MINDPRINT T-COMP User manual

ENGLISH
Bedienungsanleitung
MANUAL

MindPrintT-Comp
Dear Recording Specialist,
WearepleasedthatyouselectedtheMindPrint®T-COMPasyourtoolofchoice
inyourquestforhigh-qualitysound.
TheT-COMPisahigh-qualitycompressorfeaturingstereoanddualmonomodes.Amongthe
hallmarksofthisdevicearecertainlyitseaseofuseandexcellenttone.Withthebenefitof
authentictubecircuitry,itwillmakeyourtrackscomewithalavishhelpingofanalog
warmth.Andwiththeoptionaldigitalinterface,itmergesseamlesslyintoyourdigital
studioenvironment.
TheengineersoftheMindPrintdevelopmentteamareallspecialistsintheirchosenfields,
highlyexperiencedhandsatdesigningtube,audio,mixeranddigitaltechnology.These
sound"gurus"investedalloftheirtalentsandskillstodojusticetothewishesof
numerousrecordingenthusiastsallovertheworld.
Modernrecordingequipmenthasachievedaveryhighstandardoverthelastcoupleof
yearsandpriceshavedroppedtofairlyaffordablelevels.Unfortunately,manystudio
recordingsnonethelessfallshortofwhatmostconsiderdesirableinaudiosound.
Generally,theproblemisanabsenceofanalogaudiophenomenasuchastapesaturation
andtubewarmth.
TheT-COMPputspreciselythesemissingqualitiesatyourfingertips—allyouhavetodo
isexploitthemtomakethemostofyourtalentsandrecordingequipment.Aclassiccaseof
technologydrivinginspiration,youwillbeamazedatthedifference.Getreadyforamore
intense,vividandmusicalsonicexperience.
St.Wendel,October1999

Table of contents
1 Layout of theT-COMP 7
1.1 InputandOutputSection 7
1.2 Compression 7
1.3 AttackandReleaseTimes 7
1.4 Filter 8
1.5 Tubes 8
2 Control Features 8
2.1 InputandOutputSections 8
2.2 CompressorSection 9
2.3 TubeandMainsSwitch 9
3 Connections 9
3.1 Inputs 9
3.2 Outputs 9
3.3 Inserts 9
3.4 DigitalInterface 10
3.5 ACPower 10
4 Applications 10
4.1 ThePurposeoftheT-COMP 10
4.2 TheT-COMPinaChannelInsert 10
4.3 TheT-COMPinaSubgroup 10
4.4 TheT-COMPinaStereoMaster 11
4.5 TheT-COMPinaDigitalEnvironment 11
4.6 TheT-COMPinInsertMode 11
4.7 TheT-COMPinLiveApplications 11
5 Tips andTricks 11
6 Block Diagram 29
7 Technical Specifications 12
MindPrintT-Comp
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MindPrintT-Comp
1 Layout of theT-COMP
1.1 Input and Output Section
Featuringboth1/4"jacksandXLRconnectors,theT-COMP isequippedwithbalancedline
inputsandoutputsdesignedtoacceptstandardstudiolevels.Youcanalsoaddadigital
inputtotheunitbyinstallingtheDI-MODexpansionmodule.Insertsletyou patchanalog
devicesintotheT-COMPwhenyouareusingitinadigitalenvironment,whichmeansyou
don'thavetoinvestinexternalconverters.Sportingadual-channeldesign,eachchannel
isequippedwithseparatededicatedcontrolssothatyoucanusetheT-COMPtoprocessa
stereosignalortwoseparatemonosignals.
UsetheInputGainknobtoadjusttheinputlevel.Thelevelmeter,whichcanbeswitched
todisplayeithertheinputortheoutput,providesagoodvisualreferenceyoucanuseto
dialinsuitablesettings.Ontheonehand,youwanttheinputsignaltobeashighas
possible,onthe other,itshouldnotexceed+6dB.PleasemakesurethattheredLED
(Over)doesnotilluminateevenatsignalpeaks.
TheOutLevelknobcontrolstheoverallvolumeoftheprocessedsignal.Sincea
compressorreducessignallevels,youmayfindthatwheneveryouarecompressingthe
signalfairlydrastically,youwillneedtocompensateforthatreductionbybringingthe
outputsignalbackup.Todialinthemostdesirablelevel,switchthelevelmetersothatit
indicatestheoutputlevelandsettheOutLevelknobsothatpeak levelsinthesignal
reach,butdonotexceed,the+6dBmark.BesurethattheredLED(Over)doesnot flash.
PresstheCompOnbuttonto activatethecompressioncircuitry;thestatusLEDOnwill
lighttoconfirmthattheeffectisworking.Whenevertheeffect isswitchedoff,theinput
signalisrouteddirectlytothedevice'soutput.SincetheOutLevelknobinfluencesthe
wetorprocessedsignalexclusively—ithasnoinfluenceonthedryorunprocessed
signal—youcan,bykeepinganeyeonthelevelmeter,setbothsignalstothesame
value.Thebestpossiblewaytojudgehowthecompressorisaffectingthesignalissimply
byswitchingtheeffects offandonandcomparingthedryandwetsignals.
1.2 Compression
You'llfindthatthecompressionwhichthisunitdeliversisimpressiveinitseffectiveness,
yetitissmoothandunobtrusive.Poweredbyahigh-qualityTHAT-VCA(VoltageControlled
Amplifier)whichhasbeenfine-tunedtointeractwiththetube,itgeneratesuncolored
compressionaswellasthetypicalovertonestructurethatyouwouldexpectofapremium
tubedevice.
Thecompressorkicksinwheneverthesignalexceedsthesettingdeterminedbythe
positionoftheThresholdknob.AdjustthecompressionratioviatheRatioknob.Every
signalthatexceedsthethresholdvalueisattenuatedbyacertaindegree,namelybythe
ratiothatyouhaveset.Thistypeofdampingisalsocalledgainreduction;the amountof
reductionisdisplayedina12-segment LEDmeterlocatedabovethecompressorcontrols.
CompressorCurve:Atypicalcompressorcurve
Whenyouusethecompressortoshapesignals,loudersignalsbecomequieter,while
softersignalsremainunprocessed.Afteryouhavecompressedasignal,youcantweakthe
levelsothatthelouderpartsofthesignal,whichtheeffecthascut,areboostedbackup
totheiroriginallevel.Thevolumeofthesofterpartsisthenalsoamplified,whichmeans
thattheentiretrackwillseemlouder.Furthermore,sincethesignal'sdynamicsare
"squeezed"sothatthedifferenceinlevelsbetweenloudandsoftpassagesisnotnearly
asdrastic,youendupwithamorebalanced,smoothersoundscape.Manysignalssuchas
vocalsandacousticinstrumentsareinherentlyextremelydynamic,soyou'llfindthat
thesewon'tblendnicelyintothemixuntilyouhavecompressedthem.
Toachievecompressionthatisasinconspicuousaspossible,theT-COMPuses something
calledsoft-kneecompression.Whathappenshereisthis:asasignal'slevelapproaches
thethresholdpoint,thecompressionrateisincreasedcontinuously.Whenthesignallevel
finallyexceedsthethresholdvalue,itiscompressedattheratiothatyouhavedialedin.
Whatthismeansisthatevenwhenyouchoosetocompresssignalsheavily,thesearenot
"crushed"intosubmission,butgently"squeezed"whenthesignalexceedsthethreshold.
Soft-KneeCurve:ThecurveoftheT-COMP'ssoft-kneecompressionissmootherand
soundsmoremusical.
1.3Attack and ReleaseTime
Attenuatingthelevelofasignalwhenitcrossesagiventhresholdisanoperationthat
controlsthelevelofasignal,whichiswhyinthepastcompressorswerecalled leveling
orgaincontrolamplifiers.Hereadetectormonitorstheaudiosignalatalltimesand
controlstheamplificationleveloftheVCAaccordingly.
Anytypeofcontroloperationrequiressomeamountoftimetobecarriedout.Toavoid
overshooting,thetimeittakesforthecompressiontokickinshouldbeasshortas
possible.Onthe otherhand,ifthecompressorrespondstooquickly,theeffectwill
generatedistortion.Theamountoftimeittakesforthecompressortorespondtochanges
inleveliscalledattacktime.Formanycreativeapplications,you'llfindthatalongattack
wasselectedtogenerateaspecialkindofeffect,forinstancetoshapeanenvelope.In
anycase,selecting therighttypeofattacktimewillalwaysentailsometypeof
compromise,oneyou'llhavetodefineanewforeachdifferentapplicationandmusical
material.Muchthesameholdstrueforthereleasetime,i.e.theamountoftimeittakes
forthecompressortoreturntoanamplificationratioof1:1afterthesignallevelhas
droppedbelowthedefinedthreshold.Ifyouselecttooshortareleasetime,thesignalwill
chatter,toolongareleasetimeoftenproducesanuglypumpingsound.
Attackandreleasetimes:Selectingtherightattackandreleasetimesiscrucialsothat
compressionremaininaudible.
Output
Input
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Soft Knee Characteristic
Envelope
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UsetheAttackandReleaseknobstodialinthedesiredtimes.Thisisthebiggestproblem
usersofconventionalcompressorsareconfrontedwith.Toremedyit,theT-COMPworks
withatypeofprogram-dependentcontrolfortheattackandreleasetimes,afeaturethat
youcanactivatebypressingtheAdaptivebutton.Theattackandreleasetimesthatour
engineerschosearefastenoughtohandlepercussivematerial.Ifcertainpartsofasignal
fadeinandoutslowly—inotherwords,ifithascertainpassageswithlengthyattack
andreleasetimes—theT-COMPwilladaptitsattackandreleasetimesaccordinglyto
ensurethebestpossibleprocessingresults.
WhereastheAdaptivecircuitmayatfirstglanceresembletheautomatedmodeofsomeof
themorepopularautomaticcompressors,intermsoffunctionality,itactuallyout-performs
thesebyaconsiderablemargin.Whenyou'redealingwithanautomaticcompressor,the
controlsgoverningattackandreleasetimesaredisabled.WiththeT-COMPontheother
hand,thesearealwaysenabledandatyourdisposal.Thismeansthatyoucansetthe
attackandreleasetimesmanuallysothatthedevicewilldeliverexactlythekindof
compressionyouhaveinmind.Inaddition,T-COMPautomaticallyfine-tunesyoursettings
tomatchthegivenmusicalmaterial.Thecompressorgivesyouthebestofbothworlds:
Youhavethecreativeleewaytodefinethecompressionasyouseefit,whileatthesame
time,theautomatedfunctionalityfreesyouoftedioustechnicalconsiderations.
Youcanfocusonthemusicthatyou'reworkingwithandthecreativeprocessofshaping
itviatheT-COMP.
1.4 Filter
TheFilterbuttonactivatesacertaincompressionmodeinwhichtheamountof
compressiongeneratedbythedevicedependsonthefrequencycontentofthesignal.
Afilterisinsertedintothecontrolcircuit,usuallycalledasidechain,ratherthanthe
signalchain.Itcompelsthecompressortoresponddifferentlytodifferentfrequencies.
Thefilterisnotinthesignalpathitself,andsoithasabsolutelynoinfluenceonthe
frequencyresponseortimbreofthesignal;insteaditjustgovernshowthecompressor
responds!Whilewewereintheprocessofdesigningthisfilter,welistenedcarefullyto
theinputofprofessionalsoundengineers.Theymadethepointthatintherealworld,
bass-heavysignalstendtoevokeexcessivecompression.Forthisreason,wetunedthe
filtersothatthecompressorrespondslessaggressivelytolowerfrequencies,thereby
deliveringresultsthataremuchclosertotheway thehumanhearnaturally
"compresses"signals.
Whenthefilterisactivated,youwillnotethatthecompressionseemsmorebalanced,with
silky,shimmeringhighsandimprovedtopendresponse.Thefilterwasoptimizedforvocal
signals,butifyouexperimentwithacousticinstruments,youcan alsocomeupwithgreat
results.Italsoworkswondersforcomplexmastermixes.
1.5Tubes
Thetwoonboardtubesdefinitelymakeupwhatcouldbecalledthe"soul"ofthe
compressor;theyhaveaconsiderableinfluenceonitssound.UsetheTubeSatknobtodial
invariablesaturationlevels.Thisknobgivesyouprecisioncontrolovertheamountof
overtonesthatthetubesgenerate.Inthelowerendofthecontrolrange,fewovertones
aregenerated.Asyouturntheknobclockwise,theovertonecontentincreasesslightly,
whichallowsyoutomakeextremelysubtleadjustments.Onceyouturntheknobbeyond
thetwelveo'clockposition,thetubes reallystarttogotowork.Whenyouturnitwide
open,you'lldefinitelyhearsomedistortioninthesignal.Normally,ifyoucompressa
signalheavily,itslevelisdecreased.Lowerlevelsdon'tdrivethetubeashard,leavingit
withoutthematerialitneedstoworkitsmagic.Wecompensatedforthisphenomenonby
installingacircuitwherethecompressedsignal,dependingontheThresholdsettingthat
youdialin,isautomaticallyboostedbackuptoasuitablelevel.
Whenyoudialinhigherlevelsofsaturation,keepthisinmind:although theTubeSatknob
settingandthresholdplayamajorroleindeterminingtheamountofharmonicsthatare
generated,signallevelplaysakeyroleaswell.Inordertoachieveaconsistentovertone
structurewhen thesignalisonthevergeofclipping,youshouldexperimentwithhigher
compressionratiosinorderto"prep"thesignaloptimallyforthetube.Whenyoudialin
theappropriatesettings,compressionandtubesaturationmeshtoahomogeneouswhole,
whichwillgiveyourtracksjusttherightsheen.
Thelight-emittingdiodelocatedbelowthetubewindowgivesyouagoodvisual reference
fortheeffect.Whenthetubeentersthesaturationzone,thecolouroftheLEDwillchange
fromgreentoyellow.Whenyoustartpushingthetubeharder,theLEDwillturnred.Ifat
thispointyoudrivethetubeevenharder,itwillgenerateaudibledistortion.
IftheRatioknobissettothefarleftposition,thedynamicsofthesignalarenot
processedatallbecausethecompressionratioremainsat1:1.Inordertodeactivatethe
compressorfully,youmustalsoturntheThresholdknobtothefarleftposition.Although
ataratioof1:1,thecompressorindeedhasnoeffectonthecharacteristicsofthesignal,
thecircuitmentionedearlier—theonethatbooststhesignalbeforeitisroutedtothe
tube—remainsactive.
Obviously,themoreconvenientoptionfordeactivatingthecompressoristosimplyswitch
theCompOnbuttonoff.Thisisagoodhabittogetinto:Whenyouleavethesettingsas
theyare,youcanswitchthecircuitryoffandonandgetagoodA/Bcomparisonbetween
thecompressedanduncompressedsignals.
2 Control Features
Withtheexceptionoftheinputselectorandthelevelmeterbuttons,eachoftheT-COMP's
channelsisequippedwithasetofdedicatedcontrols.
2.1 Input and Output Sections
DigiIn:Thisbuttonactivatesthedigitalinput.
IftheoptionalDI-MODdigitalinterfacehasn'tbeen
installed,thedigital inputisofcourseunavailable.
InputGain:AdjusttheinputleveloftheT-COMPhere.Thisknob'ssettingaffectsallinputs.
LEDLadder:ThisLEDmeterindicatestheleveloftheinputoroutputsignal,dependingon
thestatusoftheOutputtoDisp.button.TheyellowLEDsindicatetheheadroomofthe
T-COMP,theredLEDstheamountofdistortion.
OutputtoDisp.:Thisbuttonswitchesthelevelmetersothatitdisplayseithertheinputor
outputsignal.
CompOn:TurnstheT-COMP’scompressioneffecton.Whenyouswitchtheeffectoff,the
inputsignalisrouteddirectlytothedevice'soutput.
OutputLevel:Controlstheoutputleveloftheprocessedsignal.Whentheeffectis
switchedoff,thisknobhasnoinfluenceonthesignal.SincetheknobOutputLevel
influencesthewetorprocessedsignalexclusively,youcanuseittosettheprocessed
signaltothesamelevelastheunprocessedsignal.Thebestpossiblewaytojudgehow
thecompressorisaffectingthesignalissimplybyswitchingtheeffectsoffandonand
comparingthedryandwetsignals.
TubeSat:Controlstubesaturationwithinthecompressorforallsignalswhichexceedthe
thresholdvalue.Thehigherthisknobisturnedup,themoreharmonicovertonesare
generated.
SatLED:ThistricolorLEDindicatesthetubesaturationstatus.Innormaloperation,itwill
lightupgreen.Assoonasthetubeisdrivenhardenoughsothatitisslightlysaturated,
theLEDchangesitscolortoyellow.Whendriventoohard,thetubeproducesaudible
distortionandtheLEDturnsred.
MindPrintT-Comp
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MindPrintT-Comp
Tube:Notonly doesthewarmredglowofthetubeaddacertainvisualvaluetothe
T-COMP,itisalsothe"secretingredient"ofitsgreatsound.Dependingonhowhardyou
driveit,thetube(type12AX7A)canaddanythingfromatouchofsilkyanalogwarmthto
unmistakabletubesaturationtoyourtracks.
MainsSwitch:InadditiontoswitchingtheACpowersupplyonandoff,themainsswitch
alsoactivatesthehard-wiredbypassoftheT-COMP.Whenthedeviceisswitchedoff,the
LineInandLineOutcircuitsarelinkeddirectly;thesignalbypassesthedevice
completely.Thehard-wiredbypassis alsoactivatedautomaticallyincaseofpowerfailure
orapowersupplydefect.Thisfeaturedefinitelyenhancesthesafetyofthedevice,
particularlyinbroadcastingandliveapplicationswhereyoucan'taffordtohaveacircuit
dropoutevenforamoment.Inthestudio,theT-COMPcanberemovedcompletelyfromthe
signalpathbysimplyswitchingtheunitoff.
OnLED:IlluminatestoindicatetheT-COMPisswitchedon.
3 Connections
Allconnectorsarelocatedontheprocessor’srearpanel.
3.1 Inputs
TheinputsfeatureadualconnectordesigntoacceptbothbalancedXLRconnectorsand
balanced6.3mm(1/4“)plugs.Youcanalsoconnectunbalancedcablestobothinputjacks.
ThepinassignmentsoftheXLRconnectorcomplywiththeinternationalnormIEC268-12.
Inaccordancewiththisnorm,pin1isconnectedtotheground,pin2carriesthepositive
signalandpin3thenegative.Ifyouareusinganunbalancedcircuit,besuretobridgepin
1andpin3.
Inthestereo(tip-ring-sleeve)1/4“jack,thepositivesignalisroutedviathetip,the
negativesignalviathering,andthegroundviathesleeve.Whenyouinsertanunbalanced
monoplug,theinputautomaticallyswitchestounbalancedoperatingmode.
3.2 Outputs
Forthelineoutputs,youalsohaveseparatebalancedXLRconnectorsand1/4“jacksat
yourdisposal.Whenyouinsertanunbalancedmonoplug,theinputautomaticallyswitches
tounbalancedoperatingmode.
Youcanaccessbothjackssimultaneously,inwhichcasetheoutputoftheT-COMPactsas
adistributororsplitter.Ifyouwanttousebothoutputs,youmustuse balancedcables.
Simultaneoususeoftheoutputsinunbalancedoperatingmodeisnotpermissible.
3.3 Inserts
TheInsertjacksallowyoutoinsertexternaldevicesintothesignal
pathforadditionalprocessing.Theunbalanced6.3mm(1/4")TRS
jacksacceptstandardinsertcables,theusualtypeofpatchcordused
formixingconsoleinserts.
2.2 Compressor Section
Thetubecompressorgivesyouthebestofbothworlds—theprecisionofahigh-quality
semiconductorcircuitwiththesilkysoundthatonlyvacuumtubescandeliver.Its
circuitry,anentirelyuniqueandinnovativedesign,letsyoucontrolcompressionandtube
saturationseparately.
Threshold:Thisknobadjuststhethresholdofthecompressorwithinarangeof+2dBto-
28dB.Signalswhichexceedthethresholdvalueareprocessedbythecompressor.
Dependingonthethresholdvaluethatyouhavedialedin,thesignalisalsoboosted
beforeitisroutedto thetube.Rotatetheknobhardlefttoitsfarleftpositionorswitch
theCompOnbuttonofftodeactivatethecompressor.
Ratio:Thiscontroldeterminestherelationshipbetween,or”ratio”of,theinputandoutput
levelsofallsignalswhichexceedthethresholdvalue.Asettingof2:1meansthatwhen
thelevelofaninputsignalincreasesby2dB,theoutputsignallevelincreasesbyjust1
dB.Thecontrolrangestartsataratioof1:1(nocompression)andcanbe increased
infinitely.Thelatterisbasicallyalimitersetting—nofurtherincreaseoftheoutputlevel
ispossible.Todeactivatethecompressor,rotatetheknobtothefar left-handpositionor
switchtheCompOnbuttonoff.
LEDLadder:Indicatestheamountofattenuation,orgainreduction,thatthesignalisbeing
subjectedto.
OnLED:Illuminatestoindicatethatthedevice'sprocessingcircuitryisenabled.TheComp
Onbuttonlocatedintheinput/outputsectionactivatesthecircuitry.
Attack:Determinestheamountoftimeittakesforthecompressortofullyattenuatethe
signalleveloncethelevelexceedsthedefinedthreshold.
Release:Determinestheamountoftimethatittakesfortheamplificationratiotoreturn
to1:1oncethesignallevelhasfallenbelowthethreshold.
Filter:Thisbuttonswitchesthesidechainfilterofthe compressoron.Whenthefilteris
activated,frequencieslowerthan300Hzhavelessinfluenceoncompression,whichgives
youamorebalancedsoundinthemidandhighfrequencyranges.
Adaptive:Switchestheautomated,signal-dependentattackandreleasetimecontrol
featureon.TheAttackandReleasecontrolsremainactiveandareusedtoshapehowthe
automatedadaptivecircuitresponds.
Link:Thisbuttonswitchesthecontrolcircuitofthetwochannelstostereomode.Ifyou
wanttoprocessstereosignals,besuretoactivatethisbutton.Ifyou'reworkingwith
monosignals,itmustbedeactivated.
LinkOnLED:Illuminateswhenthe Linkfunctionisactive.
2.3Tube and Mains Switch
AttheheartoftheT-COMParetwohigh-qualitytubes;theseareresponsiblefortheunique
soundofthecompressor.
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Theinternalsignalpathisinterruptedwhenyouintroduceapluginto theInsertjack.
Insteadofcontinuingonthroughtheinternalbusses,thesignalispatchedoutviathetip
ofTRSplug(T=Tip).Itisthenroutedthroughtheexternaldevicethatisconnectedtothe
otherendoftheinsertpatchcord.ThesignalisreturnedtotheT-COMPviathering(R)of
theplug.Thesleeve(S)oftheplugisconnectedtoground.
Theinsertislocatedpost-inputlevelknobandpre-compressor.Ifyouhaveinstalledthe
optionaldigitalinterface,thenyoucanconnecttheseinsertstoadditionalanalog devices
inadigitalsignalchainwithouttheneedforadditionaldigitalinterfacesor external
convertersforthosedevices.
3.4 Digital Interface
Ifyouchooseto workwithdigitalmixersorharddiskrecordingsystems,youhavethe
optionofretrofittingadigitalinterfacetotheexpansionslotlocatedontherearpanelof
theT-COMP.
WhenyouequiptheT-COMPwiththeDI-Modmodule,
thisupgradegivesyouadigitalinput/outputinstate-
of-the-art24-bitformat;itis alsocompatiblewithall
16,18and20-bitdevices.Thesamplingfrequencycan
beswitchedbetween44.1 and48kHz.Whenyou
synchronizedevicesviatheinput,theDI-Modevenworkswitheveryfrequencybetween
32and48kHz.
3.5AC Power
TheT-COMPconnectstoawalloutletormainssupplyviaastandardpowercableattached
totheT-COMP’sACpowersocket. Shouldyou encounteragroundloop,thegroundlift
switchseversthesignalgroundfromthedevice's
chassisground.Agroundloopisprettyeasyto
identify—thedeviceemitsannoyinghum.Ifthisis
thecase,set thisswitchtothepositionwherethe
noiseiscanceledout.
4Applications
4.1The Purpose of theT-COMP
Thedynamicsofinstrumentsandthehumanvoicecanbetoomuchofagoodthing,often
exceedingwhatyouwantandneedforpurposesofrecording.Ifduringmixdownyoufocus
onloudpassages,thesofterpartswouldbesubmergedinthemix.Ifontheotherhand,
youdialinalevelthatallowsthesofterpassagestobeheardclearly,thelouderparts
woulddrowneverythingelseout.TheT-COMPremediesthisproblembysmoothingoutthe
differencebetweenloudandsoftpassages,givingyoumoremanageabledynamics.Thisin
turnmakesitsomucheasier tointegratetheprocessedtrackintothemix,withmuch
betteroverallresults.
Acompressedrecordingalsosoundslouderthananuncompressedtrack.Eventhoughthe
actuallevelremainsthesame,increasingloudnesscreatesthekindofcompactsound,
presenceandpunchwhichmakesmanyprofessionalrecordingssoundsogood.The
"secret"ingredientthatenablesrecordiststocomeupwiththiskindofup-front,punchy
soundis,inthevastmajorityofcases,acompressor.Notonlydotheprosprocess
individualtrackswithcompression,theyalsogivethestereomastersignalthesame
treatment.TheT-COMPcandoboth—itisdesignedtodealwiththe kindofindividual
monosignalsthatyouwouldfindintheseparatechannelsofamixer,aswellaswiththe
stereosignalsofamasterinsertinstereolinkmode.Notonlydoesitprocessthe
dynamicsofsignals,butthankstoitstubecircuitryitalsoaddsextremelymusicalanalog
warmthtothesignal.
TheT-COMPalsotakesonakeyrolein digitalenvironments.Priceshavecollapsedin
recentyears,makingdigitalmixersandmultitrackrecordingsystemsaffordableforthe
amateurrecordist.Themajorityoffunctionsfeaturedinprodevices,astronomically
expensivejusttenyearsago,arepartandparcelofeverycontemporaryharddisk
recordingprogram.Fortunately,moreandmoreprocessingoperationscanbeperformed
completelyinthedigitaldomain,whichcertainlyenhancesthequalityofproductions.
Nonetheless,manymusiciansperceiveadigitalchill,acold,sterilesoundthatisthe
productofanalytical,high-precisionsystems.Thisis wheretheT-COMPcomesintoplay.
Poweredbytubeengineering,itdeliverscreamyanalogtoneand,withthehelpofthe
digitalDI-Modoption,transportsit directlytotheharddisksystem.Inthefinalanalysis,
youcanhaveyourcakeandeatittoo:T-COMPdeliversgreatanalogsoundanddigital
engineeringpreventsundesirablesignaldegradationwhenyoupost-processtracks.
4.2TheT-COMP in a Channel Insert
Ifyouwanttoprocessanindividualinstrument,simplyinserttheT-COMPintothe
appropriatemixerchannel.Withitstwochannels,theT-COMPcanworkwithtwomixing
consolechannelsandprocessdifferentmonosignalssimultaneously.Inadditionto
compressingthedynamicsofasignal,youcanalsouseittocomeupwithaninteresting
overtonestructureandthetypicallywarmtonewithenhancedpresencethatonlyatube
devicecandeliver.
ConnecttheinputandoutputoftheT-COMPtoamixingconsolechannelviainsertpatch
cables.Ifyourmixerisnotequippedwithinsertjacks,youcanpatchintheT-COMP
betweenthelineoutputofarecorder,samplerorsynthesizerandthemixer'sinput.
ExperimentwiththediversecontrolfeaturestogetafeelforhowtheT-COMPoperates
andresponds.You'llfindthatitisnotalwaysdesirabletodialintheshortestattacktimes
andahighratiotocompressasignalasdrasticallyaspossible.Forinstance,ifyou're
processingarhythmguitartrack,you'lloftencomeupwithbetterresultsifyouchoosea
longerattacktimetoallowtheinstrument'snaturalattacktoremainintact.Youcan
attenuatetherestofthesignal—theactual"body"ofthesoundconsistingofthedecay
andsustainphasesofthesignal—viathecompressor.Inthemix,you'llenduphearing
justthepickorfingershittingthestrings,whichisagreatoptionformakingitsoundless
clutteredandmoretransparent.
4.3TheT-COMP in a Subgroup
YoucanalsousetheT-COMPinamixingconsole'ssubgroupinserts.Forexample,ifyou're
usingsubgroupstocreateastereomixforalldrums,thisoptionwillletyoucompressthe
signalsoftheentiredrumkit.
Subgroupscanalsobeusedtopatchasignaltoamultitrackrecorder.Forthisapplication,
youcanusetheT-COMPtocompresssignalswhileyou'rerecording.Ifyourmixerisnot
equippedwithsubgroupinserts,youcanpatchtheT-COMPindirectlybetweenthe mixer
andrecorder.
Ifyouchoosetousethisoption,youshouldonlycompressthesignalslightlytogiveyou
someleewaywhenyou'reshapingthesignalduringpost-processing.You’llfindthatthe
T-COMPwillagaincomeinhandywhenyou'rereadytomixarecordingdown!
MindPrintT-Comp
T-COMP
IN
2x INSERT
OUT IN OUT

MindPrintT-Comp
4.4TheT-COMP in a Stereo Master
Onceyouhavecompressedindividualtracks,youcancompressthestereomastersignal
foraneventightermix.Generally,acompressionrateof2:1andgain reductionofsome
6dBdeliversgreatresults.TousetheT-COMPonthefinalmix,inserttheT-COMPbetween
themixingconsole'soutputandthemasterrecorder'sinput.Ifyourmastermachineisa
DATrecorderandyouhaveinstalledtheDI-Modoption,youcanalsoworkinthedigital
realmviaS/P-DIF.
Incidentally,ifyouwanttoachievethebestpossibleresultsusingthistypeof
configuration,youshouldn'texecutefadesattheendofasongmanuallybypullingdown
themixer'smasterfader.Thereasonforthisisthatthethresholdyouhavedialedinvia
theThresholdknobwillshiftinresponsetothechangeinlevels.Instead,createthefade-
outviathemasterrecorder'slevelcontrol,orbetteryet,duringdigitalpost-processing.
Ifyounonethelessprefertousethemasterfader,patchtheT-COMPintothemixer's
masterinsert.Unfortunately,youwon'toftenfindthisfeatureonmost
lower-pricedmixers.
4.5TheT-COMP in a Digital Environment
Ifyouplantoworkwithadigitalmixerorharddiskrecordingsystem,youcanalso
integratetheT-COMPviatheS/P-DIFinterface,providedofcourseyouhaveinstalledthe
DI-Modoption.
Simplyroutethesignalthatyouwanttoprocessviaadigitalinterfacefromthedigital
mixerorharddisksystemtotheT-COMP.Theprocessedsignalwillbesentbacktothe
mixerorharddisksystemindigitalformviatheoutputoftheT-COMPand,onceitarrives
there,canbeprocessedorrecordedtoanothertrack.Atthesametime,theanalogoutput
isavailableformonitoringpurposes.
Whenyou'reinsertingsignalsviathedigitalinterface,theT-COMP(likeeveryotherdigital
device)generatesaslightlatency—inotherwords,itcauses aminimaldelay.Thedelay
isnomorethan1.5ms,sonormallythisisnotaproblem.However,ifyouareusingthe
dryandwetversionsof agivensignalsimultaneouslyorseveralchannelsforthesame
signal,youmayencounterundesirablephasingeffectsgeneratedbythisdelay.Shouldyou
encounterthisproblem,compensateforthedelayproducedbytheT-COMPusingthetrack
delayofyourharddisksystemorthechanneldelayofyourdigitalmixer.
4.6TheT-COMP in Insert Mode
Byinsertingexternaldevicesviatheinsertjacks,youcanactuallycreateaserialsignal
chainconsistingofanalogdeviceswithinadigitalstudioenvironment.Youwouldpatch
theseadditionaldevicesintotheanalogsignalbusoftheT-COMP,soyoudon'tneedany
additionaldigitalinterfacesorexternalconverters.
Afavoritetrickofexperiencedaudioengineersistoemployanequalizerbeforethe signal
ispipedthroughacompressor.TheMindPrintPARA-Qistheidealtoolforthistask—it
wasdesignedspecificallytoworktogetherwiththeT-COMP.Atrulyhigh-qualitydevice,it
deliversremarkablymusical results.
Anotherinterestingoptionistoinsertananalogexciter—manyrecordistsdon’tlikethe
soundofdigitalexciteralgorithms.
4.7TheT-COMP in LiveApplications
AlthoughtheT-COMPwasprimarilydevelopedforrecordingpurposes,itactuallywears
manyhats—you'llfindthatitisanexcellenttoolforliveapplications.Ifyouarethe
proudownerofaguitarracksystem,youcanpatchitinpost-preampandpre-poweramp
tocompressyourinstrument'ssignal.Forprocessingvocals,youcanpatchtheT-COMP
intoamixerinsertjustasyouwouldaneffectsdevice,sothattheamplifiedsoundofyour
voiceenjoysthebenefitsofthosedesirabletubecharacteristics.Feelfreetoexperiment
withotherinstrumentssuchaselectricbassguitars.
5Tips andTricks
5.1 Switching noise
TheT-COMP'sOnbuttonisarealhardwareswitch.Thismeansthat,ratherthanjustbeing
deactivated,theprocessingstagesareactuallyremovedfromthesignalpath.While
removingunusedelectronicsfromthesignalpathenhancesaudioquality,theseswitches
sometimescauseundesirablepoppingnoises,whichareproducedbysuddensurgesin
amplitude.Yourbestbetistoforgetaboutswitchingtheeffectonandoffwhileyou'rein
themiddleofrecordingorprocessingsignalswiththeT-COMP.
5.2 Over-the-top distortion
Thetubecompressorprocessesallsignalsthatlieabovethethresholdvalue.Moreover,
theleveloftubesaturationofcoursedependsonthesignallevel.Thecompressorisused
tokeepthesignallevelassteadyaspossible.Ifyoudialinalowthresholdvalueanda
highsaturationlevel,thetubewillbedrivenhardenoughtoproducefairlyheavy
distortionatsignalpeaks.Inthiscase,youshouldincreasethecompressionratiotolimit
thesesignalpeaks.Ifyoudon'twantthistypeofsignalprocessing,you'llhavetodialin
lowerthresholdandsaturationvalues.
5.2 Monitoring the mix
Makeahabitofmonitoringtheresultsinthecontextoftheentiremix.Evenwhenyou're
compressingthesignalofasinglechannel,don'tjustjudgebywhatyouhearwhenyou
activatetheSolobuttononyourmixer.Getadventurousandgiveheavierdistortiona
go—itmightbejustthethingtospiceupatake.Often,atrackmightsoundalmost
patheticheardinisolation,butinthecontextofthemix,absolutelybrilliant.Forinstance,
atouchoftubesaturationcanworkreallywellto"fattenup"harmonyvocalsinthe
chorusofasong.
6 Block Diagram
T-COMP
DAT RECORDER
OUT IN
OUT
IN
S/PDIF
optional
DIGITAL
OUT
DIGITAL
IN INSERT
T-COMP
IN
OUT
EQUALIZER

12
7Technical Specifications
LINE IN
Connections: CombinedXLR(pin1=ground;pin2=+;pin3=-)and
1/4“phonejack(tip=+;ring=-;sleeve=ground)
Inputtype: electronicallybalancedandfloating
Inputimpedance: 22kOhm
Sensitivity: 0dB
Maximuminputlevel: +20dB
DIGITALIN onlywithoptionalDI-Mod(seeOptionbelow)
LINE OUTA/B
Connections: CombinedXLR(pin1=ground;pin2=+;pin3=-)and
1/4“phonejack(tip=+;ring=-;sleeve=ground)
Outputtype: electronicallybalanced&floating
Outputimpedance: 220Ohm
Maximumoutputlevel: +20dB
DIGITALOUT onlywithoptionalDI-Mod(seeOptionbelow)
INSERTS
INSERTA/B
Connection: 1/4“phonejack(tip=Return;ring=Send;sleeve=
ground)
Inputtype: unbalanced(Return)
Inputimpedance: 4.7kOhmswithGaincontrolat0
47kOhmswithGaincontrolat10
Sensitivity: 0dB
Maximuminputlevel: +20dB
Outputtype: unbalanced(Send)
Outputimpedance: 220Ohm
Maximumoutputlevel: +20dB
EFFECT SECTION
Switchable onoroff
TUBE SECTION
TUBESAT
Distortion: adjustablebetween0.1%and10%
Trebleboost: from0dBto2dBbetween4kHzand22kHz(TubeSatcontrol)
COMPRESSOR SECTION
THRESHOLD: adjustablefrom+2dBto-28dB
RATIO: adjustablefrom1:1to1:infinity
Attack: adjustablefrom0.1msto150ms
Release: adjustablefrom5msto2000ms
Adaptive: automaticallysetstheattackandreleasetimes,basedon
settings
FILTER: Switchableonoroff
Frequency: 300Hz
(Compressioncircuitryonlyaffectsmaterialabove300Hz.)
DISTORTION
EffectSectionoff: 0.0008%,LINE IN,10Hz-22kHz@0dB input/0dBoutput
0.0007%,INSERTIN,10Hz-22kHz@-10dB input/0dBoutput
EffectSectionon: 0.06%,LINE IN,10Hz-22kHz@0dB input/0dBoutput
0.05%,INSERTIN,10Hz-22kHz@-10dB input/0dBoutput
withTUBESAT=0
FREQUENCY RANGE
EffectSectionoff: 10Hz-22kHz,±0.2dB
EffectSectionon: 10Hz-22kHz,±1dB
DYNAMIC RANGE
EffectSectionoff: 106dB,LINEIN,10Hz-22kHz@0 dBinput/0dBoutput
108dB,INSERTIN,10 Hz-22kHz@-10dBinput/ 0dBoutput
EffectSectionon: 92dB,LINEIN,10Hz-22kHz@0dB input/0dBoutput
92dB,INSERTIN,10 Hz-22kHz@-10dBinput/ 0dBoutput
AllvaluesA-weighted
BYPASS
Whenpowerisremovedfromtheunit,LINEINishardwiredtoLINEOUT.
GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS
Versions 230-volt,117-volt,and100-volt, ProtectionClass1
Powersupplyfuse,internal:
230volts/160mAslo-blo
117volts/315mAslo-blo
100volts/315mAslo-blo
max.currentdraw: 113mA(133mAwithDI-MOD)
max.powerconsumption: 31VA
Dimensions: 19”wide(482mm)by1.75”high(44mm)by
9.4”deep(238mm)
Rackdimensions: 19",1U
Depthinrack: 8.75"(222mm)
Protrusionof controls: 5/8"(16mm)
Weight: 7.6lbs(3.44kg);withDI-Modinstalled7.8lbs.(3.55kg)
Option DI-MOD:S/P-DIF I/Ocard,stereo
MindPrintT-Comp