Manley Labs Manley Massive Passive Stereo Tube Equalizer manual

OWNER'S MANUAL MANLEY MANLEY MANLEY MANLEY MANLEY MASSIVE PASSIVE MASSIVE PASSIVE MASSIVE PASSIVE MASSIVE PASSIVE MASSIVE PASSIVE STEREO TUBE EQ STEREO TUBE EQ STEREO TUBE EQ STEREO TUBE EQ STEREO TUBE EQ MANLEY LABORA TORIES, INC. 13880 MAGNOLIA A VE. CHINO, CA. 91710 TEL: (909) 627-4256 F AX: (909) 628-2482 http://www .manleylabs.com email: [...]

CONTENTS SECTION PAGE INTRODUCTION 3 BACK PANEL & CONNECTING 4 FRONT PANEL 5,6,7,8 CREDITS 8 THE MASSIVE PASSIVE BEGINNINGS, THE SUPER PULTEC 9 THE PASSIVE PARAMETRIC 10 WHY PASSIVE, WHY PARALLEL 11 PHASE SHIFT, WHY TUBES 12 CURVES 13 to16 TUBE LOCATIONS, ETC 17, 18 EQUALIZING EQUALIZERS (GENERAL) 19 EQUALIZER TECHNIQUES 20 to 24 TRANSLATIONS 2[...]

INTRODUCTION 3 THANK YOU!... for choosing the Manley MASSIVE PASSIVE STEREO TUBE EQUALIZER . This EQ is supposed to be somewhat different from any EQ you may have used before , as well, this manual may be a bit unusual in that you may find it worthwhile to read. Even though at first glance the Massive Passive looks fairly conventional, you should t[...]

MANLEY LABORA TORIES 13880 MAGNOLIA A VE., CHINO, CA 91710 PHONE (909) 627-4256 FAX (909) 628-2482 email: emanley@manleylabs.com UNBALANCED ONLY OUTPUT AN EVEANNA MANLEY PRODUCTION DESIGNED BY HUTCH BALANCED or UNBAL INPUT +4dBu /-10 dBv BALANCED or UNBAL INPUT +4dBu / -10 dBv SERIAL NUMBER POWER BALANCED OUTPUT BALANCED INPUT CHANNEL 1 CHANNEL 2 B[...]

1K2 1K8 27K 12K 8K2 5K6 3K9 2K7 1K8 1K2 820 560 220 330 470 680 1K 1K5 2K2 3K3 4K7 6K8 10K FREQUENCY FREQUENCY 2K7 FREQUENCY 3K9 820 560 390 270 180 120 82 FREQUENCY 680 1K 470 330 220 150 68 47 33 22 100 100 22 33 47 68 150 220 330 470 1K 680 FREQUENCY 82 120 180 270 390 560 820 3K9 FREQUENCY 2K7 FREQUENCY FREQUENCY 10K 6K8 4K7 3K3 2K2 1K5 1K 470 [...]

OUT BELL SHELF CUT BOOST DB 0 20 BANDWIDTH 100 22 33 47 68 150 220 470 1K 680 FREQUENCY BOOST OUT CUT SHELF BELL 560 - 27K DB 16K 0 20 BANDWIDTH FREQUENCY 560 820 1K2 1K8 2K7 3K9 5K6 8K2 12K 27K 22 - 1K 330 GAIN CCW = FLAT BANDWIDTH CCW = WIDE FREQUENCY SELECT BOOST OFF CUT BOOST OFF CUT LOW SHELF BELL HIGH SHELF BELL 1 2 3 4 5 1) BOOST / OUT / CUT[...]

4) BANDWIDTH . Similar to the "Q" control found in many EQs. A more accurate term here would be "Damping" or "Resonance" but we used "Bandwidth" to stay with Pultec terminology and because it is a "constant bandwidth" (*) design rather than "constant Q" and because of the way it uniquely w[...]

NOTES 1) Do not assume the knob settings "mean" what you expect they should mean. Part of this is due to the interaction of the controls. Part is due to the new shelf slopes and part due to a lack of standards regarding shelf specification. 2) You may find yourself leaning towards shelf frequencies closer to the mids than you are used to [...]

Beginnings The very earliest equalizers were very simple and primitive by todays standards. Yes, simpler than the hi-fi "bass" and "treble" controls we grew up with. The first tone controls were like the tone controls on an electric guitar. They used only capacitors and potentiometers and were extremely simple. Passive simply me[...]

Another important concept. When you use the shelf curves the frequencies on the panel may or may nor correspond to other EQ's frequency markings. It seems there are accepted standards for filters and bell curves for specifying frequency, but not shelves. We use a common form of spec where the "freq" corresponds to the half-way dB poi[...]

And Why Parallel? The Massive Passive is a "parallel design" as opposed to the far more common "series design". A few pages back, we mentioned the main reason for going with a parallel design was to avoid extreme signal loss, which would require extreme gains and present the problem of noise or extreme cost. The parallel approac[...]

Why Tube Gain Stages? The stupid answer is the name on the unit is "Manley Labs" and that is what we do. Unlike a current trend, we do not use tubes for THD, clipping character, cool marketing buzz-words, or plagiarism. We began building tube gear because we preferred the sound when it was un-fashionable and re-introduced these glowing ga[...]

Normal Shelf Wide Bandwidth (slope =about 4 to 5 dB/oct) Special Shelf Medium Bandwidth (slope = about 8 to 10 dB/oct) "Pultec Shelf" Narrow Bandwidth Bell Cut Narrow Bandwidth (just for reference) 22 Hz Shelf Wide Bandwidth 22 Hz Shelf Narrow Bandwidth 33 Hz Shelf Wide Bandwidth 33 Hz Shelf Medium Bandwidth 22Hz and 33Hz are different sh[...]

LOW SHELF +20 WIDE BW LOW SHELF +20 MED BW LOW SHELF -20 MED BW LOW SHELF -20 WIDE BW LOW SHELF +20 WIDE BW LOW SHELF +20 NARROW BW LOW SHELF -20 NARROW BW LOW SHELF -20 WIDE BW NOTICE THIS 8 dB BOOST AT 100 Hz WHILE SHELF CUTTING 100 Hz AND NOTICE THIS 8 dB DIP WHILE SHELF BOOSTING THE HALF WAY (10 dB) POINT HAS SHIFTED TO 50 Hz THESE CURVES SHOW [...]

Narrow Bandwidth Bandwidth at 12:00 Wide Bandwidth Wide Bandwidth 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 Changing "dB" and Changing Bandwidth TYPICAL BELL CURVES 15[...]

LOW PASS FILTERS HIGH PASS FILTERS 1.5 dB bump on the 6K, 7.5K and 9K Filters 16[...]

1) To Open : Disconnect the AC Power cable, let sit 15 minutes to allow the power supply capacitors to discharge. Remember there are high voltages (300VDC) used in the Massive Passive and that the capacitors may continue to hold a charge after power is removed - BE CAREFUL! We suggest using gloves and/or "one hand only" when the top is of[...]

LEFT CARD +4 dBu -10dBv INPUT INPUT OUTPUT OUTPUT RIGHT CARD +4 dBu -10dBv INPUT INPUT OUTPUT OUTPUT BACK P ANEL BACK P ANEL BACK P ANEL BACK P ANEL This procedure also results in a polarity reverse which means that the 1/4" outputs will reverse phase both in bypass and EQ. This may not be problem but you should be aware of this. It is definat[...]

Equalizers EQs range from simple bass and treble controls on a hifi system to pretty tricky parametric EQs and 1/3 octave graphic EQs. As an audio freak, you have probably tried quite a few EQs and have gotten both great results and sometimes less than great and you probably have a favorite EQ. Now that you probably have a digital system, you may h[...]

EQ TECHNIQUE One of the best things about almost all EQs is that you don’t really need an instruction manual. You plug it in, turn a few knows and when nothing happens you take it out of “bypass” and the rest is easy. You just keep twiddling until it sounds like you want it to. Most digital devices like synthesizers and reverbs tend to get a [...]

1) The song and the vocals was what producers wanted and perhaps that hasn’t changed much. Bands were recorded with live vocals back then. Even overdubs were a band thing. Much of the signature of both the British or American sound were the vocal harmonies. Same today. 2) It was only practical to record as a band, as a group. They rarely used a c[...]

Rather than try to do all your compression while recording vocals, save some for the mix. This takes a little pressure off of finding the “ultimate” compressor with perfect settings and you have the option of compressing the vocals as a group. Real Drums : Typically need lots ‘o’ EQ because we typically close- mike individual drums. Big she[...]

Loops : The trick? Make the bad stuff sound good and the good stuff sound bad. Put it all together and go nuts with the mute switches. For that ol’ telephone filter, first try the two mid bands with deep shelf cuts. You might expect to just use the filters but these ones probably neither go high enough nor low enough for this purpose so use them [...]

If you are attempting to master the project or “pre-master” (this year’s hot, new audio buzzword) yourself, here are some suggestions. Take a week off after mixing, then listen to the mixes on as many different systems as you can, friend’s homes, cars, boom boxes, headphones, etc. and make notes. With an eye on those notes, adjust. Now chec[...]

Translations This is just a few commonly used musical terms translated into technical terms or specific Massive Passive techniques. Note that these are fairly loose descriptions and definitions. Your mileage may vary. Bottom, Fat the deep lows for more: bell boost below 100Hz or use any low shelf up to even 330Hz . When you use a shelf this high, y[...]

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 i[...]

IT MAKES NOISES WHEN THE FRONT PANEL IS TAPPED - An easy one. Some tubes become microphonic over time. That means they start acting like a bad microphone. Vibration has caused the supports for the little parts in the tube to loosen and now the tube is sensitive to vibration. Easy - Replace the tube. Which one? The one that makes the most noise when[...]

MAINS CONNECTIONS Your MASSIVE PASSIVE has been factory set to the correct mains voltage for your country. The voltage setting is marked on the serial badge, located on the rear panel. Check that this complies with your local supply. Export units for certain markets have a moulded mains plug fitted to comply with local re- quirements. If your unit [...]

29 SPECIFICA TIONS Maximum Input : 1.5% THD +20 dBm Maximum Output : 1.5% THD Unbalanced: 20-20K +37 dBm Balanced: 100 to 20K +37 dBm Low Freq Saturation +26 @ 20 Hz Headroom (referenced to +4 dBm) flat 33 dB Eq boosted full 20 dB 13 dB THD & Noise (1kHz @ +4 dBm) .06% Frequency Response: +/- 2 dB 8 Hz to 60 kHz Noise Floor (refered to +4dBm) -[...]

W ARRANTY All Manley Laboratories equipment is covered by a limited warranty against defects in materials and workmanship for a period of 90 days from date of purchase to the original purchaser only. A further optional limited 5 year transferrable warranty is available upon proper registration of ownership within 30 days of date of first purchase. [...]

W ARRANTY REGISTRA TION We ask, grovel and beg that you please fill out this registration form and send the bottom half to: MANLEY LABORATORIES REGISTRATION DEPARTMENT 13880 MAGNOLIA AVE. CHINO CA, 91710 USA Or you may FAX this form in to: +1 (909) 628-2482 or you may fill in the online warranty registration form found in the Tech Support section o[...]

MANLEY 1K2 1K8 27K 12K 8K2 5K6 3K9 2K7 1K8 1K2 820 560 220 330 470 680 1K 1K5 2K2 3K3 4K7 6K8 10K FREQUENCY FREQUENCY 2K7 FREQUENCY 3K9 820 560 390 270 180 120 82 FREQUENCY 680 1K 470 330 220 150 68 47 33 22 100 100 22 33 47 68 150 220 330 470 1K 680 FREQUENCY 82 120 180 270 390 560 820 3K9 FREQUENCY 2K7 FREQUENCY FREQUENCY 10K 6K8 4K7 3K3 2K2 1K5 [...]

1K2 1K8 27K 12K 8K2 5K6 3K9 2K7 1K8 1K2 820 560 220 330 470 680 1K 1K5 2K2 3K3 4K7 6K8 10K FREQUENCY FREQUENCY 2K7 FREQUENCY 3K9 820 560 390 270 180 120 82 FREQUENCY 680 1K 470 330 220 150 68 47 33 22 100 100 22 33 47 68 150 220 330 470 1K 680 FREQUENCY 82 120 180 270 390 560 820 3K9 FREQUENCY 2K7 FREQUENCY FREQUENCY 10K 6K8 4K7 3K3 2K2 1K5 1K 470 [...]