SoundCraft SPIRIT STUDIO User Manual
© Soundcraft Electronics Ltd. 1990
All rights reserved
Issue 1 (first draft)
Part No. ZZ2686
Information in this manual is subject to change without
notice and does not represent a commitment on the part
of the vendor. Soundcraft Electronics Ltd. shall not be
liable for any loss or damage whatsoever arising from
the use of information or any error contained in this
manual.
No part of this manual may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any
means, electronic, electrical, mechanical, optical,
chemical, including photocopying and recording, for any
purpose without the express written permission of
Soundcraft Electronics Ltd.
It is recommended that all maintenance and service on
the product should be carried out by Soundcraft
Electronics Ltd. or its authorised agents. Soundcraft
Electronics Ltd. cannot accept any liability whatsoever
for any loss or damage caused by service, maintenance
or repair by unauthorised personnel.
Soundcraft Electronics Ltd.
Unit 2
Borehamwood Ind Park
Rowley Lane
Borehamwood
Herts.
WD6 5PZ
England
User Guide
Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Basic Principles of Multitrack Recording . . . . . . . 4
Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Connections and Connectors . . . . . . . . . 6
Fault Finding Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Getting to know your console . . . . . . . . . . 10
Facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Input - Channel Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Input - Monitor Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Group Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Master Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Using your SPIRIT STUDIO Console . . . . . . . 21
Initial Set Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Playback/Mix-Down . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Overdubbing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Live P.A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Care of your mixer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Selectable Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Front Panel Layout . . . . . . . . fold out rear cover
Block Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . inside rear cover
Page 1
INTRODUCTION
Congratulations on your purchase of a SPIRIT STUDIO
mixer. Owning a Soundcraft console brings you the
expertise and support of one of the industrys leading
manufacturers and the results of over 17 years experience supporting some of the biggest names in the
business. Packed full of features for track-laying,
mixdown and overdubbing SPIRIT STUDIO provides
you with access to the full range of professional multitrack techniques from an unusually compact mixer.
Designed by engineers who understand the individual
needs of musicians, SPIRIT STUDIO has been built to
the highest standards using quality Japanese components and employing automated assembly techniques
beyond the reach of most manufacturers of compact
mixers.
A rugged steel chassis is combined with moulded side
trims to give protection and distinctive appearance.
Custom-moulded controls, designed for the best feel
and visual clarity complement the styling, resulting in a
truly professional product which is ideal for all types of
multitrack recording from 8-track all the way up to 24track.
An in-line console available in two frame sizes (16/8/2
and 24/8/2) there is no shortage of inputs on SPIRIT
STUDIO, since in mixdown mode the multitrack monitor inputs double as extra line inputs.
The input channels are able to accept a wide range of
Microphone and Line level signals from separate input
sockets. Every channel features a separate Channel
and Tape Monitor section, with unique flexibility to
swap functions between the two paths. The 4-band EQ
is in two sections - normally the HL/LF section is before the insert point and the LOW MID and HI MID after
the insert point, thus allowing separate EQ of Send and
Return. If EQ to Monitor switch is pressed the HF/LF
EQ is switched into the Monitor path leaving the LOW
MID and HI MID section after the Insert point in the
Page 2
Channel path. The Auxiliary Sends are similarly split to
give 1 Foldback and 2 Auxiliary sends in both the
Channel and Monitor paths, or all four Auxiliary sends
may be assigned to the Channel path.
The Monitor fader is normally a rotary control, but an
INPUT REVERSE switch swaps Channel and Monitor inputs, allowing the tape return signal to be brought
down the full facilities of the Channel path and mixed
on the long throw channel fader. The Channel PAN
control drives a matrix of routing switches to feed the
signal to 8 Groups in stereo pairs, plus the Stereo mix.
The Group masters are arranged as pairs, and the outputs are normalled to the respective Tape Sends on the
input channels in blocks of eight unless the Channel DIRECT switches are pressed. The Group output is also
available on a separate jack socket for use as an extra
send during mixdown. Groups may be routed as odd
and even pairs to the Stereo mix, or as combined
MONO feeds. Each group has a 16-segment LED bargraph meter.
Above the Group masters are 4 Stereo Effects Returns,
with balanced inputs, 2-band shelving EQ and feeds to
the two Foldback busses, the Stereo mix or summed
to the local Groups in stereo.
The Master section comprises the control room monitoring facilities, Oscillator with two fixed frequencies,
Talkback and Stereo mix and AFL/PFL metering.
A full description of all facilities in Getting to know your
console can be found on page 10.
SPIRIT STUDIO is designed to be as user-friendly as
possible, but a few minutes spent reading through this
manual will help you become familiar with the product
away from the pressure of a recording session, and allow you to gain full benefit from the superb
performance offered by your new mixer.
Above all, remember that your SPIRIT mixer is designed to extend your creativity. The more you explore
the controls and the effect they have on the sound output, the more you will appreciate how you can
influence and enhance the final sound, both by careful
and creative balancing of channels and the use of
Page 3
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF RECORDING
The MixerThe Mixer As one would expect, the main purpose of the mixer is
to combine sounds, but under precise and smooth
control. This is why long-throw faders are essential on
any professional product. The faders provide you with
total control of the final sound at your finger tips and
like an artist playing an instrument you should listen to
your fader movements, not look at your hands.
Your SPIRIT STUDIO mixer accepts a wide range of input signals via a microphone input, for very low level
signals, or a line input, for higher level signals from, for
instance, tape machines, effects processors, etc.
The mixer is split into two sections. The Inputs receive,
match and process individual source signals, and distributes them at precise mix levels to a choice of
outputs. The Master and Group sections allow overall
level control of all outputs, and provides monitoring of
the audio signal at many points in the mixer, either on
headphones or meters.
The Equaliser controls are the most flexible and potentially destructive feature of the mixer. They have a
similar effect on the frequency response of the input
channel as the tone controls on a hi-fi system, but with
much greater precision, and allow particular characteristics of the input signal to be emphasised or
reduced. It is very important that you become familiar
with the effect each control has on the sound and this
is best achieved by spending time listening to the effect
of each control on a well-known track played through
the mixer.
The Auxiliary Sends provide a way of routing the input
signals to a number of secondary outputs, for artists
foldback, echo units or additional speaker outputs.
The Pan control adjusts the position of the input signal
within the stereo mix, and can be swept from full left,
through to full right. This allows particular artists to retain their correct spatial position within the mix,
particularly important for stereo recording.
Pre-Fade-Listen(PFL) allows you to monitor the signal
at many points in the mixer. Pressing any PFL switch
places the signal at that particular point onto the control
room outputs (or headphones if plugged in) and the
Page 4
right meter. This allows the engineer to check the quality of the signal or to pin-point problems. Using PFL
will not affect the signals on the Left and Right Mix outputs.
Each input channel and the Group and Mix outputs
have an Insert A gauge jack socket, which is a break
point in the signal path. It allows the signal to be taken
out of the mixer, through an external piece of equipment and then back into the mixer directly after its
original exit point. The Insert point is normally bypassed by the A gauge jack socket contacts, and is
only brought into operation when a plug is inserted.
Typical uses would include Effects Processors, Limiters
or additional Equalisers.
The terms PRE and POST are often used in the context
of Inserts, Equalisers and Auxiliary Sends, and describe
whether that facility is placed before (Pre) or after (Post)
another particular section. This is explained further in
the detailed description of facilities.
A mixer is often judged, amongst other factors, by the
amount of Headroom available. This is a measure of
the reserve available to cope with sudden peaks in the
input signal, without distortion caused by Clipping,
when the signal becomes so high that it would exceed
the power supply rail voltages and is as a result limited.
This commonly occurs where gain settings are incor-
Clipped
Signal
Noise
If the signal level is too high, clipping distortion
may occur.
Signal
If the signal level is too low it may be masked
by the noise.
Noise
Page 5
rectly set or where sources are improperly matched to
the mixer input. If the source signal is too high, clipping
and distortion results. If the signal is too low it becomes masked by the background noise which is
present to some degree in all mixers. The diagram below illustrates this point.
It is during recording that the greatest demands are
made on a mixer in terms of transparency and audio
quality. While a stereo recording will often be made direct to the master tape machine, multitrack machines
provide greater flexibility by allowing the recording to
be done in three stages. The first stage is Tracking in
which individual voices or instruments, or groups of instruments are recorded as cleanly as possible on
selected tracks on the multitrack machine. The second
GETTING STARTED
CONNECTIONS AND CONNECTIONS AND
CONNECTORSCONNECTORS
Although this may seem a simple subject, faulty connectors and cabling are the source of most sound
system problems. Correctly-made cables of the proper
type, with the right connectors for the job will ensure
peak performance from your system with minimum
noise pick-up. The following section will help you to
connect SPIRIT STUDIO mixer correctly.
Two different types of audio connectors are used, 3-pin
1
⁄
XLR and
" three pole (A gauge) jacks. These are
4
2. Hot(+ve)
3. Cold(-ve)
1. Screen
Balanced
Page 6
Input
3 POLE (stereo) JACK 2 POLE (mono) JACK
Send
Return
Screen
Tip
Ring
Insert Points Line Input
Balanced and Balanced and
UnbalancedUnbalanced
Sleeve
Sleeve
Tip
Ring
Aux Out put s
FX Returns
Hot(+ve)
Cold(-ve)
Screen
Left Signal
Right Signal
Ground
Headphones Unbalanced
Input
Signal
Ground
used in several configurations as shown in the diagrams below.
All channel inputs are balanced, i.e. there are separate
+ve(hot) and -ve (cold) wires for each signal plus a
ground. The design of the differential input amplifiers is
such that interference picked up on these wires is cancelled out. This is because, since both wires are in
close proximity, the same interference will be picked
up on each wire and balanced input amplifiers will only
amplify the difference between +ve(hot) and -ve(cold).
Any signal on both hot and cold (i.e. noise) will not be
amplified - this is known as common mode rejection
(CMR.). If using an unbalanced source into a balanced
input, it is a good idea to connect the source ground to
the negative input. Should the source device have no
connection to mains ground, then connect the shield at
both ends. If there is a connection to mains ground,
then the shield should only be connected to the source
device ground.
Note: many modern audio/musical instruments have
electronically balanced outputs which should not be
unbalanced by shorting one wire to ground. Always
use your inputs balanced where possible.
The mix, group and auxiliary outputs are ground compensated and provide a very effective way of
optimising noise immunity, without the cost and complexity of balanced outputs. These outputs employ
ground compensation techniques to cancel out the effects of variation in ground potential between the mixer
Page 7
and other equipment which would otherwise show up
as hum. If the output is driving a device or amplifier
that has an unbalanced input, connect the -ve(cold) signal to the ground at the destination, not at the output of
your SPIRIT STUDIO console.
PolarityPolarity You will probably be familiar with the concept of polar-
ity in electrical signals and this is of particular
importance to balanced audio signals. Just as a balanced signal is highly effective at cancelling out
unwanted interference, so two microphones picking up
the same signal can cancel out, or cause serious degradation of the signal if one of the cables has the +ve
and -ve wires reversed. This phase reversal can be a
real problem when microphones are close together and
you should therefore take care always to connect pins
correctly when wiring audio cables.
Source
GND
LINK
Source
GND
LINK
Source
GND
LINK
BALANCED TO BALANCED
+
--
UNBALANCED TO BALANCED
+
UNBALANCED TO UNBALANCED
+
If ground link absent, or mains earth isolated from
source ground, then connect shield at both ends
Input
+
Input
+
-
Input
+
Grounding and Grounding and
ShieldingShielding
For optimum performance it is vital that all signals are
referenced to a solid, noise-free earthing point and that
all signal cables have their screens connected to
ground. To avoid earth loops, use balanced connections where possible and ensure that all cable screens
and other signal earths are connected to ground only at
their source and not at both ends.
Page 8
Avoid running audio cables or placing audio equipment, close to thyristor dimmer units or power cables.
Noise immunity is improved significantly by the use of
low impedance sources, such as good quality professional microphones or the outputs from most modern
audio equipment. Avoid cheaper high impedance microphones, which may suffer from interference over
long cable runs, even with well-made cables.
Fault Finding GuideFault Finding Guide Repairing a sound mixing console requires specialist
skills, but basic Fault Finding is within the scope of any
user if a few basic rules are followed.
• Get to know the Block Diagram of your console (see
inside rear cover)
• Get to know what each component in the system is
supposed to do.
• Learn where to look for common trouble spots.
The Block Diagram is a representative sketch of all the
components of the console, showing how they connect together and how the signal flows through the
system. Once you have become familiar with the various component blocks you will find the Block Diagram
quite easy to follow and you will have gained a valuable understanding of the internal structure of the
console.
Each Component has a specific function and only by
getting to know what each part is supposed to do will
you be able to tell if there is a genuine fault! Many
faults are the result of incorrect connection or control
settings which may have been overlooked.
Basic Troubleshooting is a process of applying logical
thought to the signal path through the console and
tracking down the problem by elimination.
• Swap input connections to check that the source is
really present. Check both Mic and Line inputs.
• Eliminate sections of the channel by using the insert
point to re-route the signal to other inputs that are
known to be working.
Page 9
GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CONSOLE
FACILITIESFACILITIES
Refer to the fold-out front panel diagram at the rear of this
manual, which shows the control functions on the SPIRIT
STUDIO. Each facility is described below, and is identified
by a reference number.
INPUT - CHANNEL PATH
1. MICROPHONE INPUT
The Microphone input is via a standard female XLR-3
connector and is available when the LINE switch is released. It is designed to accept a wide range of
balanced or unbalanced low impedance input signals.
2. +48V PHANTOM POWER
Each microphone input can provide the +48V necessary for phantom-powered mics and this may be
turned on or off with the +48V switch.
NOTE: The microphone should always be plugged in
before switching the +48V on or off. Also you should
be aware that some microphones draw an unusually
large current which may overload the power supply, resulting in distortion. Consult your microphone supplier
for guidance if necessary.
Transformer-coupled dynamic microphones may be
used without causing damage, even when the +48V
power is connected, but care must be taken when using unbalanced sources, because of the voltage
present on pins 2 and 3 of the XLR connector.
3. INSERT
The INSERT is a break point in the input channel signal
path. It allows the signal to be taken out of the mixer,
through an external piece of equipment and then back
into the mixer to continue through to the final output.
1
⁄
The Insert is a 3-pole
" A gauge Jack Socket, which
4
is normally by-passed. When a jack plug is inserted,
the signal path is broken at a point just before the MIDEQ section. When the HF/LF EQ is switched into the
Page 10
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