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Drawmer M500 Operator's Manual

Dynamics processor
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M500
OPERATORS MANUAL

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  • Page 1 M500 OPERATORS MANUAL...

  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    ......1 - 2 CHAPTER 2 - THE M500 UNIT FINDING YOUR WAY AROUND .

  • Page 3: Introduction

    MIDI if required. In fact the MIDI implementation of the M500 is extensive and it is able to respond to MIDI notes, clocks, switches, program changes and controller data. For a full description of the MIDI specification of the M500, refer to the MIDI section later in the manual.

  • Page 4: How To Use This Manual

    'drop-down' menu. Where the LCD text is shown inside a shaded 'drop-down' menu, this implies that the user has no direct control over this message, the M500 will decide which message to display. A small 'serpentine' between two parameters denotes the range between the minimum and maximum.

  • Page 5: Finding Your Way Around

    CHAPTER 2 FINDING YOUR WAY AROUND Despite its high degree of sophistication, the M500 has been provided with a friendly and intuitive operating system which issues on-screen prompts where appropriate. Because there are so many parameters attributed to the different Effects, these have been arranged so that the most often used ones are always accessed first allowing the more complex functions to be ignored unless required.

  • Page 6: Combining Effects

    M500 OPERATORS MANUAL COMBINING EFFECTS The operating system has been designed to allow the two channels of the M500 to be used either independently, or, as linked, stereo pairs. The Effects may be assigned for use in any order with the proviso that the chosen order is logical.

  • Page 7: Chapter 3 - Control Key Overview

    Ch 3 - 1 CHAPTER 3 CONTROL KEY OVERVIEW Many of the keys are self-explanatory, but because the M500 contains many enhanced features, you should read through this section at least once before getting down to any serious work. BYPASS Primary function: Override all or one dynamics process(es).

  • Page 8: Meters

    Ch 3 - 2 M500 OPERATORS MANUAL This is the facility to add make-up gain to the COMPRESSOR and DE-ESSER to restore level lost during processing. This can be made automatic by selecting Au or can be set manually to a specified amount.

  • Page 9: Misc

    Hitting an Effects key twice in succession will exit from this page and return to the Effects editing screen. • If the M500 is in Stereo mode, then both channels will be adjusted simultaneously; if the channels are independent, then CHAN can be used to switch between them.

  • Page 10: Yes Accept

    Ch 3 - 4 M500 OPERATORS MANUAL YES ACCEPT The only function of this key is in response to screen prompts to confirm or store changes. ASSIGN Primary function: Confirm and alter the order of dynamic processes. To set up a patch of one or more Effects, the desired Effects have to be 'assigned' before they can be used.

  • Page 11: Midi

    Primary function: Controls MIDI operation and functions. In these pages, the user can set up the way in which the M500 responds to incoming MIDI data and also the way in which the M500 transmits MIDI information to either another M500 or a MIDI sequencer. MIDI can be used for remote patch selection and may also be used to control the PAN Effect if MIDI control is selected.
  • Page 12 PAN as it would be impractical. ALL NOTES TRIG There are two ways to make the M500 respond to all MIDI note values; one is the obvious solution of setting the split points to cover the whole MIDI note range...
  • Page 13 FADE SWITCH autofade function responds to incoming MIDI information. The M500 is capable of both fade-ins and fade-outs and these may be triggered manually from the keypad, or from either a MIDI Start/Stop command, or from MIDI switches, often called controllers.
  • Page 14 TRANSMIT. THE FOURTH MIDI PARAMETER DISPLAY M500 MODE section enables more than one M500 to be used in M500 MODE the same MIDI system; if only a single M500 is in use, this should NORMAL MASTER SLAVE be left set to NORMAL.

  • Page 15: Links

    LINKS Primary function: Joins both channels or Effect modules for stereo operation. This is an extremely important area of the M500 and determines which Effects are to be linked between the two channels. There are three important and distinct areas covered by Linking listed on the following pages: The four discrete Effects links.
  • Page 16 Ster M500 IN STEREO Select Ster when the M500 is to be used for processing a stereo signal and it influences several important operational areas. Because switching to stereo has several implications, it is worth reading this section thoroughly.
  • Page 17 2 also. Ster Ster Ster Stereo switches the M500 to a stereo input, stereo output unit with all the implications discussed in the STEREO section. As with the inputs, the outputs may be set in different modes for OUTs different applications. The M500 has two possible modes allowing for dual channel operation or summed into mono where both channels are summed at the output and routed to output 1.

  • Page 18: Filter

    FILTR page below are identical except that the signal monitored at the output of the M500 is different. On this page, the monitor signal is the filter output which functions in much the same way as the 'side-chain listen' facility used on traditional frequency-conscious...

  • Page 19: Patch

    M500 OPERATORS MANUAL Ch 3 - 13 DOWN Makes a change only in signal monitoring Filtr The lefthand word Filtr in lower case. Functions in exactly the same way Filtr as above but the monitor signal is now the output of the GATE or DE-ESSER to which the filter has been assigned, and not the actual signal passing through the filter.

  • Page 20: Record

    The last (bottom) screen encompasses MIDI CHANGES and MEMORY PROTECTION. When set to YES, enables the M500 to utilise MIDI patch changes MIDI CHANGES and also to transmit them. These MIDI commands will be on the corresponding MIDI channel set on the MIDI screen). This parameter adjustment is replicated on the MIDI pages.
  • Page 21 M500 OPERATORS MANUAL Ch 3 - 15 • The white graduation above the display window can be used to maximise the input envelope amplitude. • When the envelope is later used with the GATE Effect, for it to respond as a true noise gate envelope the following should apply: The input level during record should reach 0dB at least once.

  • Page 22: Chan 1 / 2

    Ch 3 - 16 M500 OPERATORS MANUAL FINISHED RECORD DISPLAY ENVELOPE NUMBER Once recording is complete, the envelope number is displayed and may be changed, ranging from 1 to 16. If a previously recorded number is selected, this will be overwritten.

  • Page 23: Chapter 4 - Basic Effect Operation

    Effect. Confirm your selection. Then hit the Effect key again to access the parameters on the appropriate screen display. If you are new to the M500, it is certainly worthwhile setting some time aside to explore the Effects in isolation before attempting to combine them.
  • Page 24 DS201 GATE. The Key Listen facility is also accessed by means of the FILTER key. Features on later pages give access to the 'Peak' facility unique to the M500. This allows the GATE to actually add a degree of level boost to the front of a transient sound giving it more impact and one of the main applications is in processing drum and percussion sounds.
  • Page 25 LIMITER attack time may be set as low as 20µS. BASIC PAN The M500 can be used to PAN a mono signal between the two channels with a choice of eight modulation waveshapes. For conventional PANning, either the Sine wave or Triangle wave will give the most natural result, but other waveforms are included for special Effects.
  • Page 26 BASIC FADER In the FADER mode, the M500 can be used to fade in or out either a stereo signal or two mono signals. In the mono mode, the two channels can be given different fade in and out times though the same trigger source is automatically selected for both channels.
  • Page 27 M500 OPERATORS MANUAL Ch 4 - 5 It is necessary to set up the filter via the FILTER key and menu so that only the most sibilant sounds are passed. This is best done by monitoring the filter output while the offending signal is present and then tuning the filter so that it captures as much as possible of the sibilant sound and as little as possible of the rest of the material.
  • Page 28 CHAPTER 5 ADVANCED EFFECT OPERATION The Effect modules described fully in this chapter are listed as they appear on the M500 front panel, working left-to-right. The format for each effect is similar describing each parameter's function and capabilities. The descriptions end with a list of suitable factory patches, which can be loaded and tried with the suggested material or programme.
  • Page 29 Ch 5 - 2 M500 OPERATORS MANUAL 1<-- Two band Comp 1<-- Two band Comp Not just a De-Esser, but offering two programmable frequency dependant compressors. Both filters are used to determine the side chain response and the band being compressed. Again, this mode may only be used by channel 1 input and the output will normally appear at channel 1 output.
  • Page 30 M500 OPERATORS MANUAL Ch 5 - 3 This determines how much Gain Reduction occurs when the input signal RATIO 1.1:1 20:1 goes above THRESHold. The parameter range covers from 1.1:1 to 20:1, Norm Sft:0 Sft:9 Soft with TYPE set to...

  • Page 31: Gate

    Ch 5 - 4 M500 OPERATORS MANUAL DE-ESS EXAMPLES To do simple vocal DE-ESSing, select the desired channel to be DE-ESSed, De S Vocal load the patch number 83 called De S Vocal. Hit THRESH and reduce the sibilance to the required level by rotating the knob anti-clockwise. Adjust...
  • Page 32 M500 OPERATORS MANUAL Ch 5 - 5 ATTACK is the rate at which the GATE opens from the RANGE setting. Too ATACK fast an attack coupled with too high a threshold will cause 'clicks' (square edges) onto low-frequency programme material. The fastest attack setting 3µS...
  • Page 33 Ch 5 - 6 M500 OPERATORS MANUAL Screen 3 introduces a new parameter, Peak Level, which may be used to actually increase the level of the processed sound for a short time immediately after the Gate has opened. This has its own Level, Peak Time and Decay times which allow transients such as drums to be given extra attack.
  • Page 34 (on the correct MIDI channel) will act as a valid trigger for the GATE. See MIDI MIDIfast MIDIfast - which is a special case to be used when one M500 is triggering one or more M500s via MIDI. Normally Off , this parameter can be set between...
  • Page 35 This parameter has only two options. They control many other GATE TYPE functions and facilities. Only users conversant with the finer points of the M500 should work with the Recorded envelopes. Normal Normal 2pages GATE: THRSH ATACK HOLD DECAY RANGE...

  • Page 36: Expand

    Compressor counterparts, the difference being that only signals below the threshold are subject to gain modification. Signals in excess of the threshold level pass through unprocessed. Note that the M500 will override the Range setting if the selected value is outside a maximum sensible value.
  • Page 37 Ch 5 - 10 M500 OPERATORS MANUAL The range parameter can be set so that the EXPAND effect is operational RANGE 40dB but not too severe. The maximum range of 40dB is only available with higher RATIO and THRESHOLD settings.
  • Page 38 M500 OPERATORS MANUAL Ch 5 - 11 COMPRESS VIEW METERS DOWN COMPRESS PARAMETERS DISPLAY This sets the signal input level over which Gain Reduction will start to THRESH -30dB +15dB occur. The manual threshold ranges from -30dB to +15dB (a setting of +15dB will cause very little audible change).

  • Page 39: Limit

    THRESHOLD is the level of input signal over which Gain Reduction will THRESH start to occur. Often this parameter will be set to just below the maximum recording level or maximum system level depending on M500 implementation. The parameter range has been logically restricted to -10dB...

  • Page 40: Pan

    ADVANCED PAN The panner incorporated in the M500 is extremely sophisticated yet is still very simple to set up and use. It can be free-running or synchronised to various triggers. The Pan meter screen is slightly different from other effect modules in that it displays both channel signal outputs and both channel pan gain-reduction amounts, simultaneously.
  • Page 41 Ch 5 - 14 M500 OPERATORS MANUAL Displays the name of the currently selected factory preset PAN waves. --WAVE-- Eight waves are offered with 'Sine' being the PAN wave conventionally used. The variety of waveforms include: Sine Duo Sine Sine...
  • Page 42 FADER VIEW METERS The Fade 'Timer' is triggered to start timing when the M500 receives an audio signal above -10dB. The 'Fade-out' time can be set by selecting the timer 'Minutes' value to below 0. Then, once the timer has been triggered by audio, the time will count until the 'YES' button is hit. The time is then displayed ready to do a 'Fade-out'.
  • Page 43 Ch 5 - 16 M500 OPERATORS MANUAL DOWN FADER PRIMARY PARAMETERS DISPLAY This time is the time per 10dB of gain increase. So a setting of 10ms (the Fade UP minimum) will take 90ms to rise and 10Seconds (the maximum) will take 90 seconds to rise from a floor of -90dB.
  • Page 44 M500 OPERATORS MANUAL Ch 5 - 17 FADER TIMER PARAMETERS DISPLAY Either programmable by the user to a precise time, or previously set with OUT--Time a 'dry-run' of the material to be FADED. It is the time when the FADE down will commence, at the set FADE DOWN rate.

  • Page 45: Preset Factory Patches

    M500 OPERATORS MANUAL Ch 6 - 1 CHAPTER 6 PRESET 'Factory' PATCHES PATCH TITLE TYPE DESCRIPTION Gate Snare 1Chan Standard Gate using a suitable filter for snare drum. Gate Kick 1Chan Gate with Peak using a suitable filter for kick drum.
  • Page 46 Ch 6 - 2 M500 OPERATORS MANUAL PATCH TITLE TYPE DESCRIPTION Comp Soft 1Chan Soft knee Compressor with fast Release. Hidden Auto presets : 10ms attack / no hold / 2sec decay; but not invoked (2) CmpSloSoft 1Chan Soft knee Comp with long Attack and auto Release. (2) Hidden Auto presets : 50ms attack / 10sec hold / 20sec decay;...
  • Page 47 M500 OPERATORS MANUAL Ch 6 - 3 PATCH TITLE TYPE DESCRIPTION Shimmer Stereo Triggered modulation on HF band (Chan 1 only) Shimmer Stereo Linked patch pair 107 / 108 Piano Pan 2Chan Ch1 input, Stereo output, for electric piano type sounds.

  • Page 48: Factory Recorded Gate Envelopes

    Ch 6 - 4 M500 OPERATORS MANUAL Stereo PATCH TYPE A Patch marked Stereo is a single patch that is loaded into both channels Stereo simultaneously. This saves memory storage space when compared to a 2Chan 2Chan type of patch. Space for 50 User patch of this type is available.

  • Page 49: Side Chain Jack Insert Routeing

    M500 OPERATORS MANUAL Ch 6 - 5 SIDE CHAIN INSERT JACK The side chain insert jack, (called S/C jack), on the rear panel of the M500 has several positions in the control circuit dependent on the Effect assignment. EFFECT MODULE...

  • Page 50: Midi Implementation Chart

    M500 OPERATORS MANUAL Ch 7 - 1 CHAPTER 7 M500 MIDI IMPLEMENTATION CHART FUNCTION TRANSMITTED RECOGNISED REMARKS Basic Channel 1 - 16 1 - 16, & Omni 'Off' option disables MIDI Mode Default Mode 3 Mode 3 Mode 2 & 4 are not applicable...

  • Page 51: System Exclusive Data Format

    Ch 7 - 2 M500 OPERATORS MANUAL SYSTEM EXCLUSIVE DATA FORMAT The format of MIDI Exclusive data dumps for M500 is as follows:- MIDI DESCRIPTION DATA BYTE EXPLANATION SYSTEM EXCLUSIVE 11110000 Standard MIDI spec. MANUFACTURERS ID 00110010 "Drawmer Electronics" DEVICE NUMBER...

  • Page 52: Remote Control Via Midi

    REMOTE CONTROL VIA MIDI It is important to note that individual parameter adjustment from MIDI is only possible if the target M500 is set to 'Slave' Mode. The procedure basically involves sending MIDI information to select the edit screen and then further MIDI information to remotely adjust the parameter.

  • Page 53: Safety Considerations

    M500 OPERATORS MANUAL Ch 8 - 1 CHAPTER 8 SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS CAUTION - MAINS FUSE TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE REPLACE THE MAINS FUSE ONLY WITH THE SAME TYPE, WHICH MUST BE A CLASS 3, 240 VOLT, SLO-BLO TYPE, RATED AT 80mA WHERE THE MAINS INPUT VOLTAGE SWITCH IS SET TO 240 VOLTS AC.
  • Page 54 M500 OPERATORS MANUAL Index - 1 INDEX 1<-- External Filter Ch 5 - 8 explained Ch 3 - 11 Internal Filter Ch 5 - 8 1<>2 Type (Recorded or Normal) Ch 5 - 8 explained Ch 3 - 11 Hidden Parameters...
  • Page 55 Index - 2 M500 OPERATORS MANUAL DE-ESS Ch 5 - 3 STEREO TYPE, Advanced COMPRESSOR global parameters Ch 3 - 11 Ch 5 - 11 links Ch 3 - 10 O/L LEDS operation Ch 3 - 10 clipping Ch 2 - 1...

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