Tascam M-300 Series Operation & Maintenance Manual

Contents

capacitors to discharge, then continueto turn off the remaining equipment.Turn the mixer off last.When the system is operational, begin makingthe initial control settings. We suggest startingwith all the EO controls set at 1 2 o'clock andthe A U X send controls off (fully counterclockwise). Set the channel input select switches( L I N E ) to the appropriate position; M I C (up) orLl N E (down) . Assign the channels to the desiredgroups using the assignment switches and PANcontrols. Remember, even if a channel is assign·ed to only one PGM group, the PAN controlwill still affect the signal. Thus the PAN shouldbe turned all the way to the left or right ifonly one PGM group is selected.Begin setting the input gain levels, starting withthe first channel, by turning the M I C or L I N Egain T R I M control to the 1 2 o'clock position.If the channel is assigned to a PGM group,raise the corresponding PGM FADER to the 7-Bposition. If the channel is assigned to the LEFTand RI GHT STE R EO MASTERS, raise thoseFADERS to the 7-B position. These settingsapproximate the unity gain position of the PGMand STE R EO MAST E R section amplifiers andallow relatively accurate VU meter readings.Remember, this procedure is the initial gainsetting step. I n the actual rehearsal prior to theperformance, minor adjustments are usuallymade to "fine tune" the various controlsettings.If the channel is processing a M I C signal, havesomeone speak into the M IC. Engage the channel"ON" switch and slowly raise the F A D E R . Thelevel will be correct if the assigned PGM orMASTER VU meter reads ·near or at 0 and thechannel FADER is set between 7-8, the shadedarea on the fader scale. If the fader is below thisrange, reduce the gain trim slightly and raisethe fader to the desi red position. If the faderis above 8, lower the fader to the proper range,then slowly increase the gain trim until the VUreading is correct (at or near 0).If the M I C signal level is too high or strong, thechannel O L (overload) LED will fire. I f thisindicator is on constantly, turn the MIC T R I Mcontrol down. I f this fails to correct the over·load cond ition, press the PAD switch. Thisinserts a 30 dB pad into the mic circuit priorto the fi rst stage of gain, thus reducing thepossibil ity of overloading and distortion. If theO L LED only flashes periodically, but thechannel fader is at a low position(below 6).adjust the MIC T R I M control down until thefader can be raised to the proper level. Theseprocedures are designed to provide you with theproper amount of gain, the lowest noise and themost headroom possible.Line level signals such as those generated by asynthesizer, as i n our example, may be set ina similar fash ion as the M I CS. Merely selectL I N E as the source and adjust the L I N E T R I Mcontrol and fader for the desired level . UnlikeMIC signals, instruments which generate l inelevels usually provide an output level control.This external control must be properly adjustedto prevent overload of the L I N E I N put.When all the various channel levels have been set,and the channels assigned, the final PGM andSTE R EO levels can be determined. I n ourexample, we have assigned several signals to thefour PGM GR OUPS and others directly to theLEFT and R I GHT STE R EO MASTERS. Theobvious questions arising from these actionsare: Why use the PGM G R OUPS? and, How is aPGM GROUP signal mixed to the STE R EOMASTERS?First, let's look at the assignments. We'veassigned different instruments or voices whichperform similar musical tasks to the same groups.As an example, the two background vocalmics are assigned to PGM 1 . This allows theoperator to control the final level of both m icswith only one fader. I n other instances, suchas the lead or main vocal mic, the signal is sentdirectly to the STE R EO MASTERS, bypassingthe PGM G R OUPS. This al lows the signal tobe varied in the final mix without disturbingany other signal. This method of mixing reducesthe complexity of the mix while still allowingfull creative control.Adding the PGM GR OUP signals to the STE R EOmix is relatively simple. Above each G ROUPFADER there are two identical, yet separate,MONITOR sections. Each section is nu mbered,1 -8, and contains an input select switch (TAPERTN), a L E V E L control, a PAN control, and anON switch. On the M-3 1 2 and M-320 models,there is an additional control not found on the33