Commander2 manual - Whirlwind

HAND BUILT IN THE USAWarranty:This product is warranted to be free of defects in materials or workmanshipto the original purchaser for a period of 2 years from thedate of purchase. Should warranty service be required, return theunit postage paid along with the original sales receipt to:Whirlwind Music Dist., Inc.99 Ling RoadRochester NY 14612Whirlwind will, at its option, repair or replace the unit .This warranty does not cover damage resulting from abuse,unauthorized modifications or use of the product inunintended applications.www.whirlwindusa.com • 800-733-9473The Commander 2

The Commander 2The Whirlwind Commander 2 is a two-channel instrument switcher, booster, feedback eliminator and tuner with built-in DI.Please refer to the diagrams and features described in this manual that describe the features and functions of the Commander 2.710138956412311121: INPUT JACKS A and B – Connect 2 instruments here.Connections are for unbalanced tip/sleeve instrumenttype plugs.2: INPUT TRIM CONTROLS and LED INDICATORS – Thesetwo trim controls are used to adjust the input leveland to balance the level between the two instrumentsconnected to the A and B input jacks.Turn up the TRIM control until the loudest peaks fromeach instrument cause the control shaft LED to flashbriefly. Both channels may be set without switchingbetween A and B with the footswitch. After setting bothLEDs, you may want to fine-tune the input level on oneor both inputs to equalize the volume between the twoinstruments. When doing this adjustment, be sure thatthe BOOST function is turned off.3: OUTPUT JACK – is an unbalanced ¼” tip/sleeve jackfor making connections to an amplifier, powered speaker,mixer, etc.4: POL REV BUTTON – reverses the polarity of both the¼” unbalanced output and the XLR DI output. This can beespecially useful for reducing feedback from interactionwith a nearby monitor speaker. Changing the setting ofthis button may also result in a cleaner sound when yourinstrument is mixed with other band instruments in thesound system. Experiment to find the setting that worksbest for your individual application.5: DI OUT – Provides a high quality, transformer isolated,balanced, low-impedance microphone level signal forconnecting to a mic input in a professional mixing console.This is typically the output that would be used whenrunning longer distances down a snake to a mix position.6: DI GND LIFT BUTTON – Disconnects the groundconnection between the ¼” output jack and pin-1 of theXLR DI output. This can be useful for reducing or eliminatingground loop hum and buzz that can sometimes occur whentwo pieces of electronic gear are connected together. Forexample, if the Commander 2’s ¼” out is connected to astage monitor amplifier and the XLR DI out is connected tothe sound system mixer, ground interaction between theamp and the mixer might cause ground loop noise. Thisbutton is normally kept in the “GND” position (OUT) butif hum or buzz is encountered, try placing the button inthe “LIFT” position (IN).7: A/B FOOTSWITCH and INDICATOR LEDs – The footswitchtoggles the OUTPUT between the A and B INPUTS. Onlyone input can be activated at a time. A corresponding LEDwill light to indicate which channel is active, A on the left,B on the right.8: LOOP SEND and RETURN JACKS – Provide a connectionfor external effects such as an outboard EQ or effects unit.Use the SEND jack to provide the signal to the outboardequipment. Use the RETURN jack to “return” the signalback into the Commander 2 where it continues on to theoutputs. The RETURN jack opens an internal connectionin the COMMANDER 2 so that the signal going throughthe Commander 2 is diverted through the loop. The SENDjack by itself does not break the internal connectionthrough the Commander 2 and therefore can be used asan extra output when the RETURN jack is left unused.9: NOTCH FILTER BUTTON and FREQ CONTROL – Use thisfeature to kill the howling feedback that can often occurbecause of interaction between monitor speakers andacoustic instruments, especially the lower strings on anacoustic guitar. If you experience feedback, engage theNOTCH button and rotate the FREQ control throughout itsrange of 55 – 320 Hz. When you encounter the offendingfrequency, the feedback will be notched out and disappear.Note: The feedback elimination is accomplished byapplying a deep notch filter to your instruments signal toreduce a narrow band of frequencies that are causing feedback.The notch is very narrow so that you will notice littleor no change in the tone of your instrument. However, ifthe monitor speakers are extremely loud or if you raisethe volume of your instrument or monitor, the notch maynot be able to provide enough reduction to eliminate thefeedback or a second frequency may also feed back. If thisoccurs, reduce the volume level of instrument and/or monitor.10: BATTERY - To replace the battery, turn the frontthumbscrews counterclockwise about four full turnsexposing about 1/4” of their threads. Slide the top of theunit toward the thumbscrews as far as it will go and thenrotate it upward to expose the battery. To close the unit,reverse the process.11: A and B BOOST CONTROLS, BOOST FOOTSWITCHand BOOST LED INDICATOR – Sets the amount of boostthat will be independently applied to each channel, Aor B, when the BOOST function is activated. Press andrelease the BOOST footswitch to toggle the BOOST presetfunction on and off. The BOOST indicator LED will illuminatewhen the BOOST is activated.12: TUNER FOOTSWITCH and DISPLAY WINDOW – Thetuner in the Commander 2 is simple, precise, stable, fastand easy to use with an extra bright display for tuningunder bright lights or outdoors.Press the TUNER footswitch to activate the tuner for theselected channel, A or B. When activated, all outputs aremuted for silent tuning. Pluck a string and the displaywindow will indicate the note that is being played. Apair of dots in the upper corners of the display indicatesthe sharp (#) of the note. Example, a “C” plus the dotsindicates that a C# note is detected.Tune your string up or down until the proper note isdisplayed. Once the correct note is displayed, the rowof colored LEDs above the display indicates whetherthat note is sharp or flat. LEDs lit to the left of centerindicate a note that is flat, tune up. LEDs lit to the rightof center indicate a note that is sharp, tune down. Whenthe the note is in tune, both outside yellow LEDs plusthe center blue LED will light, After tuning, press theTUNE footswitch again to turn the tuner off and turn theCommander 2’s outputs back on. When using theCommander 2 on battery power, it is not recommendedthat you leave the tuner activated when not actuallytuning as the tuner mode draws a higher amount ofcurrent from the battery and can shorten battery life.13: 9-VOLT POWER INLET –Connect a standard 3.5 mm9 Volt DC regulated supply, 100 mA capacity or greaterwith a center negative plug. The Whirlwind PS9V-EFX isrecommended for proper operation.+ -