TC Electronic HyperGravity User manual

HyperGravity Compressor

English manual – last update: 2015-09-21

English manual 2015-09-21 1

Table of contents

Important safety instructions 1

Caution 2
Service 2
Warning 2
EMC / EMI 2
Explanation of graphic symbols 3

Before you begin 4

About this manual 5
Getting support 5

About this pedal 6

HyperGravity Compressor 7
True By p a s s 7

TonePrint 8

What are TonePrints? 9
Transferring TonePrints to your pedal
using the TonePrint app 9
Editing TonePrints with TonePrint Editor 10

Setup 11
Ready… 12
Set… 12
Play! 12

Inputs, outputs and controls 13
Power / Switching the effect on and off 14
Footswitch 14
Audio in and out 14
Effect controls 15

Maintenance 18
Updating the firmware 19
Changing the battery 19
Switching the pedal from true bypass to
buffered bypass mode 20

Frequently asked questions 21

Frequently asked questions about
TonePrint pedals 22

Links 23
TonePrint resources 24
Support resources 24
TC Electronic on… 24

Technical specifications 25

English manual 2015-09-21 a

Important safety instructions

Important safety instructions

English manual 2015-09-21 1

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 a 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 is 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 a 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.

Caution

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

Service

All service must be performed by qualified per­sonnel.

Warning

To reduce the risk of fire or electric shock, do not
expose this apparatus to rain or moisture and
objects filled with liquids, such as vases, should
not be placed on this apparatus.

Do not install this device in a confined space.

EMC / EMI

Electromagnetic compatibility /
Electromagnetic interference

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.

English manual 2015-09-21 2

Important safety instructions

For 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.

Explanation of graphic symbols

The lightning bolt triangle is used to alert the
user to the presence of uninsulated “dangerous
voltages” within the unit’s chassis that may be of
sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of elec­tric shock to humans.

The exclamation point triangle is used to alert
the user to presence of important operating and
service instructions in the literature accompany­ing the product.

English manual 2015-09-21 3

Before you begin

Before you begin

English manual 2015-09-21 4

Before you begin

About this manual

Use this manual to learn how to set up and oper­ate your TC product.

To get the most from this manual, please read it
from start to finish, or you may miss important
information.

This manual is only available as a PDF download
from the TC Electronic website.

Of course, you can print this manual, but we en­courage you to use the PDF version, which has
both internal and external hyperlinks. For ex­ample, clicking the logo in the upper left corner
of each page will take you back to the table of
contents.

To download the most current version of this
manual, visit

tcelectronic.com/support/manuals/

Getting support

If you still have questions about the product af­ter reading this manual, please get in touch with
TC Support:

tcelectronic.com/support/

Enjoy your TC product!

English manual 2015-09-21 5

About this pedal

About this pedal

English manual 2015-09-21 6

About this pedal

Thank you for spending your hard-earned mon­ey on this TC Electronic product! We have done
our best to ensure that it will serve you for many
years to come, and we hope that you will enjoy
using it.

HyperGravity Compressor

HyperGravity Compressor is the missing link that
will take your tone from good to great. It features
three amazing compression modes:

►

a state-of-the-art multiband compressor,

►

a cool vintage compressor and

►

all the endless compression combinations you
can access through TonePrint.

HyperGravity Compressor’s advanced multi­band dynamics algorithm is the same MD3
compression algorithm that can be found in our
studio production masterpiece, System 6000,
which has been the preferred dynamics tool for
top producers for over ten years. This technolo­gically superior engine applies perfectly tailored
compression for your highs, mids and lows. This
is a more transparent and musical compression
than what can be achieved with standard single­band compressors.

True Bypass

Here at TC, we have a simple philosophy: When
you are using one of our products, you should
hear something great – and if you don’t, you
shouldn’t hear it at all. This is why this pedal
sports True Bypass. When it is bypassed, it is
really off and has zero influence on your tone, re­sulting in optimum clarity and zero loss of high­end.

You will also be delighted to hear (literally) that
this TC Electronic effect pedal will let your dry,
unprocessed sound pass without ever convert­ing it to digital – keeping your original tone pure
and without any latency. This feature is called

analog dry-through.

Sometimes, it is advisable to switch an effect
pedal from True Bypass to Buffered Bypass
mode. For more information, see “Switching
the pedal from true bypass to buffered bypass
mode”.

English manual 2015-09-21 7

TonePrint

TonePrint

English manual 2015-09-21 8

TonePrint

This TC Electronic product supports TonePrints.
To learn more about TonePrints, go to
tcelectronic.com/toneprint/

What are TonePrints?

When you look at your TC Electronic effect ped­al, you’ll only see a few knobs. Actually, for some
pedals, it’s just one knob. So – one knob, one
function, right?

Actually, there’s a lot more to it than meets the
eye.

Star-tweaked signature sounds

When TC Electronic builds an effect pedal, the
relationship between its controls and many pa­rameters “under the hood” are defined by devel­opers, musicians and product specialists who
live and breathe sound. This gives you an excel­lent starting point: a great-sounding pedal with
well-balanced controls.

But wouldn’t it be cool to have world-famous
guitar players – guys like Paul Gilbert, Guthrie
Govan, John Petrucci or Steve Vai – virtually
rewire your reverb pedal, defining what should
happen “behind the scenes”?

And how about doing this yourself?

This is exactly what TonePrint allows you to do.

TC Electronic is working with top guitar players
who explore a pedal’s hidden tonal potential, re­defining the controls and creating their personal
TonePrints. And we are making these custom
TonePrints available to you. Uploading them to
your pedal is really easy (see “Transferring Tone­Prints to your pedal using the TonePrint app”) –
and with the amazing TonePrint Editor, you can
even create your own signature pedal, tweaked
specifically to your liking.

You can change the TonePrint in your pedal as
often as you like, and the best part:

It’s totally free.

Transferring TonePrints to your pedal using the TonePrint app

Being able to virtually rewire your TC Electronic
effect pedal wouldn’t be much use if you needed
a lot of extra equipment to do it. This is why we
created the TonePrint app. The TonePrint app is
free software for popular smartphones that al­lows you to “beam” new TonePrints right into
your effect pedal whenever and wherever you
feel like it.

Obtaining the TonePrint app

If you own an iPhone, you can download the
TonePrint app from Apple’s App Store.

If you own an Android phone, you will find the
TonePrint app on Google Play.

Once you have the app, no additional downloads
or in-app purchases are required. You can ac­cess all available TonePrints from within the app,
and all TonePrints are free.

English manual 2015-09-21 9

TonePrint

Transferring TonePrints to
your pedal – step by step

►

Launch the TonePrint app on your smart­phone.

►

Find the TonePrint you want to use. You can
browse TonePrints by Artist or Product (i.e.,
pedal type). You will also find Featured Tone­Prints.

►

Plug your guitar or bass into your TonePrint
pedal.

►

Turn your TonePrint pedal on.

►

Turn up the volume on your instrument and set
the pickup selector to one pickup.

►

Hold the speaker of your smartphone next to
the chosen pickup and touch “Beam to pe­dal”.

Editing TonePrints with TonePrint Editor

The TonePrint app allows you to use TonePrints
created by your favorite guitar and bass players.
But this is only the start. Using TC’s TonePrint
Editor, you can create your very own signature
pedal sounds.

TonePrint Editor features

►

Use TonePrint Editor to build your own custom
sounds.

►

Enjoy complete control over all effect param­eters and effect behavior – it’s your vision,
your sound.

►

Customize knob function and knob range to
suit your needs and sounds.

►

Audition your sonic creations in real-time live
– make changes on the fly and listen to results
immediately.

►

Works with both PC and Mac.

Last but not least…

►

TonePrint Editor is absolutely free!

Obtaining TonePrint Editor

If you want to use TonePrint Editor for your Win­dows or OSX computer, download it from

tcelectronic.com/toneprint-editor/

If you want to use TonePrint Editor on your Apple
iPad, download it from Apple’s App Store.

Please note that version 2.0 or higher of the
TonePrint Editor is required for working with TC
Electronic Mini pedals. Version 2.0 has a Library
function that allows you to access and use Tone­Prints even without an Internet connection.

Obtaining the TonePrint Editor manual

Download the TonePrint Editor manual from

tcelectronic.com/toneprint-editor/support/

If you open the manual for TonePrint Editor in
Adobe Reader, you can click on interface sec­tions to jump directly to the sections of the man­ual you are interested in.

English manual 2015-09-21 10

Setup

Setup

English manual 2015-09-21 11

Setup

Ready…

Your TC Electronic effect pedal box should con­tain the following items:

►

Your TC Electronic effect pedal

►

1 USB cable (Type A to Mini-B)

►

1 TC Electronic sticker

►

1 leaflet about TC’s guitar FX product range

Inspect all items for signs of transit damage. In
the unlikely event of transit damage, inform the
carrier and supplier.

If damage has occurred, keep all packaging, as
it can be used as evidence of excessive handling
force.

Set…

►

Connect a 9 V power supply with the follow­ing symbol to the DC input socket of your TC
Electronic effect pedal.

This product does not come with a power

supply. We recommend using TC Electronic’s
PowerPlug 9 (sold separately).

If no power supply is available, you can run

this product using a battery. For more infor­mation on changing batteries, see “Changing
the battery”.

►

Plug the power supply into a power outlet.

►

Connect your instrument to the in jack on the
right side of the pedal using a ¼“ jack cable.

►

Connect the out jack on the left side of the
pedal to your amplifier using a ¼“ jack cable.

Play!

English manual 2015-09-21 12

Inputs, outputs and controls

Inputs, outputs and controls

English manual 2015-09-21 13

Inputs, outputs and controls

Power / Switching the effect on and off

Power input

To power up your pedal, connect a power supply
to its power input socket.

The power input socket of your TC Electronic
effect pedal is a standard 5.5 / 2.1mm DC plug
(centre = negative).

Your TC Electronic effect pedal requires a 9 V
power supply providing 100 mA or more (not
supplied). TC Electronic recommends using the
PowerPlug 9.

To minimize hum, use a power supply with iso­lated outputs.

If no power supply is available, you can run this
product using a battery. For more information on
changing batteries, see “Changing the battery”.

Audio in and out

Audio input (mono)

The audio input on the right side of this pedal is
a standard ¼” jack (mono/TS).

►

Connect your guitar to the audio input on the
right side of your pedal using a regular ¼”
mono cable.

Audio output (mono)

The audio output on the left side of this pedal is
a standard ¼” jack (mono/TS).

►

Connect the audio output of your pedal to the
next device in the signal chain using a regular
¼” mono cable.

Footswitch

►

To turn the effect on, tap the footswitch.

►

To turn the effect off, tap the footswitch again.

HyperGravity Compressor

English manual 2015-09-21 14

Inputs, outputs and controls

USB port

Use the standard Mini-B USB port on your TC
Electronic effect pedal to connect your pedal to
a computer. This will allow you to load TonePrints
into the pedal or create your own TonePrint us­ing TC’s TonePrint Editor. For more information,
see “TonePrint”.

If there should be firmware updates for this ped­al, they can also be installed using the USB port
– see “Updating the firmware”.

Effect controls

Please note that the knob assignments on your
TC Electronic effect pedal are the default as­signments. Using the TonePrint Editor, you can
rewire all knobs so they control one or several
parameters of your choice. For more information,
see the TonePrint Editor manual.

A compressor reduces the dynamic range of
a signal. Generally speaking, it will help you to
“even out” signal level variations by reducing sig­nal peaks dynamically.

Reducing the dynamic range gives you more
headroom that you can use to increase the over­all signal level. The result is a more consistent
signal that is easier to work with both for the gui­tar player and the sound engineer. Compression
can be used either subtly or as a pronounced
effect.

HyperGravity is a multiband compressor. What
does this mean?

Sustain knob

Use the Sustain knob to set the amount of com­pression that should be applied to the signal.
This corresponds to the Threshold parameter/
knob you will find in most studio compressors.

►

Set the Sustain parameter to high values
to lower the compression threshold. A low
threshold mean that compression kicks in
more often, reducing the dynamic range of
the signal. In combination with high Level set­tings, this will give you a consistent signal with
lots of squeeze, squash and nearly endless
sustain.

►

Set the Sustain knob to a low setting for a high
threshold – meaning compression will kick in
less often. This will give you just a hint of com­pression when the signal exceeds the thresh­old. This is perfect for clean rhythms.

Splitting an audio signal into several frequency
bands before compressing tremendously helps
fight undesired “breathing”/pumping. Think of a
multiband compressor as multiple compressors
targeting and processing low, mid and high fre­quency ranges independently and efficiently.

Use HyperGravity Compressor’s controls to
shape the character and intensity of the com­pression applied to your guitar signal.

English manual 2015-09-21 15

Inputs, outputs and controls

Sustain and auto make-up gain

HyperGravity Compressor automatically em­ploys make-up gain. As a compressor reduces
the dynamic range of the processed signal by at­tenuating peaks, gain is applied to compensate
for the reduced signal level. As you increase the
Sustain, more compression and more make-up
gain is applied. In other words: The signal be­comes louder.

Please note that higher Sustain settings will in­crease noise, as the noise floor is inevitably am­plified along with the signal. Experiment with
Sustain and Level settings to find the right bal­ance.

Level knob

Use the Level knob to control the overall sig­nal level. Crank this knob up for a massive level
boost that will make your solos and lead lines
sing like never before.

Level and Blend settings interact – see “Level
and Blend settings interact”.

Attack knob

Use the Attack knob to define how fast full com­pression should be applied. The shorter the At­tack time, the sooner the signal’s dynamics will
be compressed. Use low settings for a super­fast chicken pickin’ style attack, or maximize it
for a more open and punchy compression tone.

Attack and note transients

Use the Attack knob to ensure that the tran­sients (the onset of the notes and chords you
are playing) can pass HyperGravity Compres­sor uncompressed. Transients are usually much
louder than the rest of the signal, and if they are
compressed too strongly, this may introduce
artefacts. The “right” setting depends on your
playing style, instrument and other factors. Be
sure to experiment!

English manual 2015-09-21 16

Inputs, outputs and controls

Blend knob

Use the Blend knob to set the balance between
your dry sound and the compressed signal. With
the maximum setting, you will only hear the com­pressed signal. Use lower settings for some sub­tle sparkle and extra presence.

Using Blend creatively

Usually, dynamic processors such as compres­sors are used as insert effects, with no dry (un­processed) signal passing through. But with
HyperGravity Compressor’s Blend knob, you
can use parallel compression (sometimes called
„New York style compression“). Originally, this
technique was mainly used for drums, where the
dry drum sound was mixed with a heavily com­pressed version of the same signal. The same
approach works great for guitar signals. Results
will vary depending on your playing style and the
settings of the other control knobs. Experiment
to find the perfect balance!

Running HyperGravity Compressor
in a parallel effects loop

If you use HyperGravity Compressor in a parallel
effects loop, you should set the Blend knob to its
maximum position to remove the dry signal from
the pedal’s output.

Compression type selector

Use the Compression type selector to select the
desired compression mode.

Spectra setting

Set the Compression type selector to “Spectra”
to apply studio-quality compression to your sig­nal.

TonePrint setting

To use TonePrint-based compressor configu­rations, set the Compression type selector to
“TonePrint”. For more information, see “ To n e ­Print”.

Vintage setting

Set the Compression type selector to “Vintage”
to jump straight into those old-school com­pression tones of yesteryear. With this setting,
you get all of the squeeze and squash associ­ated with classical stompbox compression. It is
perfect for percussive country tones, tight funk
sounds or sweet Gilmour sustain.

Level and Blend settings interact

If you set both Level and Blend knobs to high
values, the compressed signal will be signifi­cantly louder than the uncompressed version.
On the other hand, if you set Level to Zero or a
very low setting, there will be no signal for Blend
to control.

English manual 2015-09-21 17

Maintenance

Maintenance

English manual 2015-09-21 18

Maintenance

Updating the firmware

TC may provide updates for the built-in software
of your pedal, the firmware. Updating your TC
pedal’s firmware requires…

►

a computer running Microsoft Windows or
OSX with a standard USB interface

►

the specified DC power supply for your pedal.

Preparing the firmware update

►

Download the newest firmware from the “Sup­port” page for your TC pedal. There are up­daters
– for Microsoft Windows (these are ZIP ar-

chives containing the firmware installer) and

– for OS X (these are disk image files contain-

ing the firmware installer).

►

Unplug all cables (including the power supply)
from your TC pedal.

►

Connect the pedal to your computer using a
USB cable.

►

Press and hold the footswitch on your TC
pedal. If your TC pedal has more than one
footswitch, press and hold the leftmost foot­switch.

►

Insert the DC power supply plug.

►

The LED on your pedal should turn green. If
your TC pedal has more than one LED, the
leftmost LED should turn green. This indicates
that the pedal is ready to receive the software
update.

►

Release the footswitch.

►

Your TC pedal will now be recognized as an
updatable device.

Applying the firmware update

►

Quit all MIDI-related applications (e.g. your
DAW) on your computer and launch the firm­ware updater you have downloaded in step1.

►

In the firmware updater app, select your TC
pedal from the drop-down list under the
“STEP 1” heading.

►

When the “Update” button under the “STEP 2”
heading turns green, click it.

The updated firmware will now be transferred to
your TC pedal. Wait for the progress bar to reach
100%. When the update procedure is complete,
the pedal will automatically restart.

Changing the battery

If you need to change the battery of your TC
Electronic effect pedal, proceed as follows:

►

Unscrew the thumb-screw on the back of the
pedal and detach the back-plate.

►

Unmount the old battery and attach the new
battery to the battery clip making sure the po­larity is correct.

►

Remount the back-plate.

Notes regarding batteries

►

Batteries must never be heated, taken apart or
thrown into fire or water.

►

Only rechargeable batteries can be recharged.

►

Remove the battery when the pedal is not be­ing used for a longer period of time to save
battery life.

►

Always dispose batteries according to local
laws and regulations.

English manual 2015-09-21 19

Maintenance

Switching the pedal from true bypass to buffered bypass mode

True Bypass and Buffered
Bypass explained

True Bypass mode is a hard-wire bypass that
gives absolutely no coloration of tone when the
pedal is bypassed. This is the default mode for
your effect pedal.

Using True Bypass on all pedals is a perfect
choice in setups with a few pedals and relatively
short cables before and after the pedals.

If…

►

you use a long cable between your guitar and
the first pedal or

►

if you use many pedals on your board or

►

if you use a long cable from your board to the

amp,
…then the best solution will most likely be to set
the first and the last pedal in the signal chain to

Buffered Bypass mode.

To set the bypass mode, proceed as follows:

►

Disconnect the pedal and turn it on its back.

►

Unscrew the back plate of the pedal and look
for the two small dip-switches in the upper
left corner.

►

The upper DIP switch (the one closer to the
power in jack), switches between True Bypass
mode (default) and Buffered Bypass mode.

►

Set the DIP switch to the desired position.

►

Remount the back-plate.

True by pa s s

Buffered bypass

Can you hear the difference between a pedal in
True Bypass or Buffered Bypass mode?

Maybe, maybe not – many factors apply: active/
passive pick-ups, single coil/humbucker, cable
quality, amp impedance and more. We cannot
give a single ultimate answer. Use your ears and
find the best solution for your setup!

English manual 2015-09-21 20

Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions

English manual 2015-09-21 21

Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions about TonePrint pedals

“Are TonePrint pedals analog or digital?”

The dry signal of your guitar passes straight
through this effect pedal and is in no way digi­tized. The processed, “wet” signal is just added.

“Do the TonePrint pedals have balanced
or unbalanced inputs/outputs?”

TonePrint pedals have unbalanced inputs and
outputs. Use cables with TS jacks (i.e., standard
instrument cables).

“Is it possible to run this TonePrint pedal
in the effects loop of a tube amp?”

Yes. All TonePrint pedals have a very wide gain
range and are designed to run at both instru­ment and line level. There are a few amps which
are capable of running much hotter than regu­lar +4dBu line-level signals because of the way
their effect loops are designed. With these amps,
it might be possible to get the input to clip. But
for 99 % of all amps, the TonePrint pedals will
work just fine.

For additional information about your TC Elec­tronic TonePrint effect pedal, please go to TC
Electronic Support:

tcelectronic.com/support/

English manual 2015-09-21 22

Links

Links

English manual 2015-09-21 23

Links

TonePrint resources

►

TonePrint:

tcelectronic.com/toneprint/

►

TonePrint products:

tcelectronic.com/toneprint/

toneprint-products/

►

TonePrint app:

tcelectronic.com/toneprint-app/

►

TonePrint Editor:

tcelectronic.com/toneprint-editor/

►

TonePrint Editor manual:

tcelectronic.com/toneprint-editor/support/

Support resources

►

TC Electronic Support:

tcelectronic.com/support/

►

TC Electronic – product software:

tcelectronic.com/support/software/

►

TC Electronic – all product manuals:

tcelectronic.com/support/manuals/

►

TC Electronic user forum:

forum.tcelectronic.com/

TC Electronic on…

►

the web:
tcelectronic.com/

►

Facebook:

facebook.com/tcelectronic

►

Google Plus:

plus.google.com/+tcelectronic/

►

Twitter:

twitter.com/tcelectronic

►

YouTube:

youtube.com/user/tcelectronic

English manual 2015-09-21 24

Technical specifications

Technical specifications

English manual 2015-09-21 25

Technical specifications

Please note that due to continuous development, the following specifications are subject to change without further notice.

Bypass mode True By p a s s (Buffered Bypass optional)
Signal circuitry Analog dry-through
Dimensions (width x depth x height) 72 x 122 x 50mm – 2.8 x 4.8 x 2.0”
Input connector 2 Standard ¼” jacks – mono/TS with automatic mono/stereo sensing
Output connector 2 Standard ¼” jacks – mono/TS with automatic mono/stereo sensing
Power input Standard 9V DC, centre negative >100mA (power supply not included)
Battery option Standard 9V (battery not included)
Input impedance 1MΩ
Output impedance 100 Ω
USB port Mini USB connector for uploading and editing custom TonePrints and for software updates

English manual 2015-09-21 26

Technical specifications

English manual 2015-09-21 27