USER’S GUIDE SA223
WELCOME Thank you for purchasing the Soundblox 2 MANTA Bass Filter. This powerful multi-effects unit features a dynamic collection of meticulously crafted filter effects designed specifically for bass instrumentation. With complete control over 10 different parameters like MODULATION SOURCE, DEPTH, LoRETAIN, DRIVE and more, this pedal goes far beyond the sonic limitations of other filter or envelope follower effects.
OVERVIEW DIVERSE SOUND PALLET: Features up to 24 different Low Pass, Single Peak, Multi-Peak, and Phaser effects. DEEP CONTROL SET: Access to control parameters typically found on only professional rack-mount systems. FACTORY DEFAULT SETTINGS: Easily accessible control settings personally created and selected by Source Audio’s Chief Scientist, Bob Chidlaw. DRIVE/DISTORTION TYPE: Add a variety of gain and distortions to any of the MANTA’s effects for an added boost and flavor.
QUICK START 1. POWER To power the unit, connect the included DC adapter power supply to the 9V jack (A) on the back panel. Note: Using a non-Source Audio supply could damage the unit. Please be very cautious when using 3rd-party power supplies. 2. GUITAR/AUDIO CONNECTIONS Using standard ¼" mono cables, plug your guitar, bass, or other instrument into the GUITAR IN (B) jack and from the GUITAR OUT (C) jack to your amp or other audio device.
• OPTION (C): Adjusts the parameter selected by the OPTION SELECT button. • SPEED (D): Adjusts the attack and decay rate of the envelopes, the rate of the LFO (Low Frequency Oscillator), or the ”Smoothing” of the Hot Hand. • MOD SOURCE (E): Selects between the envelopes, sine wave LFO, square wave LFO, and sawtooth wave LFO. • OPTION SELECT (F): Selects which parameter will be controlled by the OPTION knob. • CONTROL INPUT (G): Selects which external controller type will be used.
CONNECTIONS GUITAR IN (A): Connect to your guitar, bass, or other instrument via a MONO ¼-inch instrument cable. GUITAR OUT (B): Connect to your amp, pedal, or other audio device via a MONO ¼-inch instrument cable. MULTI-FUNCTION IN (C) (optional): The multi-function input is a flexible control input for use with external controllers.
CONTROLS: KNOBS EFFECT (A) (not labeled) The EFFECT knob selects which effect type will be used. For information on the individual settings, see the Effect Types section.
DEPTH Knob (A): The DEPTH knob adjusts the range and direction in which the signal is modulated. OPTION Knob (B): The OPTION knob controls six different parameters, each selected by the OPTION SELECT button. Press the OPTION SELECT button (C), located to the left of the OPTION knob, to cycle through all six choices. The selected parameter is indicated by one of three green/red LEDs. Green indicates the upper parameter (white print), and red indicates the lower parameter (yellow print).
Press button to select option • FREQUENCY (Green LED): Adjusts the frequency center point of the modulation range of the filter. As the knob is turned from its minimum position (fully counter-clockwise) to its maximum position (fully clockwise), the center point of the frequency range moves from low to high. • RESONANCE (Red LED): Adjusts the width, and sometimes height, of the various peaks and notches in the selected filter’s frequency response.
Press button to select option • MIX (Green LED): Adjusts how much of the dry signal (no effect), wet signal (full effect), or wet signal with “LoRETAIN”, are blended together. The 12 o’clock position produces a 100% dry signal. As the knob is turned clockwise from 12 o’clock, the wet signal gradually increases as the dry signal decreases, until reaching a 100% wet signal at the knob’s maximum position (fully clock-wise).
• DRIVE (Green LED): Adjusts the amount of drive and distortion applied to the wet signal. As the knob is rotated from its minimum position (fully counterclockwise) to its maximum position (fully clockwise), the amount of distortion applied ranges from no distortion at all, to maximum distortion. You can further adjust the sound by combining these changes while selecting the distortion TYPE.
MOD SOURCE Knob: When Hot Hand, MIDI, or an expression pedal are not being used, the MANTA features 5 different types of modulation control: Slow Attack Envelope Follower, Sine Wave LFO, Square Wave LFO, Sawtooth Wave LFO, and Fast Attack Envelope Follower. The MOD SOURCE knob controls a gradual blend in between each selection, so setting this knob between two of the modulation graphics will create a sound with features of both modulation forms.
SPEED Knob: Depending on the modulation source, the SPEED knob controls either the rate of the LFO, the attack and decay times of the envelope followers, or the “Smoothing” of the Hot Hand. When using the LFO modulation ( , , or clock-wise will increase the modulation rate. ), turning the SPEED knob When using the Slow Attack Envelope Follower ( ), turning the SPEED knob clock-wise shortens the time of the Attack and the Decay, which is the rise and fall of the control signal.
CONTROLS: FOOTSWITCHES There are two footswitches on the MANTA. The left footswitch corresponds to preset 1, and the right footswitch corresponds to preset 2. Pressing either of the footswitches will engages the respective preset. Pressing the same footswitch again puts the pedal back into bypass mode. Pressing the other footswitch engages the other preset without going into bypass. The illumination of the LEDs labeled “1” and “2” indicates which preset is currently enabled.
TAP TEMPO MODE The MANTA’s LFO rate can also be adjusted “on-the-fly” via TAP TEMPO. To enter TAP TEMPO mode, put the pedal into bypass, then press and hold the footswitch (A or B), to which you would like TAP TEMPO applied. When the preset LED opposite the footswitch being held starts to blink, the pedal is in TAP TEMPO mode. The footswitch below the blinking LED now controls the LFO rate. Press the footswitch at least two times in rhythm to set a new LFO rate.
EFFECT TYPES Filter effects are used to enhance or remove certain frequencies as they modulate your instrument’s signal. The MANTA features a wide variety of filter types that can create dramatically different sounding effects. In some cases, the MANTA combines multiple filter types to create a single filter effect. By default (Normal Mode), there are 12 filter effects found on the EFFECT SELECTOR knob. This can be expanded to 24 filter effects by using the Extended Mode.
To access Extended Mode, hold the CONTROL INPUT button while quickly pressing the OPTION SELECT button. You can switch back to Normal Mode by doing the same procedure. Extended Mode is a global setting for the pedal and is not saved per preset. The filter effects featured in the MANTA are further described, followed by the order in which they appear in Normal and Extended Modes. Low Pass Filter: allows only low frequencies to pass through while removing high frequencies from your signal.
Normal Mode: single LED lit 01. 2-pole low-pass filter 02. 4-pole low-pass filter 03. Two parallel low-pass filters 04. Three parallel low-pass filters 05. Notch > low-pass filters 06. Peak filter 07. Low-pass > two peak filters 08. Triple peak filter A 09. Triple peak filter B 10. Triple peak filter C 11. Dual notch filter 12. Triple notch filter 18 | Effect Types Extended Mode: Dual LEDs lit 01x. 6-pole low-pass filter 02x. 4-pole low-pass with offset peaks 03x. Peak > 4-pole low-pass filter 04x.
EXTERNAL CONTROL One of the core features of the Soundblox 2 line of effects is the MULTIFUNCTION Input (A). The MULTI-FUNCTION input is an intelligent control input that accepts both digital and analog control signals. It replaces the SENSOR input on previous Soundblox pedals. The MULTI-FUNCTION input connects to wired or wireless Hot Hand accessories, the Source Audio Expression Pedal, or the Source Audio Soundblox HUB.
SHADOW RES 1 RESONATOR DEPTH O RB RES 2 THRU ZERO MODU FLANGER I TAL L A T OR SPEED VIBE PHASER CLASSIC 4 STAGE CHORUS 6 STAGE QUAD DELAY/FREQ FEEDBACK VOLUME HH 8 STAGE 12 STAGE 1 A MIDI TREMOLO MIX OPTION SELECT (HOLD) DEFAULT DUAL EXP CONTROL INPUT OPTION ENV+ ENV- MOD SOURCE 2 Selecting an external control input: Press the CONTROL INPUT button (A) to cycle between the external control options.
CONTROL ASSIGN By default, the expression pedal and Hot Hand inputs control the filter modulation. This can be easily changed to control any of the adjustable knob parameters. To assign control to a knob parameter, follow the instructions below: 1. Select the desired external control option: “HH” for Hot Hand, “EXP” for expression pedal. 2. Press and hold the CONTROL INPUT button (A) until the LED begins to blink slowly. 3.
5. Set the desired high position of the knob. 6. Press the CONTROL INPUT button to complete the assignment. The LED will blink three times to indicate the process is complete. Note: This control assignment can be programmed to a preset. Don’t forget to save your settings! Also, each external controller can only be assigned to one parameter. To restore an external controller to modulation, see below.
MIDI CONTROL The MANTA can be controlled via generic MIDI messages. To access MIDI functionality, the pedal requires the Source Audio Soundblox HUB (sold separately). Please check www.sourceaudio.net for availability. The HUB expands your connections to further the control of multiple Soundblox pedals or other devices using standard MIDI ports, USB port, Expression Pedal input, or additional Multi-Function ports. Using Soundblox 2 pedals with MIDI greatly extends the functionality of the pedals.
To perform a calibration: 1. Select a preset by pressing a footswitch. 2. Enable Hot Hand control by selecting HH mode with the CONTROL INPUT button. 3. Press and hold the CONTROL INPUT button until the HH red LED begins to blink slowly (note: this is the same as the control assign procedure). 4. Hold the Hot Hand sensor ring at the desired calibration position. 5. Press the footswitch for the currently selected preset. 6. The HH LED will blink when the calibration is complete.
UNIVERSAL BYPASS Most effect pedals offer either true or buffered bypass. All Soundblox 2 pedals offer Universal Bypass, which allows you to select between the two. We recommend that you choose between the MANTA’s active analog (a.k.a. buffered bypass) and relay-based true bypass (a.k.a. true bypass) based on what is needed in your pedalboard’s signal chain. Ideally, the first pedal in a signal chain is a buffered input followed by true bypass in the rest of the signal chain.
SPECIFICATIONS Dimensions • L: 4.5 inches • W: 4.5 inches • H: 2.25 inches (including knobs) Weight • 1.00 lbs Power • 140mA @ 9V DC (max 180mA with Hot Hand Wireless Adapter) • Negative tip power jack Audio Performance • Maximum input level: 2.
Unit appears dead/no LEDs lit: Wrong power supply Use correct power supply as defined on page 4. Input plug not connected Ensure that input cable is connected to the GUITAR input. Corroded input cable plug Check input cable plug for corrosion on sleeve, swap out cable if necessary.
WARRANTY INFORMATION Source Audio may, at its option, require proof of the original purchase date in the form of a dated copy of original authorized dealer’s invoice or sales receipt. Service and repairs of Source Audio products are to be performed only at the Source Audio factory or a Source Audio authorized service center.
