Alesis QuadraVerb 2 User manual

THE
ALES'S
MICRO
SERIES
USER'SGUIDE
FEATURING
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INTRODUCTION
THE
ALESIS
MICRO
SERIES
TheEssential
SignalProcessing/Music
Production
System
MIcRoVERS9I,
mlcno LIMITER9MIcRo
GATEPMIcRoEQ.
MICROENHANCERPanO
MICRO
CUE
AMP.
Togerher
rhey
represent
theculmination
of
years
ofresearch
by
Alesis
torefine
themost
musical
functions
of thesixmost
essentialmusic
production
tools
into
a powerful, integrated
system.Each
unit
is
containedin
a compact,
cost-effective,interlocking
one-thirdrack
space
package
- designed
for
maximum
efficiencywithminimum
hassle.
With
theMicro
Seriesin
your
studio,record
quality
soundscan
now
be
achieved.
And,
ofcourse,
all
six
unitsare
full
stereo
(with
theexception
of MICRO EQ),full
bandwidth,
anddesignedfor
fast,
trouble-free
operation.
Below
you'll
find
a briefdescription
of eachunit,
followed
by
setup
hints
andapplicationideas
to help
you
get
themostfrom
yourgear...
so
you
can
get
the
mostfrom
your
music.
MICROVERB
ll hasrevolutionized
therecordingindustry
by
providing
thesinglemostimportant
aspect
of music
- the
controlled
creationof ambience.Utilizing16bit linearPCM
processing,
MICROVERBll places
awesome
power
in
the
hands
of anyengineer, from4 track
bedroomstudio
hobbyists
to
seasoned
professionals
workingin
world
class
recording
facilities.
TheMICRO
LIMITER,
a soft-knee,
program-dependent
compressor/limiter,
adds
punch
to
vocals
and
instruments,
greatly
improves
thesignalto noiseratio
oftape
recorded
tracks,
and
smoothsoutfluctuating
dynamics.Attack
timeandcompression
ratio
adjustautomatically
so youwon'twastevaluable
time
searching
for
themostmusically
correctsettings.
TheMICRO
GATE
is a combination noise
gate/special
effects
processor
that
is useful foreliminating
incessant
background
noise
between
musical
passages,
forcreating
specialeffects
like
gated
reverb,
and
for
tighteningup
loose
timinginrhythm
tracks.

INTRODUCTION cont'd
(especially
kick
drums
andbass
guitars).
Thedelayand
rate
controlsallow
youto setthe lengthof timethatthegatestays
openand
theslopeof
the
gate
as
it
begins
toclose.
The
MIGROEO
isa 3 band
parametric
equalizercomplete
with
switchable
bandwidthcontrols.
Perfectlysuited
for the
requirementsof stageandstudio,
theMICRO
EQcanbe used
with
anyelectric
instrumentor microphone
requiringtonal
alteration.
TheMICRO ENHANCER
canbethought
of as an automatic
equalizer,used
during
tracking
andmixdownwhen
youneed
to
addbrilliance
to instruments andto restore
presence
andclarity
lost
in
the
recording
process.
And
the
MICROENHANCERdoes
this
without
addingdistortion,a problem
foundinothersignal
enhancers.
The
MICROCUEAMPisa twochannel headphoneamplifier
thatallows
youto expand your
headphone
monitoringsystem.
lt
also
features
a second
inputwhich
canbeused
with
a guitar or
keyboardforprivatepracticing.
Andyoucanevenchain MICRO
CUE
AMPS
together
to give
youalltheadditional
headphone
outputsthat
you
needfor
biggersessions.
Next
time
youlisten
to a great
recording,
you
willverylikely
be
hearing
the
AlesisMICRO
SERIES
inuse.
Certainly
you
should
beusingallsixMICRO SERIES
products
inyour
studioand
in
your
nextlive
performance.
Thismanualwill
show
you
how.

ACKNOWLEDGETAENTS
FORlr,ilCRO
EAp.37-/o
Reproducedwhh
permission
olthepublisher, Howard
W.Samsand
Co.
Modern
RecordingTechnioues
byRobert
E.Runsteincopyright1974.
Reprintedwith
pemission
fromtheNovemberDecember
issueofRecording
Engineer/Pmducer.
@yright 1972,IntertecPublishing
Corporalion,
Ovedand
Park,
Kansas.

TABLE
OFCONTENTS

INSTALLATION
Before
unpackingyour
new
AlesisMlcRo sERlEsunit,
take
a
moment
to look
through
this
instruction
manual.
we'vemade
it
brief
andinformative
andit will
answer
any
questions
that
you
might
have.
somehelpful
setup
thoughts
areinctuded
along
with
some
application
hints
for
each
unit.
Each
MlcRo sERlEsunitisdesigned
and
engineered
togive
youthe highest
level
of professional performance
andquatity.
we'vemade
each
unitmusical
andeasy
to use
sothat
youcan
get
themostfrom your
music
with
theleast
amount
ofeffort.
lnstruments,
Microphones
The
Alesis
MlcRoSERIES
hashigh
impedance
inputs
that
are
ideally
suitedfor useeitherwithinstrument
pickups
or line level
signals.
Although
microphones
can
beconnected
direcilyinto
any
of theMICRO
SERIES
units,it is recommended
thattheybe
connected
to a mixing
console
first
and
then
connected
to the
MfCRO
SERIES
as described
in Figures
2 or 3 forquietest
operation.
Of the MICRO
SERIES
unitsthatarestereo,
such
as the
MICROVERB
ll, MICRO
LIMITER,
MTCRO
GATE,
andMTCRO
ENHANCER,
either
left
or
right
inputs
may
beused,
but
signalwill
onlyappear
onthesame
side
output
(example:
left
input-left
output)
sincebothlett
andright
channels
are
totallyisolated.
See
tigure 1
FIGURE
1 - MONO
MICRO
SERIES
CONNECTION
TO
INSTRUMENT
ORMICROPHONE
INSTRUMENTOR
TO
AMPLIFIER
ORMIXING
CONSOLE
LEFT
OUTPUT

INSTALLATION cont'd
ThisisNOTtrueofthe
MICROVERB
ll, however'
lfthe
leftinput
only
ofthe
MICROVERB
ll is
used,
the
inputsignal
will
appear
as
mono
(present
in
both
channels)
atthe
dryside
ofthe
mixcontrol'
MixingConsotes
Allof the MICROSERIES
unitscanhandle
monoor stereo
sends
at allsystem
levels.
Theinputcircuitry
of theMICRO
SERIES
caneasily
handle+4dBv
levels
(+20dBv
peaks),
while
having
enough
inputoroutput
gain
tointerface
withtheextremely
low
signal
levelsofbudget
recordingsystems.
TheMICROSERIESunits
maybe connected
to the mixing
console
inseveral
ways.
In
thecaseofthe
MICROENHANCERorMICROVERB
ll,the
unitcanbe usedto effect
several
instrumentsat onceby using
theauxiliary
sendandreturncontrolsof theconsole.
Simply
connectanauxsendofthe
mixing
console
toeither
ofthe
inputs
oftheMICROENHANCER orMICROVERBll (or
2 auxsends
connected
to boththe leftandrightinputsof the MICRO
ENHANCER
or MICROVERB
ll forstereooperation) and
then
connecttheoutput
ofthe
MlcRo ENHANCERorMICROVERB
ll
backto either
theauxreturns or input channels.
Remember,
in
thissituation,themix control
shouldalwaysbesetfully
to the
right
(clockwise)
formaximum
effect.See
figure2
FIGURE2. STEREO CONNECTION
TOMIXING
CONSOLE
VIAAUXSENDS
AUXSEND2 LEFTINPUT RIGHTINPUT
rry1622m
MICRO
SERIES

INSTALLATION contd
The
recommended
method
of interfacing
for
theMIGRO
LlMlrER,
MlcRoEQ,
orMlcRoGATEistoconnect
the
unit
directly
to
theinsert
send
andreceive
patch
points
of
the
channel
that
isto beeffected.
This
method
will
work
fortheMlcRo
ENHANCER
and
MICROVERB
ll as
well,
butkeep
in
mind
that
only
one
instrument
(in
mono
or
stereo)
at
atimewill
be
effected.
Seetigure3
FIGURE
3. STEREO
CONNECTION
TOMIXING
CONSOLE
VIA
CHANNEL
INSERT
PATCH
POINTS
INSERT
SEND INSERTRETURN
LEFT
OUTPUT
ln
thecaseofthe MICROVERB
ll, however,
dedicating
separate
units
to individual voices
or instruments
allows
youto exercise
greater
control
overtheambience
of eachsound.An "overall"
reverb
canthen
beused
totieallofthesoundstogetherinto
the
samespacefor
uniformity.
Seefigwe 4
as 1622
u

INSTALLATION cont'd
Anotherway
to interface MICRO
SERIESunitsto a mixer or
recording
consolewould
be in-line acrosstheoutputof your
mixing
console.Seefigure 4 Thiswould
be the caseif you
needed
to effect theentire
mix
and
would
be an especially
appropriateusefortheMICRO
ENHANCER,MICROLIMITER,
and
in
somecases,
the
MICROVERB
ll.
FIGURE
4 - STEREO
CONNECTIONTOTHE
MICRO
SERTES
USINGTHE
MAIN
OUTPUTS
MAIN
OUTLEFT
LEFT
OUTPUT RIGHTOUTPUT
The
MICRO
SERIES
units
(with
theexception
of MTCRO
Ee)
areespecially
designedforstereo
program
material
asallofthe
units
aretruly
stereowith
common
parameter
controlstoprevent
"center
shifting",which
means
thatthebalance
brieflyleans
towards
oneside
dueto short
term
peaks
on oneside
of the
stereo
program.
The
MICRO
EQ
can
alsobe
connected
thisway
but
2unitsmust
be used
since
it is a mono
unit.MIGRO
CUEAMP(s)
canbe
connected
inthismanner
aswell
to expand
your
headphone
monitori
ng
capabilities. 6
a'*.'1622re
MICRO
SERIES

INSTALLATION cont'd
Mounting
All
ofthe
units
in
the
Alesis
MICRO
SERIES
are
rack-mountable
in theMicro RackAdapter,
where
anythree
units
fit perfectly.
Assembly
isquick
and
simplewitha singlescrew
securing
each
deviceinplace.
The
unique
designoftheMICRO
SERIEScase
allows
thedevices
to lock
togethertoform
a solid
rack
package,
orto
standalone
assingleunits.
Power
TheMIGRO
SERIES
ispowered
bya remote supply
providing
9
voltsAC througha 3.5mm
plug.
This
external
power
supply
approach
keeps
stray
magneticfieldsfrominterferingwithlow
level
signals,
allows
easyconversion
to alternate
power
sources
(220V),
and
furtherreduces
theunit's
physical
sizeand
valuable
panel
space.
Although
manyMICRO
SERIES
devicescouldbe
powered
byasinglesupply,this
isnot
advisableas
ground
loops
could
possibly
occurbetween
units,
leading
toexcessive
hum
and
noise
inthesystem,

MICROVERBYI
Description
MICROVERB
ll is a revolutionin thedevelopment
of digital
reverb
inthat itrepresents a phenomenal
price/performance
ratio
while
reducingthephysical size
fromlarge,bulky
hardware
to
what
youcannowholdin the palm
of your
hand.
The 16
programs
inMICROVERBll arethe
resultof
years
ofexhaustive
researchby Alesis
into
thephenomenon
of soundas it occurs
naturally
in space. Fromsmall,
intimate
roomsettingsto large
unobstructed
spacestouseful
gated
reverbeffects,
MICROVERB
ll offers a powerful
level
ofsonic
flexibilitythat
will
expand
and
polish
thesoundof
any
recording.
Utilizingthe
AlesisR.l.S.C.
(Reduced
InstructionSetComputer)
architecture,
the MICROVERB
ll provides clean,
quiet,
professional
digital
reverberation
with
thecostandsimplicity
of
spring
units.
The
entire
digital
processing
system
iscontained on
a singlechip,
developed
bytheAlesis
Research
Department
specifically
for the MlcRovERBll. Using
high
speed
complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor
(CMOS)
silicon
processing,
theMICROVERB
ll chip
replacesseveral
circuit
cardsofcomponents
whileconsuming
verylittle
power.
Thereverb
programs
weredevelopedon ourinteractive
room
simulation
anddevelopment
system.
Philosophically,the
objective
of reverberation
is to enhance a dramatic
performance,
adding
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MICROVERBYI contd
space,
power,
anddepth.
Natural
spaces
tend
to sound
more
pleasing
than
thesimulated
reverb
types
such
as springs
and
plates,
andfor
this
reason,
we
useroom
terminology
in
desiribing
ourprograms.
Theprograms
cover
a wide
range
of sizes
and
qualities,
andinclude
such
unnatural
concepti
as gated
and
reverse
types.
Controls
TheInputcontrol
sets
thelevel
of signal
thatis applied
to the
MlcRovERB ll andshould
besetso theoverloadIndicator
reads
in
thered
only
on
occasionaltransients.
The
Mix
control
determines
the
amount
of wet
signal
(reverb)
or
dqy
signal
sentto
the
output.
lftheMix
control
is
set
alltheway
to
the
right,
then
onlyreverb
will
be
heard.
lf
theMix
controlis
set
alltheway
to theleft,
then
only
dry(uneffected)
signatwill
be
heard.
The
12
o'clock
position
willresult
in
a50/50mixture
of
dry
toreverbed
signal.
TheOutputcontrol
sets
theoutputlevel
of both
channels
of
MICROVERB
ll. This
should
be
set
sothatthe
unitbeingfed
by
MICROVERB
ll isnot
overloaded.
TheProgram
Select
selects
oneof MICROVERB
ll's 16reverb
programs.
ntCnOYERBllPrograms
SIALLI AMBIENCE
SXALL2 AMBIENCE
STALL3 SMALLROOM
SIALT' SMAII PIATF
TEDIUU3
MEDIUMROOM
TEDIUT' MEDIUM
PLATEi
STRONG
IMMEDIATEATTACK
TEDIUT5 MEDIUM/LARGE
ROOM
T€OIUX
6 MEDIUM PLATE/SOFTER
DELAYED
ATTACK
LANGE
1LOWDIFFUSION
VOCAI
ROOM
LARGE2MEDIUM/LARGE
ROOM
LARGE3
LARGEROOM
LANGE4ENDLESSSPACE
ED|UT T SMALL/MEOIUM
ROOM
TEDIUT2SMALL/MEOIUM
ROOM GATE.I POWERGATE
GAT€2 BRIGHTGATE
The
OverloadIndicator
isactually
a 3 colored
LED
thatshows
several
input
conditions.
When
theindicator
glows
amber,
the
input
signal
totheMICROVERB
ll istoo
low
and
thelnputlevel
should
be
increased.
When
theindicator
glows
green,
thesignal
presently
beingfedto theMICROVERB
ll is a usablelevel.
When
the indicatorglows
red,
the MICROVERB
ll is being

MICROVERBYI contd
overloaded
and
the
Inputcontrol
should
bedecreased.
The BypassJack, locatedon the rearpanel, bypasses
the
reverbsignal
andallows
only
thedrysignal
attheoutputs.Any
SPSTtype
footswitch
(such
as the reverb
footswitchthat
sometimes
comes
with
amplifiers)
will
workfor
this
function.
Operation
MICROVERB
ll is
easytouse
in
almost
anyapplication.
Simply
dothe
following:
1. Apply
asignal
toeitherthe
leftinput
jack
formono
(used
with
asingle
instrument),orboth
left
and
right
jacks
for
stereo.
2. IncreasetheInputcontroluntil
the
ReC
LED
brieflylights
onoccasional
programpeaks.
The LEDshould
remain
"green"
most
ofthetime. Thisindicates
that
there
is sufficientlevel
to
maintainagood signal
to
noiseratio.
3. IncreasetheOutputcontroluntil
there
is sufficientoutput
level.
4. AdjusttheMixcontroluntilthedesired
ratio
of dry
towet
signalis achieved.
REMEMBER:
ln cases were the
MTCROVERB
lt is used with the aux sendsof a recording
console,theMixcontrolshould
remainallthe waytotheright
(ail
wet
signal).
5. Select
your
program
of
choice.
As a good ruleofthumb
for
selecting
programs,
rhythmic
instruments
suchas
drumsand
instruments
with
ostinato
(quickly
repeating)type
patterns
usually
workbest
with
smaller
programs.
Longmelodiclinesandpads
generally
sound
better
withlarger
rooms.Remember,
however,thatthis
isonlyastarting
point.Use
your
earsand select
the
program
thatsounds
bestto
you!
How
touse
MICROVERB
llinyour
studio
The 16programs
in MICROVERB
ll offer a widerangeof
ambientspaces.
ltscompact, atfordable
format
means
that
even
thesmallest
4trackstudiocanown
more
than
one
MIGROVERB
ll. Oneofthegreatest
differencesbetween
home
recordingsand
10

MICROVERBYI contd
top
flight
record
productions
isin
the
quality
andnumber
ofhigh
performance
reverb
processors.
Simply
stated,
the bigstudios
have
a lot
of
digitalreverbs
and
thesmaller
studios
usually
don't.
MICROVERB
llchanges
ail
that.
The
illustration
shows
atypical
reverb
assignmentfor
anohotds
barredrecord
pro-
duction.
while
thissetup
may
notrepresent
the
capabilities
of
your
ownrecording
efforts,it
doesillustrate
why
modern
recordings
sound
sospacioui
and
dramatic.Th6
16
bit
processor
in
MlcRor/ERB
IIallorvs
you
to
createthis
sense
ofspacewith
crystal-
line
clarityand
great
resolution.
These
programs
were
chosenfor
thepurpose
ofcreating
a 'sound
stage'
for
the
musical
performance.
There
is
awell
defined
sense
ofthree
dimensional
space
thatis
occupied
by
each
instrument:
left
toright
and
front
to
back.
The
blocks
intheillustration
indicate
the
physical
placement
of
eachinstrument,
and
thespreading
ofthe
sound
duetothe
psychoacoustic
imaging
characteristics
ofeach
program.
Notice
that
the
small
programs
havemore
ofacentered
spatialimagewhile
thelarge
programs
are
wider,more
open
andspacious.
Recornmendedprogralrs
arelisted
bynumber
nelittoeach instrument.
These
pro-
gram
suggestions
are
based
on
current
popular
uses
ofdigital
rwerb,
butuse
yor imagF
ption_q1d
please
experiment.
Musical
style,
personal
taste
andcreativity
are
1rcur
guid-e-
lines.
This
mix
uses
I MlcRovERB
II programs
simultaneously.
The
attoroaoifity
ot
MICROVERB
Ileasily
brings
atleast
a
portion
ofthismixwithin
thereach
ofa//studios.
The
mix
control
settings
applyto
eitherthemix
control
on
MICRoVERB
II lor
stand
alone
operation,
orthe
settings
canapply
tothesends
and
receives
ofamixing
con-
sole.
IMPoRTANT!
when
usedwith
the
sendsandreceives
ofamixing
console
thbmix
control
onMIORoVERB
II shouldalways
be
set
fully
clockwise,
andthereturns
onthe
console
panned
hardleft
andright
for
thefull
stereoeffect.
UIXCONTROL
PROGRAT %Dty %h
SNAREDRUM
. GATEI
oT2
LEAOVOCAL ........MEDIUM4ORLARGE1
60
BACKGROUNDVOCAIS
..... .. MEDIUMs
LEADINSTRUMENTS(guitiar,
sax,svnth,etc.) LARGE1
RHYTHMGUfTARANDKEYBOARDS... .. SMALLlor2 so-o 50-100
HORNSECTION...,, .ARGE2 40-50
STRINGS LARGE1 50-10()
PERCUSSIONANDCYMBALS. .. LARGEl OR
MEDIUM
2
BASSGUITAR... SMALL2
H1H4T............. SMALLTor2
11

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MICROVERBYI cont,d
STACKING
MICROVERB
ils
lf 16programs
aren't
enough,
trystacking
2 MrcRovERB
ils
together
for
a nearly
endless
number
ofrevbrb
possibilities.
Try
starting
with
asmall
Room
feeding
into
aMedium
orLarge
Room,
then
let
your
imagination
run
wild.
Seeligure
5
FIGURE
5. STACKING
MICRoVERB
IIs
TO
CONSOLE
ORAMPLIFIER
tl
I
rcrr
oureur
| |
FROMMIXER
OR
INSTRUMENT
N
RIGHTOUTPUT
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13

MICRO
LIMITER'
BACK
Description
The
AlesisMICROLIMITERisa truestereo in/stereoout
compressor/limiter
whichisused forautomatic
gain
riding,
peak
limiting,
andspecial
effectsonboth
live
and
recorded
instruments
and
vocals.
A compressor/limiter,whichcanbethoughtofasanautomatic
fader,very
quickly
reduces
gain
and
attenuatesthesignalonce
it
exceedsapredetermined
level.
Thenumber
ofdB
increaseofthe
input
signal
needed
tocausea 1 dBincreasein theoutput
signal
ofthecompressor/limiter
is
calledthecompression
rafio.
Thus,for
a ratio of 4 to 1,an8 dB increase of input
produces
a 2 dB
increasein
output.
TheMICROLIMITER
canbethoughtofasacompressor
when
the
green
LED
sare
lit
becauseofthe
low
compression
ratio
(2:1
to 8:1).
A compressor is usuallyusedto evenoutthe
volume
fluctuations
ofaninstrument orvocal andsometimes
for
special
effects
(See
Applications).
A compression
ratio
of 10:1orabovechanges thecompressor
into
alimiter.A limiteris
used
to
prevent
shortterm
peaks(which
addlittleinformation to theprogram
material)fromoverloading
amplifiersor tapes. lt alsocanbe used
forcertaintypes of
specialeffects
(See
Applications).
Oncetheyellow
LED
s are
fired,
theunitbecomesatrue
limiterwith
the
fourthLEDindicating
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14

MICRO LIMITER@contd
acompression
ratio
of
about16:1.
sincewe
at
Alesis
feel
that
the
MICRO
LIMITER
is more
easily
andquickty
set up byjust
listening,
we have
eliminated
these
designations
from
thefront
panel
of
theunit.
The
MICRO
LIMITER
employs
the"soft-knee"
approach,
which
means
thatthere
is always
some
compression
applied
to all
signals,regardless
of level,
but
thecompression
ratio
isvery
low
for lowlevel
signals
andautomatically
increases
asthesignal
fevel
increases.
Seefigure6
FIGURE
6
5
F
l
oINPUTLEVEL
TheMICRO
LIMITER
alsoemploys
program
dependent
attack
timewhich
allows
the
unit
tobemoremusical
sounding
than
other
compressor/limiters
onthe market.
Because
of the unique
characteristics
of itsdetection
circuitry,which
have
been
especially
tailoredforusewith
a rhythm
section,
theunit
canbe
thought
of as a "power
box",
adding
punch
to bass
and
drums
with
veryfewoftheundesirable
sideeffectsnormally
associated
with
compressor/limiters.
Unlikemany
other
compressor/limiters
on the marketwhich
require
extensive
technicalknowledge
foroperation,
theMICRO
LIMITER
was
designed
specifically
with
themusician
inmind
soit
isboth
quick
and
easy
touse
andrequires
little
training
toachieve
thedesiredresults.
Controls
Theinput control
setsnotonlythe level
entering
the MICRO
LllllTER,
but
alsodetermines
the
theamount
oflimiting which
will
beapplied.Therefore,
themore
input
to the unit,
thehigher
the
15

MICRO LIMITER@cont'd
compression
ratio. Thisratio
is indicatedby the inputLED's
in
conjunction
with
the
graph
on
the
frontoftheunit.
Thereleasetimecontroldetermines
how
quickly
thelimiter
recoversfroma signalapplied
totheinput. Farthesttotheleftis
the
fastestreleasetime
whilefulltothe
rightistheslowest.
Theoutput control
is provided for matchinglevelsso thatno
signal
levelislostduetotheeffectsoflimiting.
An in/outswitch allows
youto bypassthe MIGRO
LIMITER
for
comparison
purposes,
ifnecessary.
Operation
AlthoughspecificoperationoftheMICROLIMITER
willvary
per
instrumentor effectdesired,basicoperationof the MICRO
LIMITERis
thesame.
First,
applyasignalto
theunit's
right
or
left
input
jack(or
both
jacks
forstereo), takingcareto use
thesame
side
for
theoutput.
Depress
the
in/out
switch
tothe
"in"
position.
To
determinethe
right
amountoflimiting,itis besttolook atthe
meters
onyour consoleortapemachine and
listen
totheresults.
Thisis covered moreinthenext
section
(see
application).
Be
awarethattoo muchlimitingwillcausetheprogram
material
to
seemdulland
lifeless.
Next,
adjustthereleasetime
bystarting
with
thecontrol
full
to
theleft
(counterclockwise).
Thisisthemost
criticaladjustment
so
it must
be made carefully
for best results.As a general
rule,
signalsthatarepercussive or have a high treble
content
(like
drums)should
havea shorter
release
time,
or thecontrolset
more
to theleft.Program thatcontainsa lotof lowfrequencies
(like
bass)should
have
a longerrelease
time,orthecontrol
set
more
tothe
right.
Careshouldbetaken
when
therelease control
issettoofarto
the left(release timetoo short)as thissetting
mayresult
in a

MICRO LIMITER@contd
slight
amount
of harmonic
distortion.
Also,
a phenomena
called
"pumping"
or "breathing"
might
occur.Thismeans
thatif a rapid
succession
ofpeaks
werefedinto
thelimiter
(astaccato
guitar
or
synth
part,
forinstance),
thelimiter
would
respond
toeach
peak
of
the
signal,
causing
arapid risein
background
noise
as
the
gain
is
increased
after
each
peak.
Both
of these
conditions
area by-
product
of thelimiting
process
andcanoccurwith
anylimiter.
However,
these
conditions
may
never
occur
during
yourparticular
use
asthey
are
dependent
on
thetype
ofinstrument
fedinto
the
MICRO
LIMITER,
and
thestyleof music
played,
aswell asthe
setting
of the releasecontrol.
Simplyturnthe release
control
a
bit to the rightand eithertheslightdistortion
or "pumping"
and
"breathing"
will
goaway!
lftherelease
controlissettoo
fartotheright (release
timetoo
long),
theprogram may
sound
dullandlifeless
as a result
of
squashed
dynamics.
Whenindoubtastohow
to set
the
release
control,it's
better
tokeep it ona shorter
setting
(towards
theleft)
sincefheMICRO
LIMITER
is mostforgiving
in operation
at this
point
and
youwillmost
likely
getthedesiredresults.
Finally,
setthe
output
controlbyswitchingthein/out
controlin,
then
out,andadjust
the
outputcontrol
untilthelevelisthe
same
regardless
of
the
position
ofthe
switch.
Application
TheMICRO
LIMITER
canbe made
to perform
several
different
functions,
depending
upon
controlsettings.These
are:
1. Even
outthe volume
differences
between
registers
on
instruments.
Anexample
ofthiswould
bethat
somebass
guitar
stringsarelouder
than
others
onsome
instruments.
The
useofa
MICROLIMITER
produces
asmootherbassline
bymatching
the
volumes
ofthedifferentnotes.
2. Minimize
thechanges
in volumewhen
a vocalist
or
instrumentalist
momentarily
changeshis
distancefrom
themike.
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