"graphic equalizers" which rnay leave rnany sec-
tions unused on a given input, or "set frequency
select" types which never seern to have the right
"nurnber"
available. "Less"
as
a working concept
in
electronics
is
alwaysthe safest route, so before
using the tone controls on rnic
signals,
it
is
better
to get as
close to the sound you want by moving
the rnic. Even a
srnall change in rnic location can
rnake a big difference in the sound quality. Listen
to the sound frorn the
actual rnic position. Place
your head where the rnic is, and listen carefully.
What do you really hear? Is
it
what you want?
Doing this check rnay
help solve rnany problerns.
Too rnuch bass? Not enough? Well, perhaps there
is
a
better location for the rnic in order to get the
balance you need. When you have gone as far
as
you can in this fashion, the tone controls will get
you the rest of the way.
However, the "ear test" rnay not be wise, if the
volume of sound
is
very high. Don't put your
head near to any part of a drum set. Even if
only
moderate force
is
used to play drurns, at close
rnic
distance, the sound power rnay be enough
to cause perrnanent darnage to your ears.
If you have the timeand a co-operative rnusician,
experirnent with different combinations of rnic
placement and tone control settings. Although
it
can be very tiring for sorneone to play a part over
and over again
while you "go to school", it's the
best way to get the knowledge of rnic technique
and
tonal balance you need to rnake good rnixes.
In fact, experience
is
the only teacher that will
work on your specific problern, i.e., your guitar,
your
voice, your rnusic. All the inforrnation we
can give you in the rnanual will only be a starting
point. How far you get
will be up to you.
On the
block diagram and gain chart you can see
that the tone
control stage has a moderate gain
(IIOdB) and a very largeexcessgain capability or
"headroom"
(25dB). This gain chart isrnade with
the assumption that the tone
controls are set to
the
"flat" or "no boost or cut" position. The re-
serve in the circuit is necessary to rnaintain a 20
dB value of "headroom" when the tone controls
are set for maxirnurn effect. Without this extra
rnargin, you
would have to lower the setting of
the input fader when you used the extrerne boost
or cut settings of the tone
controls.
For a steady tone frorn an organ or
a
violin, this
rnight be just enough to avoid
clipping, or serious
distortion, but
it
is
definitely not enough to cope
with any percussive peaks frorn things
like piano,
guitar or drurns.
Even experienced engineers
have a tendency to
forget that "cutting" the
lows will have a sirnilar
effect to "boosting" the highs, and is much easier
on the
electronics (cutting leaves more headroom
and
consequently causes less distortion). The re-
sults
are not identica1 but close enough to war-
rant trying. Cut bass, raise the overall gain, and
see if it sounds better than
sirnply boosting the
highs.
Add
it
up
-
if you start with a reserve of only
25dB and you boost
+l
0dB (the rnaximurn) at 10
kHz, your margin of safety
is
reduced to 15dB.
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