Crookwood R3 User manual

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Crookwood R3 Specification guide
Everything you need to know about buying an R3
Contents
Introduction............................................................................................................................................................................... 2
What is it, exactly? ................................................................................................................................................................ 2
So you’d like an R3, what options do you need? .................................................................................................................... 2
Example........................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Pricing out the options..................................................................................................................................................... 4
Electronics ............................................................................................................................................................................ 4
What will your R3 look like?........................................................................................................................................................ 5
Front panel components .................................................................................................................................................. 5
Insert Panels .............................................................................................................................................................................. 6
Description of the record path.......................................................................................................................................... 6
Record Sources ................................................................................................................................................................ 6
Conversion between domains – digital to analogue, and back again ................................................................................. 6
Record inserts.................................................................................................................................................................. 6
Record Destinations ......................................................................................................................................................... 7
MS System ....................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Level Trimmers ................................................................................................................................................................ 8
P&G Fader ........................................................................................................................................................................ 8
Insert panel type 1 – 3AI ....................................................................................................................................................... 9
Panel Features.................................................................................................................................................................. 9
Insert panel type 2 – 7AI ..................................................................................................................................................... 10
Panel Features................................................................................................................................................................ 10
Insert panel type 3 – 11AI ................................................................................................................................................... 11
Panel Features................................................................................................................................................................ 11
Insert panel type 4 – 15AI ................................................................................................................................................... 12
Panel Features................................................................................................................................................................ 12
Trimmer Panel ......................................................................................................................................................................... 13
Panel Features................................................................................................................................................................ 13
Fader panel.............................................................................................................................................................................. 14
VU panel .................................................................................................................................................................................. 15
Panel Features................................................................................................................................................................ 15
Putting it all together ............................................................................................................................................................... 16
General Panel information .............................................................................................................................................. 16
Mounting the panels ................................................................................................................................................................ 17
Connecting the system together............................................................................................................................................... 17
Audio Connections......................................................................................................................................................... 17
Where to go from here ............................................................................................................................................................. 18

Rev 1.0 Page 2 of 18
Introduction
TheR3isthemostflexibleandpowerfulanaloguemasteringorproductionrouteravailabletoday.
ItistakenfromtheroutingsectionofourpowerfulMclassmasteringconsoles,andcanbeusedin
conjunctionwithoneofourCclassmonitorcontrollers,oranyothermodelofmonitorcontroller.
Unlikeothermanufacturers,ourroutersaremadefrommodularcomponents.Thismeansthatyou
canspecifyyourroutertohavetheexactsetoffeaturesthatyouneed,tofitperfectlyintoyour
studio.Andasyougrow,socanyourrouter.
Thedownside?Becauseofthisadvancedmodularity,therouterisbuilttoorderforyou,froma
setofstandardfactoryoptions.Thistakesabitoftime,andyouneedtobeabletospecifythe
optionsthatyouneed.
Thismanualhelpsyoudecidethefeaturesetyouwant,soyoucanorderyourperfectrouterand
starttoenjoyallthebenefitsitwillbringyou.
What is it, exactly?
TheR3isastereoroutersystemdesignedtoallowyoutoinsertvariouspiecesofanalogue
equipmentintoananaloguerecordchain.Ithasthesefeatures:
3,7,11or15analogueinserts.Youcanconnectallofyourgreatanaloguegeartothiscentral
routerandsimplyselectwhatyouwanttouseforaparticularsession.Nomorecumbersome
manualpatching!
Youcontrolwhatinsertswillbeinserted,andinwhatorderinthechain.Insertscanbeadded,
removedorre‐orderedatwill.
Thelargersystemsupportfullparallelinserts,whereachaincanbespiltintotwoseparate
chainsandrecombinedatanypointwithmixinglevelcontrol.Greatforsubtleprocessing.
Anoptionalsourceselectorallowsyoutochoosetheanaloguesourcefortheinsertchain.
Anoptionaltrimmermoduleallowsyoutotriminputandoutputlevels,eitherasaseparate
leftandrightcontrol,orasagangedstereocontrol.
AMSmoduleallowsyoutoapplyandcontrolMSprocessingtoanynumberofinserts.
Allparameterscanbestoredandrecalledfromnonvolatilememory,greatforrevisions.
Therouteriscompletelypassiveandbalanced,thetrimmersarealsoessentiallypassiveand
balanced,andhaveacompleterelaybypass.Asneutralasitgets.
Ithassmall,easytousecontrolpanels,andamodular1Ubasedremoteaudioracksystem
Youcanexpandthesystemasyourneedsgrow.
So you’d like an R3, what options do you need?
Great,it’saverygoodrouter.Nowyouneedtobeabletospecifythevariousoptions.Whatyou
choosewilldeterminehowbigthefrontcontrolpanelsare,howmanyremoteaudioracksthere
are,andofcoursewhatitwillcost.
Solet’sstart:TheR3ismadeupofthefollowing3parts:
Thebasicinsertbox.Unlikenormalcrosspointrouters,theR3isconfiguredasaninsertbox,so
youcaneasilyinsertanalogueprocessinggearintoarecordpath.Youcanchoosethesizeof
therouter.

Rev 1.0 Page 3 of 18
Asourceselector.Inadditionyoucanaddasourceselectortoallowyoutoeasilyselecta
sourceforrecording.Apassivelinkallowsyoutosendthesamesetofinputstoanexternal
monitorsystem,makingyourwiringeasy.
Trimmerpack.Finallyyoucanaddanaloguetrimmerstoadjusttheanaloguelevelsinthe
recordpath,andaddselectiveMSprocessing.
ThisadvancedcontrolmakestheR3veryquicktouse.Ifyoujustwantcombineddigitaland
analogueorjustdigitalrouting,lookatourR1andR2routers.
HerearethebasicoptionsavailableforaR3:
Inserts Option Range Notes
Analogueinserts(AI)3,7,11or
16
Youcanchoosethenumberofinsertsyouneed.Thereis
nosonicdegradationasyouaddinserts.Youwillneed7AI
orgreaterforparallelanalogueinserts.

Selector Option Range Notes
SourceSelector(SS)0,or10SS:nosourceselectorsupplied
1SS:4analogueinputsforrecordpathselection,with
paralleloutputforanexternalmonitor.

Trimmers Option Range Notes
TrimmerPack(TP)

0or1Youcanaddtrimmerstoalterlevelsintheanaloguepath.
Youcanfixthepositionofthesetrimmersintheinsert
path,orhavethemfloating,byputtingtheminaninsert.
IncludeinthepackisaMSprocessor.

Fader Option Range Notes
AnalogueFader(AF)

0or1Youcanaddareal100mmprecisionP&Gstereofaderfor
doingfadeouts.Thiswillnormallybewiredtotheendof
thechain,justbeforetheoutputADC.

Converters Option Range Notes
CrookwoodDACs(DA)0or1WecanprovideourinternalDACsifyouwishforlinking
togethertheanaloguerouterwithexternalDAWs.Oryou
canuseyourownDAC
CrookwoodADCs(AD)0or1WecanprovideourinternalADCsifyouwishforlinking
togethertheanaloguerouterwithexternalDAWs.Oryou
canuseyourownADC

Physical Option Range Notes
Connectors(CN)0,XorDWiretotherouterDsubsyourself(0),useourXLR
breakoutpanels(X)oruseourdiscretecables(D)
Frontpanelmounting(KT)0,Por4Mountthefrontpanelsintoyourownfurniture(0),a
movablewoodenpod(P)ora4U19”frame(4)

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
Example
Thepartnumberfora7insertR3withasourceselector,trimmerpackandfaderwithDsubsand
awoodenpodwouldbea:
R3‐7AI‐1SS‐1TP‐1AF‐0CN‐PKT
Pricing out the options
Weunderstandthatyourbudgetmaynotalwaysmatchyourwants,sowehaveproduceda
spreadsheetthatwillworkoutthecostasyouchangetheoptions.
Yousimplyselectthemfromadropdownandthespreadsheetwillcalculatetheexactpart
number,size,weightandcostofyourR3.
Electronics
Crookwoodhavebeenbuildingaccurateaudioroutersandamplifierssincetheearly90’sand
haveawealthofexperienceinmasteringandproductionenvironments.Keyfeaturesare:
Likeallourothergear,allsignalsarecompletelybalancedfrominputtooutput.Inthe
trimmerpacksthereisaoneamplifierforthehotphaseandanequalamplifierforthecold
phase.Expensive,butaccurate.
Therouteriscompletelypassiveusingprecisionhighreliability,sealedtelecomsrelays.
Becauseit’sacrosspointrouter,signalstravelthroughaminimumofrelays.Eachinsertgoes
through2relays,oneforthesendandoneforthereturn.Otherserialtyperoutersrequirethe
signaltogothroughmultiplerelaysevenifonlyoneinsertisselected.
Thegainstagesaremadewithabalancedpassiverelayswitchedresistornetwork,followedby
asinglebufferamp.IfyouengagealloftheelectronicsinanR3(2trimmersandtheMS
system),thesignalwillonlypassthrough4amplifiersperphaseintotal.
TheoptionalP&Gfaderisthesametypeasusedinprecisionconsoles,andoffersexcellent
performance.Thebuffersforthisfaderruninpseudo‐balancedasopposedtotruebalanced–
ourexceptionthatprovestherule!
Thesystemiscardbasedandmodular.YoucanupgradefromasmallR3toalargeroneatany
pointintime.
Thefrontcontrolpanelsremotelycontroltheaudioracks.Thesecanbemountedclosetothe
audiogeartominimisewiring.Thecontrolpanelscanbemountedinfrontofyouorina
movablewoodenpodthatyoucanmovetoonesidewhenyou’renotusingthem.Becausethe
frontpanelsarethin,andtheracksremote,thereisnoproblemwithmountingthemintothe
manydesksthathavelimitedfrontpanelequipmentdepth.

Rev 1.0 Page 5 of 18
What will your R3 look like?
Theconfigurationofthefrontcontrolpanelsdependsonyourexactspecification.Everypanel
optionisdetailed,soyoucanseehoweasyyourconfigurationistocontrol.
Wealsodetailafewoperationalnotes,soyougetabetterunderstandingofhowtherouterworks.
Front panel components
Lookingatitinabitmoredetail:AnR3basicallyhas3frontpanelcomponents:
Ainsertselector,whichselectswhatdevicesareinserted,inwhatorderintotherecord
(transfer)path
Anoptionalsourceselector,whichselectswhatyouaresendingtoyourexternalmonitorto
listentoandwhatsourceyouarerecordingfrom
Anoptionalfaderpack,whichallowsyoutotrimtheanaloguelevels,orapplyMSencoding
totheanaloguepath.
Thepanelsshownoverleafare1:1insize,soyoucangetanideaofthefinishedsizeofyour
controlpanel.Asaguide,youwillhave1or2regularpanels,whichwillconsumehalfofa4U19”
space.ThiscanleaveroomforapairofourprecisionVUmetersandoneofoursmallermonitor
controllers.


Rev 1.0 Page 6 of 18
Insert Panels
ThisfirstpaneliswhatyouwantaR3for:itcontrolswhatequipmentisinsertedandinwhat
orderintotherecordpath.Thereare4differentpermutationsasfollows:
Panel Analogue Inserts
3AI3
7AI7
11AI11
15AI15
Theactualpanelsaredetailedfurtheron,buttheysharesomecommonfeatures.
Description of the record path
Therecordpathismadeupofthreesimpleelements.Theelementsare:
Asourcereplay“tape”machine(therecordsource),followedby:
Asetofprocessingequipment,wiredinseries,(recordinserts),followedby:
Anoutputfeedingrecord“tape”machines(recorddestinations).
Weusetheterm“tape”machine,todescribeanymachinethatcanreplayaudio,and/orrecord
audio.TypicallythiswouldbeaCD.DVD,DAWorMDM.
Therecordinsertsareanalogue.Convertersareneededtogobetweenanalogueanddigital
domains.
Record Sources
Theanaloguerecordsourceischosenbyouroptionalselectorsystem.
Ifyoudon’thaveourselectorsystem,justinsertananalogueinputsignalintotherouterinput.
Conversion between domains – digital to analogue, and back again
TypicallyyouwilloutputthesignalsfromaDAWandaftergoingthroughtherouter,thesignal
willgobackintoaDAW.Todothiswellyouwillneedapairofdigitaltoanalogueconvertersto
convertbetweenthetwodomains.Youwillneedapairofconverters,a(record)ADCanda
(record)DAC.Theyareusedasapairwhenyouinsertasetofanalogueinsertsintoadigitalpath,
orjusttheADCisusedifyouhaveananaloguerecordsource.
Crookwoodcanprovidetheseconvertersinternaltotherouter,oryoucanprovideyourown
preferredconverters.TheCrookwoodconvertersaresonicallyverygoodandverycosteffective
becauseallofthepowersupplyandinfrastructureisalreadypaidforintheaudioracksforthe
router.
Record inserts
Theinsertsgetinsertedbetweentherecordsourceandtherecorddestinations.
TherearesomeuniquefeaturesofCrookwoodrecordinsertmachinesthatarereallyuseful,and
setusapartfromanybodyelse:
Weusecompletelypassive,balanced,sealedrelaysforallanaloguerouting.Becauseofthis
thereisnonoiseordistortiondifferencebetweenour3insert,or15insertmodels.
Youcandecidethepermutationofinsertsyouwantforeachjob.

Rev 1.0 Page 7 of 18
Youcanplacetheinsertsinanyorderyouwish.Asyouselecttheinsertswiththefrontpanel
buttons,theorderyouselectthemistheordertheygetinsertedintothechain.
Youcanremoveorreplacetheinsertsasyouwish.
TheorderoftheinsertsisshownontheLCDpanel,soyoualwaysknowwhereyouare.
Youcanlocktheinsertsinplace,sothatyoucanremoveaninsertandreplaceitbackintothe
sameplace.
Youcansavearoutingchainandlevelsettingstomemoryandrecallit(thereare32internal
stores).Thisisusefulforrecallingasessionafterabreak.
Thelargerrouters(7plusinserts)canruntheiranalogueinsertsintwoparallelpaths.Hereis
anexampleofaparallelpath:

Thisisusefulespeciallyforcompressionwork.
Thetoppictureshowsthesystemusing2transferADCs.Themixingthenwillbedonedigitallyin
theDAW.
ThelowerpictureshowsourTrimmerPacktrimmers,AandBbeingusedtomixthesignalback
togethertoasingletransferADC
Record Destinations
Thereisoneoutputfromtherouter.Becauseweusepassiveroutingtechnology,thelastdevicein
thechainisdrivingthisoutputdirectly.Youcanusuallyconnectthisoutputtoseveralother
piecesofequipmentwithoutworry.Thisminimisedextraelectronicsinthesignalpath.Ifyoufeel
youneedtobufferithowever,youcansimplyplaceahighqualitydistributionamplifierinseries
withtheoutput.
MS System
TheTrimmerPackhas2leveltrimmersandanMSsystem.
TheMSsystemcomprisesanencoderanddecoderwithanSlevelcontrol(+/‐6dBin0.25dBsteps).
Thisallowsyoutocontrolstereowidth,orperformMSprocessingtoanyanaloguedeviceor
devices.WeprovideourMSsystemunpatched–itjustappearsontherearpanelconnectors.This
givesyoucompletecontrolofhowtouseit.Forinstanceyoucould:
1. Wiretheencoderintooneinsert,andthedecoderintoanother..Thenbyselectingthe
orderofthechain,youcaninserttheMSsystemaroundanydeviceordevicesyouwish.
YoucanalsojustengagetheencoderifyouwanttooutputMSencodedsignalsforany
reason.

Rev 1.0 Page 8 of 18
2. Wiretheencoderanddecoderaroundonerelevantinsert.ThenusetheMSbypassswitch
toturntheMSsystemonoroffasyourequire.
3. HardwiretheMSencoderintothestartofthechainandputthedecoderinaninsert.This
allowsyoutoMSanything,andprocessstereoaftertheMS.Thisonlyusesoneinsert.
4. Hardwireittheotherwayaround,withtheencoderinaninsert,andthedecoderfixedat
theendofthechain.
Youcanseethepowerofthissolution.Youcandecidewhattopologyisrightforyourstudio,
ratherthanbeingdictatedbythemanufacturer.
AswithallCrookwoodanalogueelectronicssincetheearly90’s,theMSsystemisfullybalanced
frominputtooutputandisessentiallypassive.Precisionrelayscontrolthemixingandgain
elements.
Level Trimmers
Theleveltrimmersaresteppedgain(0.5dBincrements)trimmersthathavearangeof+/‐9dB.
Separateleftandrighttrimmersareprovidedsoyoucantrimeachchannelandthereare2such
trimmers,soyoucantrimtheinputandoutputoftheinsertchain.Inadditioneachpairof
trimmercanbeganged,soyoucanalterbothleftandrightlevels(withagainoffsetifrequired)at
thesametime.
Finallythereisamixmodewhichallowsyoutomixthetwotrimmerstogether.Thisisusedfor
mixingtogetherthetwoparallelpathsofaparallelinsertsystem.Herethetrimmersmustbeat
theendofthechainforthistoworkproperly.
Againtheyareprovidedunpatched–allconnectionsjustappearontherearpanelconnectors.
SimilartoMSsystemthisallowsyouto:
1. Wireonetrimmerintooneinsert,andtheothertrimmerintoanother.Thenbyselecting
theorderofthechain,youcaninsertatrimmerbeforeorafteranyinsertyouchoose.You
couldforcethistobeaninputandoutputtrimmerifyouwish,ornot.Thechoiceisyours.
2. Hardwireonetrimmerintothestartofthechain,andhardwiretheotherattheendofthe
chain.Thisgivesyouatraditionalinputandoutputtrimmersystem.Usethebypass
switchestoturnthetrimmersonoroffasyourequire.
3. Hardwireonetrimmerintothestartofthechainandputtheothertrimmerinaninsert.
Thisallowsyoutodoinput/outputtrimming,orselectivetrimmer,whileonlyusingone
insert.
4. Wireittheotherwayaround,withatrimmerattheendofthechain.
Onceagainoursystemisimmenselyflexible.Youdecidewhatyouwant.
Againtheyarefullybalanced,relaybasedsteppeddesigns.Relayspassivelyattenuatethesignal
andaprecisionbufferamplifierthenbuffersthissignalfortheoutsideworld.
P&G Fader
Thisisarealfader,madebyprobablythebestfadercompanyontheplanet.Nuffsaid!.

Rev 1.0 Page 9 of 18
Insert panel type 1 – 3AI
Ifyouchoosea3insertR3,thepanelwilllooklikethis:

Panel Features
Youcaninsertupto3analogueprocessorsinanyorder.Theorderyouclickthebuttonsisthe
ordertheinsertsgetinserted.TheorderoftheinsertsinshownintheLCD.
Theinsertlockbuttonlocksthepositionoftheinsertsinplace.Inthisway,youcanremovean
insertandreplaceitintothesameposition.
Optionallythe4sourceselectorsareatthetopofthepanelsoyoucanselectthesourceofthe
inserts.
Therearelotsofsparebuttonsonthispanel.Thisallowsyoutoeasilyupgradetoa7,11,or15
insertsystem.Wejustsendyoutheextraracksandnewsoftware–easy!
Optional
source
selectors.
Insertsand
removesthe
insertsinto
position.
Ourlabel
systemallows
youtoeasily
labeleach
insertwithits
realname
Display
showingthe
orderofthe
inserts:Sontec
–STC‐vari
Mu
Locksthe
positionofthe
inserts,soyou
canremove
anreplace
themintothe
sameposition
Accesses
systemmenu
forpreset
storageand
recall.Italso
storesthe
settingsofthe
optional
trimmerpack
Notusedin
the3insert
panel

Rev 1.0 Page 10 of 18
Insert panel type 2 – 7AI
Ifyouchoosea7insertR3,thepanelwilllooklikethis:

Panel Features
Youcaninsertupto7analogueprocessorsinanyorder.Theorderyouclickthebuttonsisthe
ordertheinsertsgetinserted.TheorderoftheinsertsinshownintheLCD.
TheinsertscangointoamainApath,oraparallelBpath.TheOptAandOptBbuttonsselect
whichpaththeinsertsgointo,andallactionsareshownontheLCD.
Optionallythe4sourceselectorsareatthetopofthepanelsoyoucanselectthesourceofthe
inserts.
Thesparebuttonsonthepanelallowsyoutoeasilyupgradetoa11,or15insertsystem.We
justsendyoutheextraracksandnewsoftware–easy!
Optional
source
selectors.
Insertsand
removesthe
insertsinto
position.
Ourlabel
systemallows
youtoeasily
labeleach
insertwithits
realname
Display
showingthe
orderofthe
inserts.
Arepresents
theApath,B
theBpath.
Herethepath
splitsafter
insert2(MS
decode)
Locksthe
positionofthe
inserts,soyou
canremove
anreplace
themintothe
sameposition
Accesses
systemmenu
forpreset
storageand
recall.Italso
storesthe
settingsofthe
optional
trimmerpack
Usedtoselect
whichpath(A
orB)the
insertsgo
into.TheLCD
showsthe
result

Rev 1.0 Page 11 of 18
Insert panel type 3 – 11AI
Ifyouchoosean11insertR3,thepanelwilllooklikethis:

Panel Features
Youcaninsertupto11analogueprocessorsinanyorder.Moretothepoint,youcanchoose
whatinsertstousefromyourextensivearsenal,withouthavingtomanuallypatchanything!
Theorderyouclickthebuttonsistheordertheinsertsgetinserted.Theorderoftheinsertsin
shownintheLCD.
TheinsertscangointoamainApath,oraparallelBpath.TheOptAandOptBbuttonsselect
whichpaththeinsertsgointo,andallactionsareshownontheLCD.
Optionallythe4sourceselectorsareatthetopofthepanelsoyoucanselectthesourceofthe
inserts.
Optional
source
selectors.
Insertsand
removesthe
insertsinto
position.
Ourlabel
systemallows
youtoeasily
labeleach
insertwithits
realname
Display
showingthe
orderofthe
inserts.
Arepresents
theApath,B
theBpath.
Herethe
sontecisbeing
MS’dand
theVariMuis
inaparallel
path.
Locksthe
positionofthe
inserts,soyou
canremove
anreplace
themintothe
sameposition
Accesses
systemmenu
forpreset
storageand
recall.Italso
storesthe
settingsofthe
optional
trimmerpack
Usedtoselect
whichpath(A
orB)the
insertsgo
into.TheLCD
showsthe
result

Rev 1.0 Page 12 of 18
Insert panel type 4 – 15AI
Thebigdaddy!With15analogueinserts,thepanellookslikethis:

Panel Features
Youcaninsertupto15analogueprocessorsinanyorder.Moretothepoint,youcanchoose
theexactinsertsyouwanttousefromyourtreasuredcollection,withouthavingtomanually
patchanything!Theorderyouclickthebuttonsistheordertheinsertsgetinserted.Theorder
oftheinsertsinshownintheLCD.
TheinsertscangointoamainApath,oraparallelBpath.TheOptAandOptBbuttonsselect
whichpaththeinsertsgointo,andallactionsareshownontheLCD.Youonlyneedtousethe
Bpathwhenyourequireit.
Optionallyyoucanchooseaninputfrom4sources.Thesystemmenuaccessesthesources,
ratherthandiscretebuttons.Notabigdeal,asyoudon’tneedtochangethemveryoften.
Optional
source
selection,
defineby
system
menu
Insertsand
removesthe
insertsinto
position.
Ourlabel
systemallows
youtoeasily
labeleach
insertwithits
realname
Display
showingthe
orderofthe
inserts.
Herethe
orderis:
TrimmerA
MSEncoder
VariMu
MSDecoder
Sontec
TrimmerB
Locksthe
positionofthe
inserts,soyou
canremove
anreplace
themintothe
sameposition
Accesses
systemmenu
forpreset
storageand
recall.Italso
storesthe
settingsofthe
optional
trimmerpack
Usedtoselect
whichpath(A
orB)the
insertsgo
into.TheLCD
showsthe
result

Rev 1.0 Page 13 of 18
Trimmer Panel
Theoptionaltrimmerpackgivesyou2trimmers,plusanMSsystem:

Panel Features
Youcancontrolleft,rightorgangedlevelsforeachtrimmer(stereowithleft/rightoffsets)
Hardbypassthetrimmers,orMSwithrelays
Precise,accuratelevelsareshowninthedisplay
Doubletherangeofthetrimmersifyourequirelargegainsorattenuation.
MixtogethertheAandBtrimmersforre‐combiningparallelrouting
Display
showing
accurateleftand
rightlevelsin
dBoftrimmers
A&B,andthe
MSlevelin%
Gangstheleft
andright
togetherfor
stereolevel
control
MakesBmixto
Aforparallel
insertpath
mixing
ControlstheMS

Rev 1.0 Page 14 of 18
Fader panel
Thisoptionalpanelallowsyouaccuratelyfadeoutyouranaloguepath.Usuallythisisdoneinthe
DAW,butifyouwantedanaccurateanaloguefade,youcannowhaveit!

HighqualityP&G100mmfader
Sameheightpanelasthe
restofourpanels,soitfits
intothesamemounting
options.

Rev 1.0 Page 15 of 18
VU panel
Crookwoodmake2StereoVUmeters,oneinthesamepackageastherestofourfrontpanels,and
anotherina2U19”package.Thetrimmerpackhasameteroutputsoyoucanmeterthepathif
required.

Panel Features
Twolarge,accurateSifammeters,withaccurateVUballistics.QuitedifferenttothecheapVUs
youseeeverywhereelse,‐thesemetersactuallywork!
Aprecisionpassiveattenuatorallowsyoutorunthemeterswithyourmasters,without
drivingthemetersintooverload.TheattenuatordoesnotaffecttheVU’sballisticsasyoualter
thelevel.
Beingpassive,nopowerisrequiredtomakethemeterwork,makingiteasytoinstall.
Passive,
balanced
attenuator,
accurately
dropslevelto
VUswithout
alteringtheir
ballistics
LargeSifam
VUmeter,
withaccurate
VUballistics

Rev 1.0 Page 16 of 18
Putting it all together
Herearesomeideasofwhatafinishedroutercontrolpanelmaylooklike.Thesepicturesareall
1/3rdofrealsize.
The smallest R3- 3 analogue inserts.

The largest R3- 15 analogue inserts, trimmer pack, P&G fader , plus VUs.

General Panel information
Here’sabitmoregeneralinformationonthepanels:
Theyareonly30mm(1.5”)deep(excepttheVUwhichis75mm–3”deep)
Althoughweconnectthepanelsinacertainfactorysetorder,youcanaltertheorderthatthey
sitonyourdesk,orevenspaceeachpaneloutassuitsyou
Thepanelscanbemountedintoyourstudiofurniture,intoamobilewoodenpodthatsitson
thedesktop,orintoa4U19”frame.
Theyconnecttotheaudioracksviaasmalltelephonetypecable

Rev 1.0 Page 17 of 18
Thiscableistypically5M(18ft)long,butcanbemadelongerorshortertosuit.
Theaudioracksthatdoalloftheaudiowork,arealsomodular,butbecausetheyarejustblack
boxes,theycanbeplacedanywhereconvenienttominimiseyourstudiowiring.
Thelegendsforthepanelswitchesareuserchangeable.Theyareprintedontopaper,andwe
canprovideasimpletemplateforyoutolabelthemassuitsyou.
Mounting the panels
Thereare3optionsformountingthecontrollers:
Ina4U19”racksystem.Upto4standardpanelsfitintoa4Urack

Inamoveablewoodenpod.ThepodismadeofstainedEnglishash.

Directlyintoyourownstudiofurniture.Thefrontpanelshavelipsontheiredgessotheycan
beeasilymountedintoyourownstudiofurniture.
Connecting the system together
Whilethepanelscontroltheaudio,theactualprocessingisdoneinseveral1Uracksthatcanbe
mountedremotely.Theactualnumberofrackswilldependontheexactfeatureset,butitvaries
from1to3racksintotal.
Asstandarda5M(18ft)cableissuppliedtolinkthefrontpaneltotheracks.Thiscanbeextended
ifrequiredhowever.
Audio Connections
AlloftheaudioconnectionsaremadetotherearoftheracksviaDB25multiwayconnectors.
Theseconnectorsareallpinnedouttotheindustrystandardpinout.
WhyDsubs?Wellpartlybecauseofthenumberofconnections–afullyfeaturedrouterwould
needabout7UofXLRpatchspace,ratherthanthe4Uofactualrackspace.TheDsubisalsoavery
goodconnector,andwithmoderncablesit’squiteeasytowireupto.
Thereareafewwaystowireuptheaudiotoyourrouter:

Rev 1.0 Page 18 of 18
Purchasereadymadecablesfromyourlocalmusicshop.Thestandardpinoutmeansmany
manufacturersmakethesecables.
PurchaseXLRbreakoutcablesfromus.Wecanmakethemtoavarietyoflengths.
WireuptotheDSubsyourself.Eitherwiredirectlytotheequipment,ortoanintermediary
patchifrequired.
PurchaseourXLRbreakoutpatchbays.Theseare1Ubayswith16XLRsonthem,labelled
appropriatelywiththeconnectorfunction.Theyaretypicallymountedwithin0.5M(18”)of
therackrearpanels.
Where to go from here
Nowyouhaveanideaofwhatitisyouwant,pleaseaskusforaquote,oracopyofthe
specificationspreadsheetwhichwillallowyoutocalculatethepricesasyoualterthespec.
Youmayalsoliketolookat:
R3installationmanual
R3usermanual

Atanypointintheprocess,pleasefeelfreetocallusforadvice.Ourdetailsare:
Crookwood
239,EastGrafton
Marlborough
Wiltshire,SN83DF
England
Tel:+44(0)1672811649
Fax:+44(0)1672811650
Email:[email protected]
Web:www.crookwood.com

Welookforwardstohearingfromyou.
