Alesis QuadraVerb 2 User manual

THE
ALES'S
MICRO
SERIES
USER'SGUIDE
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INTRODUCTION
THE
ALESIS
MICRO
SERIES
TheEssential
SignalProcessing/Music
Production
System
MIcRoVERS9I,
mlcno LIMITER9MIcRo
GATEPMIcRoEQ.
MICROENHANCERPanO
MICRO
CUE
AMP.
Togerher
rhey
represent
theculmination
of
years
ofresearch
by
Alesis
torefine
themost
musical
functions
of thesixmost
essentialmusic
production
tools
into
a powerful, integrated
system.Each
unit
is
containedin
a compact,
cost-effective,interlocking
one-thirdrack
space
package
- designed
for
maximum
efficiencywithminimum
hassle.
With
theMicro
Seriesin
your
studio,record
quality
soundscan
now
be
achieved.
And,
ofcourse,
all
six
unitsare
full
stereo
(with
theexception
of MICRO EQ),full
bandwidth,
anddesignedfor
fast,
trouble-free
operation.
Below
you'll
find
a briefdescription
of eachunit,
followed
by
setup
hints
andapplicationideas
to help
you
get
themostfrom
yourgear...
so
you
can
get
the
mostfrom
your
music.
MICROVERB
ll hasrevolutionized
therecordingindustry
by
providing
thesinglemostimportant
aspect
of music
- the
controlled
creationof ambience.Utilizing16bit linearPCM
processing,
MICROVERBll places
awesome
power
in
the
hands
of anyengineer, from4 track
bedroomstudio
hobbyists
to
seasoned
professionals
workingin
world
class
recording
facilities.
TheMICRO
LIMITER,
a soft-knee,
program-dependent
compressor/limiter,
adds
punch
to
vocals
and
instruments,
greatly
improves
thesignalto noiseratio
oftape
recorded
tracks,
and
smoothsoutfluctuating
dynamics.Attack
timeandcompression
ratio
adjustautomatically
so youwon'twastevaluable
time
searching
for
themostmusically
correctsettings.
TheMICRO
GATE
is a combination noise
gate/special
effects
processor
that
is useful foreliminating
incessant
background
noise
between
musical
passages,
forcreating
specialeffects
like
gated
reverb,
and
for
tighteningup
loose
timinginrhythm
tracks.

INTRODUCTION cont'd
(especially
kick
drums
andbass
guitars).
Thedelayand
rate
controlsallow
youto setthe lengthof timethatthegatestays
openand
theslopeof
the
gate
as
it
begins
toclose.
The
MIGROEO
isa 3 band
parametric
equalizercomplete
with
switchable
bandwidthcontrols.
Perfectlysuited
for the
requirementsof stageandstudio,
theMICRO
EQcanbe used
with
anyelectric
instrumentor microphone
requiringtonal
alteration.
TheMICRO ENHANCER
canbethought
of as an automatic
equalizer,used
during
tracking
andmixdownwhen
youneed
to
addbrilliance
to instruments andto restore
presence
andclarity
lost
in
the
recording
process.
And
the
MICROENHANCERdoes
this
without
addingdistortion,a problem
foundinothersignal
enhancers.
The
MICROCUEAMPisa twochannel headphoneamplifier
thatallows
youto expand your
headphone
monitoringsystem.
lt
also
features
a second
inputwhich
canbeused
with
a guitar or
keyboardforprivatepracticing.
Andyoucanevenchain MICRO
CUE
AMPS
together
to give
youalltheadditional
headphone
outputsthat
you
needfor
biggersessions.
Next
time
youlisten
to a great
recording,
you
willverylikely
be
hearing
the
AlesisMICRO
SERIES
inuse.
Certainly
you
should
beusingallsixMICRO SERIES
products
inyour
studioand
in
your
nextlive
performance.
Thismanualwill
show
you
how.

ACKNOWLEDGETAENTS
FORlr,ilCRO
EAp.37-/o
Reproducedwhh
permission
olthepublisher, Howard
W.Samsand
Co.
Modern
RecordingTechnioues
byRobert
E.Runsteincopyright1974.
Reprintedwith
pemission
fromtheNovemberDecember
issueofRecording
Engineer/Pmducer.
@yright 1972,IntertecPublishing
Corporalion,
Ovedand
Park,
Kansas.

TABLE
OFCONTENTS

INSTALLATION
Before
unpackingyour
new
AlesisMlcRo sERlEsunit,
take
a
moment
to look
through
this
instruction
manual.
we'vemade
it
brief
andinformative
andit will
answer
any
questions
that
you
might
have.
somehelpful
setup
thoughts
areinctuded
along
with
some
application
hints
for
each
unit.
Each
MlcRo sERlEsunitisdesigned
and
engineered
togive
youthe highest
level
of professional performance
andquatity.
we'vemade
each
unitmusical
andeasy
to use
sothat
youcan
get
themostfrom your
music
with
theleast
amount
ofeffort.
lnstruments,
Microphones
The
Alesis
MlcRoSERIES
hashigh
impedance
inputs
that
are
ideally
suitedfor useeitherwithinstrument
pickups
or line level
signals.
Although
microphones
can
beconnected
direcilyinto
any
of theMICRO
SERIES
units,it is recommended
thattheybe
connected
to a mixing
console
first
and
then
connected
to the
MfCRO
SERIES
as described
in Figures
2 or 3 forquietest
operation.
Of the MICRO
SERIES
unitsthatarestereo,
such
as the
MICROVERB
ll, MICRO
LIMITER,
MTCRO
GATE,
andMTCRO
ENHANCER,
either
left
or
right
inputs
may
beused,
but
signalwill
onlyappear
onthesame
side
output
(example:
left
input-left
output)
sincebothlett
andright
channels
are
totallyisolated.
See
tigure 1
FIGURE
1 - MONO
MICRO
SERIES
CONNECTION
TO
INSTRUMENT
ORMICROPHONE
INSTRUMENTOR
TO
AMPLIFIER
ORMIXING
CONSOLE
LEFT
OUTPUT

INSTALLATION cont'd
ThisisNOTtrueofthe
MICROVERB
ll, however'
lfthe
leftinput
only
ofthe
MICROVERB
ll is
used,
the
inputsignal
will
appear
as
mono
(present
in
both
channels)
atthe
dryside
ofthe
mixcontrol'
MixingConsotes
Allof the MICROSERIES
unitscanhandle
monoor stereo
sends
at allsystem
levels.
Theinputcircuitry
of theMICRO
SERIES
caneasily
handle+4dBv
levels
(+20dBv
peaks),
while
having
enough
inputoroutput
gain
tointerface
withtheextremely
low
signal
levelsofbudget
recordingsystems.
TheMICROSERIESunits
maybe connected
to the mixing
console
inseveral
ways.
In
thecaseofthe
MICROENHANCERorMICROVERB
ll,the
unitcanbe usedto effect
several
instrumentsat onceby using
theauxiliary
sendandreturncontrolsof theconsole.
Simply
connectanauxsendofthe
mixing
console
toeither
ofthe
inputs
oftheMICROENHANCER orMICROVERBll (or
2 auxsends
connected
to boththe leftandrightinputsof the MICRO
ENHANCER
or MICROVERB
ll forstereooperation) and
then
connecttheoutput
ofthe
MlcRo ENHANCERorMICROVERB
ll
backto either
theauxreturns or input channels.
Remember,
in
thissituation,themix control
shouldalwaysbesetfully
to the
right
(clockwise)
formaximum
effect.See
figure2
FIGURE2. STEREO CONNECTION
TOMIXING
CONSOLE
VIAAUXSENDS
AUXSEND2 LEFTINPUT RIGHTINPUT
rry1622m
MICRO
SERIES

INSTALLATION contd
The
recommended
method
of interfacing
for
theMIGRO
LlMlrER,
MlcRoEQ,
orMlcRoGATEistoconnect
the
unit
directly
to
theinsert
send
andreceive
patch
points
of
the
channel
that
isto beeffected.
This
method
will
work
fortheMlcRo
ENHANCER
and
MICROVERB
ll as
well,
butkeep
in
mind
that
only
one
instrument
(in
mono
or
stereo)
at
atimewill
be
effected.
Seetigure3
FIGURE
3. STEREO
CONNECTION
TOMIXING
CONSOLE
VIA
CHANNEL
INSERT
PATCH
POINTS
INSERT
SEND INSERTRETURN
LEFT
OUTPUT
ln
thecaseofthe MICROVERB
ll, however,
dedicating
separate
units
to individual voices
or instruments
allows
youto exercise
greater
control
overtheambience
of eachsound.An "overall"
reverb
canthen
beused
totieallofthesoundstogetherinto
the
samespacefor
uniformity.
Seefigwe 4
as 1622
u

INSTALLATION cont'd
Anotherway
to interface MICRO
SERIESunitsto a mixer or
recording
consolewould
be in-line acrosstheoutputof your
mixing
console.Seefigure 4 Thiswould
be the caseif you
needed
to effect theentire
mix
and
would
be an especially
appropriateusefortheMICRO
ENHANCER,MICROLIMITER,
and
in
somecases,
the
MICROVERB
ll.
FIGURE
4 - STEREO
CONNECTIONTOTHE
MICRO
SERTES
USINGTHE
MAIN
OUTPUTS
MAIN
OUTLEFT
LEFT
OUTPUT RIGHTOUTPUT
The
MICRO
SERIES
units
(with
theexception
of MTCRO
Ee)
areespecially
designedforstereo
program
material
asallofthe
units
aretruly
stereowith
common
parameter
controlstoprevent
"center
shifting",which
means
thatthebalance
brieflyleans
towards
oneside
dueto short
term
peaks
on oneside
of the
stereo
program.
The
MICRO
EQ
can
alsobe
connected
thisway
but
2unitsmust
be used
since
it is a mono
unit.MIGRO
CUEAMP(s)
canbe
connected
inthismanner
aswell
to expand
your
headphone
monitori
ng
capabilities. 6
a'*.'1622re
MICRO
SERIES

INSTALLATION cont'd
Mounting
All
ofthe
units
in
the
Alesis
MICRO
SERIES
are
rack-mountable
in theMicro RackAdapter,
where
anythree
units
fit perfectly.
Assembly
isquick
and
simplewitha singlescrew
securing
each
deviceinplace.
The
unique
designoftheMICRO
SERIEScase
allows
thedevices
to lock
togethertoform
a solid
rack
package,
orto
standalone
assingleunits.
Power
TheMIGRO
SERIES
ispowered
bya remote supply
providing
9
voltsAC througha 3.5mm
plug.
This
external
power
supply
approach
keeps
stray
magneticfieldsfrominterferingwithlow
level
signals,
allows
easyconversion
to alternate
power
sources
(220V),
and
furtherreduces
theunit's
physical
sizeand
valuable
panel
space.
Although
manyMICRO
SERIES
devicescouldbe
powered
byasinglesupply,this
isnot
advisableas
ground
loops
could
possibly
occurbetween
units,
leading
toexcessive
hum
and
noise
inthesystem,