TC-Helicon PLAY ACOUSTIC Manual Del Usuario página 9

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PLAY ACOUSTIC User Manual
3. Basics
Play Acoustic – rear panel
Inputs and outputs
Connectors are described from right to left. For setup examples,
see "Connection diagrams".
MIC connector
This is where the magic happens!
Plug your dynamic, condenser, MP-75, or e835 fx microphone in here. Remember
to set the microphone type and level correctly, as described in the Play Acoustic
Quick Start Guide.
GUITAR IN connector
Connect your guitar to this input.
AUX connector
Use a 1/8" cable to connect any music source you want to use to your
Play Acoustic (especially that 8-Track from your 1974 Comet). When an input
is detected here and no guitar is plugged in, Play Acoustic will use the music
signal to figure out key and scale information.
GUITAR DI (R) and VOICE (L) output connectors
These are the main output connectors of your Play Acoustic. By default, mono
vocals are sent via the Voice (L) connector, and a mono guitar signal is sent via the
Guitar DI (R) jack. This configuration can be changed in the Setup/Output menu.
GND switch
This is a ground lift switch. If you experience hum while using Play Acoustic,
try pressing the GND switch to reduce or remove the hum.
Headphones connector
Connect your headphones to the Phones connector.
PEDAL connector
Use a TRS cable to connect a Switch-3 (optional) to the PEDAL connector.
If you use the Switch-3, you have direct access to looping and other effect
control. See the Switch-3 menu section for details on assigning controls to
each Switch-3 button.
USB connector
Connect to your computer with the included cable. Use the
VoiceSupport software to manage presets and update the product's
internal software (firmware).
You can download VoiceSupport here:
tc-helicon.com/service.html?service=Support
Stereo audio input and output via USB is also supported at 16 bit resolution with
44.1 or 48 kHz sample rate.
Incoming USB audio signals are NOT passed to the USB output, allowing you to
sing/play along with tracks from your DAW while recording back "just the vocals
and guitar".
Power socket
Connect the included power supply. Your Play Acoustic will power up
immediately. Always use a TC-Helicon power supply (12 V, 400 mA). Using any
other power supply may damage the unit and will void your warranty.
Gain settings
How the Input LED Level Meter Works
The LED on the top of your Play Acoustic is used for both vocal and guitar
level metering.
When setting the level for your microphone or guitar, make sure that you
sing or play separately. If you are setting your vocal level, don't play your guitar
– and vice versa.
The meter will show a combined level for both guitar and vocals when you
sing and play.
If you see the LED light red – indicating clipping –, it is helpful to play/sing
individually to see which input may be getting too much level.
Keep in mind that the combined level of two inputs can clip, even when
the individual inputs do not. If this happens for you, it's best to simply turn
down each input slightly until the LED no longer lights red when you sing and
play simultaneously.
Setting Microphone Gain
Once you have connected your microphone and selected the microphone type
(Dynamic, Condenser, MP-75, e835 FX), use the Mic Gain knob on the side of your
Play Acoustic to set the input level for your microphone.
As you increase the level, pay close attention to the LED on top of Play Acoustic.
You want the input to light the LED green. It's OK if the LED sometimes lights
yellow – but it should never turn red. If it does turn red, reduce the level.
Red means that a) the input is overloading and b) you've got powerful lungs!
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PLAY ACOUSTIC User Manual
Setting the guitar level
The control for your guitar input is on Page 1 of the Setup menu. You can access
the Setup menu by pressing the SETUP button and then use the < or > buttons
to move to Page 1. Press the "soft" button next to the "Guitar IN" box and use the
Control knob to adjust your level.
Reading the LCD Display
The Play Acoustic display
The LCD display of your Play Acoustic displays the following information:
Preset Name
The name of the currently selected preset. In the screen shot above, it is
"High Harmony". The Presets concept is explained in "What are presets?".
Preset Number
The unique preset number – i.e., the number of the slot where the preset is
stored. In the screen shot above, it is 1.
"FAV" indicator
The "FAV" indicator is shown in the upper right corner of the display if the current
preset has been tagged as a Favorite.
"NP" indicator
The "NP" indicator is shown in the lower right corner of the display when chord
information changes have been detected by Play Acoustic.
You may see the "NP" indicator switch on and off somewhat erratically as it
processes incoming musical information. This is normal.
What is NaturalPlay?
NaturalPlay is the voodoo we do inside Play Acoustic to figure out which key your
music is in. If you plug your guitar into the GUITAR IN connector, NaturalPlay will
look there first for key/scale info. Next, it will look at the Aux input and listen to
the RoomSense microphones.
Once Play Acoustic "hears" key/scale information from one of these inputs,
it will set the key/scale on the fly. "NP" is only shown when a change in key/scale
is detected – so don't panic if you don't see it all the time.
"LOOP" indicator
The "LOOP" indicator is shown in the lower right corner of the display when a
loop is running, but you are currently not on the Loop mode screen.
GB (Guitar Boost) indicator
The GB ("Guitar Boost") indicator is shown in the lower left corner of the display
when guitar boost is active.
Genre indicator
If you have set the Genre selector to any other value than "All", the currently
selected genre is shown in the upper left corner of the display. In the screen shot
above, it is "Harmony".