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[Steve M Smith]

IIRC some older QSC amplifiers used tip=negative.

And some old Soundcraft mixers reversed the connections for inserts.  This drove me crazy when I built a mixer for a friend and couldn't work out why none of his effects would work in the inserts!


Steve.

[brian maddox]

And some old Soundcraft mixers reversed the connections for inserts.  This drove me crazy when I built a mixer for a friend and couldn't work out why none of his effects would work in the inserts!


Steve.

Yup.  Back in the day we had to make up special adapters for all the single point insert Soundcraft desks that were different from the single point insert Yamaha desks. All to go to the dual point insert looms on all our effects racks. You know, the ones that matched all the OTHER desks in the inventory.
Ugh.  It's a wonder we ever got anything to work together.

[Chris Hindle]

Yup.  Back in the day we had to make up special adapters for all the single point insert Soundcraft desks that were different from the single point insert Yamaha desks. All to go to the dual point insert looms on all our effects racks. You know, the ones that matched all the OTHER desks in the inventory.
Ugh.  It's a wonder we ever got anything to work together.

First insert patch snake I made was for exactly the same reason. A couple of 200B. and a couple of 3K, all sharing Insert Rack de jour.  Took care of the gender changes in the various doghouses, and had common wiring for the rack mults.

[John Roberts {JR}]

Back in the early '80s I did a survey of manufacturers for my magazine column and listed who was pin 2 hot and who was pin 3 hot, roughly half and half. My advice back then and still holds true now.... It doesn't hurt to silk screen on the rear panel how your connectors are wired. Especially for TRS inserts but most manufacturers will engineer the products so the worst thing that happens is no audio or weak audio, generally (?)  no smoke will be released from products by mis-wired connectors. 

JR

[Steve M Smith]

It doesn't hurt to silk screen on the rear panel how your connectors are wired.

Peavey were (still are?) very good at this.  I borrowed a CS800 from a friend last weekend and noticed the block diagram printed on the top and remembered that they all used to be like that when I regularly used multiple CS series amps.


Steve.

[John Roberts {JR}]

Peavey were (still are?) very good at this.  I borrowed a CS800 from a friend last weekend and noticed the block diagram printed on the top and remembered that they all used to be like that when I regularly used multiple CS series amps.


Steve.

I don't know about block diagrams but everything I touched from '1985-2000 was well documented on the rear panel (mixers didn't have a top cover to put art on). Frankly screening on an otherwise blank surface costs extra money, that the market would not appreciate. Adding some info to an already screened surface is close enough to free that there is no excuse not to do it.

I remember the screening on top of some older products and back then the competition was not as cost effective as they ultimately became. 
   
An ulterior motive in this is to reduce nuisance calls to dealers and the service departments (or engineering if service doesn't know). Documenting the TRS inserts is a no-brainer and if your mixer does not have a legend for the insert wiring it came from a no-brain company. 

JR

PS: OK lets start the stop watch to see how long it takes for somebody to post that they have a Peavey mixer with no legend. 

[Steve M Smith]

I don't know about block diagrams but everything I touched from '1985-2000 was well documented on the rear panel

The CS800 also has detailed information on the back,  As you say, this top printing would have cost extra as it's not necessary to put anything there.



Actually, describing it as a block diagram was doing it a disservice as it is the circuit diagram of the input section including the optional balanced input transformers and plug in crossover connections.


Steve.

[John Roberts {JR}]

The CS800 also has detailed information on the back,  As you say, this top printing would have cost extra as it's not necessary to put anything there.



Actually, describing it as a block diagram was doing it a disservice as it is the circuit diagram of the input section including the optional balanced input transformers and plug in crossover connections.


Steve.

Again it was to reduce the pain of customers trying to figure out how to configure the amp using the "PL-cans". Those were the original plug-ins and covered everything from basic crossovers, to filters, to input transformers (to deal with the unbalanced input) or to do whatever. The later CS800-S was the first CS with an active balanced input. I had to arm wrestle Jack Sondermeyer to get him to do that. He was concerned about compromising the S/N, but the modern solid state front ends were quiet enough to make him (and me) happy.   

I am always amused by sound professionals who brag about being able to get decent sound from old Peavey gear. These pieces were designed to be easy to use and/or easy to figure out how to use, even by professionals. 

JR

[Tim McCulloch]

I am always amused by sound professionals who brag about being able to get decent sound from old Peavey gear. These pieces were designed to be easy to use and/or easy to figure out how to use, even by professionals. 

JR

The only thing "wrong" with most Peavey gear was the logo....

Almost 30 years ago I was mixer shopping and my local choices were Soundcraft 200B-24 or Peavey MK IV-24.  I ended up with the Mark IV and was quite pleased with the results; this mixer went all over the USA and was fully functional until some asshole poured a cup of beer and cigarette butts (the liquid ashtray) on it after I left a club gig one Friday night.

Ah, more reasons to not do shit club gigs...

[Steve M Smith]

I am always amused by sound professionals who brag about being able to get decent sound from old Peavey gear. These pieces were designed to be easy to use and/or easy to figure out how to use, even by professionals.

No point making something more difficult than it needs to be.  And no bragging is required.  Peavey stuff is fine and it's what I and many of us here I suspect started off using.

In fact, that borrowed CS800 is now mine and it will be used with a pair of Peavey UL115 subs I was practically given* last week.

I ended up with the Mark IV and was quite pleased with the results

We used to have a couple of Mark IVs.  They were an upgrade from the old Studiomaster we used to have.
 
 
(* a friend offered me the subs in exchange for giving his Peavey XR1212 a clean up and replace one pot - I couldn't refuse that deal.  And I got the CS800 in retrurn for repositioning a central heating radiator in another friends house!).


Steve.

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