Stick Enterprises The R-Block User manual

CONTROLS
Each pickup has three control knobs, one for volume and two for tone, includ-
ing (1) a pot to gradually cut the lower mids, and (2) a 4-position rotary switch
for three vowel-like resonant midrange peaks (as in “cat, cot, caught”) plus a by-
pass position for Villex’s laser pure, full-frequency sound. Volume (3) is strong
with a high signal-to-noise ratio, and tone is not aected by volume control roll-
o, as it would be with a conventional bass or guitar passive volume control.
On the Stick cable, the bass output is marked with red and the melody is marked with
blue (see next page for amplier and input suggestions).
STEREO MODE
In stereo mode each pickup is controlled in-
dependently. Turn each side’s volume pot
clockwise to increase the volume. Turning
the volume knob all the way counterclock-
wise mutes the pickup’s output completely.
To hear the full signal of each pickup rotate
its midrange cut pot to the full clockwise po-
sition and “bypass” the resonant lter by turn-
ing the mid frequency rotary switch to the
most counterclockwise position. In this posi-
tion, turning the midrange cut control sub-
tracts a broad midrange band like the mid-
range band on a conventional three band eq.
To select one of the three resonant midrange
frequencies, turn the mid frequency rotary
switch counter-clockwise. Each successive
position is a lower frequency, and peaks the
tone in a distinctive way.
Operation
Manual
subjects:
CONTROLS
CONNECTIONS
ACTIVE MODE
©2015 Stick Enterprises, Inc.
The R-Block™
dual Villex stereo/mono
Railboard®
pickup module
(2) bass side
mid frequency
rotary switch
(1) bass side
midrange cut pot
STEREO/MONO
selector switch
(3) volume pot
for melody strings
(3) volume pot
for bass strings
(1) melody side
midrange cut pot
(2) melody side
mid frequency
rotary switch
STEREO OUTPUT
TRS-jack
stereo mode
CONTROLS
STEREO MONO
12
3
4
MIDRANGE FREQUENCY ROTARY SWITCH
1. bypass
2. “a” as in cat
3. “o” as in cot
4. “augh” as in caught

MONO MODE
In mono mode the controls of the R-Block are interactive. The volume controls be-
come “pan” controls, routing the mixed mono signal of both pickups to either one
of the two outputs or both, depending on how the volume controls are set. The
bass and melody midrange controls are combined for a “two-band” midrange eq
that applies to both pickups at the same time. A trimpot between the bass pickup’s
midrange frequency and volume controls can be used to balance the volume of
the bass pickup relative to the melody pickup. There are three basic “pan” congu-
rations for the mono mode:
1. Both volume controls at maximum: each pickup is assigned to both outputs.
2. Melody volume at maximum and bass volume at minimum: both pickups are
asigned to the melody output.
3. Bass volume at maximum and melody volume at minimum: both pickups are
assigned to the bass output.
To run into a single amp channel, you can use a standard guitar cable and set the
volume controls for #2 above, which sends both pickups to the melody output.
MONO TONE CONTRL
Both midrange cut controls in mono mode apply to both pickups, so they
function as a two-band eq with overlapping bands, for more precise toneshaping
with subtle cuts, or a more extreme eect with deeper cuts.
CONNECTIONS
The Railboard is shipped with two sets of cables, one for passive mode and one
for active mode. Passive mode is used to connect directly to guitar and bass
ampliers and eects units. Active mode allows the user to plug into phantom-
powered (48 volt) microphone inputs, as on a mixer or computer audio inter-
face, to run long cable lengths with no loss in signal or added noise, and to take
advantage of high-quality preamps not normally usable by electric instruments.
PASSIVE MODE
To plug into guitar or bass ampliers or eects pedals, use the passive cable.
The bass output is marked in red and the melody output is marked in blue. Be-
cause the pickup is passive, input impedances of 1 MegaOhm or greater work
best. Plugging the instrument into mixing board inputs labeled “line input” will
cause the sound to be “pinched” because the input impedance is too low.
ACTIVE MODE
When plugging into XLR microphone inputs, use the active cable (shown to
the right). Make sure at least one input channel you are plugging into has 48
volts phantom power turned on. A blue LED near the output jack lights up
when the unit is receiving phantom power. Active mode lets you run long
cables while introducing no added noise
to your signal. No direct box is required.
The signal is about as strong as a typical
dynamic microphone so adjust your chan-
nel gain control appropriately to get the
best signal-to-noise ratio. To run into single
channel in active mode, it is not necessary to
use the short splitter adapter, and the single
TRS male to XLR male cable can be used.
“Railboard” and “The Block” are Federally registered trademarks of Stick Enterprises, Inc.
Other trademarks include “R-Block”.
Stick Enterprises, Inc.
6011 Woodlake Ave., Woodland Hills, CA, 91367, USA • www.stick.com • [email protected] • 818-884-2001
R-Block™ Operator’s Manual
Page 2
Trimpot for mono
bass side voume
midrange cut mid frequency volume
BASS SIDE CONTROLS:
plug into Stick bass out melody out
(red) (blue)
PASSIVE CABLE: TRS (stereo) to dual TS (bass and melody)
melody out bass out plug into Stick
(blue) (red)
ACTIVE CABLE: TRS (stereo) to dual XLR (bass and melody)
Blue LED indicates
phantom power is
present.