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DISTRESSOR - MODEL EL 8 - Classic Knee Compressor
One-of-a-kind features
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| Classic
knee sound |
Delivered
with modern noise specs in an indestructible, digitally-controlled,
single-height box. Really grabs. |
| Programmable
analog distortion/warmth |
Helpful
in the pristine but unforgiving digital world. Three audio modes
provide user programmable, warm harmonic distortion. Emphasized
tube-like 2nd harmonic in clean and Distort 2 mode. In Distort
3 mode the distortion becomes dominated by 3rd harmonic (similar
to tape). |
| Distortion
indicator lights |
A
1% LED and a "Redline" (3%) LED. No hard clipping
until a few dB past "Redline." |
| Advanced
built-in sidechain EQ |
High
mid-band emphasis prevents harsh, edgy guitars or vocals from
hurting innocent ears. Low cut keeps the low "sum &
difference" frequencies from pumping the upper frequencies
of source material. |
| Eight
unique curves |
From
the 1:1 mode that simply warms up signal with low-order harmonics
without intentional compression, to the "Nuke" setting
- a brick wall limiting curve that shines on live drum room
mics. Each curve has its own personality and release shape.
Most exceptional is the 10:1 "Opto" ratio which uses
separate circuitry to emulate the oldest (and most valued) "light-controlled"
devices, such as the LA2A. Manual provides complete setting
instructions for emulating other compressors of old. Its like
getting several totally different compressors in one. |
| Discrete
and integrated combination |
The
best of speed/linearity with repeatability. Hand tested &
selected components. |
| Huge
knobs with high resolution numbering |
For
easy readability and repeatable settings. They also go to 10
1/2 . |
| Locked
& calibrated output level |
Allows
speed in setting tape and live mix levels. |
| All
metal film and Roederstein resistors in the audio path |
Top
quality components, mostly military grade. |
| Unique
"Binary Stepped Interface" |
Provides
hundreds of options with very few controls. |
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Other
Features
- Fool proof
operation - Even though there are 384 possible settings (not counting
knob settings), it's almost impossible to get a bad sound. Keep
all knobs on 5 or 6 (around middle) with ratio at 6:1 and you
won't go wrong.
- Stereo Strappable
- Switchable
110/220 volt operation - Extra fuse provided inside unit.
- Over design
power supplies - Runs cool, allowing cabinet to be sealed without
heat vents. Long life components.
- Single height
and light weight - Classic sound in a small, extremely reliable
package.
- True bypass
- Know what it's really doing. All contacts doubled up for maximum
reliability. No internal audio connectors.
- XLR and 1/4"
phone ins and outs - XLR fully balanced, transformerless design,
pin 2 hot. Changeable by user to pin 3 hot!
- Hand wired,
calibrated in USA. Shipping weight 12 Lbs.
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Science
for the Artist
Using the Distressor for the First Time
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Adjusting
the compression - 5 5 5 5
Start with 6:1
ratio and set all four knobs to 5, the midway position.
This is a great
starting place for anything. Push the ratio button until the LED's
cycle to the 6:1 ratio (Yellow LED). Adjust input to drive into
more compression. The harder you drive, the more knee you'll hit,
and the greater the ratio will be. Only 2 LED's should be lit -
the "BYPASS" LED and the 6:1 LED (not counting any Bargraph
LED's). If you need more obvious compression, push ratio button
to progress to higher ratios. If you would like lower ratios, the
very long knees of 2:1 & 3:1 are silky smooth. The 2:1 ratio
has a +15 dB knee, where the ratio gradually increases! The 10:1
is a special ratio employing "opto-mode." It closely emulates
vintage "light controlled" compressors (like the ubiquitous
LA2a). Continuing to through higher ratios, the unit will scroll
around "Nuke" back to these lower ratios. If you must
cycle through 1:1 while unit is in use, do it quickly since compression
will be turned "off" and the signal will swell to its
peak input levels, possibly becoming dangerously loud. Waiting for
a pause in the input before changing ratio is a safe thing to do.
Distortion
Settings
Distortion settings
should be used when subtle analog distortion is desired. Dist 2
mode produces "Class A" type warmth, producing mostly
2nd harmonic when compressing (tube distortion is known for its
2nd harmonic) and Dist 3 adds 3rd along with 2nd harmonic. Dist
3 looks and sounds very similar to tape distortion - it gradually
flattens out the top and bottom of the waveform. If you want a digital
signal to sound like an analog tape signal, try 2:1 mode with Dist
3 engaged, and compress 1 - 3 dB (as displayed on bargraph). Tape
goes in and out of saturation quickly, so fast attacks and decays
are appropriate. If you want to make it sound like over-saturated
tape, you could try one of the higher ratios and drive the input
to produce 1 - 5 dB of compression. With the quick release, 2nd
harmonic will still be strong in Dist 3 mode. More than 3 to 5 dB
of reduction will sound less like tape, more like compression.
Example Settings
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| Vocals |
Turn
off all distort modes if you're going to tape, however the Highpass
(HP) in both the detector and audio paths may be useful. Set
ratio to 6:1, attack 5, release 4. Adjust input to produce anywhere
from 3 to 17 dB of compression. Sometimes the band emphasis
setting is effective for those dynamic, "piercing"
vocal passages. With the band emphasis on, you will often find
you need less overall compression to hold a signal in its place.
In mixdown, the 10:1 mode is outstanding with its program dependent
curves. |
| Bass |
Start
at 4:1, turn attack on 5, release 5. You can distort if you
want, but caution must be observed if you are going to tape. |
| Elec.
Guitar |
Wide
range of settings can be used. To get rid of edgy attacks, use
quick attack, medium release. To smooth out solos, you can try
the band emphasis in the detector to pull up the low, softer
notes and push back and sustain the higher and often thinner
notes. |
| Acoustic
guitar |
Several
engineers have told us that the Distressor is one of the best
sounding units for acoustic they've ever heard. Use 6:1, [ 7,
2, 5, 7] settings (i.e. Input 7, Attack 2, release 5, output
7). Highpass is often useful in both detector and audio modes.
The fast attack will get you a "glassy" full sound
since the pick noise will be attenuated and the sustain lengthened. |
| Drums |
Generally,
you'll keep the attack over 4 or 5 to keep transients, and play
with decay to get more or less "in your face" sounds.
Because of the wide range of attack, the Distressor puts the
drum "percusiveness" into the engineers control. |
| Snares/Kicks/Toms |
Try
6:1 [6,5,5,6]. Shorten decay if you need to bring up "after
ring." If a tom has too much attack, turn attack down between
0 - 4. Since you can load on compression without sounding funny,
watch out for "mic leakage." |
| Room
mics |
For
radical treatment, try 20:1 or Nuke, [10, 6, 2.5, 6]. The "Nuke"
ratio was developed primarily for room mics, but persons have
found it useful in many areas. Nuke has a high threshold but
when the signal hits it, a nuclear blast won't budge the output
level. It is brick wall limiting, keeping any normal signal
within 1 dB or so. Just patch in a room mic while recording
drums (or other instruments) and slam the meters. Try attack
on 5 and release on 3. Fifteen to twenty dB of compression is
starting to sound about right for the John Bonham thing, but
don't be afraid to run the gain reduction meters right off scale. |
| more... |
You
will find the output a little lower than the other ratios in
Nuke. Better have quiet mic pre's too - for 20 dB of compression
can bring the noise floor up by 20 dB. The release should be
quick (< 3) for the largest sound, but slower releases can
often be effective when mixed in with the rest of the kit. Room
ambience can be made to "swell up" on the tom and
snare rings later, filling in behind the close mics. If you
want to add "grunge", experiment with Dist 2 and Dist
3.
more... Go to the On-line Owners Manual
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Specifications
- Freq. response
is 5 Hz to 160 kHz in clean audio mode (+0, -3 dB). Response is
shaped in distortion modes (Dist 2, Dist 3).
- Dynamic range
110 dB from max. output to min. output in 1:1 mode. Greater than
100 dB signal to noise in distort 3 mode.
- Distortion
ranges between .02% and 20% depending on distortion mode and release
times set on front panel.
- DC coupled
output - High quality input caps.
- Time constants
- Attack range 50uS - 30mS. Release range .05 sec to 3.5 seconds,
normal mode and up to 20 seconds in 10:1 opto mode.
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also
available as a factory-matched & calibrated stereo pair, the
EL-8/S:
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