User manual ALESIS 3630

[. . . ] Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarized or grounding-type plug. A polarized plug has two blades with one wider than the other. A groundingtype plug has two blades and a third grounding prong. The wide blade or the third prong are provided for your safety. [. . . ] With slower attack times, the limiter responds more to average signal level. This produces a smoother sound that tends to retain dynamic character, but the tradeoff is that the 3630 cannot react as rapidly to sudden level shifts. Examples: Setting a longer attack time with guitar allows more of the pick attack to come through. A longer attack time with kick drum lets through more of the beater "thock. " For recording, you may want to trade off response time for smoothness. When used to prevent loudspeaker or power amp clipping, a fast attack time is desirable. Release (50 ms to 3 seconds) This control works only with the Peak/RMS switch (section 1. 5) in Peak mode. RMS mode automatically adjusts the release time, depending on the characteristics of the signals being processed. In peak mode, this control determines how long it takes for the limiter to return to unity gain after going into limiting. With short release times, the limiter tracks every little change in level, producing a potentially uneven or "rippling" effect that decreases dynamics but increases the average output level. Longer release times tend to "squash" the signal more, producing less overall output but retaining more of the signal's dynamics. Excessive release times can be used as an effect. While in stereo mode, the compressor and gate control signals are derived from a combination of Channel A and Channel B inputs. Compression and gating are not soley dependent upon the input signal present at Channel A (the master channel). For example, an input signal on either Channel A or Channel B will cause compression to occur (and/or open both gates) once it rises above the threshold set by Channel A controls, even if there is no input signal present on the opposite channel. For stereo sidechain applications, please refer to Section 1. 8. 1. 6 FRONT PANEL NOISE GATE CONTROLS The noise gate will not pass signals below the specified threshold setting, but signals above the threshold will pass unaffected. In a typical application, the threshold would be set just above any residual hiss or noise. Thus with no signal going through the 3630, no hiss would be audible. A signal going through the 3630 would pass through unimpeded. The hiss would also be present under these conditions, but since a strong signal is present it would tend to "mask" the hiss. To use the 3630 solely as a noise gate, set the Ratio control to 1:1. This passes the input signal to the noise gate without processing. Threshold (no gating to -10dBV) Sets the level above which the noise gate will allow signals to pass. [. . . ] You set a particular noise gate threshold, and the gate compares the input signal level to that threshold. If the input signal exceeds the threshold, the gate acts like a volume control that's all the way up, and lets the signal through. If the input signal is lower than the threshold, the gate acts like a volume control that's all the way down, and blocks the input from reaching the output. If the threshold is set just above the residual noise level, then the gate will be closed whenever there is hiss, thus giving a quieter signal. 19 Warranty / Contact Alesis Limited Warranty ALESIS CORPORATION ("ALESIS") warrants this product to be free of defects in material and workmanship for a period of one (1) year for parts and for a period of one (1) year for labor from the date of original retail purchase. [. . . ]