Gear manuals... any favs?

GlowSounds · Post by **GlowSounds** » Fri May 31, 2013 8:12 am

Kind of a boring question, but-

Any recommendations for gear manuals that contain all sorts of insight?

Just reading through a manual for a console I'm going to be using, and realizing how insightful these things can be. Not gear specific info, but general insight.

Who knew? (probably all of you smart people out there...)

Cheers.

Gregg Juke · Post by **Gregg Juke** » Fri May 31, 2013 12:42 pm

Anything originally written in German or Japanese, then hastily translated into English. Loads of grammatical fun...

But seriously, I like the video manuals available for a lot of the newer gear. Sometimes it's just hard to decipher what the writer of the manual meant, exactly, or to find what you need through the sheer volume of info. But when you can put in a DVD and cue right to a topic that you're looking for, or watch the whole thing to pick-up random tidbits, it's a nice way to learn some of the secrets of particular gear. There are a lot of these out there for keyboard workstations and some of the all-in-one recorders, but I don't know what if any are available for specific mixing consoles.

As to "general knowledge" gleaning from manuals, some of the older ones are best (Teac/Tascam used to be good at that "recording theory" type of insight).

GJ

kslight · Post by **kslight** » Fri May 31, 2013 2:10 pm

The old Tascam manuals are good, as well the EMU Emulator 4, Ensoniq ASR10...etc...all that stuff back when manufacturers gave us 400 pages instead of a crude 6 page booklet.

vvv · Post by **vvv** » Fri May 31, 2013 3:03 pm

I used to larf at the Mackie manuals.

The Universal Audio manuals can be quite informative, even the software ones (ex., for the 1176)

Snarl 12/8 · Post by **Snarl 12/8** » Fri May 31, 2013 3:21 pm

I found my moogerfooger manual to be quite informative even if I didn't read it thoroughly enough to fully understand it.

http://www.moogmusic.com/sites/default/files/mf-102.pdf

I remember learning a lot and being entertained by a Mackie Mixer (1604 vlz or something) manual many, many years ago. But maybe that's an embarrassing admission now.

I think I learned something from this back in the day, but boy is the font horrendous.

http://www.mesaboogie.com/manuals/Mark%20III.pdf

Oh, and doesn't someone post a link to this thing about once a month right here on TOMB?

http://www.rane.com/note110.html

Great thread. Post links peeps!

PS You're in good company with your love of manuals.
http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Montgomery_Scott

radkins · Post by **radkins** » Fri May 31, 2013 9:15 pm

My MCI console manual rules.

Nick Sevilla · Post by **Nick Sevilla** » Sat Jun 01, 2013 7:56 am

My MCI JH24 tape machine manual is the shiznit.

chris harris · Post by **chris harris** » Sat Jun 01, 2013 8:40 am

Mackie manuals are great for anyone new to audio mixers and their signal flow.

KennyLusk · Post by **KennyLusk** » Sat Jun 01, 2013 10:03 am

I still make reference to the manual for my '90's Digitech RP-1 because the sheer depth of programming control on that thing still freaks me out.

Just reading back through it the other day it reminded me the amp sim section in that unit is analog, while the modulation effects are digital. Brilliant.

Marc Alan Goodman · Post by **Marc Alan Goodman** » Sun Jun 02, 2013 3:58 pm

And how could we forget this classic hit of the 50's?

http://www.crossenstreams.com/federal_a ... Manual.pdf

Not only does it have subsections labeled "Operation in Arctic Climates", "Operation in Tropical Climates" and "Operation in Desert Climates", but it contains this hidden gem:

"66. Methods of Destruction
a. Smash. Smash the tubes, switches, meter, controls, capacitors, and transformer; use sledges, axes, handaxes, pickaxes, crowbars, or heavy tools.
b. Cut..."

etc etc etc. You can read it yourself so I don't have to retype the whole thing. Starts on P.49

trevord · Post by **trevord** » Sun Jun 02, 2013 4:22 pm

+1 for the EMU manuals
those guys invented the sampling tech used by almost everyone today and didn't patent it.
Those early manuals are also good at relating the tech to music and also explain why most samplers sound like crap if you don't set them up correctly

highly recommended

vvv · Post by **vvv** » Sun Jun 02, 2013 4:48 pm

Marc Alan Goodman wrote: You can read it yourself so I don't have to retype the whole thing. Starts on P.49

"Demolition of Materiel to Prevent Enemy Us [sic]

... g. Destroy. Destroy everything."

Gregg Juke · Post by **Gregg Juke** » Sun Jun 02, 2013 8:22 pm

Rad! That's the same transmitter Adrian Cronauer used! I wonder what they're going for on ebay? I'll bet that would sound awesome on the two-buss...

GJ

Snarl 12/8 · Post by **Snarl 12/8** » Mon Jun 03, 2013 10:37 am

Could the whole "smashing" the drum buss fad have come from a coked up misreading of that Federal manual in the 80's?

vvv · Post by **vvv** » Mon Jun 03, 2013 2:34 pm

Message Board

Gear manuals... any favs?

Gear manuals... any favs?

Who is online