R51 distortion/VCA user`s manual
Contents
1. IMETASONIX R 51 distortion VCA user s manual Copyright 2009 Metasonix All rights reserved READ THIS DAMMIT 1 111 RETAIN INSTRUCTIONS The safety and operating instructions should be retained for future reference HEED WARNINGS All warnings on the R 51 and in the operating instructions should be adhered to FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS All operating instructions should be followed WATER AND MOISTURE The R 51 should not be used near water e g near a bathtub washbowl kitchen sink laundry tub in a wet basement near a swimming pool etc Care should be taken so that liquids are not spilled onto or near the enclosure VENTILATION AND COOLING The R 51 normally operates warm to the touch It MUST be situated so that its location or position does not interfere with convective cooling The R 51 MUST NOT be used on a bed sofa rug or similar surface which may prevent proper cooling It is NOT a toy If the R 51 is mounted in a synthesizer rack or other built in installation space must be left around it to allow convection cooling HEAT The R 51 MUST be situated away from heat sources such as radiators heat registers stoves or other devices including power amps that produce heat POWER SOURCE The R 51 should be connected to a power supply ONLY of the type described in the operating manual or as marked on the R 51 It uses 12v and 12v at 150 mA and draws 400 mA when first powered on The power input is a standard Doepfer tm 162. INPUT DISTORTION VCA OUTPUT LEVEL CV TRIM CV TRIM LEVEL Min sig 5dB 30dB M 20dB 10dB Nor norm range 0dB Note that the R 51 controls have considerable extra range beyond what they absolutely need This is made necessary by variations in tube samples and to allow for tube aging Do not assume these settings are written in stone and if a different setting gives optimum results for your R 51 this is normal Because the R 51 is totally different from any other synthesizer module you have ever used you may be surprised by some of its quirks MAINTENANCE Powering the R 51 requires a power supply producing 12 volts DC ONLY at 150 milliamps when first powered on the R 51 briefly draws greater current so be aware of this when using a power supply to run it plus other modules You MUST assure the power supply is able to handle the R 51 load plus the load of other modules Doepfer s A 100PSU2 is adequate to run up to 6 Metasonix R modules with no other loads The tubes in the R 51 are being run VERY conservatively They should last for tens of thousands of hours of normal use Still the R 51 produces a lot of waste heat so we recommend shutting it off when_ not in use UNLESS YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU ARE DOING DO NOT REPLACE OR SUBSTITUTE THE TUBES YOURSELF Please note not all tubes have easily visible heaters If you can t see a heater glowing DO NOT assume that tube is bad We get many foolish complaints of th
3. pin IDC type with the 12v pins on the BOTTOM The pins above the 12v pin row are not used and not connected CLEANING The R 51 should only be cleaned with a soft cloth moistened with water Unplug the power supply before attempting to clean NON USE PERIODS The R 51 should be shut off when left unused for a long period of time DAMAGE OR TUBE REPLACEMENT REQUIRING SERVICE The R 51 should be serviced by qualified service personnel when The power supply has been damaged The R 51 has been dropped physically damaged or subjected to force Liquid has been spilled onto the R 51 or it has been exposed to rain The R 51 does not appear to operate normally or exhibits a marked change in performance SERVICING The user should not attempt to service the R 51 All servicing should be referred to qualified service personnel METASONIX LIMITED WARRANTY and standard legal disclaimer Thank you for purchasing this Metasonix product The following terms and conditions apply 1 Warranty period is for ONE YEAR from date of purchase with proof of purchase submitted Warranty covers electrical failure of vacuum tubes and gas filled tubes except in cases explained in 3 below 2 Operating instructions must be followed This device was intended ONLY for use by AUDIO AND MUSIC PROFESSIONALS IT IS NOT INTENDED FOR USE BY ORDINARY CONSUMERS Product must not have been damaged as a result of defacement misuse abuse neglect accident d
4. s A 100AD5 5V Low Cost Adapter is NOT recommended for powering tube heaters due to its low current capacity Addition of a suitable 5v power supply to the cabinet is recommended and should be performed ONLY by an experienced technician Because tube heaters draw much more than rated current when powered on cold a 5v power supply should be chosen to have excess current capacity 300 of the operating current draw is recommended especially if a switching power supply is used to power tube heaters Connect to suitable DC power supply to run tube heaters consult tube manual first Note this is an ADVANCED MODIFICATION and is NOT RECOMMENDED for inexperienced personnel All R series modules can be modified to accept 15v power supply rails and MOTM standard power connectors The user is responsible for fabricating a suitable front panel and adding controls and jacks as needed for a given modular synth form factor Addition of two 20 ohm 2W dropping resistors and a 4 pin connector is involved Contact us for more information on this modification If you are confused or have ANY technical questions feel free to contact us Please DO NOT ASSUME and if you are not an experienced technician DO NOT TRY RANDOM TUBES OR MODIFY THE CIRCUIT IN ANY WAY METASONIX DRE ou oo 707 263 5 synth metasonix com www metasonix com
5. 10v range USAGE For typical use as a voltage variable distortion adjust the R 51 controls as shown INPUT DISTORTION VCA OUTPUT LEVEL CV TRIM CV TRIM LEVEL Max c0 dB ey Max Max e0dB 5dB Mi 30dB 30dB di 59 20dB 20dB B 10dB Nor nor range 0dB 0dB Input and output level should be set as needed although maximizing both might be needed since variation of DISTORTION CV TRIM can also change the circuit gain considerably The DISTORTION CV can vary from 10v to 10v although the usable effective range is around 0 3v and affected by the CV TRIM control Note that the VCA CV or control can be varied at the same time for a wide range of sound effects For use as a VCA set the controls as shown A rough setting that is adequate is with all knob pointers straight down INPUT DISTORTION VCA OUTPUT LEVEL CV TRIM CV TRIM LEVEL Max Min see si 508 30dB 30dB 7 20dB 20dB 10dB Nor range 0dB VCA CV TRIM might need adjustment to work properly with a given anvelope generator The VCA CV inputs can vary from 10v to 10v although the usable range of the CV is about 0 4 volts for maximum gain variation Again the DISTORTION CV or control knob may be varied at the same time to give sound variations that conventional VCA cannot The R 51 may also be used as a moderate gain preamp Maximum gain is about 15 dB Adjust controls as shown below for maximum gain Note that you will have about 10 THD in this setting with a 0dBu input
6. ANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FORA PARTICULAR PURPOSE SHALL BE LIMITED IN DURATION TO THE DURATION OF THIS WRITTEN LIMITED WARRANTY Some states do not allow limitations on how long an implied warranty lasts so the above limitations may not apply to you INNO EVENT SHALL WE BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES FOR BREACH OF THIS OR ANY OTHER WARRANTY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WHATSOEVER Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of special incidental or consequential damages so the above limitation may not apply to you This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state METASONIX shall not be held liable for any incidental consequential or direct damages or expenses associated with the use or misuse of its products The audio output of this product is capable of damaging some types of solid state audio equipment such use is entirely at the risk of the user METASONIX does not guarantee that any of its products are designed for any particular use or purpose The entire risk of suitability and performance of this product lies with the user Products manufactured and or sold by METASONIX are not authorized for use as critical components in devices used in life support and other systems whose failure or performance could result in compromised safety or danger to life or property NOTE All sales are FINAL especially custom designs Only a Metasonix author
7. estruction or alteration of the serial number improper electrical voltages or currents repair alteration or maintenance by any person or party other than our own service facility or an authorized service center use or installation of non Metasonix replacement parts in the product or the use of this product outside of the U S A or Canada except as a product distributed by an authorized Metasonix dealer or modification of the product in any way or incorporation of the product into any other products or damage to the product caused by accident fire floods lightning or acts of God or any use violative of instructions furnished by Metasonix 3 Obligations of Metasonix shall be limited to repair or replacement with same or similar unit at our option To obtain repairs under this warranty present the product and proof of purchase e g bill or invoice to the authorized Metasonix service center transportation charges prepaid When returning the product for repair please pack it very carefully preferably using the original packaging materials Please also include an explanatory note IMPORTANT To save yourself unnecessary cost and inconvenience please check carefully that you have fully read and followed the instructions in this instruction manual This warranty is in lieu of all other expressed warranties obligations or liabilities ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OBLIGATIONS OR LIABILITIES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARR
8. is type TUBE REPLACEMENT despite their expected long lifetime the tubes might be damaged or develop faulty internal wiring connections requiring replacement This particular R 51 was shipped and wired for 26A6 or 26CG6 remote cutoff pentodes There are no other direct substitutes for them although they are still very easy to obtain as of this writing 26A6s were used only in military radio equipment that ran on 28v dc power such as the fearsome Collins R 392 radio receiver Note this is an ADVANCED MODIFICATION and is NOT RECOMMENDED for inexperienced personnel This module can be wired to accept other kinds of pentodes By rewiring the heater connections so the heaters get the proper voltages the R 51 will accept any pentode tetrode or pentagrid converter having EIA standard pinouts 7BD 7BK 7CH 7CM 7EN or 7EW The diagram below shows how Simply cut the traces just above the small pads labeled F Then the F pads can be rewired to the 12v and 12v synthesizer power supplies to allow use of tubes having 12v heaters such as the 12AU6 or 12BE6 If 5v at ample current is available within the synthesizer cabinet any compatible tubes having a 5v or 6v heater such as 6AU6 6BE6 6CB6 6BA6 5CW6 and the like may be used Different tube types will give different distortion effects and different gain 6AU6s or 12AU6s for example will give more gain but lower distortion CONSULT A TUBE MANUAL BEFORE ATTEMPTING THIS Note Doepfer
9. ized dealer is permitted to return products to Metasonix for a refund or exchange What it does The R 51 is a special application of remote cutoff pentodes also known as variable mu pentodes It is optimized for general use in the professional modular synthesizer studio All panel inputs and outputs are compatible with other synthesizer modules and cannot damage other modules connected to them Two remote cutoff pentodes are connected in typical series RC coupled connection The distortion of the pentodes is adjustable with the front panel DISTORTION CV TRIM control in parallel with the DISTORTION CV INPUTs This injects the CV into the cathodes of the pentodes producing a voltage variable or knob variable asymmetric clipping distortion Because this distortion is soft meaning has rounded waveform edges it is typical of distortion produced by vacuum tubes when overdriven At the same time the screen grids of the pentodes are variable with the VCA CV TRIM control in parallel with the VCA CV INPUTs thus controlling the module s voltage gain By properly adjusting VCA CV TRIM the module is usable as a typical synthesizer VCA When adjusted for full cutoff the output is down at least 80dB from full strength The audio input is 500k ohms and all CV inputs have 1 megohm impedance The audio output is able to drive a 600 ohm load The audio input can accept any signal and cannot be damaged by overvoltage The CV inputs are limited to
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