ART TCS Twin Compressor System IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTION ­ READ FIRST This symbol, whenever 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. Read manual. Read instructions: Retain these safety and operating instructions for future reference. Heed all warnings printed here and on the equipment. Follow the operating instructions printed in this user guide. Do not open: There are no user serviceable parts inside. Refer any service work to qualified technical personnel only. Power sources: Connect the unit to mains power only of the type described in this user guide or marked on the rear panel. The power source must provide a good ground connection. Power cord: Use the power cord with sealed mains plug appropriate for your local main supply as provided with the equipment. If the provided plug does not fit into you outlet consult your service agent. Route the power cord so that it is not likely to be walked on, stretched or pinched by items placed upon or against. Grounding: Do not defeat the grounding and polarization means of the power cord plug. Do not remove or tamper with the ground connection on the power cord. Ventilation: Do not obstruct the ventilation slots or position the unit where the air required for ventilation is impeded. If the unit is to be operated in a rack, case or other furniture ensure that it is constructed to allow adequate ventilation. Moisture: To reduce the risk of fire or electrical shock do not expose the unit to rain, moisture or use in damp or wet conditions. Do not place container of liquid on it, which may spill into any openings. Heat: Do not locate the unit in a place close to excessive heat or direct sunlight, as this could be a fire hazard. Locate the unit away from any equipment, which produces heat such as: power supplies, power amplifiers and heaters. Environment: Protect from excessive dirt, dust, heat, and vibration when operating and storing. Avoid tobacco ash, drink spillage and smoke, especially that associated with smoke machines. Handling: To prevent damage to the controls and cosmetics avoid rough handling and excessive vibration. Protect the controls form damage during transit. Use adequate padding if you need to ship the unit. To avoid injury to yourself or damage to the equipment take care when lifting, moving or carrying the unit. Servicing: Switch off the equipment and unplug the power cord immediately if it is exposed to moisture, spilled liquid, objects fallen into opening, the power cord or plug becomes damaged during a lightening storm or if smoke odor or noise is noted. Refer servicing to qualified technical personnel only. Installation: Install the unit in accordance with the instruction printed in the user guide. 2 ART TCS Twin Compressor System The ART TCS Twin Compressor System Table of Contents Introduction ........................................................................................... 4 TCS Features ......................................................................................... 5 Installation ............................................................................................. 6 AC Power Hookup ............................................................................... 6 Analog Audio Connections .................................................................. 6 Safety Precautions .............................................................................. 6 Controls and Indicators ......................................................................... 7 Rear Connections .................................................................................. 9 Operation ............................................................................................. 10 Compression Basics .......................................................................... 10 Expansion Basics .............................................................................. 10 Opto Basics ....................................................................................... 10 VCA Basics ....................................................................................... 10 Understanding V3 .............................................................................. 11 V3 Quick Reference Chart ................................................................ 13 Common Applications ........................................................................ 14 Additional Applications ...................................................................... 16 Warranty Information .......................................................................... 18 Service .................................................................................................. 19 TCS Specifications ........................................................................... 20 Contact Information ............................................................................. 21 3 ART TCS Twin Compressor System INTRODUCTION Thank you and congratulations on your purchase of an ART TCS (Twin Compressor System). You now own a unique compression system with features unlike any other. Offering a superb level of sound quality, the TCS' dual compression topology allows you to quickly and easily choose from a multitude of compression settings tailored to your needs. With the ART TCS you now have one of the most versatile compression systems on the market. With both VCA and Optical compression underneath the hood of this compressor, and ART's V3 presets you can easily tune in the compression you need fast. We've carefully chosen 16 presets that cover all of your compression needs. The right setting is just a knob twist away. Need more control? Each setting also allows for tweaking to get it just right. Compression metering has never been easier than with the TCS. The two VU meters clearly display the gain reduction for each channel, making it visually simple to figure out just how much you're compressing the signal. The ultra-precise LED meters show the average level with a peak hold function to monitor your signal. The TCS is excellent for digital recording since you can see exactly how loud your signal is to avoid digital clipping. The TCS includes detector loop inserts so you can change the character of the detection path with an inserted EQ, or insert over the detection path with a different signal to duck or create a talk-over effect. -- 4 ART TCS Twin Compressor System TCS FEATURES Optical Compression VCA Compression 4 Compression Modes /16 Different V3 settings Controls Per Channel Attack and Release Transient Controls Ratio Control Threshold Control Noise Reduction (Expander/Gate) with Threshold Control, Noise Reduction Tuning Control and Activity light. Bypass Control Tube Insertion Detector Loop V3 settings Front Mounted Instrument Input and Level control on Channel 1 Switchable Dual Output Controls or Stereo Level + Pan Control Stereo Linking capabilities Twin VU compression meters LED Input / Output level metering with Peak Hold 12AX7 Tube Dual Pentode, hand selected. ¼ Inch and Balanced XLR I/O Torodial Power Transformer for lower noise. -- 5 ART TCS Twin Compressor System INSTALLATION The TCS may be used in a wide variety of applications and environments. In a rack-mountable, all-steel enclosure, the unit is designed for continuous professional use. Mounting location is not critical. However, for greater reliability we recommend that you not place the units on top of power amps or other sources of heat. The tube circuitry needs about a minute to "warm up" from a cold power up. AC Power Hookup The TCS has an internal power supply designed to operate at 115 VAC @ 50 to 60 Hz. Units manufactured for use outside the United States of America have been modified to comply with the required electrical specifications. Analog Audio Connections Audio connections to and from the TCS are balanced XLR (Pin 2 = Hot (+), Pin 3 = Cold (-), Pin 1 = Ground), balanced ¼" (Tip = Hot (+), Ring = Cold (), Sleeve = Ground) and unbalanced ¼" (Tip = Hot (+), Sleeve = Ground). Safety Precautions WARNING: To avoid the risk of shock or fire, do not expose this unit to moisture. Refer all servicing to qualified personnel. Do not remove the metal cover; there are no user-serviceable parts inside. -- 6 ART TCS Twin Compressor System CONTROLS & INDICATORS 1Power ­ Switches the unit's power on and off. 2Instrument Input and Level ­ The front ¼" jack is intended for instrument level signals and the level control applies from 0 to 30db of gain to the signal. When using the front instrument jack, the rear inputs on Channel 1 are disconnected. 3Compression Controls (Attack, Release, Threshold, Ratio) ­ These four controls control the amount of compression and its' transient settings. These are continuously active throughout all V3 settings (V3 optimizes ranges for selected application). 4Noise Reduction Controls (NR Thresh, Shelf, NR Active LED) ­ These two controls set the noise reduction characteristics. They are continuously active throughout all V3 settings. Users can look at the LED to determine if the current NR is an expander or a gate by viewing it's dimming characteristics. When the LED simply turns on and off the NR is a gate, when it slowly fades in and out it is an expander. As the NR Thresh is increased, the noise reduction will become more sensitive to the signals. Thus, more of the signal will be affected by the NR. The Shelf control tunes the Noise Reduction detection circuitry such that it is less sensitive to certain frequencies. When fully counterclockwise the noise reduction is most sensitive to lower frequencies, and when fully clockwise the noise reduction is most sensitive to higher frequencies. -7- ART TCS Twin Compressor System 5Bypass, Tube, Det.Loop Switches ­ These 3 switches control the channel settings. When depressed, the BYPASS switch completely bypasses the compressor controls, including output level (It should be noted that this is an active bypass, so if the unit is unpowered no signal shall pass through). The TUBE switch places a 12AX7 tube in the signal path adding tube warmth and gain. The DETECTOR LOOP switch selects the rear inserts for the detection path. This routing is useful for ducking and voiceover techniques. 6V3 Compression Selector ­This selects the V3 setting for the given channel. To learn more about V3 see pg. 11. 7LED Meter and Source Selection ­ This LED METER bar graph shows either the input or the output average level (with a peak hold). The source for the meter is determined via the LED METER SWITCH. 8Output Level ­ These knobs function as either dual output level controls or stereo output and pan controls. 9Stereo Link ­ When engaged the unit functions in Stereo Mode. While in this mode the LEFT CHANNEL CONTROLS act as the global controls for the unit with the exception of the detector loop controls. Gain Reduction Meters ­ These VU meters show how much gain reduction is taking place. When set at 0 there is no compression, and as compression increases, the VU meters move "down" displaying the gain reduction in dB. -8- ART TCS Twin Compressor System REAR CONNECTIONS 1Rear Input Jacks ­ The TCS features both ¼ inch and XLR connectors on the back as inputs wired in parallel. The rear input jacks accept line level signals up to +20dBu. The rear inputs of Channel 1 are disconnected whenever the front panel ¼" jack is used. This allows you to keep the rear inputs connected in a rack installation and override Channel 1 when you plug into the front panel ¼" jack. 2Rear Output Jacks - The TCS features both ¼ inch and XLR connectors on the back as outputs wired in parallel. 3¼" Detector Loop Inputs (Rear) ­ The TCS features 2 detector loop inputs on the rear that accept line level signals. These are useful for ducking and voice over applications (the voice signal coming in must be line level, TS jack for override, TRS jack for loop insertion) -9- ART TCS Twin Compressor System OPERATION Compression Basics ­ Compression is an effective way to gently control the dynamics of a signal. The most important setting in your compressor is the threshold. The threshold sets the average signal level, above which the TCS acts on. From there the ratio control sets how aggressively the compressor holds signals above the threshold to the operating level. Typically a good starting ratio of 2:1 is suggested for vocal settings, 4:1 for instruments, and :1 for limiting or sustain. Settings with extremely high ratios are called limiters because they limit the signal to the operating level. The attack and release controls are intended for controlling how quickly the compressor begins (attack) and ends (release) its ampli ...