Karaoke Forums

Hi Lonnie,

I hope your doing well and in good health. It has been awhile since I had asked you for help, and as always I'm very grateful for the time that you are devoting to help those who are desperately seeking your expertise.

It has been almost a year since I have used my system so I am now a bit lost with the setup. Here is a list of my gear:

- Mackie CFX12
- BBE 482i Sonic Maximizer
- TC Electronics M300 Effects
- DBX 266XL Compressor/Limiter
- Carvin CX3000 Electronic Crossover
- Carvin DCM2500 Amp
- DBX 231 EQ
- Two Yorkville NX55P speakers
- Carvin TRX 118 sub
- Toshiba Laptop with S-Video Out
- Maya 44 USB soundcard

I still have your instructions from your messages and I have followed them religiously. Here is what you told me to do:


I’m having trouble with your suggestion to run the M300 output to an unused channel strip. When I do it, the sound is muddled and gets a lot of feedback. When I run the output to the CFX12 EFX return, the sound is okay. Are there other things I should consider such as the settings on the channel strip?

I am also having trouble hooking up the RCA outputs from the Maya 44 USB to the mixer. Running those outputs going to the line-ins of two channel strips on the CFX 12, I am getting a lot of effects, which I don’t want to have for the background tracks. Should I hook up the Maya outputs to the tape inputs instead?

Thanks,
JD

Sounds as though the eq on the channel strip is set wrong. A good base setting is it should be set close to the actual mic's eq setting. Check those settings. Also the gain still should be high enough to get the signal, but not clip the channel. Also make sure you do not have any effects being sent to itself - ie if you are sending effects via EFX 1 knobs on the channel DO NOT have the EFX 1 knob turned up on the effects return channel. If this is more complex, then simply use the EFX return. You just do not get the versatility or eq'ability as the channels provide.



Run the Maya into one of the 9/10 or 11/12 stereo channels - not the tape input. It's easier using one fader plus a better eq for music. If you are getting effects on the music it's because you have either the EFX 1 send or EFX 2 send (or both) turned up on the music channels - turn them down completely.

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Thank you so much, Lonnie. I just tried your suggestions and they worked! You're da man!!!

Hi Lonnie,

I need to play music for dancing using 2 CD players hooked up to a separate DJ mixer, which is then connected to the tape input of the Mackie CFX12. It seems that the signal from the tape input is bypassing the BBE 482i because the lights are not blinking. The 482i works when I play music from my laptop with the audio from soundcard hooked up to channels 9 and 10 of the CFX12. Is there anything that I've missed?

Thank you for your help!
JD

Where is the BBE hooked up in the loop? If it is hooked into the main insert, it should work with the tape input as well. If it is hooked in between the mixer & the amp, it should work fine. If it is just hooked up between the karaoke source & the mixer, then no it will not work woth any other source.

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The BBE output is connected to the CFX12 Main Insert (Left). I did notice that the light on the BBE sometimes comes on, but the level is so low and then it goes out. It seems that the signal from the DJ mixer is not enough to activate the BBE, unlike the one I see from the sound card.

Turn the tape level adjustment knob up some more & the DJ mixer down a bit to compensate. The BBE in the main insert will be activated with whatever is being produced as far as signal.
If that doesn't work, try to run the DJ outputs to the other stereo channel on the board. Set the main volume on the DJ mixer about 1/4 up. Then set the gain on the CFX & adjust the fader.

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Thanks, Lonnie. I tried your first suggestion, but the BBE still did not get activated. I am unable to try your second suggestion because I don't have a cable with RCA plugs on one end and a 1/8 stereo plug on the other end.

Is it just not lighting the lights or is it working & you just aren't seeing it? What happens when you push the bypass button, does it affest the sound>?

If you don't have that cable, get it!

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

Actually I got to thinking about this statement, why would you need to get another cable? If it is plugged into the tape input of the CFX now - these are RCA plugs, take it out of there & plug it into the stereo channel (either 9/10 or 11/12) of the CFX. You would just need an RCA to 1/4" adapter.
http://www.zzounds.com/item--CBI345IC

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Thanks again, Lonnie. Sorry for not responding to you right away.

I've decided to leave the RCA plugs inserted into the tape input. I found out that with minor EQ tweaks, the sound is already quite good. The Yorkville NX55P speakers sound a lot better than my old Carvin 1584s which I sold a few years ago. I am also running Carvin DCM2500 through a single Carvin TRX 118 sub which produces a lot of bass. I am already quite happy with this setup, although I might get another sub in the future. I remember you mentioned before that with good speakers, you normally don't need a BBE sonic maximizer. I can definitely attest to that.

By the way, in case you need some cheap but good quality cables, I usually order them from monoprice.com. Check them out.