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11

Switches

Control Elements

Please note also the information on various controls under „Understanding 

and enjoying the Kultube“ starting page 12.

RED/VU

This switch changes the VU meter over to Gain Reduction mode. The indicator 
needle then jumps to the 0 dB value and moves to the left with increasing 
compression. The scaled values now refer to gain reduction.

If  the  RED/VU  switch  is  not  pressed,  the  VU  meter  indicates  the  output 

level.

If neither the RED/VU nor the ACTIVE switch is pressed, the VU meter indi-

cates the input level. In Slave mode gain reduction is controlled by the master 
device.

DIGITAL INPUT  

The DIGITAL INPUT switch served to select the converted digital signals as an 
input source for the Kultube and adds digital in- and outputs, allowing it to be 
easily integrated into a digital production chain. 

PLEASE  NOTE:  This  switch  function  only  applies  to  the  converter  module 
2053 which was discontinued in 2005. It does not work with the current AD 
converter module 2376.

SOFTKNEE  

SOFTKNEE alters the slope of the compressor. Normally the unit operates in 
hardknee mode, but pressing the SOFTKNEE switch activates the soft-knee 
mode. 

SOFTKNEE provides unobtrusive compression results; the greatest possible 
loudness however can only be achieved in hard-knee mode. The slope of the 
curves is shown on page 13.

DE-COMP:

This switch activates Decompression mode. This mode causes the compressor 
to work in reverse: All signals above the preset threshold become louder, and 
the Ratio controller determines the intensity of the volume increase. Please 
note  that  the  Make-Up  controller  now  works  exactly  in  reverse:  the  signal 
becomes softer when the controller is turned to the right and louder when 
turned to the left. 

Summary of Contents for Kultube 2049

Page 1: ...Model 2049 Manual Stereo Compressor ...

Page 2: ...t Basis EN50081 1 1992 EN50082 1 1992 EN60065 1993 EN61000 3 3 1995 EN60065 2002 EN55013 2001 EN55020 2002 EN61000 3 2 2000 73 23 EWG 93 68 EWG We herewith declare that the construction of the Kultube Model 2049 is in compliance with the standards and regulations mentioned above Notes on environmental protection At the end of its operating life this product must not be disposed of with regular hou...

Page 3: ...old Ratio Release Make Up Gain 13 Tube Harmonics 14 Operation Understanding and enjoying the Kultube The Threshold Control 14 The Ratio Control 15 The Attack Control 16 Progressive Time Control Attack 17 The Release Control 18 Progressive Time Control Release 19 Applications Using and enjoying the Kultube Summed Signal Processing 21 Single Track Subgroup Processing 21 Side chain 22 Multi Channel a...

Page 4: ...er Run this machine ONLY from sources which can provide proper power at the prescribed rating When in doubt about a source contact your dealer or a professional electrician To be sure you have isolated the machine do so by disconnecting the power cord from your wall connection Be sure that the power cord plug is always accessible When not using the machine for a longer period make sure to unplug i...

Page 5: ... been damaged This also applies to any situation in which the machine has not been subjected to any of these unusual circumstances but still is not functioning normally or its perfor mance is substantially altered In cases of damage to the power cord or its plug first consider turning off the main circuit breaker before unplugging the power cord Replacement Substitute Parts Be sure that any servic...

Page 6: ...its and to the sides of the unit Built around a toroidal transformer the power supply has a minimal electro magnetic field to avoid hum or mechanical noise The power supply s output side is filtered by an RC circuit again to extract noise and hum from the supplied electrical power 6000 μf capacitors smooth out the positive and negative half waves An additional power supply filter is placed before ...

Page 7: ...s to the audio material in a musically useful way Discrete Gain Cells SPL has developed discrete very high performance gain cells that are used instead of the usual VCAs and the Kultube is the first product to use them They ensure the highest level of musicality and clarity in signal processing and demonstrate significantly improved distortion values over VCAs Tube Harmonics The adjustable tube sa...

Page 8: ... 3 Cold 1 2 3 Pin wiring XLR Output 1 GND 2 Hot 3 Cold Pin wiring Stereo Jack Connector Tip Hot Ring Cold Sleeve GND Connection to console Insert Sends Analog Inputs Insert Returns Analog Outputs The Kultube can optionally be equipped with a 24 bit 96 kHz converter module Connector for external processing units e g Equalizer ...

Page 9: ...cal XLR and TRS jacks are used for analog in and outputs An analog mixing console is generally connected here Insert Send Return Since the TRS and XLR jacks are wired in parallel unbalanced operation of the TRS jack will have the same effect on the XLR jack and vice versa The Kultube is configured for a nominal level of 4dBu and can handle an input level of max 25dBu with max 23dBu available on th...

Page 10: ...ect multiple Kultube units for multi channel operation so that they can be used together with a master unit Before connecting the link cable determine which is the master unit and connect the link cable to the MASTER jack All linked devices are connected only through the SLAVE jack IMPORTANT WARNING Always define only one master device Never connect more than one device through the MASTER jack oth...

Page 11: ...g it to be easily integrated into a digital production chain PLEASE NOTE This switch function only applies to the converter module 2053 which was discontinued in 2005 It does not work with the current AD converter module 2376 SOFTKNEE SOFTKNEE alters the slope of the compressor Normally the unit operates in hardknee mode but pressing the SOFTKNEE switch activates the soft knee mode SOFTKNEE provid...

Page 12: ...al KEY LISTEN Use the KEY LISTEN switch to monitor the external side chain signal This makes it easy for example to monitor and adjust a connected equalizer Whereas the VU meter normally indicates the in and output level enabling KEY LISTEN causes the meter to indicate the side chain signal This provides a quick way to check also whether a signal is present SLAVE This allows you to switch the Kult...

Page 13: ...dvantageous since the attack time is only as fast as is necessary for the respective signal The result is consider ably unobtrusive and thus more musical compression behavior without unde sired side effects RELEASE The RELEASE control is used to set the time the compressor needs to back off by 63 to the original value Turned fully left this time is approximately30ms or approximately 2s for fully r...

Page 14: ...o determine at which level or loudness the unit even responds by specifying a corresponding threshold value Sometimes you only need to process individual peaks and at other times you need to take more drastic action and set the threshold lower Fig 1 shows the curves for various threshold settings The X axis repre sents the input level from 50dBu to 22dBu The Y axis shows the output level You can s...

Page 15: ...cs is allowed to remain If the compressor is used to process vocals with very large variations in loudness you would select a high ratio value 1 5 1 10 to produce a well balanced and intelligible signal When processing summed signals on the other hand very high settings will be used in part to process only the peaks of the signal This means careful setting of the threshold control is very importan...

Page 16: ...l determines one of these times namely the kick in behavior of the compressor In general terms this determines the time starting at which the signal should be reduced This allows you to specify how rapid signal jumps are handled How this look with a sinus burst test signal is shown in Fig 4 Here you can clearly see that the first part of the burst signal is unprocessed and only responded to when t...

Page 17: ...uch that a resistance value can be varied within the controller circuit to determine the control response time The main drawback to this partic ularly when it comes to complex musical material is that the setting only applies to a moment but is not ideal for every moment Automatic setting of the attack time in response to the input signal has the advantage of making the optimum setting for each mo...

Page 18: ...nobtrusive and sounds natural You should feel free to jump right in to experimenting with the PTC and find out what it can do for you The Release control The Release control is used to determine how long the compressor needs after a reduction to drop back to the original value How it works is shown in Fig 6 Here you see the same sinus burst as for the attack diagrams but just the last burst on par...

Page 19: ...lts Progressive Time Control Release Here again we are talking about an automatic release that can be influ enced by the release control When PTC release control is activated the Kultube calculates an average of the levels that the music signal is providing Automatic control of the release time now refers to this average value so that while short loud peaks are handled correspondingly fast when it...

Page 20: ...learly heard in a drum loop with lots of dynamics Turned fully left fast averaging the drums pump and you get lots of volume whereas turned fully right the control is unobtrusive but you gain less loud ness For summed signals a mid range setting 0 8s to 1 5s is therefore recommended As in the case of attack control with PTC release control makes sense not just for sum processing but can also be us...

Page 21: ...l effects devices such as EQ are located in the same insert loop the Kultube may be connected either in front or behind there is no certain order required Single track and subgroup processing Another important application is single track processing vocals bass guitar strings etc The Kultube is looped in the insert paths of the respective channels Processing is then usually done during mixdown The ...

Page 22: ...the signal in the side chain simply press the KEY ON switch Another interesting and useful feature is ducking whereby the side chain is fed for example with a microphone signal The music volume is reduced when ever speech is introduced great for DJs Other very interesting effects can be obtained by turning on decompression mode with the ducking application To do this turn the MAKE UP GAIN controll...

Page 23: ...uch remote control would be extremely complex and would be far out of proportion to the benefit especially since this setting is generally not changed continuously anyway The data from all slave units are also used to create control voltages so that all units operate with the same control voltage We recommend proceeding as follows when working with 5 1 surround The master unit is responsible for t...

Page 24: ...3 kg All SPL products come with a two year manufacturer s guarantee against defects in material or assembly from the date of purchase End users are supported in the two year guarantee through their distributor or dealer In such cases please contact your dealer for full guarantee conditions and service Direct SPL product support requires product registration Please fill out the guarantee card enclo...

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