals from the mixer but are different in application. The auxiliary sends will split the
channel signal, allowing it pass through the channel unaffected as well as being fed out to an effects device, allowing the
original and processed signals to be mixed together to taste. This method is designed for processes such as reverb, echo and
modulation effects such as chorusing.
With insert points it is typical to patch in dynamics processors/EQs rather than effects processors, since the entire channel
signal would need to be processed by a compressor/EQ and then returned back to the mixer, thus ensuring that the whole
signal is processed and leaving none of the original unprocessed signal still audible.
Group insert points are used to compress sub-grouped signals. It’s common for an engineer to mix an entire drum kit or a
number of tracks of backing vocals to a stereo group and then use a pair of group faders to control their overall level,
rather than having to adjust each individual drum level. If you then wish to compress the overall stereo kit signal, you can
connect the 5060 to the relevant group insert points, using the same ‘send and return’ technique as the channel insert.
Having compressed individual tracks while recording, it is common to apply compression to the stereo mix while mastering it
to 2-track tape, DAT or CD. Doing this will help fatten the sound further and control levels. Like the channel and groups, the
stereo L/R mix buss will normally have a pair of insert points to facilitate this. If not, the 5060 can be connected ‘in-line’
with the mixer’s main stereo outputs, ahead of the master 2-track recorder. Using master insert points allows the 5060 to be
monitored by the mixing desk’s control room outputs, but to monitor it when using it ‘in-line’ mode, it is normal to put the
2-track recorder in ‘record’ or ‘record ready’ mode, and have the outputs of the recorder feeding back into the 2-track return
inputs of the mixer. A mixer normally then has a 2-track monitor option where you can listen to the output of the 2-track
recorder (and thus the effect of the 5060).