TC Electronic SpectraComp Compressor User Manual

Spectracomp Compressor

2 Spectracomp Compressor User Manual

Important Safety
Instructions

Terminals marked with this symbol carry
electrical current of su cient magnitude

to constitute risk of electric shock.
Use only high-quality professional speaker cables with
¼" TS or twist-locking plugs pre-installed. Allother
installation or modi cation should be performed only
by quali edpersonnel.

This symbol, wherever it appears,

alertsyou to the presence of uninsulated

dangerous voltage inside the
enclosure-voltage that may be su cient to constitute a
risk ofshock.

This symbol, wherever it appears,

alertsyou to important operating and

maintenance instructions in the
accompanying literature. Please read the manual.

Caution

To reduce the risk of electric shock, donot

remove the top cover (or the rear section).
No user serviceable parts inside. Refer servicing to
quali ed personnel.

Caution

To reduce the risk of  re or electric shock,

do not expose this appliance to rain and
moisture. The apparatus shall not be exposed to dripping
or splashing liquids and no objects  lled with liquids,
suchas vases, shall be placed on the apparatus.

Caution

These service instructions are for use

by quali ed ser vice personnel only.
Toreduce the risk of electric shock do not perform any
servicing other than that contained in the operation
instructions. Repairs have to be performed by quali ed
servicepersonnel.

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 ampli ers) 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  t 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. Use only attachments/accessories speci ed by
themanufacturer.

12. Use only with the
cart, stand, tripod, bracket,
or table speci ed 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 quali ed 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.

15. The apparatus shall be connected to a MAINS socket
outlet with a protective earthing connection.

16. Where the MAINS plug or an appliance coupler is
used as the disconnect device, the disconnect device shall
remain readily operable.

17. Correct disposal of this
product: This symbol indicates
that this product must not be
disposed of with household
waste, according to the WEEE
Directive (2012/19/EU) and

your national law. This product
should be taken to a collection center licensed for the
recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment
(EEE). The mishandling of this type of waste could have
a possible negative impact on the environment and
human health due to potentially hazardous substances
that are generally associated with EEE. At the same time,
your cooperation in the correct disposal of this product
will contribute to the e cient use of natural resources.
For more information about where you can take your
waste equipment for recycling, please contact your local
city o ce, or your household waste collection service.

18. Do not install in a con ned space, such as a book
case or similar unit.

19. Do not place naked  ame sources, such as lighted
candles, on the apparatus.

20. Please keep the environmental aspects of battery
disposal in mind. Batteries must be disposed-of at a
battery collection point.

21. Use this apparatus in tropical and/or
moderate climates.

LEGAL DISCLAIMER

MUSIC Group accepts no liability for any loss
which may be su ered by any person who relies
either wholly or in part upon any description,
photograph, or statement contained herein.
Technical speci cations, appearances and other
information are subject to change without notice.
All trademarks are the property of their respective
owners. MIDAS, KLARK TEKNIK, LAB GRUPPEN, LAKE,
TANNOY, TURBOSOUND, TC ELECTRONIC, TC HELICON,
BEHRINGER, BUGERA and DDA are trademarks
or registered trademarks of MUSIC Group IP Ltd.
© MUSIC Group IP Ltd. 2016 All rights reserved.

LIMITED WARRANTY

For the applicable warranty terms and conditions
and additional information regarding MUSIC Group’s
Limited Warranty, please see complete details online at
music-group.com/warranty.

3 Spectracomp Compressor User Manual

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  nish, or you may
miss important information.

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

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!

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.

Spectracomp Compressor

Spectracomp 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.

Ton ePri nt

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 e ect 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 e ect pedal, the relationship between its controls
and many parameters “under the hood” are de ned 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, de ning 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, rede ning 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 Tone- Prints to your pedal using the
TonePrint app”) – and with the amazing TonePrint Editor, you can even create
your own signature pedal, tweaked speci cally 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

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 o
and has zero in uence on your tone, resulting in optimum clarity and zero loss
of highend.

Being able to virtually rewire your TC Electronic e ect 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 e ect 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  nd 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.