8
The Low control of the ALiX preamplifier is fixed at 125Hz
corner frequency / 40Hz peak, with a gain range of -12 to
+12dB. This is a fixed shelving type control, which means
everything below the 125Hz is boosted or cut. Use this control
for cutting and boosting bass frequencies. It’s all about the
bass.
GAIN
Hz
40
125
20k
12k
0dB
-12dB
+12dB
LOW SHELF EQ
Also, because certain acoustic instruments (banjo, fiddle,
plinkly little whathaveyous) may react better to a higher corner
/ peak frequency, we have added a Low control range jumper
on the main PCB. Moving this jumper shifts the Low frequency
up to 250Hz (+/-3dB) corner frequency / 80Hz peak.
This is easy
to do!
We specifically designed ALiX’s chassis to make it easy to
access internal jumpers. Please refer to the jumper diagram and
access procedure on pages 12 and 13. Bravo to you for reading
this manual. You get an A.
WARNING Make sure to disconnect the power mains
before opening removing the ALiX top panel to
make jumper adjustments.
High Control
The High control of the ALiX preamplifier is set with a 2kHz
(+/-3dB) corner frequency/ 12kHz peak, with a gain range of
-12 to +12dB. This is a fixed shelving type control, which means
everything above the 2kHz is boosted or cut. Simply put, this is
a treble control. If you think your banjo may be too bright, turn
this knob counterclockwise. If you think your guitar needs a
little more bite, turn this knob clockwise. If you’re not sure, then
get down there and start turning it one way or the other until it
sounds better.
GAIN
Hz
20
2.0k
20k
12k
HIGH SHELF EQ
0dB
-12dB
+12dB
9.4 OUTPUT CONTROLS
Boost
Want ALiX to go to eleven? How about twenty? This knob
sets the amount your signal is boosted when you activate
the ‘BOOST’ footswitch. Fully counter-clockwise is zero boost
added, fully clockwise adds +10dB of boost. The boost is after
the FX loop and affects both the DI and amp outputs.
As you can probably imagine, if you are using a microphone
or a particularly feedback prone pickup system, adding boost
might easily send you in to feedback territory. So start small.
If you need to boost your output, start with a gentle boost
amount and work your way upwards. If you start to hear stage
feedback or are overloading the input at the console, then
you’ll need to back it off.
ALiX is not responsible for disgruntled soundpeople you may
encounter during the operation of the boost circuit, especially
those you have already borrowed your misplaced IEC power
cable from. Keep those people happy, they control the suck
knob.
Amp Output Level
This knob sets the output level of the unbalanced Amp and
tuner outputs on the rearpanel. If you are using a stage amp,
use this control as your master level. Correct input gain settings
for your sources, with the signal LED showing mostly green,
should not be adjusted to alter your stage amp level. Rather,
use this control to make master level changes.
Troubleshooting advice:
if you stage tuner is connected to the
'tuner' jack but not working, make sure your Amp out knob is
turned up sufficiently.
9.5 FOOTSWITCH CONTROLS
Boost
You guessed it. This switch activates the Boost circuit, at
whatever level you set with the boost knob. This circuit is
global, so the boosted signal will be coming out of every
output. For those about to rock, you'll need to activate this
switch first before we can solute you. The LED will light up
GREEN for go.
Mute / Tune
This switch mutes the DI and AMP output, but not the tuner
output. This enables you to quickly and easily cut your signal
to the FOH or stage amp and tune or unplug your instrument
without having to have the soundperson mute your channel.
When MUTE / tune is active, the adjacent LED illuminates RED.
9.6 SIDE PANEL CONTROLS
ALiX has a lot going on, more than we could fit on the rear and
top panels alone. So there are a few features to be familiar with
on the side panel.
DIP Switches
This is a bank of 3 DIP switches, used to activate various modes
or settings. Switch 1 selects between the HPF or notch setting.
Switch 3 selects between the mid EQ’s frequency range, LO or
HI. Switch 3 activates 12V power on the instrument input.
DIP switches are hard to adjust, which is good because they
probably won’t get inadvertently changed, but bad when you
actually want to change them. Use the edge of a fingernail, a
guitar pic or a toothpick. Whatever you chose, take care not to
dig into the plastic too hard. You’ll get the hang of it.
