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Operations Section
Setting
Input
levels:
Now
that
you've
hooked
up
the
MM-1, it's time
to
set
the levels
of
your
equipment.
This
is
critical for getting
the
best
sound:
the
best mixer
in
the
world
will
sound
noisy if its
gaim
are
set
incorrectly.
The
goal
is
to
get as
"hot"
a signal going as possible,
without
distorting
the
mixer itself.
1.
Turn
the
level
controls
on
your
instrument
(don't
forget expression pedals) all
the
way up.
2.
Turn
the
INPUT FADER
and
MASTER FADER con-
trols
on
the
MM-1
all
the
way
down,
or
mute
the chan-
nels.
3.
Play the
instrument,
watching
the
LEVEL LEDS
for
that
channel. Although you'll hear
no
sound,
the
green
LED
on
the
channel
input
meter
should go
on
as
you
play.
4.
Turn
the
TRIM
control
so
that
the
yellow LED
is
on
while
you're
playing. You may have
to
adjust
the
trims
again for
different
patches, etc.,
and
if
you
increase
the
EO settings.
You may
choose
to
increase it so
that
on
the
loudest
peaks,'
the
red L
ED
flashes occasionally. (When
the
red
LED
comes
on,
you
have only 3 dB before
the
mixer
electronics will clip
or
distort),
Setting
the
trim
of
each
channel this
way
will give
you
the
best
signal-to-noise
ratio. On
the
other
hand, lower
trim
settings give you
more
headroom,
so
the
MM-1
won't
distort
if
you
boost
the
EO
or
if
the
instrument
suddenly
gets louder.
When all
the
channels are playing
at
once,
you
may
need
to
lower
the
trims
still
more.
Setting
Output
Levels:
5.
Turn
the
volume control(s)
of
your
power
amplifier
all
th e way down.
6. Now,
unmute
the
channels
and
bring all
the
CHAN-
NEL
FADERS
to
their nominal positions
(the
shaded
area between 7
and
8).
7. While playing, slowly bring
up
the
L!R MASTER
FADERS
until
the
L!R meters read +6
on
the
loudest
peaks,
and
the
average
is
around
0
VU
(the dividing line
between
the
green
and
red section
of
the
meter).
8. While playing, slowly bring
up
the
volume
controls
on
your
power
amp.
Adjust
the
mix
on
the
channel faders,
making sure
that
you
increase
or
decrease
the
L!R
MASTERS so
that
the
MM-1
meters read a strong level.
Increase
the
power
amp
volume
control
until you get the
level
you
want.
This
is
the
best
way
to
get
the
best signal-to-noise ratio
from yoursystem. In
most
cases: keep everyting
as
"hot"
as
possible,
and
set
the
power
amp
controls
to
low sensi-
tivity
to
get
the
overall level
you
want.
If
you
make
the
mistake
of
running
the
faders
of
the
MM-1
at
a low level,
and
leaving
the
power
amp
wide open,
all
you are doing
is
amplifiying
the
residual noise
of
the
mixer.
In some cases
(su
ch as
Ex
ample
#2
above,
into
a
gu
itar
amp),
the
MM-1
output
could
be
too
loud
for
the
ampli-
fier it's
connected
to,
causing its
input
stage
to
distort.
In this case, feed
the
power
amp
from
the
phono
(RCA)
outputs;
they
are
10
dB
softer
than
the
1/4"
phone
out-
puts
(about
half as loud).
Clipping
Output
level:
The
MM-1
has a
maximum
out-
put
from
the
phone
jacks
of
+13
dBu (3.5 volts). Most
power
amps deliver
their
rated
power
with an
input
of
0 dBV
(1
volt) or less;
and
usually you
don't
run
your
power
amp
at
full
output
all
the
time.
If
the
volume con-
trols of
your
power
amplifier are
marked
with
attenua-
tion
numbers,
try
setting
them
to
the
"-20
dB"
position
to
start.
This means
that
even
when
the
MM-1
is
putting
out
3.5
volts,
the
amp
will
only
"hear"
1 volt.
The
MM-1
operates
at
the
level
farthest
from
the
noise floor,
and
your
amp
runs
at
its nominal
operating
level. CAUTION:
it
is
possible
to
blow speakers or damage the amplifier
itself
if
the
system
is
overdriven. Use
care
when
setting
levels, making
connections,
and
tu rning
the
system
on.
Setting
levels:
To
Effect
Devices
Effect devices are typically
the
noisiest
elements
of
a
system,
but
with
proper
level
setting
you
won't
hear
the
noise. Again, the principle
is
to
have as loud a signal as
possible going
into
the
effect
device,
and
turn
down
the
effect
return level
when
you
want
less effect.
Most
effect
devices have some kind
of
input
meter
-
sometimes a single LED
that
changes color
to
red
when
the
distortion
point
is
reached.
They
mayor
may
not
have their
own
input
and
output
level controls; some-
times there
is
a level switch. You have
to
set
these
pro-
perly
to
get
the
best signal-to-noise ratio
from
your
system.
1.
Go
through
the
"Setting
Input
Levels"
and
"Setting
Output
Levels"
procedures
to
set
the
trim
and
fader
levels
of
the
mixer
properly
if
you
haven't
already.
2.
Set
the
EFF
1/2
and
EFF
3/4
controls
in
the
channels
to
their
maximum
settings (full clockwise for
Effect
2
and
Effect 4, full counter-clockwise for Effect 1
and
Effect 3).
3.
Set
the
EFFECT
SEND MASTERS
to
the
"2
o'clock"
position.
4. While playing
the
instruments, slowly increase
the
input
control
of
the
effect
unit.
Stop
when
the
effect
device's
meter
or
clip light warns of distortion.
If
the
effect
unit
has an
input
level switch (for
example
"+4/-20"),
set
it
to
the
-20dB
(most sensitive) position.
Change it
to
+4
(least sensitive) only
if
you
can't
get
a
non-clipping level by slightly
turning
down
the
EFFECT
SEND MASTER
of
the
MM-1.
Setting
levels:
From
Effect
Devices
Now
that
we
know
your
effect
device
IS
exercIsing its
full
dynamic
range -
the
input
signal
is
not
buried
in
the
noise floor,
or
clipping
the
device -we
can
set
the
out-
put
level
of
the
effect
device (if it has one). Here, noise
is
less of a problem:
we're
aiming for
maximum
control.
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