background image

 

Daking Audio 

FET III Stereo Compressor/Limiter Manual 

 

VERSION 1.4 

 

Hendrik David Gideonse XIX 

3/26/2010 

 
 
 

 

 

      

Summary of Contents for FET III

Page 1: ...Daking Audio FET III Stereo Compressor Limiter Manual VERSION 1 4 Hendrik David Gideonse XIX 3 26 2010 ...

Page 2: ...ug has two blades and a third grounding prong The wide blade or the third prong are provided for your safety If the provided plug does not fit into your outlet consult an electrician for replacement of the obsolete outlet 9 Protect the power cord and all connecting cables from being walked on or pinched particularly at plugs receptacles and the point where they exit from the device 10 Only use att...

Page 3: ... up Gain Knob from 0dB to 11dB 12 1 4 8 VU Meter 12 1 4 9 3 Way Meter Switch 13 1 4 10 Bypass Switch 13 1 4 11 Link Dual Mono to Stereo 13 1 5 Back Panel 14 1 5 1 In General XLR Connectors 14 1 5 2 Line Input XLR or TRS 14 1 5 3 Line Output XLR 15 1 5 4 48V DC with a 6 pin DIN connector 15 1 6 Signal Flow Patching Into and Out of Your FET III Compressor 15 1 6 1 Mic Pre to FET III to Audio Interfa...

Page 4: ...4 1 7 5 Limiting to preventing overload clipping and distortion 21 1 7 6 Pointers and General Principles 22 1 8 Specifications 23 ...

Page 5: ...ome passing fancy you d leave in the dust once you figured what the good stuff sounds like This IS the good stuff Geoff Daking 1 2 Quick Start Guide 1 2 1 Don t read the manual Most of you will already know how to use a compressor perfectly well and might be even a little offended at the idea of reading the instruction manual So don t read it This manual is not for you This manual is for someone t...

Page 6: ... the power supply to the back of the compressor 4 Plug the power supply into a grounded outlet preferably with AC line filtering surge suppression and voltage regulation Get compressin 1 3 The Audio Path and the Sidechain Path One important concept to understand about compression is the difference between the audio path and the sidechain path The audio path is the audio that is going into the comp...

Page 7: ...7 Figure 1 FET III Block Diagram ...

Page 8: ...low will be untouched If you want more compression then you should lower the Threshold If you want less compression then you should raise the Threshold See Figure 2 1 4 3 Ratio Knob 1 5 1 2 1 3 1 5 1 10 1 20 1 The Ratio knob controls how much attenuation gain reduction happens to the signal above the Threshold The Ratio is a comparison of the input to the output when the signal is above threshold ...

Page 9: ...9 Limiters can also be used to set a volume limit for a playback system to protect speakers from damage Figure 2 Threshold and Ratio Settings with Meter Readings ...

Page 10: ...amic changes in a vocal performance or bass part Your Daking compressor is fast enough to control even the most intense transients from drums and percussion The fastest attack time on the FET III is 250 μs 1 4 of a millisecond while the slowest attack time is 64 ms 1 4 5 Release Knob from 500 ms to Dual Time Constant Auto There are NO hostages The Release knob controls how quickly the compressor s...

Page 11: ...11 Figure 3 Attack and Release Times ...

Page 12: ...buss compression As you turn up the HPF knob you will notice that it has the effect of boosting the bass frequencies while the mids and upper frequencies get more controlled 1 4 7 Make up Gain Knob from 0dB to 11dB The Make up Gain control restores the overall level and compensates for the attenuation of the audio signal through the process of compression 1 4 8 VU Meter Your compressor is equipped...

Page 13: ... the signal is being attenuated by moving to the left This meter becomes important when using compression and make up gain to compare the before input and after output of your audio 1 4 10 Bypass Switch This switch lets you choose between having the compressor turned on and the compressor being bypassed Bypassing is a good way to hear the before and after of what you have done with the compressor ...

Page 14: ... for Inputs Makes sense right Many people confuse the male and female XLR parts because the female plug fits into the male plug to join together The male XLR has 3 pins male pins inside the plug and the female XLR has three holes inside the plug female holes Check out the diagrams below 1 5 2 Line Input XLR or TRS The line input accepts a line level signal not a mic level or instrument level signa...

Page 15: ...e problems 1 5 4 48V DC with a 6 pin DIN connector Your FET III Compressor uses an 48V DC external power supply with a DIN connector that is very similar to a laptop power supply External power supplies offer many advantages over internal power supplies like reducing hum from 50 or 60 cycle power sources and improving the safety of the equipment you are using Even with the improved safety of the e...

Page 16: ...ble Make sure that you aren t going into another mic preamp If you do you will likely end up with a distorted signal 4 Turn on phantom power if needed and set levels 1 6 2 Connecting Via a Single Insert Jack On many live and hybrid mixers inserts are patched via a single insert jack using a special insert cable The insert cable for the FET III see Figure 3 below often called a Y cable consists of ...

Page 17: ...return side This cable is BOTH an output and an input Steps for Patching with an Insert Jack and Cable 1 Patch the TRS side of the Insert or Y cable into the jack marked insert on the patch bay of your mixer If you had signal playing through the channel at the time this cable will break the connection and you shouldn t hear anything If you touch the tips of the other two plugs together you will ge...

Page 18: ... not want to normal the inputs and outputs from the compressor to each other This will create a feedback loop Converting a half normal module to a non normaled module is sometimes as simple as rotating the module in the patch bay See the manual for your patch bay Cables Needed 1 XLR Male to TRS Male 2 XLR Female to TRS Male Steps 1 Patch from the bottom back jack on the patch bay module to the inp...

Page 19: ... the compressor to the same Ratio Attack and Release and then adjust the Threshold on both sides so that the meters show the same amount of Gain Reduction on both the left and right sides You may find that Threshold controls may not look like they are in the same position even when they sound like they are balanced This is normal because the audio on either side of the mix is not the same 5 Switch...

Page 20: ...all the other signals you are mixing Without compression the guitar solo might fall into the background or the drums might over take the vocals 1 7 2 Keeping a vocal performance out front Compression is THE way to get a vocal performance to stay out front and stand out in the mix The compressor reduces the difference between the singer s loudest notes and softest notes to make it more consistent T...

Page 21: ...made to sound fuller by decreasing the peak level amplitude of the attack of the drum and increasing the make up gain to achieve a lower but longer sustain of the tone of the drum Parameter Value Threshold 0 Ratio 5 1 Attack Medium Fast to Fast Release 5 Make up Gain 6 Speed up the attack of the compressor to attenuate the transient more slow the attack down to attenuate the transient less It s be...

Page 22: ...ers and General Principles Compression is used to reduce the dynamic range of an audio signal Use the Gain Reduction GR setting on the meter to see how much you are attenuating reducing in gain the audio signal Boost the Make Up Gain so that the input and outputs are similar levels To set the Attack and Release times turn the Ratio way up so it s easier to hear the compressor working Set the Attac...

Page 23: ...kHz 600 Ω Ratios 1 5 1 2 1 3 1 5 1 10 1 20 1 Attack Times 250 μs to 64 ms Release Times 500 ms to Auto Dual Time Constant Frequency Response 1db 10Hz to 56kHz 3db down 63kHz Noise 82db 10Hz to 25kHz Distortion THD N 0 033 1kHz Line Inputs The XLR inputs are balanced with THAT Corporation differential amps Up to 24dBu input Line Outputs The XLR Outputs are balanced with THAT Corporation differentia...

Reviews: