Radial Engineering STAGEDIRECT User Manual - page 10
Radial Engineering Ltd.
StageDirect™ Active Direct Box
True to the Music
®
MANAGING FEEDBACK
The StageDirect has two built-in features that are designed to help reduce
resonant feedback when using an acoustic instrument on stage. These
include a high-pass (low cut) fi lter and 180° polarity reverse switches.
USING THE HIGH-PASS FILTER
A powerful feedback fi ghting feature is the built-
in high-pass fi lter. This 3-position switch lets you
remove low frequencies from the signal path to
eliminate resonance and ‘size the instrument’.
In other words, smaller instruments like the
mandolin, do not produce very low frequencies
so removing unused bass can prevent resonance
and achieve more gain before the onset of
feedback. Removing unneeded low frequencies from the instrument
signals also helps tremendously by cleaning up the mix. This rids the PA
from warbling effects as various frequencies modulate together which
can cause the mix to sound muddy and instruments indistinct.
Simply set the high-pass fi lter
to the setting that sounds best
to you. Filter setting-1 is FLAT
or bypass. Use this setting
when you don’t want any low
frequencies removed from your
signal. Setting-1 works well for
acoustic/electric bass and full
range devices like keyboards.
Filter setting-2 gently rolls off
low frequencies below 60Hz.
Use this setting when you want
to remove the very low end
of your signal. Filter setting-2
works well with acoustic guitar
and other midrange instruments
allowing them to sound natural
while achieving more gain before
feedback.
Filter setting-3 also rolls off low
frequency at a gentle rate but the
effect starts at the higher 200Hz
mid-bass frequency range. Use
setting-3 with an instrument that
does not produce a lot of low
frequencies like violin, accordion
and mandolin to achieve a
cleaner, tighter sound with
improved gain before feedback.
Setting 1: Flat or bypass
Setting 2: -3dB at 60Hz
Setting 3: -3dB at 200Hz
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