Waves PRS Guitar Interface User manual

Waves/PRS Guitar Interface
User Manual

Table of Contents
READ FIRST!........................................................................................ 2
Important Safety Considerations .................................................. 2
Package Content .......................................................................... 2
1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................... 3
POWER ............................................................................................... 3
2. QUICKSTART GUIDE....................................................................... 4
3. CONTROLS....................................................................................... 5
FRONT PANEL ..................................................................................... 6
REAR PANEL ....................................................................................... 6
INPUT ADJUSTMENT ............................................................................. 7
CONNECTING THE WPGI...................................................................... 8
APPLICATIONS ..................................................................................... 9
4. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS .................................................... 10
Dimensions: Length: 11.5 cm, Width: 9.5 cm, Height: 4.3 cm,
Weight: 356 gr............................................................................. 11
5. WARRANTY.................................................................................... 12
6. TECHNICAL SUPPORT ................................................................. 14
1

Read First!
Warning – Safety First!
Please read and follow the instructions of the Registration Form
entitling you to technical support and service-under-warranty.
Important Safety Considerations
1. Read all operating instructions.
2. In case of damage due to spilled liquids or physical damage from
knocks or dropping, repairs should be performed by qualified
service personnel only.
3. Do not allow children to use the WPGI without adult supervision.
4. Operating temperature 10 ∼50°C.
Package Content
Your new Waves Guitar Bundle package contains:
1. The Waves/PRS Guitar Interface
2. 2x9V Batteries
3. CD Wallet
4. Registration Card
5. This User Guide
2

1. Introduction
The Waves PRS Guitar Interface (WPGI) delivers your direct guitar
signal to a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) or other recording device.
It guarantees that the recorded signal captures every nuance of the
original guitar tone, making it perfect for further processing or re-
amping.
The WPGI performs three main functions:
•Impedance Matching
•Signal Balancing
•Pre-amplification
For best results, we recommend plugging into a line level console
input, or better yet, a line level input on an A to D (Analog to Digital)
converter.
Power
*Use only UL Listed Class 2 power adapter.
Input: 100-240V, 50-60Hz; Output: 12 - 18 VDC, 0.5A max.
*Use only 9V Carbon Zinc non-rechargeable batteries.
3

2. Quickstart Guide
1. Connect your ¼” jack guitar cable to the Guitar Input on the
front panel of the WPGI.
2. Connect one of the outputs on the back panel of the WPGI to
the corresponding input of your DAW.
3. Choose mic or line level according to your needs. (Use Line
level for most DAWs; use Mic level to connect to a pre-amp.)
4. Turn the WPGI on and adjust your input level, starting with the
gain knob at approximately center (12 o’clock).
5. Start playing!
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3. Controls
5

Front Panel
1. Guitar In is a ¼” jack guitar input.
2. Gain controls input level adjustment.
3. Level indicates the input level (Signal, Nominal, Over).
4. Low Batt indicates low battery power.
5. On indicates whether the WPGI is on or off.
Rear Panel
1. +12VDC is a DC jack connector.
2. Power is used to turn the WPGI on and off.
3. Lift/GND eliminates ground loops. (“Lift” disconnects XLR
ground DIN.)
4. Balanced is a balanced XLR output.
5. Line/Mic toggles the XLR output between Line level (+4dBu)
and Mic level (-40 dB pad).
6. Unbalanced -10dBV is an unbalanced signal output jack.
6

Input Adjustment
Different guitar pickups output different levels. The front panel Trim
knob is used to scale your guitar’s input level so that the optimal level
is fed into the recording device for the best possible Signal-to-Noise
ratio without clipping.
Single coil pickups usually need a bit of a gain boost while humbucker
and active pickups might require a slight pad to prevent them from
clipping.
The 3 LEDs on the front panel are there to help with this adjustment:
1. The green LED labeled “Sig” indicates the presence of signal.
2. The orange LED labeled “Nom” indicates nominal levels.
•If it only illuminates during loud sections, boost the
Trim slightly.
•If it generally stays lit, even on long sustained notes,
cut the Trim slightly.
3. The red LED labeled “Over” indicates that the signal is
overloading and causing clipping. If this happens often, cut the
Trim.
7

Connecting the WPGI
The WPGI is designed to connect to one or more audio inputs. It offers
multiple options for connecting to audio equipment:
1. Balanced Line Output: XLR jack for direct connection to
Balanced +4dBu Line inputs. It offers the best Signal-to-Noise
ratio and delivers the highest quality results.
2. Unbalanced Line Output: -10dBV 1/4” Jack compatible with
most unbalanced -10dBV line inputs as well as guitar
amplifiers.
3. Balanced Mic Level Output: For connecting to other pre-
amps (such as a recording console’s mic input.)
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Applications
The WPGI has 3 main applications:
1. Impedance matching: Electric guitars output a high
impedance signal. Since most audio input loads are
incompatible with a direct guitar signal, the WPGI transforms
the signal, making it suitable for most audio input stages.
2. Converting an Unbalanced Signal to a Balanced Signal:
Guitars output an unbalanced signal which is more prone to
picking up noise and fidelity loss. This problem which is
compounded by longer cables, resulting in additional signal
degradation. The WGPI converts the unbalanced signal to a
balanced one.
3. Pre-amplification: The WGPI’s on-board amplification was
engineered especially for recording clear, undistorted guitar
signal. It does not replace the sound of a dedicated guitar tube
pre-amp; it provides a transparent neutral signal path, ideal for
further processing and re-amplifying.
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