X2 X2 manual Adding Effects, Selecting an Aux Send, To set the level going to the effects device

Applications

Adding Effects

Effects such as reverb, chorus and delay are typically wired in a loop from an Auxiliary Send to a Stereo Aux Return (see Chapter 3, “Interfacing Aux Sends and Returns to Outboard Effects”). There are two basic stages to getting a low-noise, distortion-free signal flow from an effects device:

1Adjust the send level from the X2 to the effect device using the channel Aux Sends, the Aux Master, and the input controls of the effect device itself. This level should be as strong as possible without clipping the effect device.

2Assign the Stereo Aux Return to its destinations:

•Aux 1-2, if you want effects in the headphone mix,

•L-R, if you want to hear effects in the control room or record them onto the mixdown deck,

•A Group (1—8), if you want to record effects onto the multitrack tape deck.

Most complaints of “noisy effects” are due to send levels that are too low and return levels that are too high. You must structure the gain properly between the X2 and the signal processor.

Selecting an Aux Send:

First, you must decide which Auxiliary Sends to use. There are six post-fader sends from the X2.

•To send a signal to the effects device from the monitor section, press the AUX SOURCE button down. This selects the post-monitor fader signal as the source of the two AUX 3/7 and AUX 4/8 knobs directly above the switch. In a typical installation, Aux 3 and 4 are used for effect sends from the monitor.

•To send a signal to the effects device from the channel, use AUX 5/7 or AUX 6/8. The signal source for these two controls always comes from the channel fader. In a typical installation, Aux 5 and 6 are used for effect sends from the channel.

•To send signal from the monitor and the channel to the same effect device(s), press the AUX SOURCE button down and press both 7/8 switches. Use AUX 7 and 8 for a combined effect send.

•It is possible to send signal from the channel to six different Aux Sends (including Aux 1-2) simultaneously when the AUX SOURCE switch is in the up position.

To set the level going to the effects device:

1Set the Aux Send(s) in the input module to about “2 o’clock.”

2Start the signal source(s); i.e., play the tape or instrument at typical levels.

3Raise the appropriate Aux Master to about “2 o’clock.”

Alternatively, you can press the AFL switch of the Aux Master you’re using, set the SOLO level to 0 (12 o’clock), and set the Aux Master to a setting that gives an average meter reading of “0 dB” on the L-R meter.

X2 Reference Manual 45