Mooer PREAMP LIVE User manual

V2

CONTENTS
01
...............................................................
PRECAUTIONS
02
.........................................................
INTRODUCTION
02
.......................................................
MAIN FEATURES
03-04
......................................................
PEDAL LAYOUT
05
..........................................
INTERNAL SIGNAL CHAIN
05-09
...........................................................
CONTROLS
06
......................................................
Channel controls
09
.................................................
BANK SELECTION
10
....................................................................
BOOST
11
..........................................................
NOISE GATES
14
......................................................
MODE B (A/B)
......................................................
TONE CAPTURE
16-17
..................................
TONE CAPTURE operation
CHANGING PREAMP MODELS
21
............................................................................
MIDI
....................................................................
CAB SIM
25
.............................................................
MOBILE APP
................................................ 26
FIRMWARE UPDATE
SPECIFICATIONS ..................................................... 27
12-14
FX LOOP ..............................................................
13
MODE A (serial)
....................................................
...................
Footswitches / Channel selection / Saving Presets 08
Master Controls 07
......................................................
08
CHANNEL SELECTION .............................................
..............................
19-20
...........................................
PREAMP MODELS
MIC MODEL
CAB MODEL 23
...............................................................
24
................................................................
22-24
15-17
18-20

Connections
Power Supply
Please connect the designated AC adapter to an AC outlet of the correct voltage.
Please be sure to use only an AC adapter which supplies 12V DC1A, ,
center negative. Unplug the AC power adapter when not in use or during electrical
storms.
Cleaning
Clean only with a soft, dry cloth. If necessary, slightly moisten the cloth.
Do not use abrasive cleanser, cleaning alcohol, paint thinners, wax, solvents, cleaning
fluids, or chemical-impregnated wiping cloths.
Interference with other electrical devices
Radios and televisions placed nearby may experience reception interference.
Operate this unit at a suitable distance from radios and televisions.
FCC certification
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following
two conditions:
that may cause undesired operation.
Strong vibrations or shocks
Location
Direct sunlight
Magnetic fields
Excessive dusty or dirty location
To avoid deformation, discoloration, or other serious damage, do not expose this unit to
the following conditions:
Heat sources
Extreme temperature or humidity
High humidity or moisture
1
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY BEFORE PROCEEDING
Always turn off the power of this and all other equipment before connecting or
disconnecting, this will help prevent malfunction and / or damage to other devices.
Also make sure to disconnect all connection cables and the power cord before
moving this unit.
PRECAUTIONS

INTRODUCTION
PREAMP LIVE has been designed from the ground up to be the ultimate digital
preamp modeller for use in a live situation. Every control feature has been carefully
thought out to provide the best experience for live performance.
Based on our popular range of MICRO PREAMPS, PREAMP LIVE lets you carry 12
independent preamp channels of your choice everywhere you go for a whole array of
different amp tones right at your feet.
Added to the 12 preamps is a dual position booster, a fully programmable effects loop,
full channel switching control, MIDI IN and OUT, dedicated headphone connection,
multiple outputs with optional cab simulation and IR loading capabilities.
If that wasn’t enough, you can also use MOOER’s TONE CAPTURE to capture your
own amplifiers and even make some experiments to create brand new amplifiers to
find that elusive tone you’ve been chasing.
MAIN FEATURES
2
Contains 12 independent preamp channels with easy and familiar switching
controls
Pre and Post BOOSTER for each channel
Easily accessible global controls for fast setup in different live situations
Optional independent speaker cab sim for each output and IR loading via the
software
Fully programmable effects loop with serial and A/B modes. For use with
external effects or combining with your head/combo’s own preamp
TONE CAPTURE for sampling your real amplifiers tonal characteristics and
creating new digital preamp models
Dedicated headphone output for using as a stand-alone practice unit
Fully mappable MIDI IN and MIDI OUT for integration with other equipment
USB and Bluetooth for connecting to PC, MAC and MOBILE APP for
deep editing

PEDAL LAYOUT
GND
XLROUT
RETURN
SEND
INPUT OUTPUT MIDIIN MIDIOUT
PHONES USB
DCIN
12V1A
LIFT
OUT
01 02 03 04 05 06
07
08 09
10
11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
3
FRONT PANEL
BACK PANEL

PEDAL LAYOUT
VOL
Adjusts the preamp channel volume
BASS
Adjusts the preamp channel low frequencies
MID
Adjusts the preamp channel middle frequencies
TREBLE
Adjusts the preamp channel high frequencies
GAIN
Adjusts the preamp channel gain
BOOST
Rotate to adjust the boost level for the preamp channel
Press to change the boost to pre (before the preamp input) or post (after the preamp volume)
Press and hold to access pre and post noise gates. (LED's will turn yellow)
MASTER
Adjusts the master output volume of PREAMP LIVE
PRESENCE
Adjusts the master presence (brightness) of PREAMP LIVE
FX LEVEL
Adjusts the master output level of the effects send
CAB SIM
Toggles speaker cabinet simulation on/off. Each output has an independent toggle switch for activating speaker cabinet
simulation. Turn CAB SIM on if this output is being sent direct (DI) to a full frequency monitor, PA system or audio interface.
FOOTSWITCH 1-4
See the section of this manual for more info… “Footswitches / Channel selection / Saving Presets”
INPUT
Connect your instrument using a standard ¼” jack cable
SEND
Connect to your external effects input
RETURN
Connect to your external effects output
OUTPUT
Connect to a power amp or direct to a PA system or audio interface
GROUND LIFT
Use to eliminate ground hum when using XLR OUT
XLR OUT
Connect to a power amp or direct to a PA system or audio interface
MIDI IN
Connect to an external device’s MIDI OUT to remotely control the PREAMP LIVE
MIDI OUT
Connect to an external devices MIDI IN to control it using PREAMP LIVE
PHONES
Connect directly to your headphones
USB
Connect to a computer to change preamp models, programme MIDI settings, edit channel settings using the proprietary
editing software and update PREAMP LIVE’s firmware
DC IN
Connect to power supply 12V DC 1A
4
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22

INTERNAL SIGNAL CHAIN
CONTROLS
OUT
PREAMP LIVE has been designed primarily with live performance in mind.
The controls have been laid out to feel intuitive, familiar, easy to navigate and
adjust on the fly.
Channelcontrols
Master controls
Footswitches
For sake of this manual I’ve separated the controls into 3 distinct groups.
Let’s have a look at each group seperately.
5
A/B
FX LOOP
MOOE B
Serial
FX LOOP
MOOE A

Channel controls
All of these knobs control parameter settings that are specific to each Preamp channel.
The LED’s surrounding these controls show the current value of each parameter
(See “PEDAL LAYOUT” section of this manual).
Simply rotate the Knob for the parameter setting you wish to adjust
(See “BOOST” section of this manual for more on the BOOST).
Press and hold the footswitch for your currently selected channel for about 1 second.
The surrounding LED will flash to confirm saving.
If you are happy with your tone and you want to keep it, then remember to save your changes.
The LED colour displays which bank is currently selected
BANK A = RED
BANK B = GREEN
BANK C = YELLOW
0% 50% 100%
6
The LED’s surrounding the control knobs, display the current settings

Master Controls
All of the master controls are global settings which are independent from the PREAMP channels
and remain fixed during operation unless adjusted. This provides an easy way to incorporate
PREAMP LIVE into various different setups without having to adjust the channel settings
you’ve saved.
Each preamp channel can have it’s own cab sim assigned from a list within the
official software. You can also import your own IR files to replace some of the
default cab sims.
7
A/ B
Adjusts the overall brightness of PREAMP LIVE.
This is great for compensating for the difference between dark and
bright power amps when using PREAMP LIVE in different venues.
PRESENCE-
Adjusts the overall output volume of PREAMP LIVE
MASTER-
Setup the send level of the effects loop and leave it in place.
This allows easy integration of external effects units or even external
preamps with the programmable effects loop.
More on that in the FX LOOP section of this manual…..
FX LEVEL-
Independently toggle speaker cabinet simulation on/off for the different
outputs of PREAMP LIVE.
This makes connecting one output to your on-stage backline (no cab sim)
and one output direct to the PA (with cab sim) very easy.
CAB SIM-
FX LOOP
MOOE B
Se rial
FX LOOP
MOOE A

Footswitches / Channel selection / Saving Presets
There are 12 channels in total inside PREAMP LIVE. These are organised into 3 banks with 4
channels on each. So you could consider each bank almost like a different 4 channel head and
each footswitch of the PREAMP LIVE as a different channel within that head.
BANK A
1234
GAS STATION CL GAS STATION DS UK GOLD A UK GOLD B
BANK B
1 2 3 4
Blueno CL
US CLASSIC OD UK GOLD DS BROWN SOUND 3 DS
BANK C
1 2 3 4
Cali Mk3 CL
Cali Mk3 DS TWO STONE CL TWO STONE DS
The channel selection logic of PREAMP LIVE is based on the same control methods you might
find on a traditional 4 channel tube amplifier.
CHANNEL SELECTION
Press a footswitch to select a channel
FOOTSWITCH 1 = Channel 1 FOOTSWITCH 2 = Channel 2 FOOTSWITCH 3 = Channel 3 FOOTSWITCH 4 = Channel 4 
The LED surrounding the footswitch tells us which channel we are on.
8

BANK SELECTION
To select a BANK press the 2 footswitches marked at either side of the BANK you wish to select.
The LED’s surrounding the CHANNEL CONTROLS will change colour to indicate which bank is
selected
The colour of the CHANNEL CONTROL LED’s will indicate which BANK is currently selected.
After selecting a different bank the PREAMP LIVE will wait for you to select a channel within
that bank before changing the sound.
Saving
All Settings are saved per channel. This includes all of the Channel controls, Boost settings
+ status, Noise Gate settings and FX LOOP on/off status.
Select a Preamp Channel
Dial in your tone
Press and hold the footswitch for your currently selected channel for around 1 second.
The surrounding LED will flash to confirm saving
Duplicate channel
You can copy your current channel to any other channel position within Preamp Live.
WARNING this will overwrite all channel settings, Boost settings + status, Noise Gate
settings, FX LOOP status and Preamp Model of the target channel. The previous Preamp
model will not be recoverable without using the supporting software.
Select the channel you wish to copy and duplicate
Press and hold the footswitch of the target channel you wish to overwrite for 3 seconds
The surrounding LED will flash to confirm overwriting
9
BANK A = FOOTSWITCH 1 + 2
RED
BANK C = FOOTSWITCH 3 + 4
YELLOW
BANK B = FOOTSWITCH 2 + 3
GREEN

PREAMP LIVE is fully equipped with 2 different boosters. A PRE BOOST and a POST BOOST.
You can make and save independent boost settings for each preamp channel. Here’s where
they are in the signal chain.
Boost can be set to PRE or POST by pressing the BOOST control knob.
PRE BOOST comes before the PREAMP in the signal chain and will add more saturation by
pushing the front end of the preamp and boosting the volume, just like a clean overdrive pedal
would. The PRE BOOST also adds a bit of mid hump to your guitar signal to fatten things up.
POST BOOST Comes after the PREAMP in the signal chain so it simply adds more volume when
engaged. The POST BOOST is completely transparent and has a boost range of 0dB - 6dB.
Press the footswitch of your currently selected PREAMP CHANNEL to toggle the boost ON/OFF.
 =OFFGREEN =ONRED
BOOST
10
A/B
FX LOOP
MOOE B
Serial
FX LOOP
MOOE A
A/ B
FX LOOP
MOOE B

NOISE GATES
Preamp live has 2 adjustable noise gates per channel. PRE and POST.
Both can be used simultaneously if needed.
Press and hold the BOOST control to access the noise gates. The surrounding LED’s will turn
yellow to indicate the noise gate level.
Press the BOOST control to toggle between PRE or POST noise gate
PRE NOISE GATE
This noise gate comes after the input of PREAMP live but before the PREAMP model
within the signal chain. Use this to eliminate noise from external devices that are
connected to the input
POST NOISE GATE
This noise gate comes after the preamp model in the signal chain. Use this to eliminate
unwanted noise caused by high gain preamp settings.
After setting your desired noise gate levels, press and hold the BOOST control to exit the noise
gate setup. The noise gate setup will automatically exit after 5 seconds.
Remember to save your channel if you wish to keep these settings
Please note - Both noise gates will be completely disabled on each channel by default
11
A/B
FX LOOP
MOOE B
Serial
FX LOOP
MOOE A
PO ST
N.GATE
Se rial
FX LOOP
MOOE A
PO ST
N. GATE
Effects LOOP
MODE A (SERIAL)
Effects LOOP
MODE B (A/B)
When the effects loop is set to MODE A (SERIAL) the POST NG will be before the effects loop.
When the effects loop is set to MODE B (A/B) the POST NG will be after the effects loop.
Se rial
FX LOOP
MOOE A
PO ST
N. GATE

FX LOOP
Preamp live has an advanced, programmable effects loop which has 2 different modes.
Simultaneously press and release footswitches 2 + 4 to toggle the effects loop on/off
Press and hold footswitches 2 + 4 for several seconds to change the FX LOOP mode.
MODE A (serial) = GREEN MODE B (A/B) = RED
The LED beside the FX LEVEL control will illuminate to show when the FX LOOP is active and
it’s colour depicts which FX LOOP MODE is selected.
The FX LEVEL control will adjust the send level +/- 5dB.
Please note - The on/off status of the effects loop can be saved per preamp channel but the
FX LOOP MODE is a global seng.
12
A/B
FX LOOP
MOOE B
Serial
FX LOOP
MOOE A

MODE A (serial)
MODE A is a traditional serial FX LOOP that comes after the PREAMP section of PREAMP LIVE.
This is ideal for using external effects units that you want to switch in and out with different preamp
channels.
Send
Input
Return
OUPUT
MIXING CONSOLE
Power AMP
XLR OUT
13
When the effects loop is set to MODE A (SERIAL) the POST NG will be before the effects loop.
Serial
FX LOOP
MOOE A

MODE B (A/B)
MODE B is a special FX LOOP that will bypass the digital preamp section of PREAMP LIVE and
replace it with the analog preamp section of your amplifier. This allows you to connect PREAMP
LIVE up to an amplifier head or combo with 4 cables and use the preamp section of the head/
combo instead of the digital PREAMP when the FX LOOP is active.
Send
Output
Input
Return
Send
Return
14
For example, I can use a digital preamp on channels 1, 2 and 4 and use the preamp
from my amplifier head or combo on channel 3 by activating the effects loop
(in MODE B) on channel 3.
A/B
FX LOOP
MOOE B
When the effects loop is set to MODE B (A/B) the POST NG will be after the effects loop.

TONE CAPTURE
PREAMP LIVE has a very interesting special feature called TONE CAPTURE. TONE CAPTURE
allows you to create an advanced EQ stage based on feedback sampling of external equipment.
The primary application for this function is to try and replicate the sound of your favourite
amplifiers (or preamp pedal) by combining one of the MOOER PREAMP models with a
TONE CAPTURE EQ you have created by sampling your amp.
Every channel of PREAMP LIVE is capable of storing it’s own tone capture EQ which can
then be exported and shared with friends using the official software.
Send
Output
Input
Return
Send
Return
TONE CAPTURE Connections
The amplifier must have an effects loop or “preamp out” to work. It must have a speaker load
connected at all mes during the capture process. DO NOT connect the speaker output of your
amplifier to PREAMP LIVE.
15
A/B
FX LOOP
MOOE B
Serial
FX LOOP
MOOE A

TONE CAPTURE operation
1. Select a PREAMP CHANNEL that you think most closely matches that of your target
amplifier in tonal characteristics. Tweak the settings to further match the sound you want.
2.  Simultaneously press footswitches 1 + 4 on PREAMP LIVE to enter TONE CAPTURE mode.
If the channel does not have a tone capture already saved in memory then footswitch
3 will be illuminated yellow and flashing on/off.
If the channel already has a tone capture stored in memory then footswitch 3 will be
yellow and in a solid status.
To clear a tone capture from channel memory, press and hold footswitch 3 until it starts
flashing.
3. Press footswitch 1 (SOURCE) to listen to your PREAMP LIVE channel
4. Press footswitch 2 (TARGET) to listen to the external amplifier
16

6. Press footswitch 3 to listen to the PREAMP LIVE channel combined with your newly
created TONE CAPTURE. The tone capture you just created will be automatically stored
to channel memory should you wish to use it.
You can now toggle between SOURCE, TARGET and CAPTURE to compare the difference
in tone using footswitches 1, 2 and 3.
7. Press footswitch 4 (ACTIVE) to activate the tone capture on the preamp channel.
You can use this footswitch to toggle the tone capture on/off from the tone capture mode
at any time. The tone capture on/off state is a saveable parameter for every preamp
channel.
8. Simultaneously press footswitches 1 + 4 to exit tone capture mode. You can now tweak
the EQ and gain parameters further. Don’t forget to save your preamp channel before
changing if you wish to keep the settings.
5. Press footswitch 3 (CAPTURE) and play your guitar whilst the CHANNEL CONTROL LED’s
countdown. Try and play all over the fretboard and reach as big a note range as possible to
get the best capture results.
When the capture process has finished, footswitch 3 LED’s will stop flashing and remain solid.
17

Preamp Live contains 12 PREAMP channels in total. By default the preamp channels that ship
with the unit are as follows….
BANK A
1 2 3 4
GAS STATION CL GAS STATION DS UK GOLD A UK GOLD B
BANK B
1 2 3 4
Blueno CL
US CLASSIC OD UK GOLD DS BROWN SOUND 3 DS
BANK C
1 2 3 4
Cali Mk3 CL
Cali Mk3 DS TWO STONE CL TWO STONE DS
To change the PREAMP models and/or organise their channel allocation, download
the software from and connect PREAMP LIVE to your computer via www.mooeraudio.com
USB or to your mobile device via BLUETOOTH.
1. Select the channel you wish to edit 2. Open the PREAMP drop down menu
3. Select the new PREAMP model 4. Press the SAVE button
You can organise your PREAMP channels however you like and even have multiples of
the same PREAMP model on different channels so you can set them up differently.
A
B
1 2 34
1 2 34
C1 2 34
SERIA L
5. Blueno UG 30
1. Gas Station Clean
2. Gas Station Dist
3. UK Gold Clean
4. UK Gold Dist
5. Blueno UG 30
6. US Classic OD
7. US Gold 100 Dist
8. Brown Sound 3 CH3
9. Cali-MK 3 Deep Clean
10. Cali-MK 3 Rhythm
11. Two Stone Coral Clean
12. Two Stone Coral OD
CHANGING PREAMP MODELS
18