D-TAR D-TAR, Solstice User Manual
TM
SOLSTICE
High Quality, 2-channel Mixer|Blender Preamp
Did you ever wonder how the best acoustic musicians get that great
sound night after night in every venue? One of the secrets they’ve
learned is that their signature sound not only includes their instruments,
but also their pickups, microphones, cables, and the all-important preamplification and equalization stages of the signal chain. Duncan-Turner
Acoustic Research (“D-TAR”) is dedicated to providing the electronic links
between your strings and your listeners’ ears so you can get a consistently great sound under virtually any circumstance, day in, day out.
D-TAR is a company founded by musicians who want
to make the kind of gear our fellow musicians deserve.
We’ve spent a lot of time listening to and playing fine
instruments as well as amplification and recording
gear, and we are dedicated to building the best sounding gear with the most useful features that we can. We
would like to hear your comments on how you use your
Solstice Mixer/Blender Preamp, and hope the music you
make with it fulfills your dreams.
“WITH RESPECT TO ACOUSTIC TONE”
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DUNCAN
TURNER ACOUSTI
C RESEARCH 5427 hollister ave santa barbara ca 93111.2345 tel 805.964.9610 fax 805.964.9749 www.dtar.com
SOLSTICE
TM
Basic Setup
Inputs
The regular 1/4” input jacks for each channel are very
high impedance inputs; this means you can plug in any
kind of pickup, active or passive, and get the fullest frequency response possible. These inputs also accommodate “stereo” signal sources coming in on a “TRS” (tip,
ring, and sleeve) plug; this is a common configuration
when using dual source pickup systems. With Solstice,
you can plug a stereo input plug into either channel.
Many modern acoustic pickup systems (such as the
D-TAR Timber-line cable pickup) are coupled with
onboard buffer preamps. The high impedance inputs
of Solstice work perfectly fine with these as well,
providing no “load” to the signal and thus preserving
the signal just as your cable delivers it.
Getting Top Performance
Right Away
One of the first things you should know about Solstice
is setting the “Gain” and “Output” volume controls for
best performance and lowest noise. Most of the controls, inputs, and outputs are pretty much self evident,
but to get maximum headroom and lowest noise, you
should adjust the gain control(s) so the clipping light
comes on just a bit when you play or sing your loudest
into the unit. Then control the volume at the output.
With the LED is just flashing, you have about 6 dB more
headroom before Solstice goes into clipping. This is
covered later in the manual, but it is the key to getting
superior performance from the unit, hence we mention
it here.
Cable Connections, Front Panel – Inputs
1. Jacks 1 and 15 are stereo 1/4” inputs. These inputs
are ultra-high impedance on the tip connection and will
accept un-buffered piezo signals (e.g. under-saddle pickups) as well as active and passive magnetic pickups. The
ring connection can be supplied with phantom power
for microphones or for active pickup systems that work
from off-board power. The ring signal is automatically
assigned to the channel opposite of the one plugged
into, assuming that the other channel’s 1/4” input jack is
unused. To take advantage of the stereo input feature, a
stereo cable must be used, with the pickup signal on the
tip and the microphone signal on the ring.
2. XLR jacks 5 and 19 are intended for microphone level
signals. 40dB of gain is provided with the option of a
20dB pad (4, 18) that can be used with high output condenser microphones.
Cable Connections, Rear Panel – Outputs
1. 1/4” jack 4 is intended as the cable connection to a
power amplifier. Its level is controlled by the Master volume on the front panel. It can be shut off with the Mute
switch.
2. 1/4” jack 5 is intended as a tuner output, but can be
used as an auxiliary output for many purposes. It is not
affected by the Master volume or the Mute switch.
3. XLR jack 3 is a line level balanced output. It contains
the blended signal from both channels.
4. 1/4” jacks 7 and 8 are the send and return jacks for
the master effects loop. The signal output is line level
(+4dBu or 1.2V RMS) and intended for professional
effects processors.
5. 1/4” stereo jacks 10 and 12 are insertion points for
channels 1 and 2, respectively. They can be used as individual channel effects loops or as points where a signal
can be taken out of or inserted into the individual channels’ signal chain. A stereo cable is required for most
functions involving the insertion jacks; the send signal is
on the tip and the return is on the ring. The input impedance is low (4.7K ohms), so it will be necessary to drive
the return side with an active device.
6. XLR jacks 9 and 11 are balanced signal outputs for
each channel. They can be used as individual balanced
signal sends to a mixing board or for recording a live
performance. This feature will also allow the Acoustic
Mixer to be used as a stereo mic preamp.
Setting the input level properly for lowest
noise operation
1. Turn the Master all the way down.
2. Plug the instrument or microphone into the appropri
ate input jack on the front panel.
3. Turn up the input Volume control for the jack that
you have plugged into until the red overload LED just
begins to light when you are playing or singing loudest.
4. Turn up the Master until you approach the desired
sound pressure level. If there is any tendency towards
acoustic feedback, try using the Phase Reverse button.
5. Adjust the EQ, if necessary. If a significant amount of
EQ is used, it may be necessary to re-adjust the input
and output levels slightly.
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SOLSTICE
TM
Explanation of features
Front Panel
1, 15 - High Impedance Input Jacks
These inputs can be used for basically anything connected to
a 1/4” plug. The input impedance is 10Meg Ohms (10,000,000
Ohms), so they are well suited to piezo type pickups (for more
information on Impedance considerations, see Appendix A.)
The input stage is a low-noise hybrid circuit with internally
adjustable gain variable from 0dB to 24dB. We have pre-set it
at 18db. This allows a signal of nearly 1 Vrms to be present at
the input without clipping.
Both Ch.1 and Ch.2 input jack will accept stereo signals, but
this feature is functional only if one of the two high impedance inputs is unused. In other words, you can plug a stereo
signal into channel 1, and the signal present on the ring will
be automatically routed to the unoccupied channel 2, or vice
versa. If the phantom power switch is engaged, +15V will be
supplied to the ring of the respective channel jack.
Please note: Because of this unique feature, a pop noise will
tend to be generated when removing a plug from either jack.
Therefore, it is advisable to either turn the channel volumes
down or engage the Mute button before removing a plug
from the high impedance input jacks.
2, 16 High Impedance Input Volume Control
Acts as a normal volume control located directly after the gain
stage of each respective high impedance input. Turn the input
gain controls up until you just see the red LEDs flash on the
highest peak notes and you can leave it there – you still have
6dB of headroom before hard clipping.
3, 17 Phantom Power Button
Engages or disengages +15V phantom power for each channel. Press button in to engage. Phantom power will be present
at the + and – terminals of the XLR input and at the Ring connection of the High Impedance input. Please be sure to only
engage phantom power if it is truly needed in your system.
Inappropriate use of phantom power could be harmful to certain electronic devices in your signal chain.
4, 18 20dB Mic Pad
Push this button in to engage a 20dB pad (gain reduction) on
the XLR input if your microphone signal is particularly hot.
5, 19 Microphone Inputs
This stage is another low-noise hybrid circuit. The design
is unique, but is very similar to some stages used in top of
the line mixing consoles. The gain is set at 40dB but can be
reduced to a level more compatible with high output condenser microphones by engaging the 20dB pad switch.
6, 20 Microphone Volume Control
Acts as a normal volume control located directly after each
respective mic amp.
EQ Controls in General
The Solstice EQ section is made up of filters composed of low
noise discrete components that are side-chained out of the
direct signal path. For more information on the subject of
EQ, see Appendix B.
7, 21 Bass Control
The Bass control provides 12dB of boost and cut and is centered at 155Hz/Q-.61.
8, 22 Midrange Control
The Midrange control provides 12dB of boost and cut and is
centered at 796Hz/Q-.56.
9, 23 Treble Control
The Treble control provides 12dB of boost and cut and is centered at 10KHz/Q-.37.
10, 24 Clipping Indicators
Indicate that the signal level, as sensed after the EQ section, is
6dB below clipping or +14dBm. At the onset of clipping you
will start to hear audible distortion, a sign to turn down either
your input gain control or to back off of EQ boost. If you are
seeing the indicator light up using a microphone plugged into
one of the XLR connectors, you might try engaging the 20 dB
mic pad. See “Setting Your Level” on page 1.
11, 25 Phase Switch
Allows reversal of signal phase for feedback control or to
provide phase agreement between two signal sources.
See Appendix C for more information on phase.
12 Mute Indicator
The yellow LED will be lit when the Mute button is engaged.
13 Mute Button
Removes the signal normally present at both the XLR output
and the single ended output. The Tuner output remains functional to allow for silent tuning. The mute LED will be lit when
the mute is engaged. For more information on the use of the
mute and using a remote foot switch for muting, see the section on page 3.
14 Power Indicator
Shows the presence of DC power from the power supply.
The power remains on until the cable from the wall-mounted
transformer is removed or until the transformer is unplugged
from the wall. Note that there is no power switch on Solstice;
if it’s plugged in it’s on!
26 Effects Mix
Blends the signal present in the Master Effects Loop with the
dry signal. If no external device is plugged into the Master
Effects Loop jacks, this control will have no effect on the signal.
27 Master Volume
Master volume controls all blended signal output for both the
XLR, and 1/4” outputs
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