Mix input, Output stage, Meequalizer – Joemeek three Q Desktop Channel User Manual

Page 6

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background image

11

Mix

Input

This

is

a

jack

on

the

rear

panel,

which

allows

you

to

connect

a

second

audio

source

(for

example

another

Joemeek

threeQ!)

The

Mix

input

comes

after

the

threeQ’

s

Preamp,

Compressor

and

Meequalizer

,

but

before

the

Output

Gain

control.

So

the

second

source

is

not

af

fected

by

any

of

the

threeQ’

s

signal

processing

but

is

mixed

with

the

material

which

has

been

processed

by

the

threeQ.

The

usual

application

for

this

is

in

overdubbing

in

simple

recording

setups.

The

Mix

Input

is

balanced

and

wired

as

follows:

T

ip:

+

(hot)

Ring:

-

(cold)

Sleeve:

ground

Another

application

is

in

a

simple

live

performance

setup.

For

example

one

threeQ

could

process

a

vocal

while

a

second

processed

a

guitar

.

The

two

signals

would

then

be

mixed

before

feeding

a

P

A

slave

amplifier

.

Perhaps

a

drum

machine

would

also

be

added

in

to

the

spare

Mix

input

on

the

first

threeQ.

V

oila!

A

complete

performance

mix

without

a

mixer

.

In

fact

three

or

more

threeQ’

s

could

be

“daisy-chained”

in

this

way

,

by

connecting

the

output

of

the

first

to

the

Mix

input

of

the

second

and

so

on.

The

Output

Gain

control

on

the

last

threeQ

in

the

chain

provides

the

overall

volume

for

the

P

A.

Output

Stage

OUTPUT

GAIN

T

h

is

o

u

tp

u

t

vo

lu

m

e

c

o

n

tr

o

l

p

ro

vi

d

e

s

u

p

t

o

1

6

d

B

o

f

g

a

in

,

w

h

ic

h

m

a

y

b

e

u

se

fu

l

when

a

lot

of

compression

is

going

on.

It

also

goes

right

down

to

nothing

and

so

acts

as

a

fader

to

fade

a

sound

out

completely

.

VU

METER

The

LED

VU

Meter

shows

signal

level

at

the

outputs,

after

the

Output

Gain

fader

. It

covers

the

range

-24dB

to

+12dB

in

eight

steps.

Note

that

this

is

relative

to

the

selected

operating

level

of

“+4dBu”

or

“-10dBv”.

In

other

words

if

you

have

selected

“4dBu”

and

the

meter

reads

“0”,

then

you

have

+4dBu

coming

out

of

the

output

sockets.

If

you

have

selected

“-10dBv”

and

the

meter

reads

“0”,

then

you

have

-10dBv

coming

out

of

the

output

sockets.

CONNECT

ORS

Two

identical

paralleled

output

jacks

are

provided,

so

you

can

simul

-

taneously

feed

(say)

a

recorder

and

a

monitor

amplifier

.

The

adjacent

switch

selects

the

output

operating

level

to

either

+4dBu

(suits

most

professional

studio

equipment)

or

-10dBv

(suits

semi-pro

or

hi-fi

equip

-

ment).

Check

with

the

handbook

for

whatever

you

are

feeding,

to

find

out

which

level

is

required.

These

outputs

are

balanced

and

wired

as

follows:

T

ip:

+

(hot)

Ring:

-

(cold)

Sleeve:

ground

Balanced

or

Unbalanced

Here’

s

the

clever

part:

to

run

unbalanced,

just

plug

in

a

mono

jack

plug.

This

increases

the

gain

of

the

“+”

signal

by

6dB,

so

there

is

no

drop

in

level

compared

with

balanced

gear

.

Note

that

in

the

threeQ

these

two

outputs

are

not

isolated

from

each

other

,

so

unbalancing

one

will

unbalance

the

other

one

as

well.

Technical

Stuff

All

outputs

on

all

NextGen

Joemeek

products

are

properly

balanced,

which

is

to

say

there

is

a

signal

on

both

pins!

In

this

way

the

maximum

possible

common-mode

rejection

of

interference,

can

be

achieved

at

the

receiving

end.

10

Meequalizer

The

threeQ

“Meequalizer”

is

a

highly

ef

fective

and

musically

rewarding

three-band

equaliser

,

or

tone

control

system.

Each

stage

allows

boost

or

cut

of

up

to

15dB

around

the

frequency

in

question.

The

“EQ”

switch

turns

the

equalizer

on,

and

the

green

LED

lights

when

active.

The

LF

or

bass

section

is

centred

on

80Hz,

the

frequency

most

ef

fective

in

bringing

out

bass

lines

and

kick

drums

when

boosted.

Cutting

can

be

used

to

reduce

unwanted

LF

noise,

such

as

hum

or

rumble.

The

HF

or

treble

section

is

centred

at

12kHz

and

boosting

this

band

gives

a

sense

of

“air”

or

“sparkle”

to

vocals,

instruments

and

mixes,

without

boost

-

ing

harsh

upper-mid

frequencies.

Alternatively

with

bass

instruments,

cut

-

ting

will

reduce

HF

noise

such

as

hiss

and

crackle.

The Mid band can be tuned or “swept” anywhere between 300Hz

and 5kHz

(at

either

end

it

will

also

have

some

ef

fect

on

frequencies

below

300Hz

or

above

5kHz).

This

ef

fectively

covers

the

whole

of

the

important

range

of

mid

frequencies.

It

may

help

to

think

of

it

as

like

a

graphic

equalizer

, only

instead

of

lots

of

frequency

bands,

you

have

just

one,

but

it

can

be

moved

to

cover

any

given

frequency

band.

Cutting

the

Mid

can

reduce

sibilance,

boominess

or

other

annoying

resonances.

Boosting

can

bring

out

the

body

of

a

vocal,

or

the

harmonics

of

a

guitar

or

any

other

instrument.

Increasing

or

reducing

the

“presence”

of

an

instrument

or

vocal

in

this

way

, can

appear

to

move

the

sound

forwards

or

backwards

in

a

mix.

T

he

M

ee

qu

al

iz

er

is

af

te

r

th

e

P

re

am

pl

ifi

er

,

th

e

In

se

rt

P

oi

nt

an

d

th

e

Compressor

.

Technical

stuff

E

a

ch

s

e

ct

io

n

o

f

th

e

M

e

e

q

u

a

liz

e

r

h

a

s

a

p

e

a

ki

n

g

o

r

“b

e

ll”

s

h

a

p

e

d

fr

e

q

u

e

n

cy

r

e

sp

o

n

se

,

w

h

ic

h

w

ill

b

e

f

o

u

n

d

t

o

b

e

m

u

si

ca

lly

m

o

re

s

a

tis

-

fy

in

g

t

h

a

n

c

o

nventional

“shelving”

equalisers.

The

use

of

bell

curves

at

LF

and

HF

also

avoids

boosting

subsonics

and

ultrasonics

which

can

have

adverse

ef

fects

on

other

studio

equipment,

such

as

recorders,

monitor

amplifiers

and

speakers.

The

“Q”

value

of

the

peaking

filters

is

1.9

(or

1

and

2/3

octaves).

Zero

phase

distortion

ensures

the

best

possible

audio

coherence.

LF

and

HF

frequency

response

Mid

frequency

response

(at

300Hz

and

5kHz)

three q manual.indd

3/9/04, 4:19 PM

12-13

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