User Guide

2
580
Overview
Introduction
The 580 is a 500 series compliant microphone preamplifier with dedicated front-panel instrument input, making it well suited
for microphone or direct instrument recording applications.
A MIC/INSTR switch allows for switching between the microphone or front-panel instrument input jack. A 20dB pad switch
can be engaged to attenuate the 580’s input for accepting high-output signal levels from “hot” microphones or sources with
high sound pressure levels (SPLs), such as kick drums and miked electric guitar cabinets.
+48 Volt phantom power allows the 580 to be used with condenser microphones. The GAIN control provides up to 60 dB of
gain. The POLARITY INVERT switch provides additional functionality for muti-miked applications, such as when multi-miking a
snare drum from the top and bottom.
The DETAIL circuit can be used to “sweeten” the tone of the source, making dull sources sound more lively and thin sources
sound more full. The LOW DETAIL control provides low-frequency boost in conjunction with low-mid cut for enhanced low
end without sounding “muddy” or “boxy”. The HIGH DETAIL control can be used for adding “clarity” to instruments and “air” to
vocals.
The variable LOW CUT control can be used to precisely sculpt the low frequencies of instruments and vocals which don’t
inherently contain much signal information in the low-frequency region. This can help clean up mixes by preventing the
accumulation of low-frequency noise across tracks.
The backlit, vintage-style VU meter makes it easy to see signal levels. Use it in combination with the PEAK LED to optimize
the gain for the best signal-to-noise performance without added distortion.
We hope the 580 serves as an indispensable creative tool for your sound processing and music production needs. Thank you
for choosing dbx.
Features
• Microphone Preamp With Up To 60 dB Gain
• +48 Volt Phantom Power For Condenser Microphones
• Dedicated Front-Panel Instrument Input
• Detail Circuit For Low / High Tone Sweetening
• Variable Low Cut Control
• 20dB Pad
• Polarity Invert Button
• Vintage-Style VU Meter
• Signal Peak LED