15
Troubleshooting
1) No Power (no lights work)
• Is the power cord plugged in (both ends)?
• Is the mains power on?
• Is the mains voltage set correctly for your region?
• Has the mains fuse blown?
2) The microphone doesn’t work
• Is it connected to the correct (XLR) input on the rear panel?
• If it is a condenser microphone, is the phantom power switched on?
• Is the ‘Line’ switch out (LED off)?
• Is the ‘Input Gain’ control turned up?
• Is the ‘Output Gain’ control turned up?
3) The line input doesn’t work
• Is the source connected to the correct (jack) input on the back of the unit?
• Is the ‘Line’ switch in (LED on)?
• Is the ‘Input Gain’ control turned up?
• Is the ‘Output Gain’ control turned up?
4) The compressor doesn’t work
• Is the Compressor ‘ON’ switch in (LED on)?
• Is the ‘Compress’ control turned up enough?
• Is the ‘Slope’ control turned up enough?
• Is there enough signal, as set by the ‘Input Gain’ control, to drive the
compressor?
5) Too little or too much compression
• Turn the ‘Input Gain’ control up or down respectively, to adjust the
signal level to the compressor
6) The Meequalizer doesn’t work.
• Is the EQ ‘ON’ switch in (LED on)?
• Is ‘Input Gain’ control turned up?
• Is ‘Output Gain’ control turned up?
7) Too much noise
• Is the ‘Input Gain’ control too high? Try moving the mic closer
to the source
• Is the ‘Output Gain’ control too high (eg: when lots of compression is
being used)?
• Is there too much EQ boost?
• Is the noise already present in the input signal? (Try removing the input)
8) Sounds distorted
• Is the ‘Input Gain’ control too high?
• Is the ‘Output Gain’ control too high?
• Is there too much EQ boost?
• When using the compressor, is the Release control set too low?
14
Using the Compressor
Start with the Compressor and Meequalizer off and adjust the input and
output gain so that the VU Meter reads around 0dB.
Set ‘COMPRESSION’ and ‘ATTACK’ fully anti-clockwise, with ‘SLOPE’ and
‘RELEASE’ at mid-position. Press the ‘COMP’ push-button and turn up the
‘COMPRESSION’ control until the compressor GR meter starts to read 2dB
or 4dB on audio peaks. You should now be able to hear the compressor
working as the volume diminishes. Use the ‘MAKE UP GAIN’ control to
restore the signal to its previous (uncompressed) level. Alter the SLOPE and
listen to how the severity of the gain reduction changes. Try changing the
Attack and listen for percussive sounds getting louder. Reducing the Attack
and Release times should emphasise this even more and the compressor
should start to “pump” audibly.
The overall result of compression depends on the combined settings of the
Compress, Slope, Attack and Release controls. Experiment with different
combinations to discover what best suits the material you wish to compress.
Watch the GR meter and don’t overdo things - it’s possible to apply 20dB of
gain reduction before you realise it!
Use the Compressor ‘ON’ switch to make comparisons between com-
pressed and uncompressed signals.
Using the Meequalizer
Always start with the Meequalizer boost/cut controls (LF, MID and HF) set
to “0” (the control knobs set vertically, in their centre notches). This setting
is also known as “flat”.
You need to be careful about too much boost or “lift”, since boosting
takes the sixQ closer to overload. The sixQ has generous overload
margins but when a lot of boost is used, it may be necessary to com-
pensate by reducing the Output Gain or the Input Gain (the latter will
affect the Compressor setting though).
Keep an eye on the VU Meter when adjusting the EQ. When the red
LED (labeled “PEAK FSD”) lights, the sixQ is within 6dB of clipping.
Occasional flashes are OK but if it is on all the time, turn something
down!
The way to use the LF FREQ and MID FREQ controls, is to apply quite
a lot of boost, then sweep the frequency until you “tune in” to the sound
you are interested in. Once you find it, adjust the amount of boost or cut
to give the desired effect.
Experiment with combinations of settings of EQ and try to picture how
the audio signal is being affected. Use the EQ ‘ON’ switch to make
comparisons between EQ’d and non-EQ’d signals.
Using the Output Stage
Final adjustments to the output level can be made with the OUTPUT
Gain control, again keeping an eye on the VU meter and PEAK FSD
LED. Note how this control can also be used to fade out the signal
completely.
six q manual.indd
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