Toft Audio Designs ATB series User Manual
Toft Audio Designs Series ATB Console Manual
Toft Audio Designs Series ATB Console ManualFor More Information, visit www.toftaudio.com
INTRODUCTION
The Series ATB is an extremely versatile and sophisticated 8 bus console in a compact frame. It
has been designed with todays DAW user in mind and offers extremely high audio quality and
features never before found in a console in its’ price range. These features include an optional
digital I/O card which provides the eight subgroup sends and returns as either ADAT optical or
firewire and the master left/right outputs as firewire or SPDIF. ASIO drivers are provided as well
as MIDI connectivity to complete the versatility of this option.
In a multi-track studio environment the console will perform both tracking and remix functions
with consumate ease. Because of the channel monitor and direct output facilities, recording
instruments to tape is simple and of very high quality with little outboard equipment being required. When mixing down, the large number of inputs to the stereo bus (56 on the 16 channel, 72 on the 24 channel and 88 on the 32 channel) makes the job very easy. The large number
of auxiliary sends (six) also adds to the flexibility.
The Series ATB has also been designed for easy servicing. The console is constructed from
individual circuit boards mounted at right angles to an 8 way front panel. It is therefore only
a matter of minutes to remove any channel board from it’s front panel should a component
need replacing. All active circuitry (i.c.’s etc) are socketed, again to aid servicing. All passive
components (resistors, capacitors etc.) are of conventional types not surface mount which are
difficult to remove and replace. The modules connect to each other via ribbon cables which
ensure maximum reliability and freedom from wiring errors.
Connections to the console are via the rear panel where the cables can be conveniently hidden
from view, which is again a feature normally only found in consoles costing considerably more.
The console is fitted with extremely accurate 12 segment bar graph displays on the groups and
master left/right outputs and high quality illuminated V.U meters operate in parallel with the master left/right bargraphs.
By carefully following the installation procedures detailed in the following pages, your Series ATB
console will give years of professional audio quality and reliable service.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
Power and Audio Connections
Star Grounding
Input Module
Input Module Flow Diagram
Submaster Module
Submaster Module Flow Diagram
Master Section
Master Section Flow Diagram
Overall Flow Diagram
Operational Description
Meter Bridge Option
Technical Specifications
Safety Information
Safety Instructions
Environmental Compliance Statements
Warranty
Registration
Meter Bridge Installation Instructions
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2
5
6
8
9
11
12
14
15
16
20
22
23
23
24
25
26
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AUDIO CONNECTIONS:
Two types of audio connector are provided on the rear of the unit, x-l-r and 1/4” jack.
The mic input x-l-r is female and therefore the microphone lead requires a male plug. The wiring
convention is as follows:
Pin 1 Earth
Pin 2 +(positive phase)
Pin 3 - (negative phase)
Various connections to the console use balanced (stereo) 1/4” jacks and are wired as follows:
Sleeve Earth
Tip +(positive phase)
Ring - (negative phase)
The balanced connections are: Channel ‘LINE’ Input, Channel ‘MON’, Channel ‘DIR O/P, ‘MONITOR
RETURNS’, ‘SUBMASTER OUTPUTS’, ‘MASTER O/P’, ‘AUX MASTERS’, ‘MAIN SPKRS’ and ‘ALT
SPKRS’
The ‘STEREO FX RETURNS’ and ‘2 TRACK RET.’ 1 and 2 utilise a balanced (stereo) jack wired in the
following manner:
Sleeve Earth
Tip Right (unbalanced)
Ring Left (unbalanced)
The Channel ‘INSERT’ Sends, ‘SUBGROUP INSERT’ Sends and ‘MASTER INS.’ Sends Utilise 1/4”
stereo jacks wired in the following manner:
Sleeve Earth
Tip Send
Ring Return
POWER & AUDIO CONNECTIONS
D.C. POWER:
The Series ATB is supplied with a high quality D.C. power supply which should be connected to a
suitable a.c. power source via an earthed cable connected to the 3 pin euro socket at the back of the
power supply.
The supply has been fitted with the highest quality ‘toroidal’ type transformer in order to minimise
stray hum radiation, but the supply should still be located as far away from the console as possible to
avoid any possibility of hum pick -up.
Before connecting to a power socket, make sure that the correct voltage is selected on the rear of
the power supply, either 115 or 230 volts.
Make sure that the supply is placed in a well ventilated area, with at least one rack space between
the supply and other units.
Low voltage D.C is supplied to the console via a circular locking connector. With the power supply
switched off, this should be pushed firmly into the mating socket on the rear of the console located
behind the Master Module. A locking ring makes sure that the cable cannot be accidentally pulled
from the console.
The D.C power connections are as follows:
Pin 1 +17v
Pin 2 Chassis Ground
Pin 3 Electronics Ground
Pin 4 +48V
Pin 5 -17V
Once the power supply has been connected to the console, the correct voltage selected and the
a.c. power applied, the power supply can be switched on. The power supply is fitted with three
red l.e.d’s which indicate that the +17, -17 and +48 voltages are functioning. If for any reason any
of the l.e.d’s fail to illuminate, do not operate the console. Turn the power supply off immediately
and check that the fuses (located inside the unit) are not blown. If any fuse has blown, replace with
one of the same rating and try again. If the fuse has not blown or a replacement fails subsequently,
seek qualified help.
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STAR GROUNDING
By connecting equipment together using the ‘star grounding’ principle it is possible to virtually
eliminate hum loops from studio wiring.
Since the system is quite easy to implement, it only requires following a certain procedure that will
soon become second nature. A few moments spent studying this chapter and following the steps
listed below, could pay dividends in the future.
Step 1. Choose a particular piece of equipment that will be made ‘technical’ earth (in most cases
the mixing console is the ideal choice as it is usually the item that everything else is connected to).
Step 2. On all equipment that is connected to the console inputs, connect the earth (sleeve) of
the cable carrying the signal at the console end but not the end that connects to the equipment.
For example, if it is a jack lead, connect the sleeve at the mixer end but not at the equipment end.
The only exception to this should be a microphone as it cannot get an electrical earth by any other
means. The earth should therefore be connected at both ends of a microphone cable.
Step 3. On all equipment that is connected to the console outputs, connect the earth (sleeve) at
the console end but not at the equipment end (input).
Step 4. Connect the chassis or mains earth of all equipment to the same point that the console
chassis and power supply earth are connected to. This point is then known as the ‘technical’ earth
and should be as good as it possibly can be. In many cases this will be the earth of the mains
socket feeding the console, but sometimes better results and freedom from refrigerator clicks
and pops etc. can be achieved by making an independent ‘technical’ earth. In many professional
recording studios this is done by burying a large copper plate at least three feet underground and
connecting the ‘technical’ earth point to it. A less drastic measure is to use the copper pipe of a
radiator as the earth reference as this often runs underground.
It is essential that if a separate technical earth is generated, this is always used as the earth point
for all equipment. Connecting some equipment to mains earth and some to ‘technical’ earth
could result in a shock hazard as it is sometimes possible for a quite high a.c voltage difference to
be generated across the two earth points.
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SERIES ATB REAR PANEL - INPUT SECTION
SERIES ATB REAR PANEL - OUTPUT SECTION
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on the sub group section, at mixdown a 16 channel Series ATB becomes a 56 input mixer whilst a 24
channel becomes a 72 input mixer and a 32 channel becomes an 88 input mixer.
The input channel is provided with a stereo, non destructive after fade listen system (AFL). By depressing this button, it is possible to hear the selected signal in isolation (or mixed with other selected AFL signals). When the AFL button is depressed, the Channel ‘MUTE’ led will illuminate green to
show that AFL has been selected on that channel. When used for normal channel muting purposes,
the ‘MUTE’ led will illuminate red. The AFL signal follows the position of the channel pan control so
that the signal can be monitored with the stereo perspective intact. As it is a monitor function only,
the AFL can be depressed when recording or mixing without it harming the signal path. It is however
possible to change the function of the switch on a channel by channel basis so that the signal becomes a mono, pre-fade source (PFL). This is useful if the console is used in a live sound application
where a simple check to see if a channel is ‘live’ is required without having to push up the fader. By
removing the base panel of the mixer and accessing the individual channel pcb’s, it will be possible to
see a pushbutton switch mounted approximately halfway down the circuit board. When the button is
depressed (factory default setting) the signal is in AFL mode. If the button is undepressed, the signal
from that channel will become PFL.
Centre detented pan controls are provided for both the channel and monitor sections for accurate
placement of signals in the stereo spectrum.
The channel path is provided with a green l.e.d which illuminates when the signal reaches -20dB at
the channel output and a red l.e.d which illuminates when the signal reaches +10dB at the channel
output. These are extremely useful features and provide a constant indication that a signal is present in the module (green l.e.d), and that signal peak is being reached (red l.e.d).
Routing to the multi-track groups is achieved by means of pushbuttons located beside the channel
fader. These are arranged in pairs and work in conjunction with the pan control so that if for example
groups 1-2 are selected and the pan control is in the mid position, the signal will be fed to groups 1
and 2 in equal amounts. If however the pan control is positioned fully anti-clockwise (left) the signal
will only feed group 1. If the pan control is positioned fully clockwise (right), the signal will only feed
group 2
A high quality 100mm metal bodied fader is provided which gives precise and smooth control of the
channel level.
Reference to the Input module signal flow diagram will help to give a better understanding of the
way in which the signal is routed from the input to the group output.
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INPUT MODULE
INPUT MODULE General Description
INPUT MODULE General Description
The Series ATB Input Module is an extremely sophisticated and
flexible channel that can be used for recording, mixing and monitoring multi-track recordings. It will accept the signal from a low
impedance balanced microphone, high or low level balanced line
input, or even the output from a musical instrument.
The signal can be shaped via the extremely musical four band
equaliser section that allows precise control over the audio spectrum. Boost and cut of 15dB is provided by centre detented
controls and the two sweep frequency ranges overlap to increase
the flexibility of the equaliser section. An 80Hz (high pass) filter
is also incorporated which can be switched in or out of circuit.
The equaliser is extremely useful in both recording and mixing
modes. The equaliser can also be switched from the input channel to the separate monitor channel incorporated into each input
module.
Six auxiliary sends are provided. Aux 1 is permanently pre-fade
while auxes 3-6 can be switched pre or post the channel fader
Auxes 5-6 can also be selected between the channel or monitor
path, greatly adding to the flexibility of the module.
Each module incorporates a monitor section which is used to
monitor a replay channel from a multi-track recording device.
This is in effect a separate signal path which ultimately feeds the
master remix outputs. By making the equaliser and auxiliary
sends 5-6 available to this path, this becomes an extremely versatile feature of the console. When monitoring the output of a
multi-track recorder or DAW, it is possible to create a monitor mix
with equalisation and reverb effects completely independently
from the channel. These effects would also remain when the
recording is played back through the same monitor section.
When the console is used for mixing purposes, the monitor
section functions as an additional line input return to the stereo
mix busses, again with the ability to route the equalisation and
auxiliary sends 5-6 through the monitor section. This effectively
doubles the number of inputs available on remix. As there are
also eight dedicated stereo effects returns and 8 monitor returns
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SUBMASTER MODULE
SUBMASTER MODULE General Description
The Submaster section of the console greatly enhances the flexibility of the Series ATB console and as a consequence provides a
number of different functions.
Each Submaster channel provides a method of adjusting the output
level of each of the 8 subgroup outputs via a 100mm high quality
fader. The level is also indicated by a high quality 12 segment bargraph display. The submaster also provides a method of monitoring
and panning the subgroup output on the control room speakers. By
using these controls it is possible to build up a monitor mix of the
recorded tracks and any that are about to be recorded. To enhance
this facility, level controls for auxiliary sends 5 and 6 are included
on each submaster section making it possible to send a headphone
mix from the subgroups together with reverb or echo effects. Auxiliary send 5 can also be switched pre or post the submaster monitor level control making it usable as either a headphone feed (in
‘pre’ mode), or a reverb send (in ‘post’ mode).
A balanced line level input is provided on the rear panel behind the
submaster section so that the replay from an 8 track DAW system
can be connected to the submaster section. Individual ‘TAPE’
switches make it possible to select either the send to the DAW or
its’ output onto the monitoring system. The bargraph metering and
auxiliary sends follow this switch so that they automatically switch
over according to the position of the ‘TAPE’ switch. By this method
it is very easy to build a monitor mix while tracking instruments
onto a DAW.
A further useful feature is that the balanced line level inputs connected to the submaster ‘MONITOR RETURNS’ are also connected
to the ‘LINE INPUT’ jacks of channels 1-8. This means that when
you want to mix from the DAW on channels with equalisation and
more auxiliary sends, selecting ‘LINE’ input on channels 1-8 will
automatically connect the DAW outputs to these channels.
Each of the 8 submaster channels is also provided with a ‘SOLO’
pushbutton. This makes it possible to listen to the signal on any
selected submaster in isolation and in stereo, depending on the
position of the submaster ‘PAN’ control. Since the ‘SOLO’ function
is a ‘post fader’ signal, it’s volume will be dependent on the position
of the Submaster ‘MON LEVEL’ control. This makes it possible to
solo a number of Submaster channels and create a balanced mix of
the solo’d signals.
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INPUT MODULE FLOW DIAGRAM
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