Trident A-Range User manual

Foreword by Malcolm Toft
I have evaluated the Softube Trident A-Range equaliser plug-in at
my studio with some very experienced recording engineers. After
exhaustive listening tests with many different instruments and
vocals I am pleased to say that we all agree this is an incredibly
accurate software recreation of my original A Range design from
1971.
It exhibits all of the nuances of tone from the original right down
to the 'saturation' control which emulates the overdriven artifacts
from the original when large amounts of equalisation are applied
or the input is driven hard.
Well done to all the guys at Softube.
Professor Malcolm Toft
Original designer of the Trident A-Range console
Torquay Devon England
December 17 2009
2

Table of Contents
Contact Details.............................................................................................. 4
Support................................................................................................................. 4
Installation and Authorization.......................................................................5
Introduction................................................................................................... 6
About the Trident A-Range.................................................................................. 7
User Interface................................................................................................ 8
Equalizer Bands................................................................................................... 9
Low ass and High ass Filters........................................................................10
hase Invert....................................................................................................... 11
Saturation........................................................................................................... 11
Output Volume................................................................................................... 11
Key and Mouse Commands.............................................................................. 12
Technical Side Notes...................................................................................13
Mono and Stereo Operation.............................................................................. 13
RTAS on ro Tools|HD......................................................................................13
Buying Recommendations.................................................................................14
S stem Requirements.................................................................................15
3

Contact Details
If you would like to get in touch with Softube please e-mail [e-mail].
Alternatively you could use the phone or send an old-fashioned mail (do you remember
envelopes stamps and paper?) to:
Softube AB
S:t Larsgatan 10c
SE-582 24 Linköping
Sweden
Web: www.softube.com
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: [phone] (9 am – 5 pm CET)
Support
On the Softube website (www.softube.com) you will find answers to common questions
(FAQ) and other topics that might interest you.
Support questions can be posted at http://www.softube.com where we will help you as
fast as we can!
© 2010 SOFTUBE AB SWEDEN. ALL PRODUCT AND COMPANY NAMES ARE TRADEMARKS OF THEIR
RESPECTIVE OWNERS. SOFTUBE IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF SOFTUBE AB SWEDEN. ALL
VISUAL AND AURAL REFERENCES TO THE TRIDENT A-RANGE ARE TRADEMARKS BEING MADE WITH
WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM PMI AUDIO. THE TRIDENT A-RANGE AND TRIANGLE LOGO ARE
TRADEMARKS OF PMI AUDIO GROUP USED UNDER LICENSE. ALL SPECIFICATIONS SUBJECT TO
CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
THIS SOFTUBE PRODUCT IS PROTECTED BY PATENT SE525332 AND PENDING PATENTS US2004-
0258250 EP1492081 AND JP2004-183976.
4

Installation and Authori ation
I F Y O U B O U G H T T H E P R O D U C T I N A B O X you will have to register it in order to transfer the
license to your iLok account:
1. Go to http://www.softube.com/register to transfer the license to your iLok
account. You will need the License Code found in the box your iLok.com
User ID and your iLok USB dongle. Follow the instructions on the web page.
I F Y O U B O U G H T T H E P R O D U C T O N L I N E and have got the confirmation e-mail the license
will already be deposited in your iLok account:
2. Make sure that you have the latest iLok drivers installed. They can be found at
http://www.ilok.com.
3. Log on to http://www.ilok.com and transfer the newly received license to your
physical iLok dongle.
4. Install the software from the DVD or download the latest version from
http://www.softube.com/installers.
Sometimes the DVD contains installers for all Softube products but you will only be able to
run those that you have acquired licenses for. In some cases extra demo licenses are
included when you buy a Softube product.
5

Introduction
The TridentTM A-Range® is a legendary piece of equipment. As only
thirteen A-Range consoles were ever made it remains a holy grail for
sound engineers and producers around the world that hope to create
equal works of art to those that were originally recorded on the
A-Range – David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust Queen Elton John the list
goes on...
The A-Range was originally designed in the early 70's for Trident
Studios in London by Malcolm Toft and Barry Porter. Toft was employed
as a sound engineer at Trident Studios and when the studio needed a
24 track recording console he started Trident Audio Developments to
design and build the Trident A-Range. Other products followed and
found their way to studios around the world. Toft remains active to this
day developing products under the Trident name.
The A-Range plug-in from Softube is the first and only native plug-in
that has been fully endorsed
by Toft and Trident
Audio.
6

About the Trident A-Range
The plug-in version of the A-Range is modeled after a channel on one of the original 13
Trident A-Range consoles. This particular channel strip is channel number 15 from Sweet
Silence Studio 'B' in Denmark and was borrowed from Danish producer Flemming
Rasmussen. The A-Range console has been in Rasmussen's care for a long time and used
by Flemming Rasmussen when recording albums such as Metallica's Ride the Lightning
Master of Puppets and ...And Justice for All.
The A-Range channel features four bands of equalization and high and low pass filters the
sound of the filters are often referred to as “colorful” and “musical”. When running a hot
enough signal through the original unit and boosting the bands it is possible to get it to
distort the sound is a hairy and effective saturation that is just right in some situation and
just wrong in others! Even
though the unit was never
designed to distort it has
definitely been used
this way by renowned
producers and we
thought it was only
appropriate to stay
true to the original unit
and add the saturation
to the plug-in as an
option!
7

User Interface
The layout of the A-Range equalizer is simple and easy. You have four different bands of
equalization with a frequency selector knob and a gain fader each. Low and High Pass
filters can be activated by pressing the off-white buttons and a handy Phase Invert switch
is found on the right side of the panel. The Saturation knob engages the console
saturation and is best used as a subtle effect. If you don't wish to get saturation just put it
in the OFF position and all saturation circuits will be de-activated.
The A-Range console was actually designed to have very little distortion but it was
nevertheless possible to crank up the input volume and equalization bands to make it
distort an effect that has been of much use in lots of recordings. The actual amount of
saturation depended heavily on the audio material and amplification before the console so
we added the Saturation knob to make things easier for you. If all bands are set to zero
gain Saturation on its default position (12 o'clock) and Output Volume on 0 dB the
A-Range plug-in will have unity gain.
8

Equali er Bands
The four equalizer bands have two controls each – a
“frequency selector” knob and a gain fader. The fader will
boost the signal up to 15 dB by dragging the fader to the
right and attenuate the signal by 15 dB by dragging it to
the left.
High Shelving Band
The frequency options for the High Shelving Band are 15 kHz 12 kHz 10 kHz and 8 kHz.
When boosted, the High Shelving Band gives a beautiful high end shimmer
to just about any material. Don't be afraid to try it on a master bus, as the result
can be fantastic!
High Mid Band
The High Mid Band is of bell type with the following center frequencies: 9 kHz 7 kHz
5 kHz and 3 kHz.
The bell filters interacts with each other in a rather funny way. For example,
even if the gain of the Low Mid Band is set to zero, changing the frequency of
that band will affect the frequency response of the High Mid Band filter
significantly. The results are quite unpredictable and this is part of the reason
for the unusual sound of the A Range!
9
High shelving band (top)
and high mid band (bottom).

Low Mid Band
The Low Mid Band is of bell type with the following
center frequencies: 2 kHz 1 kHz 500 Hz and 250 Hz.
Low Shelving Band
The frequency options for the Low Shelving Band are
150 Hz 100 Hz 80 Hz and 50 Hz.
Low Pass and High Pass Filters
The Low Pass and High Pass filters are controlled by three buttons
respectively which sets the cut-off frequency for the filters – 15 KHz
12 kHz and 9 kHz for the Low Pass and 100 Hz 50 Hz and 25 Hz for the
High Pass. The cut-off characteristic is unusual and not exactly coherent
but the slope is about 12 dB per octave.
The three settings work independently and can be used in any combination
which means that the more buttons you engage, the more attenuation you get.
For example, pressing all three Low Pass buttons will actually result in a filter
with an even lower cut off frequency than 9 kHz.
10
Low mid band (top) and the
low shelving band (bottom).