ENGLISH CONTENTS CONTENTS................................................................................................................. 1 IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS .............................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................... 2 REAR PANEL CONNECTIONS .............................................................................. 2 GETTING STARTED ................................................................................................. 3 TIPS FOR OBTAINING A GOOD QUALITY VOCAL SOUND ......................... 3 TIPS FOR OBTAINING A GOOD QUALITY ELECTRIC GUITAR SOUND.. 4 FACILITIES AND CONTROLS ................................................................................ 4 DIGITAL OUTPUT OPTIONS ................................................................................. 6 DIGITAL OUTPUT FRONT PANEL CONTROLS ............................................... 6 DIGITAL OUTPUT REAR PANEL CONNECTIONS AND SWITCHES........... 7 A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO COMPRESSION ....................................................... 8 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ..................................................................... 9 TROUBLESHOOTING............................................................................................ 10 CONTACTING US ................................................................................................... 10 SPECIFICATIONS..................................................................................................... 11 DISTRIBUTOR LIST................................................................................................ 60 WARNING: THIS UNIT MUST BE EARTHED BY THE POWER CORD. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD THE MAINS EARTH BE DISCONNECTED FROM THE MAINS LEAD. This unit is supplied pre-configured to operate only at the voltage indicated on the rear panel. Ensure correct mains voltage is available and the correct fuse value is fitted before connecting to the mains supply. To avoid the risk of fire, replace the mains fuse only with the correct value fuse, as marked on the rear panel. The internal power supply unit contains no user serviceable parts. Refer all servicing to a qualified service engineer, through the appropriate Focusrite dealer. RACK VENTILATION: PLEASE ENSURE THE OCTOPRE IS PLACED TOWARDS THE BOTTOM OF YOUR EQUIPMENT RACK, WITH SUFFICIENT SPACE ABOVE AND BELOW FOR VENTILATION. · IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS Please read all of these instructions and save them for future reference. Follow all warnings and instructions marked on the unit. · · · · · Do not obstruct air vents in the rear panel. Do not insert objects through any apertures. Do not use a damaged or frayed power cord. Unplug the unit before cleaning. Clean with a damp cloth only. Do not spill liquid on the unit. Ensure adequate airflow around the unit to prevent overheating. We recommend leaving a blank 1U panel above the unit to aid ventilation. Unplug the unit and refer servicing to qualified service personnel under the following conditions: If the power cord or plug is damaged; if liquid has entered the unit; if the unit has been dropped or the case damaged; if the unit does not operate normally or exhibits a distinct change in performance. Adjust only those controls that are covered by the operating instructions. Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarised or grounding-type plug. A polarised plug has two blades with one wider than the other. A grounding type plug has two blades and a third grounding prong. The wider blade or the third prong is provided for your safety. When the plug provided does not fit into your outlet, consult an electrician for replacement of the obsolete outlet. 1 ENGLISH INTRODUCTION The OctoPre is an eight channel Class A microphone preamplifier, featuring a classic Focusrite mic pre and a revolutionary compressor/limiter circuit on each channel. As well as eight analogue outputs, there is a choice of two optional 8-channel, 24 bit / 96 kHz A/D boards for connection to any digital audio workstation or digital console. The mic pres featured in the OctoPre are similar to those featured elsewhere in the award winning Focusrite Platinum range. They are a transistor-based Class A design utilising the same full bandwidth philosophy as the legendary Focusrite Red and ISA mic pres, ensuring detail and organic clarity without obvious colouration. The revolutionary compressor/limiter circuit provides each channel with warmsounding compression, which morphs into brick wall limiting to avoid critical `overs' when recording digitally. The first two channels also feature phase reverse, as well as unbalanced 1/4" jack inputs on the front fascia for quick and easy, DI-free plug-in of guitars and basses. With Class A Focusrite analogue signal processing and comprehensive A/D interface options, OctoPre is the perfect partner for a Pro ToolsTM system or any other digital audio workstation, making high quality, multi-channel recording easy. Equally, it could be utilised as part of a compact multi-channel location recording solution (with a laptop or ADATTM, for example), or as an additional set of professional-quality mic pres for any analogue or digital console or hard disk recorder. REAR PANEL CONNECTIONS The OctoPre features eight microphone inputs on rear-panel XLR connectors. Channels 1 and 2 each feature an unbalanced 1/4" jack instrument input on the front fascia. Eight line level balanced (+4 dBu) analogue inputs and outputs are provided via 25-pin D-type connectors. These D-type connectors may be routed to 8 XLRs by means of an 8-way 25-pin Dtype to 8 XLR breakout cable, available from your local dealer, or in the UK from Studiospares (tel +44 (0)20 7482 1692): Line output ­ stock number 573-610 Line input ­ stock number 573-630 Hosa manufacture suitable cables as follows: Line output ­ DTM 805 Line input ­ DTF 805 The pin-out of the 25-pin D-type connectors follows the typical `TDIF' format. For details of the digital output options, please see the `Digital Output Options' section on page 6. 2 ENGLISH GETTING STARTED 1. Ensure that nothing other than the mains supply is connected to your OctoPre, then switch it on via the POWER switch on the right hand side of the unit. If your unit is permanently connected to a patchbay, ensure audio is not being fed to any connected speakers to avoid any turn-on speaker pops. Connect the analogue line outputs of the OctoPre to your recorder or audio interface (via the 25-pin D-type connector on the rear panel). If using a digital output option, connect the appropriate digital output to the digital input of your recorder or audio interface. See page 6 for more information on the OctoPre digital output options. Ensure that each channel's LEVEL and DYNAMICS controls are set fully anticlockwise. MICROPHONE POSITIONING possible to the sound you want. Note that moving the microphone may have an effect on the level of the signal entering the OctoPre, requiring an alteration to the LEVEL setting. 9. If required, add compression using the DYNAMICS control. Increasing this control increases the amount of compression. The yellow COMP LED will light when compression is being applied, and the red LIM LED will light when the limiter is active. For more information on the DYNAMICS control please see page 5. 2. TIPS FOR OBTAINING A GOOD QUALITY VOCAL SOUND 3. 4. Connect your inputs to the eight channels as required. Microphones should be plugged into the XLR MIC INPUTS on the rear panel. If you wish to connect line-level sources (to use the OctoPre's dynamics processing when mixing down, for example) connect these to the LINE INPUTS via the upper 25-pin D-type connector on the rear panel. You may connect an electric guitar or bass to the INSTRUMENT INPUTS on channels 1 and 2 via the unbalanced 1/4" jack inputs on the front fascia. Check that the correct input is selected on each of the OctoPre's eight channels. If recording a line level source connected to the rear panel LINE INPUTS via the 25-pin D-type connector, ensure the LINE switch is engaged. If using the INSTRUMENT INPUT on channels 1 and 2, ensure the INST switch is engaged. If a microphone is connected to a channel's rear panel MIC INPUT, ensure that channel's LINE switch is disengaged. If using a condenser microphone that requires phantom power, switch the channel's +48V in. If you are unsure whether your microphone requires this phantom power, refer to its user guide, as phantom power will damage some microphones, most notably ribbon microphones. Increase the LEVEL control for each channel you wish to use, ensuring that the green SIG LED is always illuminated, and that the red O/L LED does not illuminate, except occasionally and briefly when the loudest signal is present. If using microphones, ensure that the microphone placement is at its best. Before you start recording, alter the microphone placement until you get as close as 5. Recording vocals requires a different technique to that used when singing on stage, where the vocalist usually sings with the microphone touching his or her lips - in a studio recording situation it is usually desirable for the vocalist to be at least 50 cm away from the microphone. If this affects the vocal performance (or if the vocal sounds weak), allow the vocalist to move closer to the microphone, but use a pop shield on the mic. It may also be necessary to use the OctoPre's High Pass Filter to remove excessive bass tip-up caused by singing very close to the microphone (the so-called `proximity effect'). USING THE DYNAMICS CONTROL 6. 7. If the vocalist is having difficulty staying a consistent distance from the microphone, the recorded performance will get softer and louder as the distance from the mic varies. The vocalist may also vary the volume of their performance to such an extent that when they are singing loudly, the vocal is far too dominant, and when they are singing quietly, the vocal is lost in the mix. To even out these variations, use the DYNAMICS control to compress the vocal signal. Always start with the control fully anti-clockwise and gradually increase it, listening carefully to the results as you go. Remember that it's much easier to add more compression after the vocal is recorded, than to remove it if too much is applied! 8. 3 ENGLISH TIPS FOR OBTAINING A GOOD QUALITY ELECTRIC GUITAR SOUND FACILITIES AND CONTROLS POWER USE OF EFFECTS PEDALS Connect any effects foot pedals between the guitar and the INST input to the OctoPre. The output (whether analogue or digital) from the OctoPre should be connected directly to your recorder. USING THE DYNAMICS SECTION Turns the unit on and illuminates the blue LED directly below it. We recommend that the unit be powered up before connecting to any equipment that it is feeding, to avoid clicks or thumps which may harm output devices. It is also a good idea to allow the unit to stabilise for a couple of minutes before use to ensure that the internal circuitry is properly initialised. It is sometimes helpful to add compression to clean electric guitar signals. This will even out inconsistencies in volume, helping it to sit nicely in the track. Compression will also have the effect of adding more sustain to a guitar. (Note: overdriven guitar is often already heavily compressed and adding extra compression will not improve the sound.) Experiment with various settings for the DYNAMICS control until the desired sound is achieved. INSTRUMENT INPUT [CHANNELS 1 & 2 ONLY] This is a high impedance 1/4" jack input that allows you to connect an electric guitar or bass guitar to the unit without loading the pickups, and without the need for a DI box. This input only functions when the channel's INST switch is engaged (in). INST (Switch) [CHANNELS 1 & 2 ONLY] When engaged (in), this routes the INSTUMENT INPUT to the channel, bypassing the rear panel MIC and LINE INPUTS. Note that this will override the LINE switch (see below) if this is also engaged ­ the LED in the LINE switch cap will go out and only the INST switch cap LED will be lit. ø (Phase Reverse Switch) [CHANNELS 1 & 2 ONLY] This allows the phase of the input signal to be reversed, to correct phase problems that may occur when using multiple microphones, or when incorrect wiring polarity has occurred. 4 ENGLISH O/L (Overload) LED may light occasionally, but only if the input signal gets particularly loud. If the O/L LED stays on continuously for any period, or you hear the unit distort during loud peaks, you should reduce the LEVEL. With the MIC INPUT selected, the LEVEL control provides 0dB (fully anticlockwise) to +60dB (fully clockwise) of gain. With the INST input selected (channels 1 & 2 only), the LEVEL control provides +4dB to +34 dB of gain. With the LINE INPUT selected, the gain is adjustable from ­10dB to +10dB. Setting ...