Rane ME 30 User Manual

ME 15 and ME 30

OPERATING

AND

SERVICE MANUAL

II. PANEL DESCRIPTIONS

FRONT PANEL DESCRIPTION

1. POWER SWlTCH: As you have astutely surmised by now, this switch powers up the ME 15 or
ME 30. Note: “power” in this context refers to electrical power, as opposed to political,
financial (often related to the previous), psychic or supernatural.

2. FILTER LEVELSLIDE CONTROLS: Each of these sliders controls the output level of each of
the 30 bandpass filters. Center position is grounded for guaranteed flat response.

3. FILTER RANGE SWITCH: The gain range of the filter sliders is switchable (as a group) from

±6 dB for high resolution, to ±12 dB for maximum boost/cut capability.

4. BYPASS SWITCH: When the red LED is lit, this indicates that the unit or channel is in the
bypass mode: signal is routed directly from the input to the output without passing through
any active circuitry (often referred to as “hard-wire bypass”). Use this switch to compare
equalized and un-equalized material, or to bypass the EQ section in the event of power loss or
unit failure.

5. OVERLOAD INDICATOR: This red LED lights up if any section of the ME 15/30 is within 4 dB
of clipping. Occasional blinking of this LED is acceptable, but if it remains on more than
intermittently you should turn down either the equalizer’s level control(s) or reduce the
output level of the preceding component to avoid audible distortion.

6. LEVEL CONTROL: This controls the level of signal coming into the ME 15 /ME 30. Turn this
control down if the Overload LED lights up steadily (meaning too strong an input signal). Since
actual unity gain depends on varying slider settings (which is why we have not marked a unity
gain position on the front panel), use the bypass switch to determine the exact unity gain
position of this level control by comparing EQ and bypass volumes.