Black Box MM-1 Manual page 7

IN USE
LET'S SHAPE TONE!
With an understanding of how each stage operates, lets look at how they can
be used together to control what you capture.
- Set the Triode and Output to 12 o'clock
- Start with the Pentode
Start with the Pentode at zero (no sound will pass) and begin to turn the knob
clockwise. As you do, you will hear the response tilt, adding more and more low
end as you increase the gain while the top end stays fixed.
- Switch the response and Impedance
While adjusting the Pentode knob, switch the 'response' setting and you will
hear the top end change as it switches from being fixed (regardless of Pentode
position) to rolled off, allowing for new frequency response curves.
Switching the input impedance will give you yet another set of response curves
and possible combinations.
- Low frequency roll off
Along with the Pentode knob, input impedance and 'response' options, the low
end roll off selector will help you shape the frequency response. Rather than a
steep HPF, the roll off is an extremely gentle slope that extends all the way to
the midrange with a 1db drop at 1k in the fully clockwise position. This gentle
approach not only sounds more musical and natural but allows you to achieve a
wide range of frequency response curves in conjunction with the other controls.
- Triode
Once you've achieved the frequency response you are after, adjust the Triode
stage to drive that signal. Start by lowering the Triode and compensating
by turning the output all the way up. This will result in extremely clean, high
headroom amplification. As you increase the Triode gain, compensate as needed
at the output and you will hear the Triode tube begin to add beautiful harmonics,
saturation and eventually compression and limiting. By "squeezing" the signal
between these two stages, you can actually control the dynamics of your material
in an incredibly natural way and still get exactly the output you need for the next
stage.
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