background image

There are a number of possible symptoms of something not quite right, some may be interfacing, others we will touch

on as well. If you suspect a problem the following paragraphs should help.

NO POWER, NO INDICATORS, NADA

 - Probably something to do with AC power. Is it plugged in? Check the fuseon

the back panel. A blown fuse often looks blackened inside or the little wire inside looks broken or it's resistance measures higher
than 2 ohms. A very blackened fuse is a big hint that a short occured. Try replacing the fuse with a good one of the same value
and size. If it blows too, then prepare to send the unit back to the dealer or factory for repair. The fuse is a protection device
and it should blow if there is a problem. If the unit works with a new fuse, fine, it works. Sometimes fuses just blow for unknown
reasons.

LIGHTS BUT NO SOUND 

- First try plugging the in and out cables into each other or some other piece of gear to verify

that your wires are OK. If not fix them or replace them. Assuming that cables passed sound - it probably is still a wiring thing.
The output XLRs may be transformer balanced if the "Transformer Option" is installed and the transformer is switched in.
Like most transformer outputs, these outputs then become "floating" which means that both Pin 2 AND Pin 3 need to be used.
Some XLR to 1/4" adapters ignore the XLR Pin 3 and just use Pin 1 for low(-) and Pin 2 for high(+), which is the wrong thing
to do with floating outputs. When driving an unbalanced input ( inserts on some consoles) PIN 3 needs to be grounded or
connected to PIN 1. Same with the unbalanced 1/4 inch jacks - if driving a balanced input you can't ignore the negative side.
It needs to be connected to the sleeve of the phone plug. Another way to do basically the same thing is join PIN 1 and PIN
3 on the XLR male at the destination. Easiest way,  just use that little toggle switch on the back panel called "INPUT OUTPUT
LEVELS" to match with your setup - that is what this switch is for.

LEVELS SEEM TO BE WRONG, NO BOTTOM 

- Several possible scenarios. First check the I/O switch on the back panel.

Next try different cables and check the path again. The "no-bottom" symtom often means either the connection on pin 3 is not
really connected all the way through or that it needs to also connect to Pin 1.

ONE SIDE WORKS FINE BUT THE OTHER SIDE IS DEAD

 - Let's assume this is not wiring. We are pretty sure it is

the Mini Massive. The Rapture Amps are socketted and there are 2 per side. With the power off, one might swap the Rapture
amps from left to right, a pair at a time and verify whether one is not at all well, retired early, a little dead and arrange to swap
the bad amp with your dealer or Manley. Another possibility is a power supply problem because each side has its own power
supply regulators. Most likely, the culprit is a fried 30 ohm 1/2 watt resistor that is used as a fuse and isolator in the power
supply. In fact there are 4 of them, 2 on each side and they are designed to be the first (and hopefully only) part to burn in case
of a problem. They tend to look like charcoal when they perform that fuse function. A new one needs to be soldered in.

HUM

 - Once again - several possibilities - several cures. Most likely it is a ground loop. Ideally each piece of gear should

have one ground connection and only one. However, the short list of grounds include the AC mains plug, the chassis bolted
to a rack with other gear, each input and each output. The two most common procedures are: try a 3 pin to 2 pin AC adapter
(about a dollar at the hardware store).This may or may not be technically legal in your country. Method two  - cutting the shield
on oneend of each cable. This is done by some studios at every  female XLR to "break" all  ground loops.  All the other gear
in the rack is "dumping" ground noise onto the ground. Try removing the EQ from the rack so that it is not touching any metal.
You just may have cured a non-loop hum. Some gear radiates a magnetic field and some gear (especially if it has audio
transformers or inductors) might receive that hum. A little distance was all it took. The Mini Massive is full of inductors and
audio transformers which have the potential of hum pick-up from other units; however, they are run "hot" to minimise this
possibility. It is worth a few placement experiments if you notice hum especially in EQ mode (not bypass).

SMOKE -

 Uh-oh...that is not a good sign. In the Mini Massive there are 4 x 30 ohm 1/2 watt resistors (R42, R43) and one

of their purposes is to act as fuses in case something goes wrong - pretty smoky stinky fuses at that. So about the only things
that can cause one of those resistors to become charcoal is a Rapture amp failing (very easy to replace) or a shunt regulator
failing which seems to be rather unlikely. So, one may need to replace a resistor or two (simple soldering) and get a new
Rapture Amp from Manley or your dealer. It might not be a great reason to ship a Mini that smoked across 10 time zones
- unless you don't know anybody with a soldering iron - or you bought it grey market and now you want to spend 3 times as
much in shipping as you thought you were saving when you got it.

TROUBLE-SHOOTING

27

Summary of Contents for Langevin Mini Massive

Page 1: ...SIVE MINI MASSIVE MINI MASSIVE STEREO EQ STEREO EQ STEREO EQ STEREO EQ STEREO EQ MANLEY LABORATORIES INC 13880 MAGNOLIA AVE CHINO CA 91710 TEL 909 627 4256 FAX 909 628 2482 http www manleylabs com ema...

Page 2: ...UPER PULTEC 10 THE PASSIVE PARAMETRIC 11 WHY PASSIVE WHY PARALLEL 12 PHASE SHIFT WHY TUBES 13 CURVES 14 16 TRIMS and The GUTZ 17 MAINS VOLTAGE SETTING 18 EQUALIZING EQUALIZERS GENERAL 19 EQUALIZER TEC...

Page 3: ...vintage EQ a few good digital EQs the Mini Massive holds a place in your arsenal for it s unique flavor and capabilities Some sections of this manual have been directly borrowed from the Massive Pass...

Page 4: ...is hot or and Pin 3 is low or These outputs are not the typical pseudo balanced or cross coupled type which automatically compensate for unbalanced inputs but are often unstable and may significantly...

Page 5: ...B controls which allow you to just boost or cut a little bit if desired filters never have these controls The High band also has a special setting labelled BELL 2 that only operates on the 4 highest f...

Page 6: ...wide bell on conventional EQs with more energy boost or cut and at first impression the Massivo seems to work backward compared with that and narrow bandwidths give more drastic results On the Massiv...

Page 7: ...s where subtlety is required like vocals and mastering 9 Of course the Mini will get compared to the Massive Passive which gets compared to vintage Pultecs and to Manley s Enhanced Pultec EQs so maybe...

Page 8: ...t want a processor or preamplifier that doesn t leave its thumbprint on the sound Typically mastering is one place for a transparent EQ especially when the mix is already pretty damn fine Other situat...

Page 9: ...s and eyes open Of course some of you know that the we have contributed to some non Manley plug ins that are highly regarded Meanwhile progress continues and we are continuing to listen and maybe some...

Page 10: ...with these goals modern parametric like operation passive tone techniques through out and features different from anything currently available and it had to sound spectacular The Super Pultec Manley...

Page 11: ...ith center detented pots Mechanical center and electrical center are rarely the same The Passive Parametric For years we had been getting requests for a Manley parametric equalizer but it looked daunt...

Page 12: ...cing to get some hum bucking action but avoid magnetic coupling with careful positioning Some kinds of interaction suck and some are beneficial Why Passive If you hate tech talk just skip this section...

Page 13: ...Thisisprobablythemostmisunderstoodtermfloating aboutinthemixingcommunity Lotsofpeopleblameornamephase shift for just about any audio problem that doesn t sound like typical distortion We ask that you...

Page 14: ...most EQs a 100Hz low shelf doesn t reach max until about 10 Hz 14 FREQUENCY RESPONSE BANDWIDTHSETTING AT1 1 00 LOWFREQSHEL VES 22 33 47 68arenew 20 20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18...

Page 15: ...ELF BOOSTING THE HALF WAY 10 dB POINT HAS SHIFTED TO 50 Hz THESE CURVES SHOW ONE OF THE IDEOSYNCRACIES AND IT IS POSSIBLE FOR A LF BOOST TO SOUND AS IF IT HAS LESS LOWS DEPENDING ON THE FREQUENCY AND...

Page 16: ...andwidth Bandwidth at 12 00 Narrow Bandwidth dB set at max 20 dB and changing the Bandwidth Max Boost Narrow Bandwidth 12 00 Boost Narrow Bandwidth Max Boost Wide Bandwidth 12 00 Boost Wide Bandwidth...

Page 17: ...Manley Langevin dealers are capable of making the change if needed Part of the reason we did this is to discourage some grey market sales However the following page does show this section of the boar...

Page 18: ...8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 FOR 100 VAC CUT THE TRACES BETWEEN 5 7 AND 7 8 A PCB TRACE SHOULD EXIST FROM 1 2 SOLDER JUMPERS FROM PADS 4 6 AND 6 8 FOR 117 VAC PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD TRACES SHOULD EXIST ON THE BOT...

Page 19: ...lug in digital EQ with the same 3 predictable knobs per band as the analog EQs The only significant digital variation on the parametric concept has been the linear phase equalizers These are the first...

Page 20: ...will be to finesse your available EQ Hit Record finesse it in the mix More important to get the vibe than to burn out the band doing sound checks and tweaks If mic choice is a mystery you might want...

Page 21: ...vidual units like mics like rooms consoles engineers The last problem was that they only had a few weeks to shout at each other Avoidthattechnique Yougottabecreative playitbyear use your own variation...

Page 22: ...n Percussion There are two big tricks The first is don t trust VU meters usepeakmetersanddon tgettooclosetofullscale Thekey word is percussion and the peaks or transients are very short and impressive...

Page 23: ...o you understand the difference its not just attitude 3 Therestofthegearinmajormasteringhousesisalsosoimportant that cost is no object The engineers regularly shoot out new gearandwillalwaysbuyifitISb...

Page 24: ...what adventures you are having with the Mini Massive The Circuit The Mini Massive is a not a particularly complicated circuit The audio comes in is converted from balanced to unbalanced and DC servo...

Page 25: ...the most forgiving and automatic method to interface given that the ouput is floating and either leg can be grounded without a loss of headroom and with less groundloop difficulties Technicalities asi...

Page 26: ...a lot of freestyle sports but in audio it often runs the risk of painfully bright or screaming highs Telephone Sound First try deep shelf cuts using the two bands set approximately for 470 and 3900 E...

Page 27: ...amps from left to right a pair at a time and verify whether one is not at all well retired early a little dead and arrange to swap the bad amp with your dealer or Manley Another possibility is a powe...

Page 28: ...that donotagreewithanothercompany sDAT Onecannottrustthemtotrulyindicatepeaksorovers Outboarddigitalpeakmeters with switchable peak hold that indicate overs as 3 or 4 consecutive samples at either Ful...

Page 29: ...ut the conversion should only be done by a qualified technician 29 Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment WEEE Information for customers The European Parliament and the Council of the European Unio...

Page 30: ...ref to 30 dBm Input Impedance 20 K ohms Output Impedance 60 ohms transformer 300 ohms Power Consumption 15 watts 100 mA 115VAC Fuse 1 Amp Slo Blo 120VAC 0 5 Amp Slo Blo 230VAC Size 1U 19 x 1 75 x 10...

Page 31: ...20 P B EQ IN POWER BELL BELL HZ HZ HZ HZ NJOJ BY MANLEY LABS FREQUENCY 22 33 47 68 100 150 220 330 470 680 1K LEVEL 0 8 20 P B NBTTJWF BOOST OUT CUT LOW FREQUENCY EQ BANDWIDTH SHELF BELL 560 820 1K2...

Reviews: