Arturia TridA-Pre User manual

USER MANUAL

Special Thanks
DIRECTION
Frédéric Brun Kevin Molcard
DEVELOPMENT
Vincent Travaglini
Nicolo Comin
François Reme
Raynald Dantigny
Bapiste Aubry
Pierre Pfister
Matthieu Courouble
DESIGN
Martin Dutasta Shaun Elwood Morgan Perrier
MANUAL
Fernando Rodrigues Morgan Perrier Florian Marin
BETA TESTERS
Fernando Rodrigues
Ben Eggehorn
Paolo Negri
Terry Marsden
Peter Tomlinson
Marco Correia
Jay Janssen
Luca Lefèvre
Chuck Zwicky
Ken Flux Pierce
Dwight Davies
© ARTURIA SA – 2018 – All rights reserved.
11 Chemin de la Dhuy
38240 Meylan
FRANCE
www.arturia.com
Information contained in this manual is subject to change without notice and does not
represent a commitment on the part of Arturia. The software described in this manual is
provided under the terms of a license agreement or non-disclosure agreement. The software
license agreement specifies the terms and conditions for its lawful use. No part of this
manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any purpose other than
purchaser’s personal use, without the express written permission of ARTURIA S.A.
All other products, logos or company names quoted in this manual are trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Product version: 1.0
Revision date: 9 March 2018

Thank you for purchasing TridA-Pre!
This manual covers the features and operation of Arturia’s TridA-Pre.
Be sure to register your software as soon as possible! When you purchased TridA-Pre you
were sent a serial number and an unlock code by e-mail. These are required during the
online registration process.
Special Messages
Specifications Subject to Change:
The information contained in this manual is believed to be correct at the time of printing.
However, Arturia reserves the right to change or modify any of the specifications without
notice or obligation to update the hardware that has been purchased.
IMPORTANT:
The software, when used in combination with an amplifier, headphones or speakers, may
be able to produce sound levels that could cause permanent hearing loss. DO NOT operate
for long periods of time at a high level or at a level that is uncomfortable.
If you encounter any hearing loss or ringing in the ears, you should consult an audiologist.

Introduction
Congratulations on your purchase of Arturia's TridA-Pre
Since the late 1990s, Arturia has received acclaim from players and reviewers alike for
designing state-of-the art software emulations of the venerable analog synthesizers from
the 1960s to the 1980s. From the Modular V, back in 2004, to Origin, a modular system that
was introduced in 2010, to the Matrix 12 V (2015), the Synclavier V (2016), and most recently
the Buchla Easel V, the DX7 V and the CMI V, Arturia's passion for synthesizers and sonic
purity has given demanding musicians the best software instruments for professional audio
production.
Arturia also has a growing expertise in the audio field, and in 2017 launched the AudioFuse,
a pro studio quality audio interface that features two proprietary DiscretePRO® microphone
preamplifiers and a set of top-notch AD/DA converters.
The ARTURIA TridA-Pre is the culmination of over a decade of experience in recreating the
most iconic tools of the past.
ARTURIA has a passion for excellence and accuracy. This led us to conduct an extensive
analysis of every aspect of the Trident® A hardware and its electrical circuits, even modeling
the changes in behavior over the course of time. Not only have we faithfully modeled the
sound and behavior of this unique mixer channel, we have added some features that were
unimaginable in the days the Trident® A was being manufactured.
TridA-Pre runs as a plug-in in all major formats inside your DAW. It has easy MIDI learn
functionality for hands-on control of most parameters, and as a plug-in also allows
parameter automation for greater creative control.
DISCLAIMER: All manufacturer and product names mentioned in this manual are
trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or affiliated with
Arturia. The trademarks of other manufacturers are used solely to identify the products
of those manufacturers whose features and sound were studied during TridA-Pre
development. All names of equipment inventors and manufacturers have been included for
illustrative and educational purposes only and do not suggest any affiliation or endorsement
of TridA-Pre by any equipment inventor or manufacturer.
The Arturia team

Table Of Contents
1. WELCOME ......................................................................................................................................................................... 2
1.1. Arturia's secret ingredient: TAE® ................................................................................................................................... 3
1.2. Arturia's TridA-Pre ................................................................................................................................................................. 4
2. ACTIVATION AND FIRST START.......................................................................................................................... 5
2.1. Activate the TridA-Pre license........................................................................................................................................ 5
2.1.1. The Arturia Software Center (ASC).................................................................................................................................................................... 5
2.2. Initial Setup .............................................................................................................................................................................. 6
2.2.1. TridA-Pre as a plug-in................................................................................................................................................................................................ 6
2.3. QuickStart: A basic patch................................................................................................................................................ 7
3. USER INTERFACE ......................................................................................................................................................... 9
3.1. The Control Panel.................................................................................................................................................................. 9
3.2. The Toolbar............................................................................................................................................................................ 10
3.2.1. Save.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 10
3.2.2. Save As…......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 10
3.2.3. Import Preset.............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 10
3.2.4. Export Menu .................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 11
3.2.5. Resize Window options........................................................................................................................................................................................... 11
3.2.6. Preset Selection............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 11
3.3. MIDI Learn assignment................................................................................................................................................. 12
3.3.1. Assign / Unassign controls .................................................................................................................................................................................. 12
3.3.2. Min / Max value sliders ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 12
3.3.3. Relative Control option .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 13
3.4. MIDI controller configuration..................................................................................................................................... 13
3.5. The lower toolbar ............................................................................................................................................................... 14
3.5.1. VU Calibration .............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 14
3.5.2. Bypass.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 14
3.5.3. CPU meter ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 14
3.6. The Preset browser........................................................................................................................................................... 15
4. TridA-Pre OVERVIEW............................................................................................................................................... 16
4.1. What is a preamp? ............................................................................................................................................................ 16
4.2. What does a preamp do? ............................................................................................................................................. 17
4.3. What is an EQ?.................................................................................................................................................................... 18
4.4. What does equalization do?....................................................................................................................................... 18
4.5. The TridA-Pre preamp and EQ plug-in ................................................................................................................. 19
4.5.1. Signal Flow ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 19
4.5.2. The EQ section .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 20
4.5.3. The preamp section................................................................................................................................................................................................ 22
4.5.4. Mid/Side mode........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 24
5. TridA-Pre CONTROL PANEL................................................................................................................................. 27
5.1. Single Channel (Mono).................................................................................................................................................... 27
5.1.1. Single Channel EQ Section.................................................................................................................................................................................... 27
5.1.2. Single Channel Preamp Section and Output ......................................................................................................................................... 30
5.2. Double Channel ................................................................................................................................................................... 31
5.2.1. Double Channel EQ Section................................................................................................................................................................................. 31
5.2.2. Double Channel Preamp Section and Output ....................................................................................................................................... 33
5.2.3. Some final words..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 34
6. Software License Agreement........................................................................................................................... 35

1. WELCOME
Trident® consoles, together with Neve and Helios, may be considered as the ruling
triumvirate of the golden years of rock in the UK, with an undeniable impact in the sound of
that era. Born out of a “happy accident”, the Trident® A consoles had a “signature” that was
imprinted in countless hit albums.
Trident® history started as a recording studio in London, built in 1967. Many famous artists
recorded in there, including The Beatles, Manfred Mann, Marc Bolan/T-Rex, Nilsson (Without
You), and Mary Hopkins (Those Were the Days). Trident® Studios could be considered the
most up-to-date recording facility in London at the time, by featuring things like Dolby
noise reduction and 8-track recording equipment (the EMI studios at Abbey Road only had
4-track, and that’s one of the reasons The Beatles chose Trident® to record the White Album,
including Hey Jude). This success story continued through the 70s, with artists like Queen,
David Bowie, Elton John and the Genesis of Peter Gabriel era (and post-Gabriel, up to "And
Then There Were Three"). Among producers, we can spot names like Glyn Johns and Eddie
Kramer.
Malcolm Toft became the studio manager in 1971. After taking over, he felt the need of a
new recording desk that could facilitate the up-and-coming 24-track recording machine
he wanted to start using too. After concluding that there was no answer on the market
(including from Rupert Neve) Toft proposed to the studio owners to build a console
themselves.
After getting the owners' approval, he and Barry Porter took the solution in their own hands,
and started planning the new console. This was the genesis of the first Trident® A Range®
console, which was built by and for Trident® Studios. The console was created with sound
as the main goal, and many components were tried and rejected, until the right combination
was achieved. After a year of experimentation, design and building, the first Trident® was
ready and installed. More than a work of engineering (which it also was) it was a work of
love – the love for sound.
Since Trident® Studios were so famous at the time, news that they were building a new
console started to call the attention of many others, and demand to build more, as well as
a scaled down version, immediately came after. Trident Audio Developments® (TRIAD) was
formed after that, to deliver consoles to the many that became interested.
The Trident® A Range® achieved a near-mythic status, despite only 13 consoles ever built.
Particularly noted and praised by the industry were its fantastic preamps and the unusual
and colorful EQ. A unique characteristic was a series of three high pass filters at -18 dB per
octave and three low pass filters at -12 dB per octave arranged at the ends of the EQ section.
The switches to those filters could be pushed in simultaneously, offering distinct filter cut
combinations with unusual curves. The rest of the EQ section allows four frequencies at any
one time, with switchable but fixed values. Low Shelf: 50, 80, 100 or 150 Hz; Low-Mid Bell:
250, 500, 1k or 2k Hz; High-Mid Bell: 3k, 5k,7k or 9k Hz; High Shelf: 8k, 10k, 12k or 15k Hz.
In those days, there were no sweepable frequencies and Q controls, but that was one of
the charms of these consoles, coupled with the peculiar sound that was in part the result of
the odd peaks and quite heavy phase-shift and coloration that came from the design of the
EQ. Malcolm Toft even referred to the EQ as "kind of a cross between a Pultec and a Neve
module".
Hit records done with the Trident® console at Trident® Studios include David Bowie’s Ziggy
Stardust and Aladdin Sane, Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Blue Move, and A Single
Man, Queen’s Sheer Heart Attack, Supertramp’s Crime of the Century and Carly Simon’s
You’re So Vain.
Besides the Trident® Studios, other famous studios that used the Trident® A are the famous
EastWest Studio 3, which is equipped with a classic Trident® A Range® Console (40 Channel
with Neve Flying Faders Automation), the “original” and one of 11 surviving in the world.
Names like Herbie Hancock, Blondie, Donna Summers, Stevie Nicks, The Rolling Stones, Muse
and Rihanna, among many others, recorded in this studio with this console.
2 Arturia - User Manual TriA-Pre - WELCOME

Also the Cherokee Recording Studios in Hollywood are equipped with Trident® A Range®
consoles.
Cherokee Studios credits include names like David Bowie (again), Frank Sinatra (who
recorded Sinatra Christmas Album in this studio in 1975), Ringo Starr (who recorded Stop
and Smell the Roses there in 1980) and Michael Jackson, who recorded there the album Off
the Wall in 1979. Rod Stewart was also one of the first names to record a hit in these studios
with the Trident® A console.
It is this “happy moment” in the history of music technical innovations that Arturia is now
recreating.
1.1. Arturia's secret ingredient: TAE®
TAE® (True Analog Emulation) is Arturia's outstanding technology dedicated to the digital
reproduction of analogue circuits used in vintage synthesizers.
TAE®’s software algorithms result in spot-on emulation of analogue hardware. This is why
TridA-Pre offers an unparalleled quality of sound, as do all of Arturia’s virtual synthesizers.
TAE® combines major advances in the domain of synthesis:
Linear Frequency spectrum of a well known software synthesizer
Linear frequency spectrum of an oscillator modeled with TAE®
Arturia - User Manual TriA-Pre - WELCOME 3

1.2. Arturia's TridA-Pre
So, what is and what do we get with the TridA-Pre preamp and EQ plug-in?
The goal of Arturia was to model the sound of this vintage preamp and EQ unit, as well as
add some new features that are helpful in a modern workflow.
Therefore, we have a 4 band EQ with a High and Low shelf and 2 Midrange peak (bell)
bands. The EQ was inductor based and can add some phase-shift at different frequencies
which is part of the character. Also, the buttons for the low pass and high pass filters can
be pressed simultaneously and that adds the circuits together for increased slope cutoffs,
another of the odd characteristics the Trident® A Range® was known for.
The plug-in has Single Channel and Double Channel versions, or configurations. The Double
Channel configuration can work in three different modes. The default mode is Stereo, which
means the Stereo Link button is On and the Stereo Mode switch is in the L/R (Left/Right)
position. When we change this switch to the M/S position, the plug-in enters the Mid/Side
mode. This automatically disables (turns Off) the Stereo Link button.
When the Stereo Link is Off, and the Stereo Mode button is in the L/R position, the plug-in is
in Dual Mono mode. In this mode each channel works independently, which means we can
have the EQ switched On in one channel and Off in the other, for example, and the phase
switched On in one and Off in the other.
Temporal representation of the "sawtooth"
waveform of a hardware synthesizer
Temporal representation of a "sawtooth"
waveform reproduced by TAE®
4 Arturia - User Manual TriA-Pre - WELCOME

2. ACTIVATION AND FIRST START
TridA-Pre works on computers equipped with Windows 7 or later and macOS 10.10 or later.
You can use TridA-Pre as an Audio Unit, AAX, VST2 or VST3 plug-in.
2.1. Activate the TridA-Pre license
Once the software has been installed, the next step should be to activate your license, so
that you can use it without limitations.
This is a simple process that involves a different software program: the Arturia Software
Center.
2.1.1. The Arturia Software Center (ASC)
If you have not already installed the ASC, go to this web page:
https://www.arturia.com/support/updates&manuals
Look for the Arturia Software Center at the top of the page, and then download the version
of the installer that you need for your system (macOS or Windows).
Follow the installation instructions and then:
• Launch the Arturia Software Center (ASC)
• Log into your Arturia account
• Scroll down to the My Products section of the ASC
• Click the Activate button
That's all there is to it!
Arturia - User Manual TriA-Pre - ACTIVATION AND FIRST START 5

2.2. Initial Setup
2.2.1. TridA-Pre as a plug-in
TridA-Pre comes in VST2, VST3, AU and AAX plug-in formats for use in all major DAW
software such as Live, Cubase, Logic, Pro Tools and so on. You can load as many instances
as you find useful, and you also find some other useful features:
• You can automate numerous parameters using your DAW’s automation system;
• Your settings and current plug-in state will become recorded in your project, and
you can pick up exactly where you left off the next time you open it.
6 Arturia - User Manual TriA-Pre - ACTIVATION AND FIRST START

2.3. QuickStart: A basic patch
The instructions below are an ideal starting point for getting to know the TridA-Pre plug-in.
We will use your DAW to modulate the Input Level and the EQ amount of one or two bands.
It illustrates how you can use TridA-Pre to process sound. The example below was tested in
Cubase Pro, but it will work in a similar way in other DAWs.
Please load the default factory preset. This ensures that you have all knobs in the correct
starting position.
Let's give it try:
• Load a four-beat clip into an audio track in your DAW (a drum track is ideal for
testing the EQ and the saturation of the preamp).
• Load an instance of TridA-Pre as an insert on that same track.
• Make the interface of the TridA-Pre visible by clicking its name in the Mixer.
• Now start your DAW and play the loop. It will sound the way it was recorded.
By default, all parameters are in a neutral position. There is still some minor
harmonic distortion, but that's OK with our demonstration.
• Set the lnput Level to -50 and observe what happens on the VU meters; if a dot
signal appears on the right, that means the signal is reaching the "analog" power
supply level, and clipping occurs. Arturia carefully recreated the original analog
saturation effect of the unit, and the induced harmonic distortion can be used as
a sound design tool. By raising the Input Level, you added some saturation to
your signal.
Arturia - User Manual TriA-Pre - ACTIVATION AND FIRST START 7

• Now try switching On the Low Pass Filters on top of the EQ section. If the drum
track has prominent cymbal sounds, these will probably decrease substantially.
• Now increment the High Shelf and/or the High Mid Bell EQ bands. For better
results, you have to previously select the base frequency to one of the higher
values (maybe 9k).
• You will probably notice that the cymbals now appear again, but the timbre has
changed.
• You can now experiment with the Bass Drum, using the switches for the High
Pass Filter (one, two or three - try each combination and keep the one that
sounds better to you). Probably, the Bass Drum will now sound much weaker
than before.
• Now choose a frequency in the Low Shelf EQ (maybe around 100 or 150Hz)
to boost frequencies around that point. The Bass Drum will now appear more
prominently, but with a different timbre.
• When the parameter settings have achieved the desired sound, it's time to define
some MIDI modulation. For that, you need to click the MIDI icon in the right side
of the upper toolbar.
• Now, many of the controls in the TridA-Pre become purple, which means they
are ready to "learn" MIDI automation controls.
• Click the fader of one EQ band of your choice. A pop-up window like the picture
above will appear.
• Now move the controller knob/fader you want to use to control that parameter. If
the connections are well established, you should see the parameter assigned to
the Input Level. If your controller is able to, and the control you selected is of the
right type, you should select "Is Relative", to make sure that when you touch that
parameter the control will not jump suddenly. For more information about this
feature, refer to the section Relative Control option [p.13] in the USER INTERFACE
chapter.
• Now select the Input Gain of one channel. Repeat the operation above, for the
knob to "learn" which MIDI control it should respond to.
• Remember that, since we are working in Stereo Mode (the Stereo Link button is
On) any changes made on one channel will be reflected on the other as well.
8 Arturia - User Manual TriA-Pre - ACTIVATION AND FIRST START

3. USER INTERFACE
The TridA-Pre is packed with great features, and in this chapter, we’ll take a tour and show
you what it can do. We think you’ll be amazed by the range of audio processing options this
plug-in is capable of.
This plug-in is more flexible than you probably would expect at first sight, due to the relative
simplicity of its User Interface. That will always be the main focus of every Arturia product:
to unleash your creativity while remaining easy to use.
3.1. The Control Panel
We will have a detailed look at the Control Panel in TridA-Pre CONTROL PANEL chapter [p.27]
Arturia - User Manual TriA-Pre - USER INTERFACE 9

3.2. The Toolbar
The plug-in GUI (Graphical User Interface) has the usual Arturia toolbar that runs across
the top edge, with the Arturia logo / plug-in name on the left (the colored part), followed by
the Library button, the Library selection filter button, the Preset name on the center, and the
MIDI button on the right. This toolbar is common to all current Arturia plug-ins, and gives
access to many important functions. Let’s look at them in detail.
The first seven of these options can be found by clicking on the Arturia TridA-Pre button at
the top left-hand corner of the plug-in window. Since these options are also common to all
current Arturia plug-ins, they may be already familiar to you.
3.2.1. Save
This option will overwrite the active preset with any changes you have made, so if you
want to keep the source preset also, use the Save As option instead. See the next section for
information about this.
3.2.2. Save As…
If you select this option, you are presented with a window where you can enter information
about the preset. In addition to naming it, you can enter the Author name, and select a Type.
You can even create your own Type, by entering custom names in the respective place. This
information can be read by the preset browser and is useful for searching the preset later.
3.2.3. Import Preset
This command lets you import a preset file, which can be either a single preset or an entire
bank of presets. Both types are stored in .taprx format.
After selecting this option the default path to these files will appear in the window, but you
can navigate to whichever folder you are using to store presets.
10 Arturia - User Manual TriA-Pre - USER INTERFACE

3.2.4. Export Menu
You can export presets in two ways: as a single preset, and as a bank.
•Export Single Preset: Exporting a single preset is handy when you want to share
a preset with someone else. The default path to these files will appear in the
"save" window, but you can create a folder at another location if you like. The
saved preset can be reloaded with the import preset menu option.
•Export Bank: This option can be used to export an entire bank of sounds from the
instrument, which is useful for backing up or sharing presets.
3.2.5. Resize Window options
The TridA-Pre window can be resized from 60% to 200% of its original size without any
visual artifacts. On a smaller screen such as a laptop, you might want to reduce the interface
size, so it doesn't dominate the display. On a larger screen or a second monitor, you can
increase the size to get a better view of the controls. The controls work the same at any
zoom level, but they can be harder to see at the smaller magnification values, or when using
high resolution monitors (like HD monitors or higher). The higher the resolution, the bigger
the size that should be used.
3.2.6. Preset Selection
The Preset browser [p.15] can be opened by clicking the library symbol on the toolbar. The
filter, name field and left / right arrows in the toolbar all assist with preset selection.
Arturia - User Manual TriA-Pre - USER INTERFACE 11

3.3. MIDI Learn assignment
The MIDI plug icon at the far-right side of the toolbar places the instrument in MIDI learn
mode. MIDI-assignable parameters will be shown in purple, which means you can map
physical controls to those destinations inside the instrument. A typical example might be
to map a real expression pedal to the Output Trim control, or knobs and faders on your
controller to the different virtual frequency knob switches or the virtual boost/cut faders of
the plug-in.
In the image above one of the parameter controllers is red. That means it has already been
assigned to an external MIDI control. It can be reassigned, though.
♪: Remember that you can also assign the Preset Forward and Backward arrows to an external
control.
3.3.1. Assign / Unassign controls
If you click on a purple area, you’ll put that control into learning mode. Move a physical dial,
fader, or button and the target goes red, indicating that a link has been made between the
hardware control and the software parameter. There’s a popup window that displays which
two things are being linked and an Unassign button that will disconnect the two.
3.3.2. Min / Max value sliders
There are also minimum and maximum value sliders that you can use to restrict the
parameter change range to something other than 0%-100%. For example, you might want
the Output Volume knobs to be controllable via hardware from 30% to 90%. If you make this
setting (Min set to 0.30 and Max set to 0.90) your physical dial will be unable to alter the
volume lower than 30% or higher than 90%, no matter how far you turn it. This is very useful
to prevent you from accidentally making the sound too quiet or too loud when performing.
In the case of switches which only have two positions (On or Off – like the LOW PASS and
HIGH PASS switches), those would normally be assigned to buttons on your controller. But
it is possible to toggle those with a fader or other control if you like.
12 Arturia - User Manual TriA-Pre - USER INTERFACE

3.3.3. Relative Control option
The final option in this window is a button labeled “Is Relative”. It is optimized for use with
a specific type of control: one which sends only a few values to indicate the direction and
speed at which a dial is turning, as opposed to sending a full range of values in a linear
fashion (0-127, for example).
To be specific, a “relative” dial will send values 61-63 when turned in a negative direction and
values 65-67 when turned in a positive direction. The turn speed determines the parameter
response. Refer to the documentation of your hardware controller to see if it has this
capability. If so, be sure to switch this parameter on when setting up its MIDI assignments.
When configured this way, movements of the physical control (usually a dial) will change
the software parameter by starting at its current setting, rather than being an “absolute”
control and snapping it to some other value as soon as you start to move it.
This can be a great feature when controlling things like volume, filter, or effect controls since
you won’t usually want them to jump noticeably from their current setting when they are
modified.
♪: Pitch Bend, Mod Wheel and Aftertouch are reserved MIDI controllers that cannot be assigned to
other controls.
3.4. MIDI controller configuration
There’s a small arrow at the far right-hand side of the toolbar (after the MIDI icon) that
deals with MIDI controller configurations. This allows you to manage the different sets
of MIDI maps you may have set up for controlling the instrument’s parameters from
MIDI hardware. You can copy the current MIDI assignment setup or delete it, import a
configuration file or export the currently active one.
This is a quick way to set up different hardware MIDI keyboards or controllers with TridA-
Pre without having to build all the assignments from scratch each time you swap hardware.
Note the check mark on the bottom of the menu: that indicates that the configuration with
that name is the one currently active. Empty means that there's no configuration loaded.
Arturia - User Manual TriA-Pre - USER INTERFACE 13

3.5. The lower toolbar
When you are changing a parameter, you will see a readout showing the value or state
of whatever control you are modifying at the left-hand side of the lower toolbar. It will
also display the current value of a parameter when you place the mouse pointer over that
parameter control in the control panel. This is handy, because you don’t need to touch the
parameter control to read the current value.
At the right-hand side of the lower toolbar are several small windows and buttons. These
are very important features, so let’s take a closer look at them.
3.5.1. VU Calibration
The TridA-Pre has two VU meters (one when in Single Channel configuration) at the top-right
of the control panel. By clicking this button, we can access a menu where we can calibrate
their response. By default, they are calibrated for -18dBFs but we can change this to -14dBFs,
or -8 dBFs.
3.5.2. Bypass
This one is obvious. Activating the bypass option will disable TridA-Pre processing.
3.5.3. CPU meter
The CPU meter is used to monitor how much of your computer’s CPU is being used by the
plug-in. If you stress your computer too much, the global performance of your system and
the audio may suffer.
14 Arturia - User Manual TriA-Pre - USER INTERFACE

3.6. The Preset browser
The preset browser enables you to search, load and manage preset configurations in TridA-
Pre. Although this looks and is based on the usual Arturia Preset Browser, it is simpler, and
even easier to work with. You access the preset browser by clicking on the library symbol
next to the Arturia logo on the left.
When you click on the library symbol, you will see a screen with all the Presets you have
saved. You can sort the list by several different criteria, to make it easier to find the right
preset. There are two columns. The first one lists the Presets by Name or by "Featured".
Featured are presets that were classified as important by Arturia. The second one lists the
Presets by Type, or Designer.
There is only one attribute visible, which is the one you select by clicking the column title.
By default, Type is the attribute selected. When you select the Designer attribute, the list
changes, and that attribute appears in the second column, in the place where the Type field
was before.
If we want to delete a preset, we may do that by selecting it, and then clicking in the name
field, and choose the option "Delete current" that's in the bottom of the list.
Arturia - User Manual TriA-Pre - USER INTERFACE 15

4. TRIDA-PRE OVERVIEW
As we said already in the Introduction, the Trident® A was particularly noted and praised
for its preamps and the unusual and colorful EQ. A unique characteristic was a series of
three high pass filters at -18dB per octave and three low pass filters at -12dB per octave,
arranged at the ends of the EQ section. The switches to those filters could be pushed in
simultaneously, offering distinct cut filter combinations with unusual filter curves.
The rest of the EQ section allows four frequencies at any one time, arranged as two Shelf
bands and two Bell (Peak) bands, with switchable but fixed values.
Also, the EQ section was inductor-based and that design made it add some odd peaks and
parasitic phasing-induced frequencies which are part of the character.
The plug-in works as a Single Channel or as a Double Channel, according to the audio
channel it is inserted on. In Single Channel we just have Mono mode, but in Double Channel,
we can use the plug-in in Stereo mode, Mid/Side mode and Dual Mono mode.
4.1. What is a preamp?
A preamplifier (preamp or simply "pre") is a device that takes care of the first stage of
amplification. It is usually designed to boost a weak electrical signal to "working level", to
make it strong enough to be noise-tolerant and for further processing, for example in a
mixing desk. The working level is usually called "line level".
Many of us probably still remember the days of vinyl records. Vinyl records were played by
turntables, a device which had an output with a completely different impedance than, for
example, a tape recorder. The turntable output signal was much weaker. To drive it to a level
strong enough to be audible meant that it had to pass through a circuit that would amplify
it to a level where it could be passed to the main audio amplification circuit. More than that,
the circuit also had to transform the tone, in order to decode the special RIAA encoding tone
curve. Without this previous stage, the signal would be weak and distorted harmonically.
This circuit was (is) a preamplifier, and was usually part of any Hi-Fi amplifier (those special
inputs labeled "phono", which seem to be coming back as of lately). It should be mentioned
that Arturia's AudioFuse audio interface also features a microphone preamp circuit, and it
even features the special RIAA preamp we just mentioned.
But there are other kinds of preamplifiers, that do other things. The preamp devices that
brought us to this point are those typically used to amplify signals from audio sources
such as microphones and instrument pickups. Because of this, preamplifier circuits are now
usually built into audio mixers (and are included in many computer audio interfaces too).
But it wasn't always like this. There was a time when preamps were separate units that
received the signal from microphones and delivered it to the mixing circuit. Then they
became modules that could be plugged into those mixers. Now, they are simply standard
equipment. But there are still many other devices that use preamp circuits besides mixers,
as electric guitar and bass players know very well.
16 Arturia - User Manual TriA-Pre - Tri A-Pre OVERVIEW