User manual ALESIS 3630

[. . . ] When the provided plug does not fit into your outlet, consult an electrician for replacement of the obsolete outlet. Protect the power cord from being walked on or pinched, particularly at plugs, convenience receptacles, and the point where they exit from the apparatus. Use only with a cart, stand, bracket, or table designed for use with professional audio or music equipment. In any installation, make sure that injury or damage will not result from cables pulling on the apparatus and its mounting. [. . . ] A longer attack time with kick drum lets through more of the beater "thock. " For recording, you may want to trade off response time for smoothness. When used to prevent loudspeaker or power amp clipping, a fast attack time is desirable. Release (50 ms to 3 seconds) This control works only with the Peak/RMS switch (section 1. 5) in Peak mode. RMS mode automatically adjusts the release time, depending on the characteristics of the signals being processed. In peak mode, this control determines how long it takes for the limiter to return to unity gain after going into limiting. With short release times, the limiter tracks every little change in level, producing a potentially uneven or "rippling" effect that decreases dynamics but increases the average output level. Longer release times tend to "squash" the signal more, producing less overall output but retaining more of the signal's dynamics. In the 60s using lots of limiting with long release time on drums was a popular recording technique. Output (-20 to +20 dB) The process of reducing dynamics lowers the signal's overall level. Example: Limiting a signal by 6 dB will make the signal seem approximately 6 dB softer. Compensate by using this control to increase the level. 6 1. 5 FRONT PANEL COMPRESSOR/LIMITER SWITCHES Each switch has an in and out position. To set the proper gate level for most applications, turn the Gate Threshold to OFF. Turn on all instruments to be gated but do not pass program material through them (For example, turn your microphone on but do not sing through it). Any background noise should now be eliminated. 8 Example: To remove hiss from a guitar amp signal, set the Threshold just above the residual hiss while muting the guitar strings. Playing guitar should produce a signal higher than the threshold, letting through the notes. When the guitar is not playing, the residual hiss signal should be below the threshold, closing the gate. Rate (20 ms to 2 seconds) When a signal dips below the threshold, Rate determines how long it takes for the gate to fade smoothly from the gate open to gate closed setting. Shorter settings provide maximum hiss reduction but tend to create a "choppier" sound. Longer settings gain a smoother response at the expense of possibly letting a little hiss come through after the input signal dips below the threshold. 1. 7 FRONT PANEL METERING The 3630's three meters for each channel indicate several important parameters. Gain Reduction Meter (-1 to -30 dB) This compares the processed and unprocessed sounds, and shows the amount of gain reduction being applied to the input signal. Example: A meter reading of -6 dB indicates that the 3630 is attenuating the input signal by at least 6 dB in order to keep it at the threshold level. The more lights that are lit, the greater the amount of limiting, and the more processed the sound. [. . . ] As long as the audio signal is present, its level will generally be higher than the noise, thus masking it. However, when the audio signal goes away, the noise is no longer masked and can be heard. If you connected a volume control after the noisy effect, you could eliminate the noise by turning down the volume whenever there was no audio signal. Then, as soon as the audio signal (which masks noise) returned, you could turn the volume up again. [. . . ]