Crane Song TRAKKER User Manual

TRAKKER

SINGLE CHANNEL DISCRETE

CLASS A COMPRESSOR-LIMITER

OPERATOR'S MANUAL

Version 1.10

CRANE SONG LTD.

2117 East 5th Street

Superior, WI 54880 USA

tel: [phone]

fax: [phone]

www.cranesong.com

©1998, 2009 Crane Song,LTD. Subject to change without notice. Printed in the U.S.A.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

1. Read these instructions

2. K eep these instructions

3. Heed all warnings

4. Follow all instructions

5. Do not use this apparatus near water

6. Clean only with dry cloth

7. Install in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions

8. Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other
apparatus (including amplifiers) that produce heat

9. Protect the po w er cord from being w alked on or pinched particularly at plugs and the
point where they exit from the apparatus

10. Only use attachments/accessories specified by the manufacturer

11. Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or when unused for long periods of
time

12. Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel. Servicing is required when the
apparatus has been damaged in any way, such as power-supply cord or plug is dam­aged, liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen into the apparatus, the apparatus
has been exposed to rain or moisture, does not operate normally, or has been dropped

13. CAUTION: To disconnect the unit completely from the MAINS , unplug the unit. Turn­ing the power switch off does not disconnect the unit completely from the MAINS.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ...........................................

PAGE

2

PANEL REFERENCE .....................................

CLASS A DISCRETE TOPOLOGIES .................

Heating and Warm-up ............................

CONTROL DESCRIPTION ..............................

The Link Switch ..................................

The Character Switch ...............................

AMPLIFIER TYPES .........................................

TRAKKER NOTES

Character Switch Suggestions ..................

SIDE CHAIN ....................................................

Pin Out Chart ...........................................

LINK CONNECTOR ..........................................

INTERFACING ................................................

8, 11

3
4

4
4

6
6

7

8
8

10

9

REGISTRATION FORM .....................................

12

PAGE 2

INTRODUCTION

TRAKKER is a high quality Single Channel Discrete Class A Compressor-Limiter. It functions
either as a musically transparent compressor or as a vintage compressor-limiter with selectable
hard or soft knee. TRAKKER can create distinct new sounds or maximize existing ones. An
additional feature of the TRAKKER is the ability to link up to 8 units for surround mixing.

The TRAKKER has adjustable threshold, attack, release, knee shape, and makeup gain controls.
In addition to these controls, a function switch allows the selection of transparent operation or
vintage operations such as optical, air optical, soft knee, and hard knee – each with four different
amplifier/gain control sounds.

The amplifier/gain control sounds are:

• Transparent

• Vintage (tube or old style class A)

• Transparent with VCA artifacts and

• Vintage with VCA artifacts.

The front panel contains a 22 element VU meter with over load indicator to show gain reduction
and allow accurate monitoring of output levels. In the link mode the master unit controls all
functions of the slave units except for make-up gain.

TRAKKER has transformer-less balanced inputs and outputs. The unit is 1 rack space tall and
operates from 100V, 115V, 230V or 240V mains.

TRAKKER is a maximum-versatility toolkit for solving real-world recording, broadcast, and sound
reinforcement problems with the utmost attention to signal quality. From single channel operation
to bus compression, TRAKKER can provide an artistic choice of sounds at the flip of a switch.

PANEL REFERENCE PAGE 3

GAIN - adjusts

compressor gain

from 0 - 14dB.

BYPASS - selects

output signal source.

*Unit defaults to

hardwired bypass when

off.

METER - has 2 modes of operation

1) as a bar graph in the "out" mode; 0VU

referenced to +4dBm

2) a dot type display that shows gain

reduction, in the "gr" mode.

settings

* soft knee

CHARACTER SWITCH - allows the

selection of different sound types from

vintage to modern.

Attack and Releast times

interact with amount of

gain change, setting of

the character switch,

and program material to

allow the creation of a

wide variety of sounds

unique to Crane Song

Compressors.

LINK - allows up

to 8 units to be

linked together

KNEE - Changes the

shape of the gain curve.

ATTACK -

Determines the time

it takes the

THRESHOLD -

Determines the

amount of gain

reduction

METER SWITCH - selects the

type of display for the meter.

The red CLIP indicator lights

when the unit is clipping in

the output stage on either of

the two settings.

RELEASE - Sets the time for gain

to return to the point of no gain in

the absence of program.

compressor to

respond to input

signal for gain

reduction to take

place.