TC Electronic TC 1210 Instruction Manual

TC 1210 SPATIAL EXPANDER + STEREO CHORUS/FLANGER

INSTRUCTION MANUAL

CONTENTS PAGE

INTRODUCTION 1
FEATURES 2
THE SOUND IMAGE OF TC 1210 2
OPERATIONAL DESCRIPTION 4
DESCRIPTION OF CONTROLS 4
HOW TO GET STARTED 6
SETTING SAMPLES 7
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION 8
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS 8
SERVICE 9
OPTIONS 10
OTHER TC PRODUCTS 10
APPENDIX, THE HAAS EFFECT 10

INTRODUCTION

Congratulations on your purchase of the TC 1210. We are sure you have made a
sound investment, with which you will enjoy many sessions.

BEHIND THE TC 1210

The reasonings behind the TC 1210 have been to make the ultimate surround
sounding chorus/flanger for the studio and for on-stage use, a goal we are sure, you
also will realise has been reached.

Built on experiences with our TC STEREO CHORUS FLANGER pedal, with which
we have enjoyed a shear stream of encouragements from practically everyone who
have had the opportunity (including the utmost capable musicians in the world) the
TC 1210 takes you some steps further into creating a wealth of fascinating and well
sounding spatial stereo chorus sound-images.

TC Electronic is a well reputated audio-processing electronics firm started in 1976,
now with more than 100 manpower-years of combined skills within high quality audio
processing developments and manufacturing.

FEATURES

A new non-digital sounding high quality analog differential bucket principle has been
developed for the TC 1210 featuring much improved performance over traditional
implementations.

Advantages of the double chorus units are:

1. Totally new static and dynamic spatial stereo chorus and flanger images, by
cross couplings and links between the two units.

2. Delaypanning.

3. Stereo input possibility.

4. Mono compatibility.

5. Possibility of making chorus and flanging simultaneously.

6. Even making live quad-output spatial chorus sounds are possible.

7. Possibility of using the TC 1210 as two separate chorus/flangers.

Technically it features:

1. Analog sound resolution quality with low noise and distortion figures.

2. Line input and output levels.

3. “Active transformer” balanced XLR inputs and outputs as well as

4. High input impedance instrument level jack inputs as well as low impedance
jack outputs.

5. Unity-gain characteristics making it very easy to patch in or insert.

manufactured to the high standards professionals demands:

High quality components in reliable low-noise and high slewrate constructions.
Quality fibre glass doublesided pcb.
All packed in a rugged steel construction with black anodized aluminum front 19”
rack mounting.
Plugable board construction and component identifications for fast service.

THE SOUND IMAGE OF TC 1210

The TC 1210 actually consists of two complete stereo chorus flangers combined with
phase shifts and an advanced common circuitry to link and crossmix the units in
carefully controlled modes and combinations.

The principal ideas behind these combinations take their roots in the so called “Haas
effect” or “principle of first arrival”:

Sound travels through air with a speed of approx. 340 m/sec. and it is our brainwork
with the sound arriving at slightly different times to each ear directly from the source
and the reflections of the sound, (reverberations) arriving a little later, that enables us
to tell from where the sound originated.

--- that is, we hear a sound source as coming from the position from where the sound

source has its shortest distance, or “arrives first” ---

By introducing delays in a stereo system we can move our experience of the position
of the sound sources. In some respects these delays needed, are so short, that we
merely regard them as phase shifts. This is one of the basics of most so called
EXITER-effects, in which a slight and static broadening of the stereo image is
created (primarily in the treble range).

The careful combinations of phase shifts and delays within the TC 1210, enables a
variety of STATIC SPATIAL EXPANSIONS, wide broadenings and psychoacoustic
enhancements of the stereo image to be created.

By unbalancing the delays and phase shifts within the TC 1210 it is possible, with the
left and right channels volumes remaining unchanged, to shift the appeared
origination of the sound from left to right and vice versa. Modulating the delays
introduces a dynamic shifting panning image. These effects can be heard with the
TC 1210 “STATIC and DYNAMIC DELAY PANNING” effect setting samples.

The basics of a chorus-sound is the mixing of a signal with a modulated, delayed
part of the same signal.
The modulation of the delay brings with it a slight shifting pitch, the added delay part
of the signal gives the imagination that more than one voice is sounding - hence the
name “chorus”. Furthermore the mixing of the two parts produces a “comb-filter”-like
frequency response.
Arranged in the right proportions this brings with it a nice broadening of the sound. ­TC 1210 contains not only one, but two such units.

Two chorus/flanger units brings the possibilities of creating chorus and flangings
simultaneously as well as creating some even more exiting chorus effects, some of
them with the nice features of the single chorus unit enhanced, some of them with a
totally new stereo image.

Combined with the spatial image creation circuitry within the TC 1210, you create a
variety of dynamically moving SPATIAL CHORUS and FLANGER images. Spatial
excitations bound to be heard to image.

OPERATIONAL DESCRIPTION

The TC 1210 has two general modes of operation:

1. Normal mode (stereo or mono input - stereo output)

2. Separate mode (2 separate channels each: mono input - stereo output)

1. In normal mode the TC 1210 is a two preset unit where the two presets can be
used singly or combined.

2. In separate mode the TC 1210 is divided into two independent chorus/flangers.
It is possible to link the LFO’s and the bypass of the two channels, thereby
enabling the TC 1210 to synchronize the effects used on different tracks or
instruments.

DESCRIPTION OF CONTROLS

FRONT PANEL CONTROLS:

BYPASS: Switches the effects in and out.

INPUT SENS.: Controls the headrooms of the channels.

Adjusts the input and the output level simultaneously,
automatically giving the TC 1210 an 1:1 input/output gain
ratio.

PPM METER: Shows the headrooms of the channels.

INTENSITY: effect MODE 1: Controls the amount of direct (clean) signal.

effect MODE 2: Controls the amount of effect signal.
effect MODE 3: Controls the amount of signal regenerated.
effect MODE 4: Controls the amount of inversed signal re-

generated.

SPEED: Controls the rate of sweep from one sweep every ten

seconds to ten sweeps every second.

WIDTH: Controls the depth of the delay modulation from o to 100%,

DELAY: Controls the length of the delay time from approx. 0.65 to 12

mS.