BooBox Mini Operating Manual
BooBox Mini Operating Manual
mini
OPERATING MANUAL
471 Maybank Avenue
Toronto, Ontario M6N 3S7
Tel: 905-803-9274 Fax: 647-439-1470
www.frightideas.com
Recording Sounds
To begin recording you will need the following connected to the mini:
•
A powered speaker or speakers connected to the mini’s Line-Out OR a standard speaker connected to the
speaker output.
•
An audio source such as a CD player or computer connected to Line-In. Make sure the source is not amplified.
•
A stereo audio cable to connect your audio source to the mini’s Audio Line-In
•
The mini’s programmer connected to the programmer port
Once the above is connected try pressing play on the audio source, you should be able to hear the sound faintly
through the connected speaker. Do not turn up the source volume so your speakers are really loud! Use this sound
only as a guide so you know when to start and stop recording. Once the sound is recorded and the mini plays it back
it will be much louder than it is now.
You will have to experiment with the volume of your sound source to see what gives you the best recorded sound
quality. If the source is too loud the recording will sound distorted, if it’s too low you may not be able to turn the sound
up loud enough even with your speakers at full volume. Do a few test recordings, keep adjusting the source volume
and then previewing the sound from the mini until you’re happy with the quality and volume level.
Volume Levels for Common Sources
Source
Volume Level
Computer
20% to 40%
iPod or Portable CD Player
75%
The ambient sound must always be recorded first, once you are happy with how it sounds you can move on to
recording the scare sound. The scare sound can then be recorded and re-recorded as needed. If the ambient sound
is ever changed the scare sound will have to be re-recorded, even if it does not need to be changed.
Sound Length
Record as long an ambient sound as possible, this sound will be looped while the mini waits to be triggered. The
looping point will be heard less often if this sound is long, just make sure you leave enough room for your scare
sound, you have 4 minutes total space for your sounds. Your scare sound length is less critical, just make sure it’s
long enough to play for the entire length of the animation you want to record.
Recording and Previewing
To record the ambient sound hold “1” and press “REC”, press “REC” again to stop recording. To record the scare
sound hold “2” and press “REC”.
To preview the sound, make sure you stop the source if it is playing, then hold either “1” for the ambient sound or “2”
for the scare sound and then press “PLAY”. Pressing “PLAY” again will stop the sound.
Turning Off Ambient Sound
To turn off the ambient sound make sure an audio source is connected to the audio-in, hold “REC” and press “1”.
Then within 3 seconds, press “REC” again.
How to Create Your Own Sounds
Getting a sound just right may require some editing. Programs known as waveform editors allow you to modify every
aspect of a sound. If you’ve never tried using one before it can actually be quite fun, and when you’re done with the
sound it will be exactly what you wanted.
Connecting Speakers
There are two options for connecting speakers to the BooBox mini. You can either connect an amplifier or pair of
powered speakers up to the mini’s Line Out, or use the mini’s internal 22 watt amplifier with a 4 or 8 ohm speaker.
