Applies to: The Liquid Channel

Contents:

• No LEDs illuminated
• No output when using the MIC INPUT
• No output when using the LINE INPUT
• Output sounds DISTORTED
• The COMPRESSOR is not working
• The EQ section is not working
• No word clock lock
• No output from the digital output
• Is there a factory reset function?
• The Input level meter barely registers signal before distortion
• The compressor parameters change when I switch replicas

No LEDs illuminated

Is the POWER switched on?

Is the correct mains voltage being used for your unit? If not, the fuse may blow, requiring the correct fuse to be refitted. (Click here to find the fuse rating for your unit.)

No output when using the MIC INPUT

• Is the POWER switched on?
• Is the MIC LED next to the SELECT switch illuminated?
• Is the LEVEL set correctly?
• For microphones that require phantom power, is the +48V switch engaged? (If you are unsure whether your microphone requires phantom power, check the user guide for your microphone.)

No output when using the LINE INPUT

• Is the POWER switched on?
• Is the LINE LED next to the SELECT switch illuminated?
• Is the LEVEL set correctly?

Output sounds DISTORTED

• Is the Input gain too high?
• Is the Compressor switched in, and the Makeup Gain set too high?
• Is the EQ switched in, and the gain set too high?
• Is the HARMONICS dial turned up?

The COMPRESSOR is not working

• Is the COMP IN switch engaged?
• Is the LEVEL set correctly? If set too low, the signal level may not be high enough to activate the compressor.
• Are the COMPRESSION controls set correctly? If set too low, the input level may not reach the threshold at which compression starts. (See manual for more info.)
• Is the LISTEN switch illuminated? This will result in the monitoring of the compressor’s side chain. (See manual for more info.)
• Is the BYPASS switch in the ‘COMP & EQ BYPASS’ section engaged? This deactivates all EQ and Dynamics.

The EQ section is not working

• Is the EQ IN switch engaged?
• Is the appropriate band’s frequency dial set to act on a frequency that is present in the signal?.
• Is the BYPASS switch in the ‘COMP & EQ BYPASS’ section engaged? This deactivates all EQ and Dynamics.

No word clock lock

• Is your external word clock source transmitting word clock?
• Is the sample frequency set to match that of the word clock-transmitting device? • Is an external word clock cable needed and, if so, is it connected? (See clocking regulations in the GENERIC SETUP.)

No output from the digital output

• Is the sample frequency set correctly?
• Does the receiving device accept the AES format?
• Is the receiving device set to receive the correct resolution (24-bit)?
• Is the receiving device set to external sync? (See DIGITAL in GENERIC SETUP.)
• At 192kHz, is the receiving device a one- or two-wire system?

Is there a factory reset function?

There is not an option on the Liquid Channel to restore to factory settings.

There are a few settings that affect the unit operationally, so a reset option is not really necessary or useful.

The factory emulations are available to download from the downloads page and can be restored using Liquid Control.

The Input level meter barely registers signal before distortion

Distortion should not be introduced by the Liquid Channel until the O/L LED lights. If this is not the case, make sure the harmonics knob is set to 0, the compressor and EQ are not switched in and test all three inputs (mic, line and AES) to see if the problem occurs with all three or just one.

Also, check to see if the problem is only with transformer-based mic pre-emulations (indicated by the transformer LED). Ensure that the input sources you test with are not at fault - if the problem only occurs with one of the inputs, then check that the input source for that input is not faulty by testing it with a different device. Also, it is always worth checking that all cables are in good order if any noise or distortion occurs.

It may be that the Liquid Channel output is clipping the input of the receiving device. The maximum analogue output level of the Liquid Channel is +22dBu (with no processing engaged). If the next device in the signal chain has a significantly lower maximum input level than this, then you will find that you have to set the input gain on the Liquid Channel lower to compensate. Be aware that if the compressor or EQ are switched in and the makeup gain or EQ gains are set too high, then this may be causing the next device in the chain to clip the signal.

The compressor parameters change when I switch replicas

When in 'as original' mode, as you change from one compressor emulation to the next, the Liquid Channel will try to keep the settings the same. In some emulations, certain parameters are fixed, so in this case, it cannot keep the value for that parameter the same and is forced to change it to the fixed value.

When you go back to the first emulation you chose, the LC will again keep the settings the same, including the value that was fixed. Therefore, when switching from one emulation to another and then back again, the values may not stay the same. As an example:

• The first emulation is selected, and the attack time is set to 100ms.
• A second emulation is selected where the attack time is fixed at 50ms - the screen will display 'FIXED' for attack time.
• The first emulation is selected again, and the attack time now reads 50ms, since the LC attempts to keep the settings the same when changing from one emulation to another.

Further to this, the units emulated by the Liquid Channel may be marked differently, e.g. some compressors label attack and release times in milliseconds and others as a time constant. Also on some older units, the markings around the knob are not scaled correctly, e.g. the knob may point to a release time of 1000 ms, but it may really only be 600 ms. In 'as original' mode, we have retained these irregularities in markings - this makes it possible to compare the LC to an original unit by dialling up exactly the same settings on both. The consequence of this is that if you switch from an emulation where a parameter's scaling is not irregular to one where it is irregular, the value of the parameter will appear to change but in actual fact, it does not - only the way it is scaled does. As an example:

• The first emulation is selected, and the release time is set to, 1000ms.
• A second emulation is selected and the release time changes to 1400ms - this is because on the original unit used to make the emulation when the release was set to 1400, it actually applied a measured release time of 1000ms.
• The original emulation is selected again, and the release time returns to 1000ms.

Looking at the above it should be easy to see why, when you have been switching through different compressors, the parameter values can change quite drastically. This is one of the main reasons we included the compressor 'free' mode. In 'free' mode, all compressor parameters are available for each emulation (even if they were not on the original unit) and have the same ranges throughout all emulations.

When you go through the compressor emulations in 'free mode' the displayed parameters will not change, so if you are going to directly compare one emulation to another it should be done in free mode.

If you want to compare emulations in 'as original' mode, then the best way is to dial in the required settings and then save the front panel settings as a program (see the Liquid Channel manual for info on how to save 'programs'). Repeat this for other emulations, and then compare the emulations by loading up the respective programs, not by switching from one emulation to another.