Arturia V76-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: 7 March 2018

Thank you for purchasing V76-Pre!
This manual covers the features and operation of V76-Pre.
Be sure to register your software as soon as possible! When you purchased V76-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 V76-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 V76-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 V76 (and V612) 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 preamp, we have added some features that
were unimaginable in the days the Telefunken V76 was being manufactured.
V76-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 V76-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 V76-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 V76-Pre..................................................................................................................................................................... 5
2. ACTIVATION AND FIRST START.......................................................................................................................... 6
2.1. Activate the V76-Pre License.......................................................................................................................................... 6
2.1.1. The Arturia Software Center (ASC).................................................................................................................................................................... 6
2.1.2. V76-Pre as a plug-in ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
2.2. QuickStart: A basic patch................................................................................................................................................ 8
3. USER INTERFACE ......................................................................................................................................................... 11
3.1. The Control Panel................................................................................................................................................................. 11
3.2. The Toolbar............................................................................................................................................................................. 12
3.2.1. Save..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 12
3.2.2. Save As….......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 12
3.2.3. Import Preset............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 12
3.2.4. Export Menu .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 13
3.2.5. Resize Window options......................................................................................................................................................................................... 13
3.2.6. Preset Selection.......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 13
3.3. MIDI Learn assignment................................................................................................................................................. 14
3.3.1. Assign / Unassign controls .................................................................................................................................................................................. 14
3.3.2. Min / Max value sliders ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 14
3.3.3. Relative Control option .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 15
3.4. MIDI controller configuration..................................................................................................................................... 15
3.5. The lower toolbar ............................................................................................................................................................... 16
3.5.1. Output LED Sensitivity............................................................................................................................................................................................. 16
3.5.2. Bypass.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 16
3.5.3. CPU meter ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 16
3.6. The Preset browser............................................................................................................................................................ 17
4. V76-Pre OVERVIEW .................................................................................................................................................. 18
4.1. What is a preamp? ............................................................................................................................................................ 18
4.2. What does a preamp do? ............................................................................................................................................ 19
4.3. What is an EQ?.................................................................................................................................................................. 20
4.4. What does equalization do?..................................................................................................................................... 20
4.5. A V76 preamp and a V612 EQ in a plug-in......................................................................................................... 21
4.5.1. Signal Flow ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 21
4.5.2. The preamp section................................................................................................................................................................................................ 22
4.5.3. The EQ section ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 22
4.5.4. Output and global controls ................................................................................................................................................................................ 23
4.5.5. Mid/Side mode........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 24
5. V76-Pre CONTROL PANEL .................................................................................................................................... 27
5.1. Single Channel (Mono).................................................................................................................................................... 27
5.1.1. Single Channel Preamp Section........................................................................................................................................................................ 27
5.1.2. Single Channel EQ Section.................................................................................................................................................................................. 28
5.1.3. Single Channel Output Section......................................................................................................................................................................... 29
5.2. Double Channel ................................................................................................................................................................. 30
5.2.1. Double Channel Preamp Section................................................................................................................................................................... 30
5.2.2. Double Channel EQ Section .............................................................................................................................................................................. 32
5.2.3. Output Section............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 34
5.2.4. Some final words..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 35
6. Software License Agreement............................................................................................................................ 36

1. WELCOME
As part of the rebuilding effort after World War II, the Northwest German Radio
(Nordwestdeutsche Rundfunk or NWDR) was established in 1948, as a public corporation.
The NWDR faced the need to develop a complete new equipment standard for the German
radio network. This was done in cooperation with the Institute of Broadcast Technology
of Hamburg, and one of the results of their work was the V72, developed between 1949
and 1952 as a microphone and main studio amplifier, under the technical supervision of
Professor Nestler. Nestler had previously been the head of R&D for the Telefunken Electro
Acoustic Lab. Telefunken itself was a joint-venture of two other German companies, AEG and
Siemens, and was established in 1903.
It should be mentioned that Telefunken was granted exclusive and unlimited access to
scientific resources from state universities, private companies and all branches of the
military regarding radio broadcast and audio production, and this led them holding almost
all of the European patents relating to radio and audio electronic circuits up into the early
1960s.
Modeled after the pre-war V41 (created in 1928), the V72 had many circuits that were almost
identical, but incorporated some modern advancements. After using EF40 tubes in the
earlier models, manufacturers quickly changed to the sonically superior EF804 and EF804S.
Early V72 models were built by a company called Maihak, and also by Telefunken. In 1954,
Siemens and Tonographie Apparatebau (TAB) became sub-contractors and took over the
manufacturing of the V72 line.
The V72 wasn't a single model. Actually, there was an entire family of V72 tube amplifiers,
all built around the same V72 circuit: the V71, the V76, the V77 and the V78, and also many
variations, as the V72a, the V72b, the V72s, the V74a, the V70 and the V77b.
Besides the German radio broadcast, the V72 was used by most of the European recording
companies like EMI, Decca/Telefunken and others. Siemens designed the V72s to
accommodate the specific needs of these recording studios. These units featured a fixed
gain of 40dB and lower input impedance. Apparently, it was EMI who commissioned
Siemens to build the special 40dB gain V72s modules ("s" stands for studio), opposed to the
34dB gain of the V72 which was the standard throughout the German broadcast industry.
Around three-hundred V72s modules were manufactured in total.
The V76 was two V72 cascaded in series, with additional control features. The unit was
capable of achieving 76dB of gain and driving a signal farther with little to no loss. More
importantly, the unit came with a switchable input pad. This allowed the user to change
the gain in 6dB steps across 12 positions - much more control than the original V72 had.
Additionally, the V76 typically came with either an 80Hz or 120Hz High Pass filter allowing
the user to get rid of rumble from the mic stand when recording voice. There was a special
V76m version though that had no filters and a full frequency response from 20Hz to 20kHz.
This version was regarded more as a reference amplifier.
The V76 was designed for applications where the "standard" V72 could not provide enough
gain (like for example, dynamic mics) and where it was essential to have a switchable
variety of gain steps plus some selectable high and low frequency pre-filtering. Although the
high end frequencies sound muffled when compared to a V72, many engineers preferred
the V76 due to the extra controls, increased gain and huge bass sound it was capable of
delivering.
The main versions of the V76 available were:
2 Arturia - Us r Manual V76-Pr - WELCOME

• V76/80, with a switchable High Pass Filter at 80Hz and 300Hz (and a third
position with the two filters coupled), and a Low Pass Filter with a fixed
frequency of 3kHz. Both filters could be turned Off. Besides these, they also had
additional fixed input filters at 40Hz and 15kHz.
• V76/120, with a switchable High Pass Filter at 120Hz and 300Hz (and a third
position with the two filters coupled), and a Low Pass Filter with a fixed
frequency of 3kHz. Both filters could be turned Off. Besides these, they also had
additional fixed input filters at 40Hz and 15kHz.
In 1960, a special V76s version was introduced. The "s" originally stood for "Schallplatte"
(Vinyl Disk), indicating "Studio use", and in 1965 it was even officially changed to "Studio". The
V76s version may be regarded as a successor to the V72s, and was quite different from the
other V76 units, since both the High Pass and Low Pass filters featured multiple switchable
frequencies. Filter inductors were made from a Nickel/Iron alloy, and allegedly offered a
better sound performance than the standard ferrite cores in the 80/120 units.
There were also a few custom versions made over the years. We may consider the
famous EMI REDD.47 as a V72s version with a few different options, but with the same
transformers. This EMI made preamp equipped the famous REDD.51 consoles, used in all
Beatles recordings from 1964 up to 1968. Remember that the previous REDD.17 and REDD.37
consoles were powered by Siemens V72s units, as we mentioned above. One of the EMI
REDD.37 consoles was used in all Beatles recordings up to 1964, when they changed to the
REDD.51.
Telefunken used the V72 units as standard preamplifiers for their broadcast division. The
company (which became AEG-Telefunken in 1967) sold many units to radio stations in
South America, Africa and the Middle-East, where most of them are still in use today, but
despite that stopped the production of the V72 in 1966. Siemens had already stopped their
production in 1964, but built the V72b version until 1966. TAB was the only company that built
the V72a up into the 70s. In the second half of the sixties, vacuum tube devices were being
replaced by transistor-based units everywhere, because the former were more expensive
and difficult to maintain.
Arturia's version that is now presented to you is based on the V76/80. Since these units didn't
have an EQ (just input filters), it is coupled with another classic unit of the same period, the
V612 EQ. This was a simple 2-band EQ, featuring High Shelf and Low Shelf bands with fixed
frequencies.
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
V76-Pre offers an unparalleled quality of sound, as do all of Arturia’s virtual synthesizers
and plug-ins.
Linear Frequency spectrum of a well known software synthesizer
Arturia - Us r Manual V76-Pr - WELCOME 3

TAE® combines major advances in the domain of synthesis:
Linear frequency spectrum of an oscillator modeled with TAE®
Temporal representation of the 'sawtooth'
waveform of a hardware synthesizer
Temporal representation of a 'sawtooth'
waveform reproduced by TAE®
4 Arturia - Us r Manual V76-Pr - WELCOME

1.2. Arturia's V76-Pre
So, what is and what do we get with the V76-Pre preamp and EQ plug-in?
The goal of Arturia was to model the sound of this famous vacuum tube preamp, which is
still a sought-after piece of equipment, as well as add some new features that are helpful
in a modern workflow. For example, an EQ unit of the same period was added, to round
the package and to remain faithful to the approach followed in the other units of this line -
preamp and EQ. We also have a Phase Reverse switch, which didn't exist in the original.
Therefore, we have the amplification circuit, which features a vacuum tube emulation,
capable of very nice and tolerant saturation, and the High Pass Filter, with three filter
choices: 80Hz, 300Hz or both frequencies coupled (as was the case with the original V76/
80). The filter can also be turned Off, by selecting the Flat option. The EQ is a simple two
band EQ with very broad, gentle Baxandall curves and fixed frequencies, around 100Hz for
the Low Shelf, and around 5kHz for the High Shelf. It can be switched Off by clicking the EQ
switch and changing it to the Off position.
Baxandall curves are named after Peter Baxandall, an English audio engineer who first
came up with audio circuits featuring this kind of curve in the 1950s. These are soft
sweeping curves in the bass and treble shelf EQs that give a broad yet musical adjustment.
The slope is lower than usual, and that contributes to the curves' sweetness, since they
sound smoother and more natural.
The plug-in has Single Channel and Double Channel versions. The Double Channel version
can work in three different modes. The default mode is Stereo, which means the Stereo Link
button is the Stereo position 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 switch 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.
Arturia - Us r Manual V76-Pr - WELCOME 5

2. ACTIVATION AND FIRST START
V76-Pre works on computers equipped with Windows 7 or later and macOS 10.10 or later.
You can use the V76-Pre as an Audio Unit, AAX, VST2 or VST3 plug-in.
2.1. Activate the V76-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!
6 Arturia - Us r Manual V76-Pr - ACTIVATION AND FIRST START