ENGLISH CONTENTS CONTENTS ........................................................................................................... 1 IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS........................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................. 2 REAR PANEL CONNECTIONS.......................................................................... 2 GETTING STARTED ­ A QUICK GUIDE .......................................................... 3 FACILITIES AND CONTROLS............................................................................ 3 DIGITAL CONVERTER OPTIONS..................................................................... 4 OPTIONAL DIGITAL CONVERTER FRONT PANEL CONTROLS............... 5 OPTIONAL DIGITAL CONVERTER REAR PANEL CONNECTIONS AND SWITCHES............................................................................................................. 5 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ................................................................. 6 TROUBLESHOOTING ......................................................................................... 6 CONTACTING US ................................................................................................ 6 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. · 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 with an external power supply dependant on the region in which the OctoPre LE is purchased. To avoid the risk of fire, replace the mains fuse only with the correct value fuse, as marked on the plug. The external 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 LE IS PLACED TOWARDS THE BOTTOM OF YOUR EQUIPMENT RACK, WITH SUFFICIENT SPACE ABOVE AND BELOW FOR VENTILATION. 1 ENGLISH INTRODUCTION The OctoPre LE features eight channels of classic Focusrite preamplification based on the popular Green Range. As well as eight analogue outputs, there is the option of a digital converter card (CODEC), which both accepts and transmits digital audio in either 44.1 or 48kHz 24-bit ADAT optical `lightpipe' format. The optional CODEC means that the OctoPre LE can also be used as a monitoring control between the DAW and speaker system, for up to 7.1 surround monitoring. The mic pres featured in the OctoPre LE have a circuit design based around the classic Focusrite Green range and feature an extremely transparent sonic character with very low distortion. They utilise the same full bandwidth philosophy of all Focusrite products, ensuring detail and clarity without obvious colouration. Eight balanced (although unbalanced can be used) 1/4" jack inputs are located on the front panel for quick and easy access, the first two channels of which can be used for DI-free plug-in of guitars and basses. Channels 1 and 2 also allow a microphone signal (input using the rear panel XLR connections) the option of a lower impedance input, should the microphone in use have a low output impedance (around 50 for example). With classic Focusrite analogue circuit design and comprehensive A/D and D/A interface options, OctoPre LE is the perfect partner for a 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 ADAT , 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 LE features eight microphone inputs on XLR connectors and eight balanced line outputs on 1/4" (TRS) jack connectors. 2 ENGLISH GETTING STARTED ­ A QUICK GUIDE 1. Ensure that nothing other than the mains supply is connected to your OctoPre LE, 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. 2. Connect the analogue line outputs of the OctoPre LE to your recorder or audio interface. If using the digital converter option, connect the OctoPre LE's ADAT output to the ADAT input of your recorder or audio interface. See page 4 for more information on the OctoPre LE digital options. 3. Ensure that each channel's LEVEL is set fully anti-clockwise. 4. Connect your input sources to the eight channel inputs as required. Microphones should be plugged into the XLR MIC INPUTS on the rear panel. If you wish to connect line-level sources, connect these to the LINE INPUTS on the front panel; this will automatically switch off the corresponding microphone inputs. You may connect an electric guitar or bass to the Line inputs on channels 1 and 2. 5. If using the INSTRUMENT INPUT on channel 1 or 2, ensure that the corresponding INST switch is engaged. If using a MICROPHONE (XLR) INPUT on the rear panel, ensure that nothing is connected to the corresponding LINE INPUT on the front panel. 6. If using one or a number of condenser microphones that require phantom power, activate the 48V `All On' switch on the front panel. This will provide phantom power to ALL microphones connected to the rear panel MIC INPUTS. If you are unsure as to whether your microphone requires phantom power, refer to its user guide, as phantom power will damage some microphones, most notably ribbon microphones or radio mic receivers. NB Dynamic microphones will be unaffected by phantom power. 7. Increase the LEVEL control for each channel you wish to use, ensuring that the red O/L LED does not illuminate. To visually monitor the incoming signal on a particular channel, press the source switch beside the dBFS meter until the desired channel's O/L LED is lit (See METERING section below). It is advisable to set the incoming signal to be an average of between -10 and -6dBFS. 8. 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 possible to the sound you want. Note that moving the microphone may have an effect on the level of the signal entering the OctoPre LE, requiring an alteration to the LEVEL setting. FACILITIES AND CONTROLS POWER This switch turns the unit on. 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 acclimatized. LINE INPUTS Line (and instrument for channels 1 and 2) inputs are provided on the front panel for all eight channels via balanced 1/4" jack sockets. An unbalanced signal will be accepted for all channels and expected for channels 1 and 2 when in instrument mode. Connecting a jack plug into a front panel line input automatically cuts the corresponding mic XLR input on the rear panel and selects an appropriate gain calibration for the level dial on that channel. INST (Switch) [CHANNELS 1 & 2 ONLY] When engaged (in), the corresponding 1/4" jack front panel (line) input will accept an unbalanced instrument signal and the gain dial for that channel will be calibrated to an appropriate level. 3 ENGLISH Lo Z (Switch) [CHANNELS 1 & 2 ONLY] This switch changes the input impedance to the lower value of 150 (when engaged). This should be utilised if the output impedance of the microphone is low, around 50 for example, or if a ribbon microphone is in use. Alternatively, this switch can be activated with a higher impedance microphone to experiment with different sounds. Ø (Phase Reverse Switch) [CHANNEL 1 ONLY] damage some microphones, most notably ribbon microphones. NB Dynamic microphones will be unaffected by phantom power. This allows the phase of the input signal to be reversed (switch engaged), to correct phase problems that may occur when using multiple microphones. This switch should be disengaged (in the out position) when no phasing problems have been detected. LEVEL (Knob) METERING This sets the signal level for the channel. Connect an input signal to the unit, ensuring that the LEVEL control is set fully anti-clockwise, and increase the LEVEL control until a signal is displayed on the front panel meter (if the channel is selected - see METERING section) or at the destination (recording medium). The red O/L (Overload) LED should not light, if it does you should reduce the LEVEL as this signifies that the input has reached 0dBFS. With a MIC INPUT connected to a rear panel XLR connector (ensure nothing is connected to that channel's front panel Line input), the LEVEL control provides +14dB (fully anti-clockwise) to +60dB (fully clockwise) of gain. With a LINE INPUT connected to a front panel balanced (unbalanced will be accepted) 1/4" jack connector, the gain is adjustable from -10dB (fully anti-clockwise) to +38dB (fully clockwise). With the INST switch activated (channels 1 & 2 only) and an instrument connected to that channel's front panel Line input, the LEVEL control provides +14dB to +60dB of gain. (Switch) The meter on the front panel displays the level of the selected incoming signal in dBFS, where 0dBFS (digital clipping point) relates to +22dBu. Any signal over 0dBFS will cause the O/L LED on that channel to illuminate to indicate that the level is too high. For most input signals, an average level of between -10 and -6dBFS is recommended. To use the meter to view a particular channel's level, simply use the SOURCE switch as described below. SOURCE (non-latching switch) This switch selects the source signal that the meter on the front panel displays. Pressing the switch repeatedly will cycle through the eight channels in sequence. The currently displayed channel's O/L LED will illuminate to indicate the selection. DIGITAL CONVERTER OPTIONS In addition to the analogue outputs, the OctoPre LE can be fitted with a digital converter I/O (CODEC) option. This allows quality digital conversion of the recorded signals within the unit before transmitting directly to the DAW (interface or soundcard) or other recording medium. Additionally, a digital to analogue converter is included, whereby a digital output of a DAW (interface or soundcard) can be connected directly to the unit for monitoring purposes; all eight channels can be converted and fed to the Line 1/4" jack outputs on the rear panel, or just 1-4/5-8 as required (see corresponding switch details below). The optional digital converter card features two ADAT -type optical `lightpipe' connectors, an input and output. Digital audio can be transmitted or received at either 44.1 or 48kHz sample rates (selected on the front panel) and 24-bit resolution. This is a high-pass filter, which removes unwanted low frequencies such as stage rumble via microphone stands or `proximity effect' (where low frequencies are over-emphasised when using certain types of microphone at close range). Engaging the switch inserts a 12dB/octave, 2-pole HP filter at 120Hz in the signal path. 48V ALL ON (Switch) This switch activates phantom power circuits for all XLR inputs on the rear panel, so that 48V is supplied to every connected microphone. If you are using condenser microphones then this switch will need to be engaged. If you are unsure whether your microphone requires phantom power, refer to its user guide, as phantom power will 4 ENGLISH ADAT lightpipe cables are available from your local dealer, or ...