Tc electronic C300 User Manual

C300

DUAL STEREO GATE & COMPRESSOR

UUSSEERR’’SS MMAANNUUAALL

IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

1 Read these instructions.
2 Keep 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 Do not block any ventilation openings. 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 Do not defeat the safety purpose of the

polarized or grounding-type plug. A polarized
plug has two blades with one wider than the
other. A grounding type plug has two blades
and a third grounding prong. The wide blade
or the third prong are provided for your safety.
If the provided plug does not fit into your
outlet, consult an electrician for replacement
of the obsolete outlet.

10 Protect the power cord from being walked on

or pinched particularly at plugs, convenience
receptacles, and the point where they exit
from the apparatus.

11 Only use attachments/accessories specified

by the manufacturer.

12 Use only with the cart, stand, tripod,

bracket, or table specified by the
manufacturer, or sold with the
apparatus. When a cart is used, use
caution when moving the
cart/apparatus combination to avoid

injury from tip-over.

13 Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms

or when unused for long periods of time.

14 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.

• This equipment should be installed near the
socket outlet and disconnection of the device

should be easily accessible.

• Do not install in a confined space.

• Do not open the unit - risk of electric shock
inside.

Caution:

You are cautioned that any change or
modifications not expressly approved in this
manual could void your authority to operate this
equipment.

Service

• There are no user-serviceable parts inside.

• All service must be performed by qualified
personnel.

Warning!

• To reduce the risk of fire or electrical shock, do
not expose this equipment to dripping or
splashing and ensure that no objects filled with
liquids, such as vases, are placed on the
equipment.

• This apparatus must be earthed.

• Use a three wire grounding type line cord like
the one supplied with the product.

• Be advised that different operating voltages
require the use of different types of line cord
and attachment plugs.

• Check the voltage in your area and use the
correct type. See table below:

Voltage Line plug according to standard

110-125V UL817 and CSA C22.2 no 42.

220-230V CEE 7 page VII, SR section

107-2-D1/IEC 83 page C4.

240V BS 1363 of 1984.

Specification for 13A fused
plugs and switched and
unswitched socket outlets.

The lightning flash with an arrowhead
symbol within an equilateral triangle is
intended to alert the user to the

presence of uninsulated "dangerous volt­age" within the product's enclosure that may be of
sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of
electric shock to persons.

The exclamation point within an
equilateral triangle is intended to alert
the user to the presence of important

operating and maintenance (servicing)
instructions in the literature accompanying the
product.

a

IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

Certificate Of Conformity

TC Electronic A/S, Sindalsvej 34, 8240
Risskov, Denmark, hereby declares on own
responsibility that following products:

C300

DUAL STEREO GATE & COMPRESSOR

- that is covered by this certificate and
marked with CE-label conforms with
following standards:

EN 60065 Safety requirements for mains
(IEC 60065) operated electronic and

related apparatus for household
and similar general use

EN 55103-1 Product family standard for

audio,video, audio-visual and
entertainment lighting control
apparatus for professional
use. Part 1: Emission.

EN 55103-2 Product family standard for

audio, video, audio-visual and
entertainment lighting control
apparatus for professional
use. Part 2: Immunity.

With reference to regulations in following
directives:
73/23/EEC, 89/336/EEC

Issued in Risskov, April 2006

Mads Peter Lübeck

Chief Executive Officer

EMC / EMI.

This equipment has been tested and found to
comply with the limits for a Class B Digital
device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC rules.
These limits are designed to provide
reasonable protection against harmful
interference in residential installations. This
equipment generates, uses and can radiate
radio frequency energy and, if not installed and
used in accordance with the instructions, may
cause harmful interference to radio
communications. However, there is no
guarantee that interference will not occur in a
particular installation. If this equipment does
cause harmful interference to radio or television
reception, which can be determined by turning
the equipment off and on. The user is
encouraged to try to correct the interference by
one or more of the following measures:

• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

• Increase the separation between the
equipment and receiver.

• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a
circuit different from that to which the
receiver is connected.

• Consult the dealer or an experienced
radio/TV technician for help.

For the customers in Canada:

This Class B digital apparatus complies with
Canadian ICES-003.
Cet appareil numérique de la classe B est
conforme à la norme NMB-003 du Canada.

b

3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Important safety instructions . . . . . . . .a

Certificate of Conformity . . . . . . . . . . . .b

Table of contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Front Panel overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Rear Panel connections . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Signal Flow diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Typical setups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Cables - (important) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

BASIC OPERATION

Preset applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

C300 Processing

Compression basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Comp/Limiter mode - C300 . . . . . . . .17

Gate Expander mode - C300 . . . . . . .18

New Style Compression - C300 . . . . .19

APPENDIX

Software update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Technical specifications . . . . . . . . . . .21

TC Electronic, Sindalsvej 34, DK-8240 Risskov – [e-mail] Rev 1 – SW – V 1.01English Version

Prod. No: E60506011

QUICK START - IF YOU JUST CAN’T WAIT

If you are familiar with compressors,
limiters, gates and de-essing techniques
this quick guide is probably all the
information you will need to operate the
C300. For more information, please refer to
other sections of this manual.

• Unpack the C300 and check for possible

damages that could have been caused by
transport.

• Read the safety instructions.

• Take a few minutes to register online via:

www.tcelectronic.com or send in the
registration card. Customers registered online
will be notified directly via E-Mail about
relevant news

The C300 is a compressor/de-esser

-

gate/exp

ander with two independent channels
that can be routed either in serial (stereo) or
dual mono mode.

Routings

The C300 has two routing options. Dual Mono
or Stereo/Serial. The Routing mode is set on
the C300 front panel on the far left.

Dual mono

- where C300 is split and operates as two 100%
separate mono engines. A typical application for
this mode is using the two engines as insert
effects on two different channels.

Stereo/Serial Mode

- utilizing both effect engines in serial. Engine
1 is feeding Engine 2. This is the mode to
choose if you wish to process a signal with both

MONO OR STEREO

OUT 2

OUT 1

IN 1

IN 2

dual mono mode

engine 1

engine 2

processing engines. Note that this routing
works for both a stereo setup but also a single
mono setup. Typically you would use one
engine as a gate/expander and the other as de­esser or compressor/limiter. But note that any
combination of effects is possible as the
engines operate independently.

• Make all appropriate connections. You may
refer to the examples on pages 10-12.

• Decide application and set Routing
accordingly.

• Set MIX to 100% for normal compression.
Any setting between 0 and 100% utilizes the
C300 “new compression style”, based on
parallel compression. Read the section “New
Style Compression”

• Select desired processing type on the two
Engines.

• Start playing.

• Feed the C300 channels with an appropriate
level. The yellow -3 LED should only be lit at
peaks. The level is set on the sending device.

• Set MIX depending on your intentions and
selected effect.

• Now tweak the THRESHOLD, MAKE-UP
GAIN and RATIO controls for the two
engines until you have the intended result.

For any questions left unanswered by this
manual feel free to visit our online support
center; TC Support Interactive, which can be
accessed via: www.tcelectronic.com

Latest manual revision can always be
downloaded from www.tcelectronic.com
Manual revision number is found in the bottom
of page 3.

4

stereo|serial mode

IN 1(L)

IN 2(R)

engine 1 engine 2

stereo stereo

5

INTRODUCTION

Comp/Limiter - mode

• Female Vocal

• Male Vocal

• Vocal Choir

• Speech

• Bass Guitar

• Electric Guitar

• Acoustic Guitar

• Horns/Instr.

• Piano Keyboards

• Percussive

• Toms

• Bass Drum

• Snare Drum

• De-Ess 2

• De-Ess 1

• Composite

Gate/Expander mode

• Female Vocal

• Male Vocal

• Vocal Choir

• Speech

• Bass Guitar

• Electric Guitar

• Acoustic Guitar

• Horns

• Piano Keyboards

• Percussive

• Toms

• Bass Drum

• Snare Drum

• Hum

• Hiss

• Composite

Congratulations on the purchase of your C300 Dual Stereo Gate/Compressor by TC Electronic

C300 is an easy to use dual engine dynamics processor that gives you superior compression/
limiting and gate/expansion feasibilities. It features flexible control of the signal path, 16
gate/expander and 16 compressor/limiter audio-optimized presets with intelligent TC multi-band and
full-band dynamics technology, innovative new style compression, state-of-the-art TC quality, and an
extremely intuitive and straightforward user interface that gives you access to complex and
comprehensive dynamic processing with just a few buttons and simple operations.
C300’s key application is as insert effects on mono or stereo channels.

The C300 gives you highly advanced TC algorithms that will process your sound with extreme
precision, ultimate audio quality and outstanding performance. State-of-the-art audio converters
excellent quality on your analog signal into, and back from the digital domain.
The entire music and audio business has celebrated and awarded TC Electronic for its outstanding
products. TC will for many people be synonym with superior and excellent quality and we are
confident that C300 will not disappoint you in any way.

Enjoy

TC Electronic

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