THRESHOLD
The Threshold control governs the amount of gain reduction. The amount of compression is
increased as the control is turned clock wise. The compressor can be operated with
"soft-knee" or "hard-knee" compression curves. When changing between
the soft and hard knee, readjustment of threshold control is necessary because the
side chain operated differently. Operation in "hard-knee" may require a higher
threshold setting than operation in "soft-knee".
GAIN CONTROL
The gain control will adjust the compressor gain from 0 to 14 dB of gain. When in link
mode the gain control operates independently to allow balancing of the program source.
(See "link switch" description.)
ATTACK CONTROL
The attack control determines the time it takes the compressor to respond to the input
signal and have gain reduction take place. Zero on the control is fast; 10 is slow.
RELEASE CONTROL
The release control sets the time for the compressor's gain to return to the point of no
gain reduction in the absence of program. Zero on the control is fast; 10 is slow.
The attack and release times depend on the knee control setting, the amount of gain
change, the setting of the character switch, and the program material. They all interact
and allow the creation of a wide variety of sounds possible only because of a proprietary
gain control device used in Crane Song compressors.
KNEE CONTROL
The knee control changes the shape of the knee or gain curve. With the control set to 0
the curve and slope are gentle. With the control set to 10 the curve is more aggressive
and the slope is higher. Be aware that as the knee setting becomes higher the attack and
release times are modified, they are made faster. The gain curve is the input - output
signal relationship from which the ratio can be determined.
BYPASS SWITCH
The bypass switch selects the output signal source. When switched to "in" - the
unit is in the audio path. When switched to the "out" position, all of the
compressor circuitry is removed from the audio path. When in the "out" position,
the unit is hardwired to the output, i.e. hard bypassed. The compressor-limiter, however,
continues to operate in a monitoring mode. The unit defaults to the bypass (out) state
when the power is turned off or when the power fails.
METER
The meter has two modes of operation; output and gain reduction. In the "out"
mode the meter appears as a bar graph. 0 VU is referenced to +4dBm. The"gr" mode
shows gain reduction and appears as a dot type display. The red CLIP LED indicator lights
when the unit is clipping in the output stage on either of the two settings.
LINK SWITCH
A unique feature of TRAKKER is the ability to use one unit as a master/controller with up
to 7 slave units. The rules for operating TRAKKER in link are as follows:
1) Only one master unit
2) If any unit is turned off the link goes away..
Allowing Link Turning the link switch "on" will light the red
indicator next to the switch when link is allowed. Switching the link "on" turns
that unit into the master/controller unit. The master unit now controls all function of
all units except gain control. The gain controls operate independently regardless of the
link being on or off.
Disallowing Link The link system allows only one master/controller device. The
link will be disallowed if; 1) multiple link switches are on, or 2) power to any TRAKKER
in the link is turned off or fails. CHARACTER SWITCH
The character switch allows the selection of 16 different sound types; in essence giving
the user the ability to combine the different section of the amplifiers. The four basic
compressor - limiter types are: optical, air-optical, soft knee and hard knee. Each of
these basic types has four different amplifier/modulation styles to choose from.
The optical setting has a sound like many of the classic optical compressors an their
modern counter parts. The optical settings are program dependent. This means that the more
time that signal is present the longer the release time becomes. Increasing the release
time on the compressor will increase the effect.
The Air-optical setting is similar to the optical setting, but with one difference.
This difference is a high frequency effect also found in certain vintage tube compressors.
The high frequency effect is the result of a circuit that was used to achieve flat
frequency response in the old gear. In TRAKKER this high frequency compensation is used to
the advantage of the sound. The result is an airy high end to the sound.
The Soft knee settings provide a classic soft characteristic similar to many tube and
solid state feedback type compressors. The soft knee setting does not have a program
dependent release time. The release time is determined by the release control only.
The hard knee can be thought of as a limiter although TRAKKER has adjustable attack and
release times. The knee control changes the ratio when operating in the hard knee mode.
Hard knee means the knee has a hard break point. When the signal is above this break
point, compressor/limiter action takes place. Below this point no gain control action
takes place. This is typical of many classic units that fit the hard knee category.
NOTE***The threshold control will need re-setting when changing between hard knee and any other character knob settings (i.e. optical, air-optical, soft knee) because the side chain becomes completely rearranged when switching between the hard and any other knee settings.