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User Guide Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Basic Principles of PA Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Connections and Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Fault Finding Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Getting to know your console . . . . . . . . . .
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INTR O DUC TIO N Congratulations on your purchase of a SPIRIT LIVE 4 mixer. Owning a Soundcraft console brings you the expertise and support of one of the industry’s leading manufacturers and the results of over 20 years experience supporting some of the biggest names in the business. Designed by engineers who understand the individual needs of musicians, SPIRIT LIVE 4 has been built to the highest standards using quality Japanese components and employing automated assembly techniques beyond the
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The four Output Groups provide submixing to the Mix L/ R outputs or may feed external equipment directly. Each incorporates stereo panning and PFL monitoring or bargraph metering and includes an external Return input for effects or submixing from external sources. The Master section provides master level control for the Left, Right, Mono and Auxiliary Send busses, with separate AFL monitoring on each Auxiliary Send and the Mono output. The Mix L/ R and Group outputs all have insert points for
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The 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 clear and instinctive control of the final sound balance and like an artist playing an instrument you should listen to the effect of your fader movements, not look at your hands. You r SPIRIT LIVE 4 mixer accepts a wide range of input signals via a microphone input, for very
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Each input channel and the three main 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, additional Equalis
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GETTING STARTED CONNECTIONS AND Although this may seem a simple subject, faulty connectors and CONNECTORS 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 LIVE 4 correctly. Two different types of audio connectors are used, 3-pin XLR 1 and ⁄ " three pole (‘A’ gauge) jacks. These are us
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Balanced and All channel inputs are balanced, i.e. there are separate Unbalanced +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 (
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UNBALANCED ✗ + + - - Source Device Mixer Ground loop through screen and chassis BALANCED INPUT ✓ + + - - GND Source Device Mixer If the use of unbalanced connections is unavoidable, you can mimimise noise by following these wiring guidelines: • On INPUTS, unbalance at the source and use a twin, screened cable as though it were balanced. (see below) • On OUTPUTS, connect the signal to the +ve output pin, and the ground of the output device to -ve. If a twin screened cable is used, connect the
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Fault 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 (see inside rear cover) is a representative sketch of all the components of the console, showing how they connect together
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INPUT GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CONSOLE Refer to the fold-out front panel diagram which shows the control functions on the SPIRIT LIVE 4. Each facility is described below, and is identified by the reference number. FAC IL IT IE S INPUT CHANNEL 1. MICROPHONE INPUT The Microphone input is via a standard female XLR-3 connector and is available when the LINE -20dB switch is released. It is designed to accept a wide range of balanced or unbalanced low impedance input signals. +48V Phantom Power is avail
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INPUT 3. LINE INPUT 1 The LINE Input is a 3-pole ⁄ "‘A’ gauge jack socket, to accept 4 balanced or unbalanced line level sources when the LINE switch(5) is pressed. Unlike the low impedance Microphone input, this stage presents a high impedance(>10kΩ) to the input signal, enabling many types of instruments to be plugged straight in without D.I. boxes or external preamplifiers. Line inputs will be found useful as extra Effects Returns, where additional post-effect equalisation is required. 4. IN
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INPUT 7. HI-PASS FILTER Pressing this switch inserts a 12dB per octave 100Hz Hi-Pass Filter in the signal path, immediately after the input amplifier. This is particularly useful on live vocals, and its use is strongly recommended, even on male vocals. It can also be used for filtering out low frequency hum. Frequency Response Curves of the Hi-Pass Filter dB HI-Pass Filter 4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 0.0 -1.0 -2.0 -3.0 -4.0 20 100 1k 10k 20k Frequency/Hz 8. EQUALISER The Equaliser(EQ) comprises three secti
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INPUT Frequency Response Curves of the Equaliser dB MID Section 20.0 15.0 10.0 5.0 0.0 -5.0 -10.0 -15.0 -20.0 20 100 1k 10k 20k Frequency/Hz dB HF Section 20.0 15.0 10.0 5.0 0.0 -5.0 -10.0 -15.0 -20.0 20 100 1k 10k 20k Frequency/Hz 9. AUXILIARY SENDS These controls route the input channel signal to any one or more Auxiliary busses. These are separate from the main outputs and can therefore provide additional outputs for foldback, echo units or extra loudspeaker ‘fills’. AUX 1 & 2 are derived be
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INPUT 10. PAN The PAN control determines the position of the signal within the stereo mix image or may be used to route the channel signal to particular output GROUPS as selected by the ROUTING SWITCHES (13). Rotation fully anticlockwise feeds the signal solely to the Left mix buss or Groups 1 and 3, while rotation clockwise sweeps the image to the right buss or Groups 2 and 4. 11. PFL/ PEAK LED When the PFL switch is pressed, the Pre-Fade signal is fed to the headphones, where it replaces the
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STEREO STEREO SECTIONS 1. STEREO INPUTS Each Stereo Input section comprises a pair of similar inputs. The inputs are electronically balanced and separate jacks are provided for the Left and Right source signals. A mono signal may be plugged into the upper socket only for each pair to be fed equally to left and right busses. 2. -10 SWITCH The input jacks are normally set to match +4dBu nominal signal levels. Pressing the -10 switch alters the input sensitivity to match the -10dBV signals from m
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STEREO 4. AUX SEND A single control feeds a mono sum of the stereo signal to a choice of Aux Send busses (see 5 below). 5. AUX SELECTION The flexibility of the Aux send control (4) is maximised by a choice of destinations on the two Stereo sections. On the upper section (Stereo 1) this switch routes the Aux Send to either AUX 1 (Prefade) when released, or AUX 3 (Postfade) when pressed. On the lower section the choice is between AUX 1 (Prefade) when released and AUX 4 (Postfade) when pressed.
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GROUP 10. FADER Linear faders are provided for precise and smooth level control for each Stereo section. GROUP SECTION 1. RETURN A mono Return is provided to each output Group, which is intended for use as a sub-mix from another desk or as an effects input. The input is electronically balanced on a 1 standard ⁄ " 3-pole ‘A’ gauge jack. 4 2. INSERT An Insert is provided for each output Group to allow external processing equipment to be ‘inserted’ into the output path. 1 The ⁄ " 3-pole ‘A’ gauge
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M A STER 7. GROUP OUTPUT The Group outputs are driven by ground compensated 1 amplifiers to a standard ⁄ " 3 pole ‘A’ gauge jack socket. 4 MASTER SECTION 8. D.C. POWER SOCKET The cable from the power supply connects to the console via this 5-pin socket. Ensure that you always use the correct power supply for your console. The 12, 16 and 24 channel frame sizes require the DCP100 power supply and the 32 channel frame uses the CPS150 power supply. 9. MONO OUTPUT The ground compensated MONO outp
