overload light

[tayross13]

Hey what is the purpose of the overload light? Is it bad when it goes on?

[MC]

It's an overload light, when it comes on the sound is too fat.

Just kidding. It's a clipping indicator when using external audio. Clipping won't damage it, but it does neat things to the sound.

[tayross13]

Is it ever a "good" thing when the light comes on. I was told if I plug the low out put back in to the loudness input and then adjust the input until the light flickers on the attack is a good track for getting punchy bass. Is this true?

[Kevin Lightner]

Personally I don't put much belief into the out-to-in trick.
Others will argue they found nirvana. Whatever. It's subjective.
Jan Hammer one mentioned he used it sometimes and the gospel began.

A few things tho:

Sending the audio out back into the input can lower resonance (emphasis) settings.

It's normal for the light to briefly flash when a Mini is first turned on and sometimes when it's turned off.

If your light stays on continuously with nothing plugged into the input, something is wrong usually.
So if one fuse or the other blows, often the light comes on.
In this way, it acts as an "error lamp" indicating a blown fuse or something else wrong.

[thealien666]

Another bit of info that I didn't know about. Thanks Kevin.
Although at 1/4 amps slo blow for the -10 VDC and 1/2 amps slo blow for the +10 VDC, I doubt that any of those two fuses will ever blow, unless something is dangerously wrong inside the Mini.

As for the out-into-ext in trick, I use it mainly for lead type sounds, as an "overdrive" effect. For bass, I feel it's too distorted and, as Kevin mentioned, it reduced the resonance level of the filter.

[museslave]

It doesn't add fatness. It adds distortion. And it's not a trick. I totally agree with Kevin.

[thealien666]

Marc, if it's not a trick, what would you call it then ?

[Just Me]

I'd call it a feedback patch, not a trick.

[thealien666]

My understanding of the term "trick", in this case, is a way to have something done that was not foreseen by the instrument designers.
It is technically a "patch routing", but the result is a well known "trick of the trade" instead of using an external overdrive or distortion effect.
It has often been copied and already integrated by other synth manufacturers in their products, with some variations on the theme, later on. MFB Kraftzwerg, Arturia Minibrute, Moog Sub Phatty come to mind.

[mmarsh100]

The Sub Phatty does not have a built in feedback path, though you can use the headphones into the External In to accomplish that. It does have Multidrive which is a distortion circuit that is quite nice. Also, you can push the mixer to overdrive. The Minibrute's Brute Factor is in fact an in-built feedback path. Don't know about the MFB but other synths that come to mind are some in the DSI line like the Mopho and the Evolver.

[thealien666]

The Sub Phatty does not have a built in feedback path...

What do you think the MultiDrive knob does on the Sub Phatty ?

[mmarsh100]

Well, it doesn't feed back the audio path it's a distortion circuit.

[thealien666]

And what do you think results in feeding back the audio signal into the external input ? Distortion.

[MC]

And feedback of audio is a crucial technique for distortion circuits

[mmarsh100]

The Sub Phatty does not have a built in feedback path, though you can use the headphones into the External In to accomplish that.

The Multidrive is an OTA and FET circuit that's actually very clever - dialing in a little give a nice FET warm overdrive and dialing in a lot brings in the OTA's to breath their particular fire.