7
© SPL electronics GmbH, Stand 04/97
Charisma
Charisma
Selecting the sound
character of the tube
processing
Output
3
4
Bypass
5
Applications
This unique control varies the tube sound and allows you to
create varying sound characteristics from S
OFT
to H
ARD
.
Creating different tube sounds results in varying harmonical
structures and adjustments in the S
OFT
control range bring in
the harmonical distortion and the tube limiting very slowly (you
can compare this with the soft-knee characteristic of a limiter).
In comparison to the H
ARD
control range the S
OFT
effect starts
off at relatively low levels. The sound becomes smooth and
warm, is a little softer, and contains more harmonic distortion
than the H
ARD
sound.
In the H
ARD
control range C
HARISMA
operates comparable to
the hard-knee characteristic of a limiter. The processing starts
with full effect at one point whereupon the signal is sharply
limited, and at this point, the sound becomes punchy and crispy.
Depending on the selected characteristic and intensities, a
readjustment of the D
RIVE
control may further emphasize the
desired effect.
The O
UTPUT
control sets each channel´s output gain to
compensate for the level increase when the D
RIVE
control has
added level to drive the tube circuitry.
Use a peak meter to set the O
UTPUT
level correctly. If you
insert the C
HARISMA
on your console or patchbay without having
control over the peak level you will end up with less peak level
although the loudness is the same. This is because of the
limiting effect of the tubes. C
HARISMA
is designed to increase
loudness by maintaining the same peak level and to improve
bit resolution on digital recording systems.
The bypass switch switches each C
HARISMA
channel in and out
of processing (hard-bypass), and the bypass switch is labelled
according to channel number.
C
HARISMA
can be used everywhere, where audio signals might
benefit from the excellent tube sound. The C
HARISMA
concept is
ideal for use in conjunction with digital multitrack or hard-disk
recorder systems, but it can equally be used with analogue tape
or DASH machines.
Making use of the typical tube harmonics and saturation
sounds, as well as the natural tube limiting effect, while recor-
ding, is of benefit to almost any signal – indeed there´s almost
no limit to the applications. The sonic implications can best be
characterized as gaining more presence, punch, and warmth.
In the MIDI studio, C
HARISMA
is ideal for processing single
tracks such as keyboard or sampler sounds as well as vocals. In
this application, the C
HARISMA
is inserted into the mixer´s chan-
nels inserts or directly between the source and the desk.
The most flexible way to use C
HARISMA
in the studio is to wire it
Charisma
