Drawmer MXPRO30 Users Manual

DRAWMER

MX30

DUAL GATED COMPRESSOR

OPERATORS MANUAL

CONTENTS

SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS page 1

INTRODUCTION page 2

INSTALLATION page 3

• Audio Connections page 3

• Power Connection page 5

CONTROL DESCRIPTIONS page 6

• Gate / Expander page 6

• Compressor page 7

• Limiter page 8

• Linking page 8

OPERATION page 9

IF A FAULT DEVELOPS page 10
CONTACTING DRAWMER page 10

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION page 11
BLOCK DIAGRAM page 12
SESSION RECALL SHEET page 13

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COPYRIGHT

This manual is copyrighted © 2011 by Drawmer Electronics, Ltd. With all rights
reserved. Under copyright laws, this manual may not be duplicated in whole or in
part without the written consent of Drawmer.

ONE YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY

Drawmer Electronics Ltd., warrants the Drawmer MX30 audio processor to
conform substantially to the specifications of this manual for a period of one year
from the original date of purchase when used in accordance with the specifications
detailed in this manual. In the case of a valid warranty claim, your sole and
exclusive remedy and Drawmer’s entire liability under any theory of liability will be
to, at Drawmer’s discretion, repair or replace the product without charge, or, if not
possible, to refund the purchase price to you. This warranty is not transferable. It
applies only to the original purchaser of the product.

For warranty service please call your local Drawmer dealer. Alternatively call
Drawmer Electronics Ltd. at [phone]. Then ship the defective product,
with transportation and insurance charges pre-paid, to Drawmer Electronics Ltd.,
Coleman Street, Parkgate, Rotherham, S62 6EL UK. Write the RA number in large
letters in a prominent position on the shipping box. Enclose your name, address,
telephone number, copy of the original sales invoice and a detailed description of
the problem. Drawmer will not accept responsibility for loss or damage during
transit.

This warranty is void if the product has been damaged by misuse, modification or
unauthorised repair.

THIS W ARRANTY IS IN LIEU OF ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER ORAL OR
WRITTEN, EXPRESSED, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY. DRAWMER MAKES NO
OTHER WARRANTY EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, W ITHOUT
LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS
FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. PURCHASER’S
SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY UNDER THIS W ARRANTY SHALL BE REPAIR
OR REPLACEMENT AS SPECIFIED HEREIN.

IN NO EVENT WILL DRAWMER ELECTRONICS LTD. BE LIABLE FOR ANY
DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
RESULTING FROM ANY DEFECT IN THE PRODUCT, INCLUDING LOST
PROFITS, DAMAGE TO PROPERTY, AND, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY
LAW, DAMAGE FOR PERSONAL INJURY, EVEN IF DRAWMER HAS BEEN
ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

Some states and specific countries do not allow the exclusion of implied warranties
or limitations on how long an implied warranty may last, so the above limitations
may not apply to you. This warranty gives you specific legal rights. You may have
additional rights that vary from state to state, and country to country.
In the interests of product development, Drawmer reserve the right to modify or
improve specifications of this product at any time, without prior notice.

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MX30 OPERATORS’ MANUAL 1

DRAWMER MX30

Dual Gated Compressor

SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS

CAUTION - MAINS FUSE

TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE REPLACE THE MAINS FUSE ONLY WITH

THE SAME TYPE, W HICH MUST BE A CLASS 3, 250 VOLT, TIME DELAY

TYPE, RATED AT 32mA WHERE THE MAINS INPUT IS SET TO 230 VOLTS

AC. AND 63mA W HERE THE MAINS INPUT VOLTAGE IS 115 VOLTS AC.

ALL FUSES MUST COMPLY WITH IEC 127-2.

THE FUSE BODY SIZE IS 20mm x 5mm.

CAUTION - MAINS CABLE

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CHANGE OR TAMPER WITH THE SUPPLIED MAINS

CABLE.

CAUTION - SERVICING

DO NOT PERFORM ANY SERVICING. REFER ALL SERVICING TO

QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL.

WARNING

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

THIS EQUIPMENT TO RAIN OR MOISTURE.

MX30 OPERATORS’ MANUAL2

INTRODUCTION

The MX30 is a dual channel gate and compressor-limiter designed to fulfil the needs of
professional studio and live sound applications. It may be used in balanced systems at
+4dBu operating levels, or unbalanced at -10dBu.

In order to maximise flexibility while simplifying set up and operation, several new
design concepts have been incorporated. The compressor section combines aspects
of both the traditional ratio style compressor and the soft-knee approach, making it
equally adept at creative work and unobtrusive level control. The control layout
resembles that of a straight ratio style unit but the transition from unity gain to gain
reduction at the selected ratio is progressive and occurs over a nominal 10dB input level
range.

Traditionally, soft-knee compressors have been preferable for unobtrusive level control
where the original sound is to be changed as little as possible, whereas ratio type
compressors are generally considered more successful in creative applications or where
large amounts of gain reduction are required. By combining these two elements, the
MX30 is capable of outstanding results in a very wide range of studio and live sound
situations.

One of the perennial problems in using compression is that maximum system gain
occurs during extremely quiet passages or pauses which results in an increase in
background noise, the degree depending on how much compression is being used. The
accepted way of dealing with this problem is to include in the compressor, a separate
gate section with its own threshold control so that a low level gating action may be
applied to keep pauses clean. However, the problem with simple gates is that, even
when properly set up, they may unwittingly process low level sounds as they have no
means of identifying them from noise. On a vocal track, for example, this can lead to the
starts or endings of words being accidentally removed, especially if the singer has a
wide dynamic range.

The MX30 uses a proprietary Programme Adaptive gate circuit that varies its ratio
depending on the dynamics of the signal being processed. Because the onset of gating
is progressive, those low level signals most at risk will be treated to a lower ratio of
gating (like an expander) while the residual noise during pauses will be subjected to a
higher expansion ratio and will, in consequence, be attenuated more. The outcome is
a gate that requires less stringent setting up and is more tolerant of wanted sounds that
are only slightly above the residual noise floor.

A further feature of the MX30 is a peak limiter that allows the user to set an absolute
output signal level that will not be exceeded. If the peak limiter threshold is exceeded
for more than a few milliseconds, additional gain reduction will be applied to reduce the
overall signal level to within accepted limits without distortion. Once the peak has
passed, the system gain will return to normal over the period of about one second. This
facility is extremely valuable both in live sound applications, for driver protection, and
in digital recording where an absolute maximum recording level exists. Furthermore,
when overdriven, it can be used creatively to produce deliberate level pumping effects.

MX30 OPERATORS’ MANUAL 3

INSTALLATION

The MX30 is designed for standard 19" rack mounting and occupies 1U of rack space.
Avoid mounting the unit directly above power amplifiers or power supplies that radiate
significant amounts of heat. Fibre or plastic washers may be used to prevent the front
panel becoming marked by the mounting bolts.

AUDIO CONNECTION S

Input and Output connections are provided for use at +4dBu via balanced XLRs or at

-10dBu via unbalanced jacks. It is permissible to use both +4dBu and -10dBu outputs
simultaneously. If unbalanced operation at +4dBu is required, simply connect the
unused terminal to Ground inside the XLR cable plugs. This applies to both inputs and
outputs. The wiring convention f or XLR being: pin 1 Ground, pin 2 Hot and pin 3 Cold.
For use with unbalanced systems, the Cold pin 3 must be grounded at both input and
output X LRs.

Interference: If the unit is to be used where it maybe exposed to high levels of

disturbance such as found close to a TV or radio transmitter, we
suggest that the unit be operated using the XLR connectors. The
screens of the signal cables should be connected to the chassis
connection on the XLR connector as opposed to connecting to
pin1. The MX30 fully conforms to the EMC standards.

Ground Loops: If ground loop problems are encountered, never disconnect the

mains earth, but instead, try disconnecting the signal screen on
one end of each of the cables connecting the outputs of the MX30
to the patchbay. If such measures are necessary, balanced (XLR)
operation is recommended.

Level Conversion: It is possible to apply an input to the MX30 at only one of the two

possible levels, say ! 10dB via the jack socket, and utilise both of
the output levels and cable options of ! 10dB and +4dB
simultaneously.

One useful example of this connection option would be if the unit
was used to process a keyboard - commonly these have an output
level of ! 10dB, and are terminated with jack sockets. It is feasible
using the MX30s dual output capability to use the ! 10dB jack input
to feed from the keyboard and the !10dB output onwards to the
amplifier, and the +4dB balanced XLR connector for a direct feed
to the mixing console. This removes the need for any DI box or
cable splitter. In this example, ground loop considerations may be
required.