Sound sculpture Abyss User manual

Owner’s Manual

Document OMABY190912A

Once upon a time while walking through a dark forest to a gig, guitar slung across her

back and with a couple boutique combo amps in tow behind her, a musician tripped over her

dress and fell on top of an old rusty lantern buried beneath the wet forest leaves. Being familiar

with the shape, she rubbed it and as expected, a genie appeared out of the puff of smoke

spewing from the lantern.

"Oh Master" the genie respectfully spoke, "For freeing me from my prison, I can grant

you one wish". "Only one?” the musician disappointedly responded. "I thought I get three".

Laughing the genie replied "Ho ho no, ye who bears the axe. That is just in fairy tales?" OK,

OK, she mumbled then thought, what do I want, fame, fortune, some hot clothes? No, I know,

and blurted, "I want an AB switch." The genie was intrigued and while scratching his chin

softly inquired "There are many AB switches in the kingdom. Will any AB switch do?"

"NO….NO, NO, NO" shouted the musician and with a fist in the air defiantly continued "I want

the best. The best of the best! I want a Sound Sculpture Abyss!"

The genie was noticeably pleased at the thoughtful request. "And so the Abyss you shall

have." and with a wave of his hand, an Abyss magically appeared and the musician lived

happily ever after reaching levels of fame and fortune she never dreamed of and she got the hot

clothes too!

Limited Warranty

Sound Sculpture LLC (Sound Sculpture) warrants this product to the original purchaser to be free of defects in material and workmanship under

normal use for a period of 2 years from the date of purchase from an authorized Sound Sculpture dealer or directly from Sound Sculpture.

Sound Sculpture's liability under this warranty is limited to repairing or replacing defective materials that show evidence of defect, and only if the

product is returned for repair directly to Sound Sculpture or to the authorized Sound Sculpture dealer from which the unit was purchased.

Sound Sculpture reserves the right to make changes in design or make additions or improvements on the product without incurring any obligation to

install the same on products previously manufactured.

Sound Sculpture shall not be liable for any consequential damage or loss of profits as a result of the use of this product even if Sound Sculpture is

advised of the possibility of such damages or loss. In no event will Sound Sculpture's liability exceed the price paid for the product.

No other warranties are expressed or implied and Sound Sculpture neither assumes nor authorizes any person to assume for it any obligation or

liability in connection with the sale of this product. In no event shall Sound Sculpture or its dealers be liable for special or consequential damages

due to the use of this product. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above exclusions

or limitations may not apply to you.

In Case of Difficulty

In the unlikely event that you experience problems with this product, please refer to the section in this manual pertaining to the operation you are

having difficulty with. Very often the difficulty is simply a result of improper setup or programming and can be resolved by studying this manual.

If, after reading this manual, you are unable to resolve the problem call Sound Sculpture at the number listed below during normal business hours. If

we are unable to resolve your problem over the phone and determine that the unit needs repair, you will be given instructions to return the unit.

UNAUTHORIZED REPAIR OF THIS PRODUCTY BY ANYONE OTHER THAN THE FACTORY VOIDS THE WARRANTY. NO UNITS

WILL BE ACCEPTED FOR REPAIR WITHOUT FIRST CONTACTING THE FACTORY.

Precautions and safety notes

Do not expose this unit to rain or operate this unit in a wet environment.

Do not attempt repairs on this unit. Refer all servicing to the factory.

If the unit becomes physically damaged due to dropping or for other reasons, it should be returned to the factory for repair to avoid additional damage

which may result from powering a damaged unit.

To avoid damage due to lightning, this unit should be unplugged during an electrical storm.

This manual copyright by Sound Sculpture LLC

Bend, OR - USA

(541) 318-1877

[email protected] www.soundsculpture.com

This publication may not be reproduced by any means in whole or in part except for personal use without written consent from

Sound Sculpture LLC

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The Abyss is a powerful new type of AB switch with features that take it beyond just simple switching. Check

this out:

Route input to amp A, B, both, or mute

Boost the input up to 18dB with a separate boost switch

Set the levels of the A amp, B amp, or both amps (3 settings) from -18dB to 0 with boost off

Boost the signal for A only, B only, and both (3 settings) from 1dB to +18dB

The gains when boost is off can be set from -18dB to 0dB and with boost on from 1dB to +18dB in 1dB

increments.

All 6 gain levels are saved in non-volatile memory for instant recall on power up.

The Abyss will respond to MIDI Control Change #7 to sweep volume of the selected amp(s) eliminating

the need for a volume pedal. In addition if both amps are selected MIDI Control Change #10 can be

used to pan between the amps.

Switching only occurs at the zero crossing of the audio signal eliminating switching noise.

An exclusive soft switch feature allows amp switching to ramp from instant to 350ms. This allows

completely silent switching even while playing!

The gains of the boost and normal state can be seen visually in the LEDs above each amp switch which

vary from green through yellow to red depending on the gain.

The Abyss can operate in exclusive mode (turning on one amp turns off the other, pressing a switch for

an amp already on turns on both) or non-exclusive mode (each switch just controls 1 amp)

The Abyss is expandable to allow switching of more than 2 amps using just a single TRS cable between

units. In exclusive mode, turning on any amp turns off all amps on all other units.

The input and both amp outputs are buffered with the highest grade buffers available for ultra

transparent tone even with poorer quality cables.

Either amp output can be switched to a transformerless float state using precision servo balanced

buffers isolating the amps from each other to eliminate ground loop hum while maintaining the

highest signal integrity not possible with the use of transformers.

The phase of the Amp B output can be inverted to eliminate out of phase amps when both amps are

selected.

The Abyss responds to a wide range of MIDI program and control change commands to select amps,

gains, boost state, and more.

The Expand output is a buffered output which can be used as a tuner connection eliminating tuner

tone loss from your signal chain. If several units are connected, then the tuner can be connected to

the last unit.

The gains of amps for the six available states can be adjusted quickly on the fly by pressing and holding

the A or B switch to increment or decrement the gain of the selected amps.

LAYOUT

AMP A AND AMP B FOOTSWITCHES

These switches are used to select the amps or to change the gains of the selected amp(s). See GENERAL

OPERATION for more information about how to use these switches.

BOOST SWITCH

This switch is used to toggle the boost function on the selected amp(s). When boost is active, the BOOST

INDICATOR will light. If both amps are selected the boost affects both amps together. If the Boost switch is

pressed and held then both amps are muted. Press any switch brings the amps out of mute.

INPUT JACK

This jack is used to connect to your instrument or when connecting several units together is used to link the

units together. Connect the EXPAND jack of a unit to this jack to expand the system. If linking units together a

TRS (Tip-Ring-Sleeve or stereo) instrument cable should be used here. This jack has an input impedance of 1M

ohm when an instrument is plugged in.

AMP A AND AMP B JACKS

These jacks are used to connect to your amplifiers. These outputs are transformerless servo outputs capable

of isolating amplifiers to eliminate any possible ground loop (hum) issues. The output impedance is 10 ohms

and these outputs are also surge protected.

EXPAND JACK

This jack is connected to the input jack through a top quality buffer. This is a non switched output with the

input signal always available at this jack (even when mute) so can be used as a tuner connection to eliminate

the tone loss that can occur when connecting your tuning directly to a guitar. This jack is also used to connect

several units together to expand the number of amps you can switch. To expand the number of units, simply

connect this jack to the input jack of the next unit using a stereo (Tip-Ring-Sleeve) instrument cable. This jack

passes both audio and (through the ring connection) also transfers information between units so the units can

all act together when an amp is selected on any unit. This data also includes any MIDI data being received by

the first unit so all units can respond to any MIDI messages being received by the first unit without the need

for additional MIDI cables between units. Being a buffered output you can also use this output with a

standard instrument cable to connect to a PA, recording device and so on.

GND-LIFT SWITCH (BOTH AMP A AND AMP B)

This switch, when set to the LIFT position activates the exclusive transformerless servo buffer to isolate the

ground of the amplifier from the system ground. Unless you have a hum issue, both switches should be set to

the ground position. If you find that you have a hum in your amplifiers, then set EITHER the amp A or amp B

switch to the LIFT position. The reason there are 2 switches instead of the usual one switch found on other

units is because of the expansion capability. When using more than one unit together to control 4 or more

amps, then at least one of these switches on one of the units should be set to the GND position with the

others (where appropriate) set to LIFT. Try and set as many of the switches as you can to the GND setting

using the LIFT setting only where necessary to eliminate any hum. See the tech tips section for more

information.

PHASE REVERSE SWITCH (NOR-INV)

This switch is used to reverse the phase of Amp B. Some amps reverse the phase of the instrument signal and

this switch can be used to correct for that. Normally, if playing through just one amp, you will not be able to

detect a reverse phase amp, however if you play through two amps at the same time and if one of the amps is

phase reversed, the sound may sound "thinner". If this is the case, set this switch to the invert setting (INV) to

bring both amps back in phase.

POWER JACK

Connect this jack to 9VDC with a current rating of at least 100ma. This is a polarity-agnostic jack and will

accept either a center positive or center negative jack. The jack size is the industry standard 2.1mm size. Be

careful not to connect a 2.5mm power connector as although it will appear to fit, it will in fact be loose and

may cause intermittent operation.

MIDI IN AND THRU JACKS

These are standard MIDI IN and MIDI THRU jacks and are used to connect the Abyss to a MIDI foot controller

or MIDI capable computer to control amp selections, boost state, gains and other function as well as respond

to MIDI control change message #7 to sweep the gain like a volume pedal and #10 to pan between amps.

GENERAL OPERATION

SELECTING AMPS

There are two user selectable modes available, exclusive and non-exclusive modes. In exclusive mode, the A

and B switches operate like this:

Press A to select amp A and turn off amp B

Press B to select amp B and turn off amp A

If an amp is selected, press the same amp to turn on both amps

If both amps are on, pressing A or B selects only that amp.

In non-exclusive mode the A and B switches operate like this:

Pressing A or B toggles only that amp and affects no other amps

MUTING AMPS

Pressing and holding the Boost switch for ½ second will put the unit in mute mode, turning off all amps. Press

the Boost switch again to return to the last state, or select amp A or amp B to just go directly to either amp.

CHANGING GAINS

You can independently change the levels of each of the 3 amp states (A only, B only, and Both) in the non

boost state and in the boost state for a total of 6 gain settings. To change the gain of the selected amp(s)

either with the boost on or off, simply press and hold the A switch to decrement the gain(s) or the B switch to

increment the gain(s). Having independent control like this lets you have a different level when both amps are

on than when either is on alone and also lets you set the boost levels separately from the non boost levels.

The LEDs for each amp can be used as a visual indication of the gain of that amp with green representing

minus 18dB, yellow indicating 0dB and red indicating +18dB. The color will vary smoothly between green,

through yellow, to red as the gain increases. When boost is off levels can be set from -18dB to 0 and when on

from 1dB to +18dB.

SETTING OPTIONS

TO RESTORE FACTORY DEFAULT SETTINGS

Press and hold all 3 switches down while powering up the unit. The 3 LEDS will blink 3 times together to

indicate success. The unit will then go into normal power up mode automatically with amp A selected, boost

off and a gain of 0dB. The reset sets the MIDI channel to 1, the Fade Rate to 50ms, and Exclusive Mode.

TO SET THE MIDI CHANNEL (factory default=channel 1)

To change the MIDI channel, press and hold the Amp A switch while powering up the unit. The Amp A

indicator will blink to indicate that you are in the MIDI channel programming mode. The previously set

channel is displayed and this is indicated by the LED states. To change the channel, press the INC/DEC

switches repeatedly. The LEDs will walk through a "binary" display to indicate the channel number each time

a switch is pressed. For example, 000=channel 1, 001= channel 2, 010 is channel 3, 011 is channel 4, and so

on. When you reach channel 8 (all LEDs lit), the next press of the INC switch will turn off all LEDs again

indicating channel 9, then 10 and so on until all LEDs are lit once again indicating channel 16. When you reach

the channel number you want press the BOOST switch to save the change and return to normal operating

mode.

TO SET THE FADE RATE (factory default=50ms)

To set the fade rate, press and hold the B switch while powering up the unit. The Amp B indicator will blink to

indicate you are in the fade rate mode. When this mode is entered, the current fade rate is displayed. To

change the fade rate in 50ms increments, press the INC/DEC switches. Each press changes the fade rate by

50ms. The range is 0ms to 350ms. The LEDs will walk through a binary sequence to indicate the fade rate.

000=0ms, 001=50ms and so on. If all LEDs are lit you are at the maximum rate of 350ms. To save your

changes and to exit to play mode, press the BOOST switch.

TO SET THE AMP SELECT OPTION (factory default –Option 0)

You have 2 options about how amps are selected when you press the A or B switches and either can be useful

to you depending on personal taste.

Option 0 (factory default): This option is most useful when you want to switch amps using only one switch.

When this option is selected, selecting an amp that is off will turn on that amp and turn off the other amp. If

you select an amp that is already on, then both amps will come on.

Option 1: This option is most useful if you prefer to control each amp without affecting the state of other

amps. With this option pressing an amp switch simply toggles that one amp and has no effect on the current

state of the other amp.

To select either option, press and hold the Boost switch while powering up the unit. The Boost LED will blink

and the currently saved option will be indicated. If all LEDs are off, Option 0 is selected and if the Boost LED is

lit this indicates Option 1. Change the option by pressing the INC or DEC switch. Press Boost to save any

changes and exit to play mode.

EXPANDING

One of the great features of the Abyss is that it allows you to connect together several Abyss units together to

control as many amps as you like. Multiple units act like one big unit by communicating with each other over

the expansion cable. To link units together connect a 1/4" stereo instrument cable (also known as a TRS or

Tip-Ring-Sleeve cable) from the EXPAND output of the right most unit –the unit your guitar is connected to, to

the INPUT of the next unit. If you use a tuner, you can connect your tuner to the EXPAND output of the last

(left most) unit. If you are using MIDI, only connect the MIDI cables to the right most unit (both MIDI in and

thru) and leave the MIDI of all other units disconnected.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

THE AMP SELECT OPTION SHOULD BE SET THE SAME IN ALL UNITS. For example if you want to use the

Exclusive Mode Option (see SETTING OPTIONS above), set Exclusive mode in all units.

EACH UNIT MUST BE CONNECTED TO POWER. TO AVOID POSSIBLE HUM ISSUES AVOID POWERING ALL

UNITS WITH A SINGLE MULTI TAP POWER CABLE. Instead either use a separate wall wart for each unit or

use a multi output power supply with isolated outputs.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

Incrementing and decrementing gains of amps of one unit will not affect the gains in the other units.

When in Non-Exclusive Mode, you can mute all units by pressing and holding the Boost switch on any unit, you

can come out of Boost by pressing any switch on any unit. In Exclusive Mode, since only one unit is active at a

time, press the Boost Switch of the active unit to mute. Pressing and holding the Boost on an inactive unit will

have no effect.

See MIDI CONTROL for instructions on how to operate multiple units with MIDI

MIDI CONTROL

IMPORTANT NOTE: if an Abyss is set to exclusive mode (using the power up Options feature), transmitting

any recognized MIDI message will force the Abyss to temporarily go into Non-Exclusive mode, which means

pressing an amp switch will not affect the state of the other amp. Exclusive mode can be restored by power

cycling the unit if Exclusive mode was set in the Options feature.

PROGRAM CHANGE MESSAGES

Program numbers 0-11 simply select the amps in the same way that the A and B switches do. If you have a

single Abyss only Programs 0, 1, and 2 are meaningful. Programs 3-11 are used only if you have additional

units linked together (up to 4 units total). You can use these messages to select any of up to 8 amps.

Program numbers 12 & 13 turn on and off the boost. If multiple units are connected then the boost of all

units are controlled simultaneously.

Program numbers 14-17 allow you increment or decrement (by either 1dB or 3dB) the gain of the selected

amp(s). Each time the program is transmitted, the gain continues to change. The change is saved in memory

and is reflected by the LEDs of the selected amp(s). This is similar to pressing and holding the INC or DEC

buttons. Levels of amps that are not on are not changed.

Program 18 & 19 mute and unmute all amps across all units. Unmuting restores the previous amp(s).

Programs 20-32 allow you to go directly to predefined gains. The new gain is applied only to the selected

amp(s) and is saved in the appropriate memory location. This is similar to using the INC or DEC buttons but

gives you the ability to jump directly to a particular gain. If a selected gain is higher or lower than 0dB, then

the Boost function is activated or deactivated automatically. If a MIDI Volume or Pan is active, then the

volume is scaled depending on the position of the pedals the same way as any gain setting from the buttons

would be. Use program 41 if you want to disable the pedal scaling.

Programs 33-40 affect the amp to amp fade rate from 0ms to 350ms and is similar to setting the fade rate

using the Fade Rate option on power up BUT DOES NOT CHANGE THE SETTING IN MEMORY. If you power

cycle the unit, the fade rate as set in the Options function is restored. In an expanded setup this affects the

fade rate of all units.

Program 41 disables the Volume and/or Pan pedals and sets the gain to the last selected gain instead of

scaling the gain which is the case when the pedals are moved. Moving a disabled pedal automatically

activates it again to scale the gain.

PROGRAM CHANGE MESSAGES

MIDI PROGRAM

NUMBER

ACTION

DESCRIPTION

A 1 ONLY

Amp A on (all other amps turn off)

B 1 ONLY

Amp B on (all other amps turn off)

BOTH 1 ON

Both amps on (amps on other units off)

A 2 ONLY

Amp A on (all other amps turn off)

B 2 ONLY

Amp B on (all other amps turn off)

BOTH 2 ON

Both amps on (amps on other units off)

A 3 ONLY

Amp A on (all other amps turn off)

B 3 ONLY

Amp B on (all other amps turn off)

BOTH 3 ON

Both amps on (amps on other units off)

A 4 ONLY

Amp A on (all other amps turn off)

B 4 ONLY

Amp B on (all other amps turn off)

BOTH 4 ON

Both amps on (amps on other units off)

BOOST OFF

Turn boost off on (all units - goes to system gains)

BOOST ON

Turn boost on (all units - goes to system gains)

DEC 1dB

Decrements active amp(s) 1dB

INC 1dB

Increments active amp(s) 1dB

DEC 3dB

Decrements active amp(s) 3dB

INC 3dB

Increments active amp(s) 3dB

MUTE

Mute (all units)

UN-MUTE

Returns to the previous state on all units

GAIN -18dB