Ashdown SuperFly Operational Manual

BASIC PRECAUTIONS

WARNING - When using electrical products,
basic precautions should be followed,
including the following:

1. Read all the instructions before using the
product.

2. Do not use this product near water – for
example, near a bathtub, washbowl,
kitchen sink, in a wet basement or near a
swimming pool.

3. This product may cause permanent
hearing loss. Do not operate for long
periods of time at a high volume level or
at any level that is uncomfortable. If you
experience any hearing loss or ringing in
the ears, you should consult an
audiologist.

4. Make sure nothing interferes with the
ventilation of the product when in use.

5. The product should be located away
from heat sources such as radiators, heat
registers, or other products that produce
heat.

6. The product should be connected to a
power supply of the type described in
the operating instructions or as marked
on the product.

7. The power supply cord of the product
should be unplugged from the outlet
when left unused for a long period of
time.

8. Care should be taken so that objects do
not fall and liquids are not spilled into
the enclosure through openings.

9. The product should be serviced by

qualified personnel when:

a. The power supply cord or the plug

has been damaged; or

b. Objects have fallen, or liquid has been

spilled into the
product: or

c. The product has been exposed to rain

or moisture: or

d. The product does not appear to

operate normally or exhibits marked
change in performance: or

e. The product has been dropped, or the

enclosure damaged.

10. Do not attempt to service the product.
All servicing should be referred to
qualified service personnel.

11. For continued protection against the risk
of fire, replace fuses only with those of
the same type and rating as indicated on
the back of the product.

WARNINGS USED ON THE EQUIPMENT

The lightning flash with the
arrow head symbol within an
equilateral triangle is intended

to alert the user to the presence
of uninsulated ‘dangerous voltage’ within this
product’s enclosure that may be of sufficient
magnitude to constitute a risk of electric
shock.

The exclamation point within an
equilateral triangle is intended
to alert the user to the presence

of important operating and
maintenance (servicing) instructions in the
literature accompanying this product.

GROUNDING INSTRUCTIONS

This product must be grounded (earthed). If
it should malfunction or break down,
grounding provides a path of least resistance
for electric current to reduce the risk of
electric shock. This product is equipped with
a supply cord having an equipment
grounding conductor and a grounding plug.
The plug must be plugged into an
appropriate outlet that is properly installed
and grounded in accordance with the local
codes and ordinances.

DANGER - Improper connection of the
equipment grounding conductor can result
in a risk of electric shock. Check with a
qualified electrician or serviceman if you are
in doubt as to whether the product is
properly grounded. Do not modify the plug
provided with the product – if it will not fit
the outlet, have a suitable outlet fitted.

The wires in this mains cord are coloured in
accordance with the following code:

Green & Yellow - Earth
Blue - Neutral
Brown - Live

CE MARK FOR EUROPEAN
HARMONISED STANDARDS

The CE mark which is attached to these
products means it conforms to EMC
Directive (89/69/EEC), CE mark Directive
(93/68/EEC) and Low Voltage Directive
(72/23/EEC).

Important Safety Instructions

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General Operation Overview Front Panel Facilities

The following overview gives a quick
description of the operation of the Superfly
programmable pre-amp. This is followed by a
complete detailed description of each
section.

The pre-amp ‘user interface’ is made up of 22
push button switches, 9 bargraph displays, a
2 digit 7 segment display and 2 rotary
controls. All settings, except the OUTPUT
signal level may be STORED in one of the
user PROGRAM MEMORY locations
numbered 10 to 99.

PROGRAM MEMORY locations 00 to 09 are
factory presets and cannot be overwritten
although they can be modified and stored in
user PROGRAM MEMORY locations 10 to 99.

To keep things simple and intuitive
operation is:- one button one function.

Any parameter can be changed in real time
with the alteration taking immediate effect.
In this way temporary changes can be made
to any program memory allowing tonal
adjustments to be made ‘on the fly’, at a gig.
Any temporary changes made will however
be lost when another PROGRAM MEMORY
number is selected unless those changes are
stored first by pressing the STORE button,
selecting the program number for writing the
modified program into and pressing the
STORE button again. The EXIT button takes
you out of STORE mode if you change your
mind.

INPUT GAIN is adjusted using the INPUT
rotary encoder and should be set so that the
SIGNAL LEVEL bargraph is showing a reading
of at least half scale most of the time you are
playing. The setting of this will depend on
the sensitivity of the bass being used, the EQ
applied and compensation in volume
required for any Compression used.
The factory presets have been created using
a bass with average sensitivity. You may need
to increase or decrease the INPUT GAIN for
these factory presets to work well with your
instrument.

Each of the 7 bands of the GRAPHIC EQ has
an UP and DOWN button for boosting or
cutting EQ at its frequency centre.

Pressing the BYPASS button bypasses your
programmed sound with a FLAT EQ and 0dB
INPUT GAIN setting. This is useful for
comparison between FLAT and your adjusted
EQ. Pressing BYPASS again returns to your
programmed sound. BYPASS LED shows
when BYPASS is selected.

COMPRESSION can be added by increasing
the COMPRESSION RATIO from 1.00:1 to
some other value (1.00:1 = no compression).

PRESET PROGRAM MEMORY number can
be selected with the PRESET UP and DOWN
buttons or via MIDI.

EDIT/PROGRAM toggles between EDIT - the
currently selected sound with any temporary
changes or edits that have been made, and
PROGRAM - the original program parameters
stored in memory prior to any temporary
edits. PROGRAM LED shows when PROGRAM
is selected. You must be in EDIT mode in
order for STORE to function.

All parameters, including compression
Threshold, Attack & Release times as well as
an optional 7 band Parametric EQ option can
also be edited via USB with the SuperFly
Editor software downloadable from the
Ashdown web site. www.ashdownmusic.com

MAINS ON/OFF POWER SWITCH

The Mains ON/OFF power switch is located on
the front panel. Use this to turn ON the power
to the Superfly.

Before using this switch make sure the
Superfly is connected to the correct mains
power supply for your country using the
mains cable supplied and that the Voltage
Selector is correctly set.

After connecting to the correct mains supply
and turning on the power to the Superfly the
‘POWER ON’ LED and the front panel displays
should light.

INSTRUMENT INPUT JACK SOCKET

The Instrument Input jack socket is a high
impedance input perfectly matched to the
pick-ups of Passive bass instruments.

This Input jack socket is also suitable for use
with Active instruments, i.e. those with a built
in pre-amp.

INPUT ROTARY CONTROL

The INPUT rotary control is actually a digital
rotary encoder and is used to adjust the signal
level from the instrument input jack socket
through the pre-amplifier.

For optimum signal to noise ratio and for
correct operation of the Compression facility
INPUT GAIN should be set using this rotary
control so that the SIGNAL LEVEL bargraph
located near the OUTPUT control has at least
half its Green LEDs illuminated most of the
time while playing your instrument, with only
occasional peaks into Yellow/Red.

The SIGNAL LEVEL bargraph monitors the
signal from after the EQ section, therefore if

the EQ is boosted then the INPUT GAIN level
will need to be decreased so that clipping
does not occur within the pre-amp.

The INPUT signal level setting is shown on the
INPUT GAIN bargraph and is STORED along
with all other parameter settings for each
PROGRAM MEMORY location.

When the INPUT control is adjusted the INPUT
GAIN value is also shown on the two digit
PROGRAM MEMORY numeric display. The
range displayed is from –60dB through to
+15dB. The value is shown for about 4
seconds and during this time the INPUT GAIN
bargraph will be flashing on and off. After 4
seconds have elapsed the 2 digit numeric
display reverts back to showing the current
PROGRAM MEMORY number.

SIGNAL LEVEL BARGRAPH

SIGNAL LEVEL bargraph located next to the
OUTPUT rotary control shows in real time the
pre-amp signal level from after the EQ but
before the OUTPUT rotary control. Keep this
bargraph showing about half scale to ensure
there is no clipping of the signal in any part of
the pre-amplifier.

INPUT GAIN

When the INPUT rotary control is operated
manually the INPUT GAIN vertical column of
LEDs shows the actual GAIN setting being
selected.

When recalling a PROGRAM MEMORY preset it
displays the GAIN setting stored in memory
for that preset number.

GRAPHIC EQUALISER

The GRAPHIC EQUALISER has 7 frequency
bands chosen specifically to suit EQ for bass,

each frequency band is represented by a
vertical column of LEDs. Below each column of
LEDs are 2 x buttons, one for UP and one for
DOWN. These buttons are for increasing or
decreasing the degree of boost or cut applied
by each band of EQ.

If any of the UP or DOWN buttons are
operated the change to that frequency band
is shown on the vertical column of LEDs above
the buttons as well as on the 2 digit numeric
display. The range available is +/- 15dB in half
dB steps. After 4 seconds the 2 digit display
will revert to showing the PROGRAM MEMORY
number.

Temporary changes can be made in real time
to any of the Graphic frequency bands and
these will take immediate effect in both the
graphic display and the sound through the
Superfly. These changes will however be lost
when changing to another PROGRAM
MEMORY number unless they are first
STORED. See STORE below.
Making temporary changes in this way is ideal
for quick adjustments to a sound during a gig
without affecting the stored parameters.

BYPASS

If BYPASS is pressed at any time, the LED
above it lights and all bands on the Graphic
are set to their centre position (i.e. FLAT),
Compression is set to minimum Ratio 1.0:1
and the Input Gain is set to 0dB. You will not
see these changes other than the BYPASS LED
lighting as the parameters of your selected
PROGRAM MEMORY will remain on the front
panel display. The above description is merely
to inform you what setting are selected
internally for BYPASS mode.

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BYPASS

PRO