User manual ART PRO CHANNEL

[. . . ] Pro Channel TUBE MIC PREAMP / COMPRESSOR / EQUALIZER USER'S GUIDE Contents FEATURES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 OVERVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 DESIGN NOTES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 SETTING UP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 UNPACKING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 AC POWER HOOKUP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 AUDIO CONNECTIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 INSTALLATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 SAFETY PRECAUTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 POWERING UP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 FRONT PANEL CONTROLS AND INDICATORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [. . . ] Toggle the switch between Norm and Bypass while adjusting the Compressor Output level. Once the levels are the same (use your ears and the VU Output Level meter), you've reached the compressor's unity setting. Compressor Output Control The Compressor Output control sets the output level from the compressor circuit. Typically, a compressor's Output control is used to add gain to compensate for the amount lost due to compression. Turning the control - 12 - clockwise increases the level to a maximum of +20dB of gain. While you can use the compressor to add gain to a signal, it is better to add gain before the compressor for the best signal to noise ratio. If you want to use the compressor to add more gain, use the VU meter to monitor the Pro Channel's output level, or use the meter on your recorder or mixer to make sure you won't clip the next piece of equipment in the chain. Clip Indicator The red Clip LED, located between the compressor and EQ sections, monitors the EQ's level at several internal points. When the Clip indicator lights, the level into the equalizer is too high; turn down either the Preamp Output control, the Compressor Output control, or the output level of the device plugged into the Comp In insert point. Equalizer Circuit The equalizer circuit in the Pro Channel is a tube-based, semi-parametric, four-band equalizer. The normal bandwidth of each filter is purposely wide to provide a very musical sound. Low Control The Low control adjusts a shelving filter with a selectable corner frequency of either 40Hz or 120Hz. The low shelving filter affects all frequencies below the corner frequency when applying boost or cut. Low Switch The Low switch selects the corner frequency of the Low control. 40Hz is great for enhancing sub-low frequencies such as those in bass guitars and kick drums. Cutting 40Hz can also help to "clean up" mixes that sound muddy or "loose" in the low end. Boosting 120Hz can add - 13 - "weight" or "beef" to a week vocal and cutting it can "thin out" a signal that takes up too much room in the low end. Lo-Mid Control The Lo-Mid control is a dual concentric pot (i. e. , there are two controls ­ one outer and one inner). The outer control is used to select a frequency while the inner one is used to apply boost or cut. The amount of boost or cut available depends on the setting of the Lo-Mid (Wide/Narrow) switch: ±12dB for Wide and ±20dB for Narrow. Also, the Lo-Mid control can cover two frequency ranges depending on the position of the Lo-Mid (X 10/Norm) switch; these ranges are 20Hz to 200Hz and 200Hz to 2KHz. Lo-Mid (X10/Norm) Switch The first Lo-Mid switch determines the frequency range covered by the Lo-Mid control (above). You'll notice that the Low and Lo-Mid control ranges overlap (meaning they cover the same frequencies); this is intentional and is one of the powerful features of the equalizer. Lo-Mid (Narrow/Wide) Switch The second Lo-Mid switch determines the width of the frequency band that the Lo-Mid control covers. [. . . ] They are hand-sorted for optimal performance in our specific circuits. In the event that you need to replace them, A R T suggests that you do so with tubes available from A R T. These are matched to the Pro Channel and will yield consistent sonic results. You can replace the tubes with other brands, however A R T has no responsibility for the resulting sound quality; they may sound better, they may sound worse. [. . . ]