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ENGLISH 

 

1

LiquidControl™ Software 

Please visit 

www.focusrite.com 

to download the latest version of the free LiquidControl™ 

software application, for Mac OS X or Windows XP. The application allows you to edit The 

Liquid Channel™ remotely, plus load, save and archive the mic-pre and compressor replicas 

and programs. The LiquidControl™ user guide is also available to download in PDF format. 

 

Contents  

Introduction............................................................................ 1

 

Important Safety Instructions............................................. 1

 

Power Connections.............................................................. 1

 

Liquid Channel™ Architecture ......................................... 2

 

Rear Panel Connections ...................................................... 3

 

Front Panel Controls............................................................ 3

 

Mic-Pre and A/D.................................................................... 4

 

Session Saver .......................................................................... 4

 

Clock Select and Synchronisation..................................... 5

 

Main LCD and Controls ...................................................... 5

 

Harmonics............................................................................... 6

 

Compressor Settings............................................................ 6

 

3-Band EQ............................................................................... 7

 

Comp & EQ Settings ............................................................ 8

 

Data Select.............................................................................. 8

 

Linking Multiple Units.........................................................10

 

Connections and Applications .........................................11

 

Frequently Asked Questions............................................16

 

Specifications ........................................................................21

 

Disclaimer .............................................................................22

 

Accuracy ................................................................................22

 

Copyright ..............................................................................22

 

Warranty ...............................................................................22

 

 

Introduction 

Thank you for purchasing The Liquid Channel™ 
brought to you by the Focusrite team – Ian, Trevor, 

Peter, Martin, Tom, Mick A’C, Phil, Chris G, Micky, 
Pauline, Melissa, Chris W, Rob J Snr, Simon J, Vernon, 
Giles, Rob J Jnr, Mick G, Tim, Dave, Nick, Paul, Peter 
and Simon. 
 
The chaps at Focusrite are a jolly hard working bunch 
and take a great deal of pride in designing, building and 

delivering products which are considered the best 
audio units around; we hope your new Focusrite unit 
lives up to that reputation and that you enjoy many 
years of productive recording. If you would like to tell 
us about your recording experiences then email us at: 
[email protected] 

 

 

 

The Focusrite Team 

 

Important Safety Instructions 

Please read all of these instructions and save them for future 
reference. Follow all warnings and instructions marked on 
the unit. 
 

 

Do not obstruct air vents in the rear panel. Do not 
insert objects through any apertures. Ensure adequate 
ventilation at all times. 

 

Do not use a damaged or frayed power cord. 

 

Unplug the unit before cleaning. Clean with a damp 
cloth only. Do not spill liquid on the unit. 

 

Unplug the unit and refer servicing to qualified service 
personnel under the following conditions: if the power 
cord or plug is damaged; if liquid has entered the unit; if 
the unit has been dropped or the case damaged; if the 
unit does not operate normally or exhibits a distinct 
change in performance. Adjust only those controls that 
are covered by the operating instructions. 

 

Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarised or 
grounding type plug. A polarised plug has two blades 
with one wider than the other. A grounding type plug 
has two blades and a third grounding prong. The wider 
blade or the third prong are provided for your safety. 
When the plug provided does not fit into your outlet, 
consult an electrician for replacement of the obsolete 
outlet. 

 
This unit is capable of operating over a range of mains 
voltages as marked on the rear panel. Ensure correct mains 
voltage setting and correct fuse before connecting mains 
supply. Do not change mains voltage settings while mains 
supply is connected. To avoid the risk of fire, replace the 
mains fuse only with the correct value fuse, as marked on 
the rear panel. The internal power supply unit contains no 
user serviceable parts. Refer all servicing to a qualified 
service engineer, through the appropriate Focusrite dealer. 
 

WARNING: 

THIS UNIT MUST BE EARTHED BY THE 

POWER CORD. UNDER NO 

CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD THE MAINS 

EARTH BE DISCONNECTED FROM THE 

MAINS LEAD. 

 

Power Connections 

There is an IEC mains lead supplied with the unit, which 
should have the correct moulded plug for your country. The 
wiring colour code used is: 
 

For units shipped to the USA, Canada, Taiwan and Japan: 

Live 

Black; 

Neutral 

White; 

Earth

 Green 

 

For units shipped to any other country: 

Live

 Brown; 

Neutral

 Blue; 

Earth

 Green & Yellow 

Summary of Contents for LiquidControl

Page 1: ...insert objects through any apertures Ensure adequate ventilation at all times Do not use a damaged or frayed power cord Unplug the unit before cleaning Clean with a damp cloth only Do not spill liquid on the unit Unplug the unit and refer servicing to qualified service personnel under the following conditions if the power cord or plug is damaged if liquid has entered the unit if the unit has been ...

Page 2: ...ith replicas of 40 classic mic pres and forty classic compressors but is infinitely expandable since the USB port also facilitates the upload of further replicas downloaded from a dedicated website www focusrite com Finally to account for variances in amounts of second third and fifth order harmonic distortion usually perceived as warmth from one pre amp to the next a dial is included to permit co...

Page 3: ...dio data between devices The connectors are both RCA phono See page 10 for more details on linking multiple units USB The USB connector allows The Liquid Channel to be connected to a computer running the free LiquidControl software which allows remote operation download and archive management See the separate LiquidControl user guide downloadable from www focusrite com for more information For rem...

Page 4: ...itch does not affect the other inputs If you are unsure whether your microphone requires phantom power refer to its handbook as it is possible to damage some microphones most notably ribbon microphones by providing phantom power Ø Pressing Ø inverts the phase of the selected input primarily used to correct phase problems when using multiple microphones on a single source This switches an analogue ...

Page 5: ...ws the gain as set using the Gain control in the Mic Pre and A D section in dB Program Name This area of the display shows the name of the currently loaded program memory Naming and saving of programs are separate commands it is advisable to name the program first then save it Number This area of the display shows the number of the currently loaded program memory from 00 100 Selecting 00 allows th...

Page 6: ...to create an overdriven sound without having to overdrive the pre amp Careful use of the Harmonics control will thus allow the user to tune in The Liquid Channel replicas to their own individual vintage unit The amount of harmonic distortion is indicated by the LEDs surrounding the dial and a value from 0 15 shown above it ODD appears next to the value when third and fifth order harmonics are pres...

Page 7: ...s depending on the chosen compressor and the exact value is shown in dB directly above on the display window Stereo Link This switch enables Liquid Channel units to be linked so that the master can control multiple slave units To set whether the unit is the master or slave the Setup menu must be accessed See page 9 for more information on the Setup menu and page 10 for more information on linking ...

Page 8: ... the currently edited settings Revert Having used the Compare switch to qualify new settings should the original saved program parameters be preferred then this switch can be pressed to revert to the previously saved settings N B Any edits made to the program settings will then be permanently lost Wordclock and phantom power settings are not saved in the unit s Program memories Data Select This se...

Page 9: ...on the clock destination Digital Link Bus Gain Linkage If using more than one Liquid Channel this setting specifies how many machines are to be linked Up to eight Liquid Channels may be chained via the DIGITAL LINK BUS connectors See page 10 for more information about linking multiple units If using only one unit ensure this is set to OFF Gain Linkage If Digital Link Bus has been set to a value gr...

Page 10: ... Slave Controls to Master option in the Setup menu set to Yes 6 Ensure that the pre amp and compressor replicas required by the program are loaded If necessary use the LiquidControl application to upload the required Program and replicas to each unit See the separate downloadable LiquidControl documentation for more information 7 If you wish to use two Liquid Channels with digital input output at ...

Page 11: ...ENGLISH 11 Connections and Applications 1 All analogue signal path 2 Digital out Liquid Channel is clock master 3 Digital out Liquid Channel slaved to Wordclock ...

Page 12: ...ital out Liquid Channel slaved to AES clock Liquid Channel receives clock from AES connection 5 Stereo tracking 44 1 96 kHz Liquid Channel slaved to Wordclock See Linking Multiple Units on page 10 for more information ...

Page 13: ...ENGLISH 13 6 Four channel tracking 44 1 96 kHz Liquid Channel slaved to Wordclock See Linking Multiple Units on page 10 for more information ...

Page 14: ...o AES clock For 176 4 kHz 192 kHz operation set DAW to send receive in dual wire mode See Linking Multiple Units on page 10 for more information 8 Digital in out mono for digital insert 44 1 192 kHz For 176 4 kHz 192 kHz operation set DAW to send receive in dual wire mode ...

Page 15: ...96 kHz See Linking Multiple Units on page 10 for more information 10 Digital in out stereo for digital insert 176 4 kHz 192 kHz For 176 4 kHz 192 kHz operation set DAW to send receive in dual wire mode See Linking Multiple Units on page 10 for more information ...

Page 16: ... of vintage and modern compressors and EQs ever assembled The impulse response device they used for this process is called with good reason The Replicator This mysterious black box outputs an impulse a very narrow time wise voltage spike of amplitude which contains an infinite number of frequencies The impulse spike is sent to the device you wish to replicate By measuring the output of the device ...

Page 17: ...sfer mechanism there s a lot of variation in transformers What impedance appears at the input of the pre is also a key factor when you connect a mic it has an output impedance of its own The two sides mic and pre react and frequency related level can vary wildly as a result Capacitances also interact as both mic and transformer have capacitances that vary so HF roll off may occur for example or yo...

Page 18: ...pressor from the parametric mid range section to use The Liquid Channel as a de esser more liquid than liquid The EQ is editable programmable directly from the front panel and includes high and low shelving and parametric mid range across a huge range of frequencies Q I understand the unit is a recording channel i e mono But what if I want to record in stereo can I chain two units together A Yes a...

Page 19: ...gain If anything some models have fewer controls with some vintage compressors just offering gain controls for example Focusrite do also plan to have more than one replica for certain devices that may require them In addition The Liquid Channel extends the user s control further by allowing an extra dial to change the percentage of the mic pre s second third and fifth order harmonic distortion and...

Page 20: ... then measure the compressor curve at different ratio threshold positions Then we measure the attack and release characteristics as well as the RMS vs Peak detection of the side chain signal in order to see if it discriminating more towards peak or RMS If you put e g a drum kit thru a peak detecting compressor such as a Focusrite the compressor side chain will follow the curve of the signal that s...

Page 21: ...pass A weighted filter Maximum Input Level 16 dBu Input Impedance Variable set by pre amp replica chosen CMRR Transformer 123 dB 60 dB of gain Electronic 102 dB 60 dB of gain Line Input Gain Range 10 dB to 10 dB switched in 1 dB steps Frequency Response 0 dB 0 1 dB between 20 Hz and 20 kHz THD N at analogue out 0 001 measured with a 18 dBu 1 kHz input signal with 20 Hz 22 kHz bandpass filter THD N...

Page 22: ...r as producing the same effects as the original products studied Accuracy Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy and content of this manual Focusrite Audio Engineering Ltd makes no representations or warranties regarding the contents Copyright Copyright 2004 Focusrite Audio Engineering Ltd All rights reserved No part of this manual may be reproduced photocopied stored on a retrie...

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