PV6USB

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Richie1027
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PV6USB

Post by Richie1027 » Fri Mar 21, 2014 10:53 pm

Just picked up a new box and my ignorance is showing with a lack of understanding of some terms found in the manual. I have it working fine running my mike and keys to our main mix in our band.

I just having a hard time understanding the specific uses for the couple white buttons for "tape/cd/Cntrl/hp

This is what the manual states:

"Depressing this switch adds the tape return to the control room and headphone outputs (28) for zero latency monitoring"


Similar language for the other button. If I could get some examples of what I'd use these for I'd be appreciative. Thanks in advance.

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Enzo
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Re: PV6USB

Post by Enzo » Sat Mar 22, 2014 12:10 am

You have tape jacks so you can connect a tape deck or other source to feed into the mixer. The tape to mix button is just connecting the tape signal to the main L/R bus. Like the on/off button on a regular channel of a larger mixer. So maybe you are doing something and you want to play a recording of a JFK speech in the middle of your song. You would turn on the tape to mix so it would come out the mixer along with your vocals.

The other button is tape to control room. The control room outputs are there for your convenience, separate from the main mix. The same circuit powers the headphones, so CR and HP have the same material. Normally the CR/HP listens to the main outputs. But if you push the tape to CR button, then the tape in jacks get connected directly to the CR/phones input. That disconnects the phones from the main mix, so pressing that button means you then ONLY hear the tape in the headphones or control room speakers. That button should not affect the tape to mix function.

WHat use it that? Maybe I want to cue up a tape. I can listen to the tape in my phones to find the spot I want cued without it coming out the main speakers. Or if I had been recording the main outs - there is a tape out jack feature - I can then play back what I just recorded and hear it in my phones without having to connect the tape deck to a couple input channels. It ain;t like you have a hundred channels to spare.

And maybe I am on;ly interested in hearing recorded playback, then I can leave teh tape to mix OFF and punch in the tape to HP when I want to listen to playback.


I didn't know latency was an issue with little mixers, but it refers to the output signal being delayed some amount so the output signal is a hair behind the input. The direct to phones feature then directly connects the phones to the tape jacks so there is no potential delay of the signal. If you have ever seen a TV news report where the reporter is overseas and the voice and his lips do not quite happen at the same time. The audio signal is delayed a bit from the video. That is what latency does.

Richie1027
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Re: PV6USB

Post by Richie1027 » Sat Mar 22, 2014 10:31 am

Can't tell you how much I appreciate your reply and assistance. In my 60 yr old brain I was somehow misinterpreting the "tape" phrase as having to do with old computer language.

Your entire response should be an addendum to the current manual language.

Nice product. My first Peavey. I play keys in a couple bands and I wanted to exercise a bit more control over my vocals and keys. This oughta do the trick.

Look forward to reading through forum posts on the PV6.

Thanks again...

sumatious
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Re: PV6USB

Post by sumatious » Sat May 28, 2022 8:06 pm

Yes and thank you. Also, does anybody have info on getting a power adaptor for a PV6USB? It's 15V 500mA and I've had a hard time finding one.
I did find one with a coaxial cable output; I don't know, maybe there's an adaptor...

jim h
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Re: PV6USB

Post by jim h » Thu Jun 02, 2022 10:50 am


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dak
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Re: PV6USB

Post by dak » Thu Jun 02, 2022 3:18 pm

Enzo wrote:
Sat Mar 22, 2014 12:10 am
I didn't know latency was an issue with little mixers, but it refers to the output signal being delayed some amount so the output signal is a hair behind the input. The direct to phones feature then directly connects the phones to the tape jacks so there is no potential delay of the signal. If you have ever seen a TV news report where the reporter is overseas and the voice and his lips do not quite happen at the same time. The audio signal is delayed a bit from the video. That is what latency does.
Latency these days is an issue with a lot since the mere act of doing A/D conversion and D/A conversion at audio quality adds latency. So once there is mandatory digital processing for anything, there comes latency. In contrast, it is pretty hard to delay anything with analog electronics. The "classic" way of reverb is done with spring reverb tanks which implement delays via sound waves traversing metal springs. Early electronic reverbs used bucket-brigade delays that are discrete-time but analog-value and are a precursor to CCD (charge coupled device) image sensors.

The PV6USB is likely not affected by latency (apart from its USB interface) since it is also sold in an almost identical version without USB interface and it would make little sense to do that if it used significant amounts of digital processing internally anyway.

But a lot that is marketed with "zero-latency" (like most soundcards with "zero-latency" monitoring or mixing) that can be controlled by computer is not actually zero-latency but rather has a fixed latency that usually is smaller than 20ms or so (corresponding to the delay 20ft of distance in air introduce). Anything which boasts "DSP" in its description likely has the latencies necessitated by entering and leaving the digital domain. Like digital frequency crossovers.

The difference is important if you need an amp not as much for "amplification" than for "reinforcement", namely for making an acoustic instrument appear louder. In that case, you don't want a "zero-latency" non-zero latency to combine the original and amplified sound with a chorus effect.

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