Dbx 263A User Manual

DE-ESSER

MODEL 263A

OPERATION MANUAL

dbx Professional Products 8760 South Sandy Parkway Sandy, Utah 84070 Telephone (801) 568-7660 FAX (801) 568-7662

All trademarks are property of their respective companies.

CAUTION

RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK

DO NOT OPEN

ATTENTION:

WARNING:

EQUIPMENT TO RAIN OR MOISTURE.

CAUTION:

(OR BACK). NO USER SERVICABLE PARTS INSIDE. REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL.

TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT EXPOSE THIS

TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRICAL SHOCK, DO NOT REMOVE COVER

This symbol, wherever it appears, alerts you to the presence of uninsulated dangerous voltage inside the enclosure - voltage that may be sufficient to constitute a risk of shock.

RISQUE DE CHOC ELECTRIQUE - NE PAS OUVRIR

This symbol, wherever it appears, alerts you to important operating and maintenance instructions in the accompanying literature. Read the manual.

A Harman International Company

MANUAL CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

NSPECTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

UICK SET-UP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

ARRANTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

PERATING CONTROLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

ONNECTING THE 263A TO YOUR SYSTEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

BOUT DE-ESSING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

ECHNICAL SUPPORT / FACTORY SERVICE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

PECIFICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

OPERATION MANUAL

MODEL 263A

INTRODUCTION

Congratulations on choosing the dbx 263A De-Esser. The 263A provides traditional dbx sonic quality and performance for the working musician, DJ, studio operator or anyone who needs a friendly compressor/de-esser. We recommend that you take a moment and read through the manual as it provides information that will assist you in using your unit to its fullest potential.

Common De-Essing Applications:

❍ Reduce sibilance ❍ Modifying high frequency levels ❍ Exaggerate effects

INSPECTION

Verify that the 263A package contains the following:

❍ 263A Unit ❍ AC Power Cord ❍ Operation Manual ❍ Registration Card

QUICK SETUP

To get your unit up and running as quickly as possible, do the following steps. For more detailed information, refer to the specified pages.

❍ Unpack and Inspect the 263A Package. Page 2 ❍ Connect the 263A to Your System. Page 5 ❍ Set Levels and Controls as Needed. Page 10

PROFESSIONAL PRODUCTS

OPERATION MANUAL

WARRANTY

This warranty is valid only for the original purchaser and only in the United States. We warrant dbx products against defects in material or workmanship for a period of two years from the date of original purchase for use, and agree to repair or, at our option, replace any defective item, except external power transformers, without charge for either parts or labor.

IMPORTANT: This warranty does not cover damage resulting from accident, misuse or abuse, lack of reasonable care, the affixing of any attachment not provided with the product, loss of parts, or connecting the product to any but the specified receptacles. This warranty is void unless service or repairs are performed by an authorized service center. No responsibility is assumed for any special, incidental or consequential damages. However, the limitation of any right or remedy shall not be effective where such is prohibited or restricted by law.

Simply take or ship your dbx product prepaid to our service department. Be sure to include your sales slip as proof of purchase date. (We will not repair transit damage under the no-charge terms of this warranty.) dbx will pay return shipping.

NOTE: No other warranty, written or oral is authorized for dbx products.

This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state. Some states do not allow the exclusion of limitations of incidental or consequential damages or limitations on how long an implied warranty lasts, so the above exclusion and limitations may not apply to you.

OPERATION MANUAL

MODEL 263A

OPERATING CONTROLS

Front Panel

HIGH FREQUENCY or BROADBAND LEDÕs and pushbutton:

This button controls the pro-

cessing bandwidth and should be switched according to what works better sonically -- which usually means High Frequency for performance or recording and Broadband for mixing. See the discussion About De-Essing, p.10.

GAIN REDUCTION LEDs: These 12 LEDs show in decibels how much de-essing is taking place.

GAIN REDUCTION/DE-ESSER slider: Moving this slider to the right, in the MORE direction,

increases the amount of sibilance -- excessive ÒessÓ sounds -- reduction. Start in the middle, which is a good choice for the majority of situations. WeÕll discuss this in detail later.

FREQUENCY: This knob varies the circuit for specific sibilance frequency ranges. Start

around 4 kHz and adjust by ear; discussion later.

Hi-Z MIC INPUT jack: This connects to the 263AÕs low-noise FET preamp. Anything plugged into

this jack overrides the rear input. ThereÕs enough gain that virtually all high-impedance mics can be plugged in directly; a trim is on the rear for very hot ones.

Rear Panel

INPUT / OUTPUT Jacks :

These jacks are for a line-level input and output and are the standard 2-

circuit (ÒmonoÓ) 1/4Ó phone type, where the tip carries the signal and the sleeve carries the ground.

Hi-Z trim: This control sets the gain of the preamp for the microphone input (see front panel). The

gain is set at the factory at +20dB (all the way right, or clockwise) and shouldnÕt be changed unless your mic output is very hot. All the way left (ccw) is unity (0dB) gain.

PROFESSIONAL PRODUCTS

OPERATION MANUAL

263A

HIGH

FREQUENCY

BROADBAND

INPUT

-20 -18 -16 -14 -12 -10

OUTPUT

Hi-Z

TRIM

-8 -6 -4 -3 -2 -1

GAIN REDUCTION

DE-ESSER

PROFESSIONAL PRODUCTS

A HARMAN INTERNATIONAL COMPANY

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

3,681,618 4,403,199 3,714,462 4,409,5004,097,767  4,425,551 3,789,143 3,377,7924,329,598 4,473,795 

MADE IN USA

MODEL 263A



US PATENTS

4,101,849 4,136,314

1.8k

800Hz4k8kHz

FREQUENCY

2.5k

Hi-Z MIC

INPUT

120 V 60 Hz

18 WATTS

+ 5 hidden pages