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BETTERMAKER 

Mastering Compressor

Operations Manual

 

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Summary of Contents for BETTERMAKER

Page 1: ...BETTERMAKER Mastering Compressor Operations Manual 1 ...

Page 2: ... tips and all people involved in the conceptual stage We hope we have listened to you carefully so as to produce an ideal tool in the hands of every engineer Thank you guys I would like to personally thank my development team the past and the present as their passion to work and bright minds made all that happen I would not take all my wild concepts to the point they are now without you guys Marek...

Page 3: ...ntering the product enclosure presents the risk of electric shock injury Practical Safety Precautions Do not operate the Bettermaker Mastering Compressor underwater uncovered in the rain in a sauna or anyplace near water Always be sure to protect the unit from the dust particles water beer groupies and stage divers 3 ...

Page 4: ... know first hand what it takes on both sides of the glass to capture the perfect take We developed the Mastering Compressor to go from the perfect take and make it even better Bettermaker Mastering Compressor was designed to have the greatest flexibility of any analog compressor while still allowing absolute recall and repeatability We often found the strengths of software plug ins wasn t their so...

Page 5: ...velopment of the analog stages of the Bettermaker Mastering Compressor We feel that it represents one of the best values highest fidelity and newest methods of working available in audio today We set out to make a product that broke new ground a compressor with the highest sonic quality ease of use and a full pallet of sound shaping tools to allow engineers to make the best sounding record In the ...

Page 6: ...ot operate this unit in the presence of rain liquids or condensing moisture Liquid entering the product enclosure presents the risk of electric shock injury Do not operate the Bettermaker Mastering Compressor in any place near water Always be sure to protect the unit from dust particles water beer groupies and stage divers For normal operation it is not necessary to access the interior of the Mast...

Page 7: ...tion with the ease of a single control DAW automation and recall of all available parameters Front panel and LCD touchscreen The front panel of the Mastering Compressor is build around big LCD touchscreen that allows you to control almost all functions available in the device Apart from that you can also monitor input output levels amount of gain reduction applied by the compressor or store and re...

Page 8: ...e analog section of the Bettermaker Mastering Compressor High quality capacitors and low noise op amps are used in the analog path Relays were used whenever creating the shortest path for the audio signal was necessary The analog section consist of high quality input output buffers capable of passing thru high level audio signals multiple active filters coloring section based on VCA and Zener diod...

Page 9: ...Internal signal path 9 ...

Page 10: ...ener diode based saturation to your mix Lastly signal goes thru output gain stage and the M S matrix that converts it back to L R stereo For better understanding please check the signal path diagram above The sidechain signal that triggers the compressor can be sourced either before or after VCA this is known as feed forward and feed back VCA Group of analog filters HPF parametric filter and LPF a...

Page 11: ...ur MAC PC It is recommended to use quality USB cable that is no longer than 1 5m or additional USB hubs might be required The USB LINK will allow you to control the unit from your favorite DAW via VST AAX AU Bettermaker control plug in and perform the firmware update in the future to connect XLR and TRS inputs and outputs Using balanced quality cables is essential here to provide best possible sig...

Page 12: ...n to choose what you want to adjust for example MIX or Width selected parameter is highlighted with red square P5 Reset knob is controlling parameter P5 Output Gain but if pressed twice rapidly it will RESET all compressor settings to default Other parameters can be changed with the touchscreen From the top left corner A B comparison you can quickly switch between set A and B Holding P5 for 2 seco...

Page 13: ...nd predictable In M S or dual mono mode extra two icons appear LEFT RIGHT or MID SIDE and FOCUS The first one toggles between channels note that settings on the screen will change if two channels have different settings FOCUS will simply solo selected channel you can for example solo mid channel in M S mode to make your adjustments more precise The rest of the screen shows the compression threshol...

Page 14: ...le The compressor will alter the release time based on the dynamic content of the audio signal The millisecond BPM conversion is a very useful feature you can turn it on by tapping below AUTO R icon SG mode This mode is inspired by famous buss compressor from well known British console manufacturer The character and all the settings are similar but you get additional options like Dry Wet mix sidec...

Page 15: ...NUAL BM mode opens the way to very flexible compression settings as the manual ratio is available only in this mode you can adjust it in the EXTENDED tab TAP TO SAVE icon gives you quick access to save menu It also allows you to check if current settings are saved it will become red if your preset has been modified 15 ...

Page 16: ...it down to death Bettermaker Mastering Compressor allows you to use two independent coloring circuits that add harmonics to your mixes P4 knob allows you to change the VCA s THD This is a very gentle sounding warm analog distortion that is level independent Something like vintage British console warmth The next option is the analog clipper based on Zener diodes located after the VCA stage This cir...

Page 17: ...orite EQ or other device into the sidechain Please refer back to the signal path diagram presented before Two dedicated TRS connectors are located on the back of the unit You can also use the insert point for injecting external sidechain signal that will trigger the compression ducking effect By pressing LISTEN icon you will hear the sidechain signal in your monitor speakers Of course all equaliza...

Page 18: ... interesting type of sound which can be found in Indy Rock like genres Here you can also choose if you want the sidechain detector to react to the peaks or to the RMS level of the signal By selecting PEAK the compressor will act faster allowing every transient to trigger the gain reduction In RMS mode more dynamic range can be kept as the compressor will respond to overall change in signal level r...

Page 19: ...sing LOAD icon you will enter presets list Move P1 knob to search the list and press LOAD to recall selected preset After pressing SAVE in Main Menu choose free slot by moving P1 knob and press SAVE again Use onscreen keyboard to enter new name for the preset You can also RENAME or DELETE unused preset On the presets list you may notice the RED or GREEN dot beside the number and name The dot shows...

Page 20: ...UP icon in the Main Menu to enter settings window Here you can adjust the BRIGHTNESS of the screen touch and drag the virtual slider on the screen check the firmware hardware version of your unit see the number of power cycles how many times the unit was turned off and on serial number of your Mastering Compressor and its up time To update the Mastering Compressor s firmware press the FIRMWARE UPD...

Page 21: ...ettings and presets will be gone For your convenience METERING INPUT and OUTPUT CALIBRATION let s you match the levels shown by the Mastering Compressor with the levels shown by your AD DA converter In other words you need to show the compressor where the digital 0dB is so the reading will be accurate Please use on screen instructions to perform the calibration Please note that changing calibratio...

Page 22: ...des adjustable 15 30 Hz high pass filter at the compressor input dry wet MIX control for parallel compression HPF LPF and fully configurable parametric filter in sidechain with option of hardware insert adjustable drive for odd even clipper and THD function for harmonically rich sound Range Setting limit the maximum amount of gain reduction on board measurement of PEAK RMS levels 100 analog audio ...

Page 23: ...dB to 15dB Width in M S mode 8dB to 8dB GR Range Variable 0 1dB 20dB off Input HPF Off 15 20 25 30 Hz 24dB oct THD DRIVE off odd even Sidechain HPF off 370Hz 12dB oct Sidechain LPF 2k 18k off 12dB oct Sidechain MF gain 15dB Sidechain MF freq 0 5 10kHz Sidechain MF Q 0 2 8 Sidechain Feed Forward Backward Sidechain Detection Type RMS PEAK 23 ...

Page 24: ...W THD 2nd 0 06 3rd 0 01 4th 0 006 4 dBu 20 20 kHz unity gain THD and CLIP disabled balanced stereo input XLR 23dBu max input level THD 0 2 balanced stereo output XLR 23dBu max output level THD 0 2 into 2kohm Input impedance differential 48kΩ for balanced signal Output Impedance 50Ω 50Ω electronically balanced 2U enclosure 230mm deep Mastering Compressor universal 100 240V power supply designed by ...

Page 25: ... due to misuse abuse modification accident or negligence The warranty does not apply if the unit is connected installed or used otherwise than in accordance with the instructions furnished by Addicted to Music If the equipment requires warranty repair return authorization must be obtained from Addicted to Music prior to shipment Equipment should not be shipped until return authorization and proper...

Page 26: ...o Music Phone 48 604 649 220 Email info bettermaker eu Web www bettermaker eu Final Words We hope you enjoy your new Bettermaker Mastering Compressor If you have any thoughts ideas concerns notions or brilliant revelations you would like to share about our products please bring them to our attention at info bettermaker eu Happy Better Making 26 ...

Page 27: ...Bettermaker Mastering Compressor Operations Manual revision 1 1 06 10 2019 27 ...

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