User manual ART VOICE CHANNEL

[. . . ] Voice ChannelTM Tube Channel Strip with Digital Connectivity USER'S GUIDE IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS ­ READ FIRST This symbol, wherever it appears, alerts you to the presence of uninsulated dangerous voltage inside the enclosure. Voltage that may be sufficient to constitute a risk of shock. This symbol, wherever it appears, alerts you to important operating and maintenance instructions in the accompanying literature. Please read manual. Read instructions: Retain these safety and operating instructions for future reference. Do not open: Aside from one vacuum tube, there are no user serviceable parts inside. [. . . ] If the attack is set too fast, the gain may be reduced too much and thereby create a "pumping" sound1. One way to eliminate this is to use the LOW CUT filter to remove plosive sounds in vocals that can make the detector overreact. 1 "Pumping" in a Compressor/Limiter sounds like the signal is muted when it shouldn't be. 7 Release Control The RELEASE control sets the time the Compressor/Limiter takes to increase the gain after the input level drops. Longer settings maintain the dynamics of the input signal, while shorter settings reduce the dynamics. Shorter settings will also increase the apparent reverberation, and at extreme gain reduction settings, lead to "breathing" artifacts2 Gain Reduction LED Meter The GAIN REDUCTION meter displays the Compressor/Limiter's attenuation action. The large yellow LED at the right-hand end of the meter indicates Expander or Gate action. The brightness of the LED indicates the amount of gain reduction for the Expander function. Since the Gate is either ON or OFF, there is no brightness variation. Expander/Gate Switch This switch allows the selection of the Expander or the Gate functions. Both are useful in reducing unwanted background noise in the audio signal. Use this mode to gradually reduce background noise and maintain some of the input dynamics. This is useful for instruments with gradually decaying amplitude envelopes. This mode quickly cuts off the noise as the input signal drops. Expander/Gate Threshold Control The Expander/Gate action begins below the level indicated by the EXPANDER/GATE THRESHOLD control. LED in the GAIN REDUCTION display will light when the Expander or Gate attenuates the input signal. The Expander/Gate Threshold detector has built-in hysteresis, which causes the unit to trigger "ON" at a higher level than the level required to trigger back to the "OFF" state. This is subtle enough to maintain the decay envelope of the source material and still lower the noise as the input signal drops. LED will light dimly for the first 5dB of gain reduction, and then glow brightly as the attenuation increases above this level. The Gate function has an intelligent detector with a fast "attack" and "release", coupled with a program dependant "hold". The hold time is longer for sustained passages and shorter for transients. As the input drops below the threshold and the input signal is muted, the EXPANDER/GATE THRESH. You can turn off the Expander/Gate function by setting the THRESHOLD control fully counterclockwise to "OFF". 2 "Breathing" is the sound of the Compressor/Limiter turning up the gain so quickly you can hear breathing noises between words during vocal processing. 8 Semi-Parametric EQ The ART Voice ChannelTM offers a four-band semi-parametric equalizer. The EQ can be bypassed as well as positioned before or after the dynamics processing section. [. . . ] +20 dBu Output Level At Meter 0 VU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +4 dBu Preamp Microphone Gain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 dB to +60 dB Instrument Gain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . +3 dB to +40 dB Low Cut Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [. . . ]