SPL Transpressor, 1080 User manual

Manual

Transpressor

Model 1080

Dynamic Processor

Manual Transpressor, Model 1080

Version 1.0 – 7/2010

Developer: Jens Gronwald

This manual contains a description of the product. It in no way represents a guarantee of
particular characteristics or results of use. The information in this document has been care­fully compiled and verified and, unless otherwise stated or agreed upon, correctly describes
the product at the time of packaging with this document.

Sound Performance Lab (SPL) continuously strives to improve its products and reser ves the
right to modify the product described in this manual at any time without prior notice. This
document is the property of SPL and may not be copied or reproduced in any manner, in part
or fully, without prior authorization by SPL.

SPL electronics GmbH

Sohlweg 80, 41372 Niederkruechten, Germany
Phone [phone]
Fax [phone]
E-Mail: [e-mail]
Internet: www.spl.info

The construction of the Transpressor, Model 1080, is in compliance with the
standards and regulations of the European Community.

Notes on Environmental Protection

At the end of its operating life, this product must not be disposed of with regular
household waste but must be returned to a collection point for the recycling of
electrical and electronic equipment. The wheelie bin symbol on the product,
user‘s manual and packaging indicates that. The materials can be re-used in
accordance with their markings. Through re-use, recycling of raw materials, or
other forms of recycling of old products, you are making an important contribution to the
protection of our environment. Your local administrative office can advise you of the respon­sible waste disposal point.

WEEE Registration: 973 349 88

© 2010 SPL electronics GmbH. All rights reserved. Names of other companies and their
products are trademarks of their respective owners.

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Transpressor

Symbols and Notes 4

Scope Of Delivery and Packaging 4

Important Security Information 4

Hook Up 5

Introduction 6

Dual Dynamic Processing 6

Use, Applications, Special Technical Features 7

Rear Panel 8

Signal Connections, Input and Output Electronics, 1/4" Jacks, XLR sockets 9

Power connection and fuse, Voltage Selector 9

Power Switch, GND Lif t 9

Balanced connections, Unbalanced connections 10

Input, Sidechain, Stereo Link/Slave, Output 1 & Output 2 11

Content

Operation 12

Overview 12

Control Elements 13

The Transient Designer, TD On, Attack, Sustain 13

The Twin Core Compressor, Threshold, Ratio, Attack 14

ATTACK AUTO mode, Release, RELEASE AUTO mode, Make Up 15

Detector/EXT SC, OFF, FILTER; Detector/1, 2, 3; GR meter, OUT meter 16

ON, SIG 17

Parallel Mix 17

TD On, Comp On 17

Comp Pre, Link Slave 18

Using the Transient Designer 19

Drums & Percussions, Drums: Ambience 19

Guitars, The Transfer Of Dynamic Structures, Bass, The Re-Invention Of Reverb 20

Backings, Keyboards & Sampler, Post Production, Mastering 21

Specifications 22

Block Diagram 23

Copy Master Recall Settings 24

Your Notes 25

Transpressor

3

Symbols and Notes

N THIS MANUAL A LIGHTNING SYMBOL WITHIN A TRIANGLE WARNS YOU ABOUT THE
POTENTIAL FOR DANGEROUS ELECTRICAL SHOCKS – WHICH CAN ALSO OCCUR EVEN AFTER
THE MACHINE HAS BEEN DISCONNEC TED FROM A POWER SOURCE.

AN EXCLAMATION MARK (!) WITHIN A TRIANGLE IS INTENDED TO MAKE YOU AWARE OF
IMPORTANT OPERATIONAL ADVICE AND/OR WARNINGS THAT MUST BE FOLLOWED. BE
ESPECIALLY ATTENTIVE TO THESE AND ALWAYS FOLLOW THE ADVICE THEY GIVE.

The symbol of a lamp directs your attention to explanations of important functions or applica­tions.

Attention: Do not attempt any alterations to this machine without the approval or supervision
of SPL electronics GmbH. Doing so could nullify completely any and all of your warranty/guar­antee rights and claims to user support.

Scope Of Delivery and Packaging

The scope of delivery comprises the Frontliner, the external power supply, the guarantee card
and this manual.

Please keep the original packaging. In case of a service procedure the original packaging
ensures a safe transport. It also serves as a safe packaging for your own transports if you do
not use special transportation cases.

Important Security Information

Please note and retain this manual. Carefully read and follow all of the safety and operating
instructions before you use the machine. Be doubly careful to follow all warnings and special
safety instructions noted in this manual and on the unit.

Connections: Only use the connections as described. Other connections can lead to health
risks and equipment damage.

Water and humidity: Do not use this machine anywhere near water (for example near a wash
basin or bath, in a damp cellar, near swimming pools, or the like). In such cases there is an
extremely high risk of fatal electrical shocks!

Insertion of foreign objects or fluids: Never allow a foreign object through any of the
machine‘s chassis openings. You can easily come into contact with dangerous voltage or
cause a damaging short circuit. Never allow any fluids to be spilled or sprayed on the machine.
Such actions can lead to dangerous electrical shocks or fire!

Opening the unit: Do not open the machine housing, as there is great risk you will damage the
machine, or – even af ter being disconnected – you may receive a dangerous electrical shock!

Electrical power: Run this machine only from power sources which can provide proper power
in the range from 100 to 250 volts. When in doubt about a source, contact your dealer or a
professional electrician. To be sure you have isolated the machine, do so by disconnecting all
power and signal connections. Be sure that the power supply plug is always accessible. When
not using the machine for a longer period, make sure to unplug it from your wall power socket
and from the guitar amp.

Cord protection: Make sure that your power and guitar amplifier signal cords are arranged
to avoid being stepped on or any kind of crimping and damage related to such event. Do not
allow any equipment or furniture to crimp the cords.

Power connection overloads: Avoid any kind of overload in connections to wall sockets,
extension or splitter power cords, or to signal inputs. Always keep manufacturer warnings
and instructions in mind. Overloads create fire hazards and risk of dangerous shocks! >

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Transpressor

Lightning: Before thunderstorms or other severe weather, disconnect the machine from wall
power (but to avoid life threatening lightning strikes, not during a storm). Similarly, before
any severe weather, disconnect all the power connections of other machines and antenna and
phone/network cables which may be interconnected so that no lightning damage or overload
results from such secondary connections.

Air circulation: Chassis openings offer ventilation and serve to protect the machine from over­heating. Never cover or otherwise close off these openings. Never place the machine on a soft
surface (carpet, sofa, etc.). Make sure to provide for a mounting space of 4-5 cm/2 inches to
the sides and top of the unit when mounting the unit in racks or on cabinets.

Controls and switches: Operate the controls and switches only as described in the manual.
Incorrect adjustments outside safe parameters can lead to damage and unnecessary repair
costs. Never use the switches or level controls to effect excessive or extreme changes.

Repairs: Unplug the unit from all power and signal connections and immediately
contact a qualified technician when you think repairs are needed – or when mois­ture or foreign objects may accidentally have gotten in to the housing, or in cases
when the machine may have fallen and shows any sign of having been damaged.
This also applies to any situation in which the unit has not been subjected to any
of these unusual circumstances but still is not functioning normally or its perfor­mance is substantially altered.
In cases of damage to the power supply and cord, first consider turning off the main circuit
breaker before unplugging the power cord.

Important Security Information

Replacement/substitute parts: Be sure that any service technician uses original replacement

parts or those with identical specifications as the originals. Incorrectly substituted parts can
lead to fire, electrical shock, or other dangers, including further equipment damage.

Safety inspection: Be sure always to ask a service technician to conduct a thorough safety
check and ensure that the state of the repaired machine is in all respects up to factory stan­dards.

Cleaning: In cleaning, do not use any solvents, as these can damage the chassis finish. Use
a clean, dry cloth (if necessary, with an acid-free cleaning oil). Disconnect the machine from
your power source before cleaning.

Be very careful to check that the rear chassis power selection switch is set to the correct
local line voltage position before using the unit (230 V position: 220-240 V/50 Hz, 115 V posi­tion: 110-120 V/60 Hz)! When in doubt about a source, contact your dealer or a professional

electrician.

Before connecting any equipment make sure that any machine to be connected is turned off.
Follow all safety instructions on pages 4 and 5 and read further information on connections
on pages 7-10.

Place the unit on a level and stable surface. The unit’s enclosure is EMC-safe and effectively
shielded against HF interference. Nonetheless, you should carefully consider where you place
the unit to avoid electrical disturbances. It should be positioned so that you can easily reach
it, but there are other considerations. Try not to place it near heat sources or in direct sunlight,
and avoid exposure to vibrations, dust, heat, cold or moisture. It should also be kept away
from transformers, motors, power amplifiers and digital processors. Always ensure sufficient
air circulation by keeping a distance of 4-5 cm/2 inches to the sides and top of the unit.

Hook Up

Transpressor

5

Introduction

Dual Dynamic Processing

In the late 1990’s SPL revolutionized audio dynamic processing with a groundbreaking new
technology. The Transient Designer made it possible, for the first time, to act on the signal in
order to amplify or attenuate its transient and to extend or shorten its decay, without affecting
the signal level. Thus, dynamic processing that used to be linked to a given threshold became
a more powerful sound-shaping tool focused exclusively on the signal’s attack.

Common compressors/limiters are level dependent. If we were to imagine a dynamically
ideal signal curve, the attack and decay of the curve would describe a bell. A compressor/
limiter acts from a predefined threshold. Once the threshold is met, the waveform is modified
by a preset gain control curve defined by several parameters. Thus, if the signal level is too
high you can limit it to avoid overdriving the electronics. You can process individual signals
separately in order to make them sit better in a mix, modif ying only their level and not their
sound, or intentionally changing the sound of the signal with the compressor (to make a bass
drum sound more incisive, for example). In complex signals, peaks can be limited so that the
average level is increased as a whole. It is not our intention to describe all possible applica­tions of a compressor, but rather to sustain that its processing is directly linked to a threshold.

The Transient Designer, on the other hand, focuses on the form of the signal curve instead
of taking the signal level as reference. It starts processing a signal as soon as it detects an
impulse. Therefore, it does not matter how loud the signal is because it will be processed
equally by the Transient Designer.

A transient can be defined as the first dynamic impulse of a waveform. These transient
elements appear before the sound has completed a full cycle and they are decisive for sound
recognition. It is not that important whether a snare is played loudly or softly, we can never­theless recognize its sound. Changes in the transient structure have a major impact on the
sound character — which makes the Transient Designer an essential dynamic tool for sound
shaping. If you wanted to process these parts of the signal with a compressor, the attack time
would have to be so fast that it would be inappropriate for the rest of the signal, resulting
in unwanted side effects, like pumping. The Transient Designer acts precisely where a tradi­tional compressor cannot, making it the best complement for dynamic processing.

The Transpressor combines both dynamic processing technologies in one single unit. The mix
of this already powerful processing tools results in much more than the sum of their individual
capabilities. At the same time, the possibility of changing the order of the processing modules
opens up new approaches to create totally new effects: the compressor responds differently
when the transient structure is modified before reaching the compression stage; while an
already compressed signal can retain its character — or have it improved — when processed
with the Transient Designer.

The Transpressor makes patent the benef its of being able to work freely at both stages of
the dynamic process. In the studio — and also live — you must often process the transients
of percussive signals (snare, bass drum...) and then make the sound more compact through
compression. This entails the need to put together different processing units specifically for
this task — a job that the Transpressor can accomplish singlehandedly. If it were necessary
to achieve a constant level through compression and only then shape the transient structure,
the Transpressor allows you to easily change the processing order with one single button.
This applies not only to percussive instruments, but also to all other critical and demanding
dynamic signals (specially electric bass and guitar): the Transpressor is an incredibly versatile
and multifunctional dynamic processing tool.

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Transpressor

Use

• Live and in the studio as an ultraversatile and multifunctional one-channel dynamic
processing tool.

• Link function for stereo processing with two units.

Applications

• Comprehensive corrective and creative dynamic processing for all sorts of instruments
and vocals.

• The use of both modules is specially suited for processing dynamic signals like percus­sion instruments, bass, guitar, piano, etc.

• As a Transient Designer

• As a compressor

Special Technical Features

• One of the Transpressor’s most characteristic features is the Double VCA circuitry used in
the compressor and, for the first time, also in the Transient Designer. A differential stage
reduces side effects (clicks and plops) and the half load per VCA dramatically reduces
THD.

Introduction

• The operational amplifiers for the compressor circuitry have very low DC offsets and
meet high-precision measurement standards. Therefore, control voltages are extremely
precise — a prerequisite for high-quality signal processing.

• High-grade Bur r-Brown operational amplif iers in the input and output stages.

• Central star grounding minimizes interferences and other negative ef fects that could
affect the ground paths. This leads to a ”cleaner” — in the truest sense of the word —
sound quality..

Transpressor

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Rear Panel

Equalizer

DAW Insert Sends

Preamp, Console or

Wiring Diagram

Pin wiring TRS (stereo jack) sockets:

Tip=hot (+), Ring=cold (-), Sleeve=GND

Tip=hot (+), Sleeve=GND

Pin wiring TS (mono jack) sockets:

Insert Returns

(Console, DAW, etc.)

NO ETHERNET

2nd Transpressor

other FX units ...

Further Insert Returns,

1=GND, 2=hot (+), 3=cold (-)

Pin wiring XLR output sockets:

Make sure that

reflects the correct

local power line voltage.

the voltage switch setting

8

Pin wiring XLR input sockets:

1=GND, 2=hot (+), 3=cold (-)

1

3

PUSH

2

Transpressor

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3