TC Electronic ARENA User manual

USER MANUAL
ARENA

2
Important Safety Instructions
1 Read these instructions.
2 Keep these instructions.
3 Heed all warnings.
4 Follow all instructions.
5 Do not use this apparatus near water.
6 Clean only with dry cloth.
7 Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in accor-
dance with the manufacturer’s instructions.
8 Do not install near heat sources such as radiators, heat
registers, stoves, or other apparatus (including ampli-
fiers) that produce heat.
9 Only use attachments/accessories specified by the
manufacturer.
10 Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel.
Servicing is required when the apparatus has been
damaged in any way, such as power-supply cord or
plug is damaged, liquid has been spilled or objects
have fallen into the apparatus, the apparatus has been
exposed to rain or moisture, does not operate normally,
or has been dropped.
Warning!
• Toreducetheriskoffireorelectricalshock,donot
expose this equipment to dripping or splashing and
ensure that no objects filled with liquids, such as vases,
are placed on the equipment.
• Donotinstallinaconfinedspace.
Service
• Allservicemustbeperformedbyqualifiedpersonnel.
Caution:
You are cautioned that any change or modifications
not expressly approved in this manual could void your
authority to operate this equipment.
When replacing the battery follow the instructions on
battery handling in this manual carefully.
EMC/EMI
Thisequipmenthasbeentestedandfoundtocomplywith
the limits for a Class B Digital device, pursuant to part 15
of the FCC rules.

3
Theselimitsaredesignedtoprovidereasonableprotection
against harmful interference in residential installations.
Thisequipmentgenerates,usesandcanradiateradio
frequency energy and – if not installed and used in
accordance with the instructions – may cause harmful
interference to radio communications. However, there is
no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular
installation. If this equipment does cause harmful
interference to radio or television reception – which can
be determined by turning the equipment off and on –, the
user is encouraged to try correcting the interference by
one or more of the following measures:
• Reorientorrelocatethereceivingantenna.
• Increasetheseparationbetweentheequipmentand
the receiver.
• Connecttheequipmenttoanoutletonacircuit
different from the one to which the receiver is
connected.
• Consultthedealeroranexperiencedradio/TV
technician for help.
For the customers in Canada:
ThisClassBdigitalapparatuscomplieswithCanadian
ICES-003. Cet appareil numérique de la classe B est
conforme à la norme NMB-003 du Canada.

4
www.tcelectronic.com - www.youtube.com/tcelectronic
(EN) Introduction
Congratulations! You have just bought a reverb pedal that is a steppingstone to a world of
inspiration, innovation and tone.
WeareproudtopresentArena.Inthemusicindustry,TCElectronicissynonymouswiththebest
reverb out there – a reverb that you know from countless songs and classic albums, but that’s not
all. We love tone as much as any guitarist out there, so we are very excited to present a brand new,
groundbreakingconcept:TonePrint!
TonePrintgivesinstantaccesstocustom-tweakedsounds.Wehavegatheredanimpressivelistof
guitarheroesandhadthemtailortheirsignaturesounds–thetonesthatmadethemfamous.TonePrint
willnotjustbringyouclosetothesoundsofyouridols,theygiveyoutheiractualsounds!
UsingTonePrintsisbotheasyandfun.JustdownloadtheTonePrintyouwantfrom
www.tcelectronic.comand,voila,yourfavoriteartisthasjustputaTonePrintinyourpedal.
Forgetemulation–let’stalkcollaboration!

5
1 - Effect on/off (true bypass)
2 - 1/4 inch mono jack input
3 - 1/4 inch mono jack input (for stereo in)
4 - 1/4 inch mono jack output
5 - 1/4 inch mono jack output (for stereo out)
6 - FX level control
7 - Decay time control
8 - Pre Delay short/long
9 - Tone control
10 - Reverb type selector
11 - Power in (9VDC)
12 - USB connection for exchanging TonePrint
settings and software updates.

6
Connecting
Input jacks - Use MONO for mono input and both MONO
andSTEREOifconnectingastereosource.
If you run the pedal on battery we recommend removing the
mono jack to preserve battery power when you don’t play.
Output jacks - connect to another pedal or directly into
an amp or mixer. Use MONO for mono setups and both
MONOandSTEREOforstereosetups.
Notice that it is possible to select between true bypass and
buffered bypass mode via a dip switch located under the
battery cover.
Power in-usea9VDCpowersupplywiththefollowing
symbol:
USB
Connect to a computer using the supplied USB cable for
upload of TonePrint settings.
Theconnector-typeisMini-B.

7
The controls
FX LEVEL
Controls the level of the reverb. Notice that the level of the direct signal is always passed at the original
level (unity gain). Only the level of the reverb is changed when turning the FX level knob.
DECAY
TheDecayknobsetsthedecaytimeofthereverb.Pleasenotethatthemax.decaytimeonthe
different reverb types varies due to the nature to the reverbs.
TONE
By adjusting the tone you change the emphasis on high and low frequencies in the reverb from dark to
crisp.The“best”settingisreallyamatterofhowdominantyouwishthereverbtosound.
PRE DELAY
Pre-delayisthetimebetweenthedirectsoundandthereverb.Tokeepthedirectsound“in-your-face”,
even with a long decay time and a high mix setting, try the long pre-delay setting.
REVERB TYPE selector
TheReverbTypeselectorallowsyoutoselectbetweenthetypesdescribedinthefollowingsection.

8
Reverb Types
Thereverbnaturallyfoundinvarioustypesofroomsdependsonmanydifferentfactors:Thesizeofthe
room, the material the walls are made of (wood, stone etc.), is the room furnished or not, how high is
the ceiling, is it a church, etc.
ROOM
TheRoomalgorithmsimulatesarelativelysmall,wellfurnishedroom.Insucharoom,manyreflections
are absorbed by soft materials, and the sound is reflected and sustained only by the walls (covered
with wallpaper), windows and maybe some furniture.
HALL
TheHallAcousticpresetisabroadyetslightlydiffusereverb.Itsimulatesalargeenvironmentbutadds
a distinctive acoustic flavor to the source material. Great discreet reverb for large epic sounds at longer
decay settings but also perfect for genuine ambient sounds at shorter decay settings.
SPRING
TheSpringalgorithmhasbeendesignedtoreproducethesoundoftheoldspringreverbs,suchasthe
ones used in vintage guitar amps.

9
PLATE
Priortothedigitalera,reverbwascreatedeitherusingspringsorlargemetallicplates.APlatereverb
isrecognizedbyitsverydiffuseandbrightsoundandisexcellentforguitarwhenyousearchfora
significant guitar reverb.
CHURCH
Ahighlydiffuselargereverbthatisrecognizableforitsemulationofthemanyhardsurfacesofdifferent
shapes found in traditional church rooms. If you are looking for a large reverb and think the Hall is too
clean and subtle – try Church.
MOD (Modulated)
TheMODmodeaddsmodulationtothereverbonly-nottothedrysignal.Thisoptsforareverbthatis
really noticeable and cuts through in live situations.
ROYAL
Evokingthesoundplacingyourampinabigandbeautifulcathedral.Trythissettingforthesongsthat
are larger than life.

10
PARL (Parliament)
TakingyourArenatoParliamentwiththetwistofaknob,PARLmodewillgiveyouthesoundandfeel
ofhallreverbbutwithatwist.IfyouliketheHALLsetting,chancesareyou’lllovethePARLsetting.
PAS (Passage)
ThePassage reverb is a firm reverb inspired by the regular room reverb but with a twist.
Great go-to reverb for lots of purposes - try playing around with the settings and you’ll unlock a
spectrum of great reverb sounds.
SEAS (Season)
The Season setting gives you the sound and feel of a lovely spring reverb voiced especially for this
pedal by none other than Barry Mitchell of Guitar Center.
LOFI
Downanddirtyreverb.UseLOFIandshowyourawarenessofaiminginthestraightoppositedirection
of a smooth discrete studio reverb type. Make a statement.

11
TILE
Ifyouwantthe“bathroom”effect,withoutactuallysoundinglikeyou’replayinginyourbathroom.The
TiledRoomreverbsimulatesthequalitiesofasmalltomediumsizetiledroomwithitsmanyreflections
andatthesametimeitbehavesrespectfullytowardstheoriginalsourcematerial.Thisisnotasoft
smooth reverb - this one cuts through the mix.
AMB (Ambience)
Ambienceisacoolveryshortreverbthatemulatesthefeelingofenvironment.Perfecttocompensate
for that desert-dry feeling of a close-miked cabinet.
GATE
Theclassicreverbtypetypicallyheardonsnareandkickdrumsonmany80srecordings.Agateis
usedtoratherabruptlyshortenthereverbdecay.Tryitoutandallowyourselftostandoutfromthe
common usage of reverbs on guitar.

12
TonePrint
Thinkoftheknobsandswitchesonyourpedalasafewhandlesthatactuallycontrolalargenumber
of parameters. Dedicated staff has defined the controls, - but wouldn’t it just be cool to let the world’s
leading guitar players contribute their own definition of how the controls should work?
YES-thisisTonePrint.Weallowtopguitarplayerstodigoutthepedal’shiddentonalpotential,
re-definethecontrolsandmaketheirownTonePrints.TheseTonePrintsareavailableforyouonline,
anduploadingTonePrintstoyourpedaliseasy.
• ConnectthepedaltoyourMacorPCcomputerusingthesuppliedUSBcable.
• Findyourpedalatwww.tcelectronic.com/pedalsanddownloadtheTonePrintsettingfromyour
favorite guitar player to a location where you can easily locate it again – e.g. your desktop.
• OpentheapplicationandpressUPDATE.
Now,–onceyouhaveselectedTonePrint,allcontrolsreactexactlyasdefinedbytheartistthathas
providedtheTonePrint.
TonePrint Beaming
UsingonlyyourAndroidoriOSdevice,youcanbeamTonePrintsintoyourpedalviathepickupofyour
instrument. Download the App here:
GooglePlay | AppleAppStore

13
Bypass modes and Kill Dry on/off
Unscrew the back-plate and look for the two small dip-switches in the upper left corner.
Theupperdip-switch(closesttotheDC9Vinconnection),switchesbetweenTrueBypassmode
(default) and Buffered Bypass mode.
True Bypass – is a hard-wire bypass that gives absolutely no coloration of tone when the pedal
isbypassed.UsingTrueBypassonallpedalsisaperfectchoiceinsetupswithafewpedalsand
relatively short cables before and after the pedals.
True Bypass Buffered Bypass Kill-Dry - off Kill-Dry - on

14
Buffered Bypass – If you use a long cable between your guitar and the first pedal or if you use many
pedals on your board or if you use a long cable from your board to the amp, then the best solution will
most likely be to activate the buffer in the first and last pedal in the signal chain.
CanyouhearthedifferencebetweenapedalinTrueBypassorBufferedBypassmode?Maybe,
maybenot,–manyfactorsapply.Active/passivepick-ups,singlecoil/humbucker,cablequality,amp
impedance and more. We cannot give a single ultimate answer. Use your ears and find the best
solutionforyoursetup!
Kill-Dry on/off – With Buffered Bypass activated (upper switch to the right), the lower dip-switch sets
Kill-Dry on/off. Kill-Dry removes all direct signal from the pedals output and is the mode to use when
the pedal is placed in a parallel effects loop.
Kill-DryisNOTanoptioninTrueBypassmode.
Changing battery – Unscrew the thumb-screw on the back of the pedal and detach the back-plate.
Unmount the old battery and attach the new battery to the battery clip making sure the polarity is
correct.Thenremounttheback-plate.Tosavebatterylife,removetheinputjackwhenyoudon’tplay.
Batteries must never be heated, taken apart or thrown into fire or water. Only rechargeable
batteries can be recharged. Remove the battery when the pedal is not being used for a longer
period of time. Dispose batteries according to local laws and regulations.

15
10reverbeffectsplusTonePrintmodeforstuffingArenawithyourfavoriteartist’stones
72 mm x 122 mm x 50 mm - 300 g (excl. battery)
DualSupplyRailstechnologyensuresheadroomforlineleveleffectloopsfromasingle9V
battery.BatteryfailurecircuitautomaticallyputsArenaintotruebypassmodeifthebatteryruns
out
Custom ‘hammerhead’ rugged, die-cast aluminum casing built for a life on the road
Unique one-screw battery access for lightning fast battery changes
Stereo inputs with automatic mono/stereo sensing – feed it any signal
Stereo outputs for that ultra-wide reverb sound
MiniUSBconnectorforuploadingcustomTonePrintsandsoftwareupdates
Decay,Tone,FXLevelandReverbModeknobswithhigh-quality,metal-shaftpotentiometers
Heavydutytactilefootswitchwithtruebypassforzerotonecoloration
USBcableforuploadingTonePrints
These specifications are subject to change without notice
Sounds
Size & Weight
Battery
Design
Connectors &
Inputs/Outputs
Knobs etc
In the box
(EN) Technical Specifications

TC Electronic, Sindalsvej 34, DK-8240 Risskov
[email protected]